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Editorial: keeping on evolving
by Meghna Shah
Hello! And we meet again! Summer has ushered in brightness and warmth in our lives
and with this issue from ‘the other song’, we have tried to bring in a fresh breath to
homoeopathic insight by inviting our consultants to discuss and share in detail their
understanding and concepts that keep on evolving with the passage of time, as is the
case with any sincere homoeopath.
What has evolved is a series of articles, all highlighting their approach in varied cases in
practice, each one following his/her unique style, and yet coming to a common meeting
point. Is not this Synergy indeed? This is what the practice at ‘the other song’ too
reflects. We have numerous consultants at our clinic, each one of whom specializes in a
different approach, understanding, and method. If one, however, were to really look
beyond all these and go to the depth of each, one would find common strands running
through and binding all of them together: unfailing dedication to Homoeopathy and
patient care, adherence to traditional homoeopathic teachings and concepts, and a
constantly active mind to research, so as to come up with refined advancements, which
help obtain the best possible results in practice. The discovery of concepts like
Sensation and Synergy and their respective development are examples of these
combined and cohesive efforts. The varied approaches all complementing each other
and coming together as one strong force is the basic foundation of ‘the other song’ –
International Academy of Advanced Homoeopathy – where different schools and
approaches are respected and practiced all forming a part of one integrated system.
In this issue, we have put forth cases from our consultants, both highly experienced as
well as those who have trained under them to emerge as highly mature and sincere
homoeopaths. Cases by Rishi Vyas, Devang Shah, Sadaf Ulde, and Pratik Desai exhibit
an in-depth understanding of the Sensation as well as the traditional approaches of
materia medica and repertory. Rajan Sankaran, head of the institute, has penned two
articles to give the readers have an overall insight into the case-taking approaches and
the Synergy approach, each demonstrated through ample cases. Articles by Gajanan
Dhanipkar and Sunirmal Sarkar provide an overview of approaches for acute and
pathological cases.
This issue is a work effort by the entire team at ‘the other song’ and I would like to
extend my heartfelt thanks to the publication team who has helped put together all
these articles. I hope all the articles form an appealing read and encourage similar
successful results for you all. I am grateful to Deborah and Patricia who have given us
this opportunity to share our experiences with the homoeopathic fraternity.
Categories: Editorials
Keywords: editorial
Remedies:
The evolution of homeopathic practice
by Rajan Sankaran
Each homeopathic practitioner has his or her own individualistic approach of
understanding cases. This individuality in practitioners is a true testament to the
individuality of our science.
Some homeopaths commit to their memory remedy keynotes from Guernsey or Allen.
Some focus on the concepts of generalization and general symptoms like from
Boenninghausen, Boger and Phatak. Also, many practice by example of Boger, Kent and
Hering, where they study through comparisons based on symptomatology. There is also
study by Repertory - Kent and Phatak for example. Finally, there is the study of cases by
classification into different groups, such as Plant, Animal or Mineral kingdoms.
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Most recently, we are adopting a synergistic approach to studying cases, which means
that we study the case from three different perspectives:
1. Symptoms
2. System and Source (kingdom and subkingdom)
3. Genius (general traits, pace, modalities and nature)
Symptoms include the traditional use of rubrics, keynotes, characteristics, and clinical
symptoms. The System includes the newer approaches such as kingdom, sensation and
miasm. Finally, the Genius is the common strain or character that runs through every
aspect of the case. When looking at these three sides, matching the qualities of the
patient to the remedy must always be in the backdrop.
To best understand the nuances of each case, one must study it from all angles and
aspects. The goal is to integrate the older and more traditional ways of studying cases
with the newer and more contemporary approach in order to get an all-encompassing
view.
Looking at a case from many perspectives, you come to a place where everything speaks
a similar language. You can then be sure of your knowledge and confidently apply that
understanding to the patients.
In the following article, we will study cases from both the old and new perspectives. We
will see three cases using the traditional approaches in homeopathy and three cases
illustrating the modern concepts, both yielding positive results.
Cases using traditional approaches in homeopathy
Case 1
This is a case of a nine-year-old child. He came with a paroxysmal cough, which had
lasted for the past four months. I had given him Drosera, Cuprum metallicum, and
several other remedies, but they did not benefit him. You may ask, what can a
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homeopath do when the indicated remedy fails? In my understanding, s/he has to look at
the case again and prescribe!
This is what I had been taught: When the indicated remedy fails, it was not indicated!
Find the correct one and it will work.
In college, I was not told: “When the indicated remedy fails give Tuberculinum or give
Sulphur.” They did not advocate these escape routes! As students, we were told: “Break
your head like a coconut and the case will open up!” So, this is what we do.
I called the child to the clinic again one day around 8:30 pm, after I had finished my
practice and made him sit down. I told him that he was not moving from this spot until I
found the remedy. I observed him for forty minutes, and then I suddenly noticed a very
strange thing. The child was coughing in a very peculiar manner. He would hold the side
of his chair, and every time he coughed, his knees would go up and his head would go
down. I opened the COUGH chapter in Kent’s Repertory, in search for this peculiar
symptom. I read from the first to the last page of that chapter because I did not know
where to look for it! It was not until the last page that I found the rubric:
 Cough, violent, spasmodic jerking of the head forward and knees upward
The remedy that was mentioned under this rubric was Theridion.
I was not very sure about Theridion, so I asked his mother whether he always coughed
like that. She told me: “Always. Even when he is lying down in his bed on his side, his
body just comes together during the cough, he doubles up and it has been like this since
the beginning.”
When the mother was telling me all this, her voice was quite loud, and the child said to
her: “Keep quiet mother, I am getting a vomiting sensation.”
I looked up this second symptom in Kent’s Repertory:
 Nausea, noise, from
There were only two remedies listed in this rubric: Cocculus and Theridion, both in italics.
I now had the courage to give Theridion 200 because it covered the main general
modality of the case, and that was “Aggravation from noise – tremendous sensitivity to
noise, so much that it causes nausea.”
Theridion cured the child within twenty-four hours. I observed the child for six years after
this prescription and there was no more cough.
Case 2
This is a case where observation helped me greatly in prescribing. It was the case of a
twenty four-year-old unmarried girl who worked as a research scientist in a research
institute.
She presented with chronic cough. During the case, I observed that her hands were very
restless. Along with this, she would glance from side to side to see if anyone else was in
the room. Even though she gave a lot of physical complaints, when I investigated her
mind, she would become silent and again glanced around, saying very little and
answering “No” to most questions.
This whole attitude – secretive, glancing from side to side with restless hands – was
noticeably peculiar and gave me the idea that she was behaving as if she was a criminal.
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The rubrics I used included:
 Restless hands
 Answers in monosyllables
 Delusion, she has committed a crime
From this simple repertorization I came to the remedy Kalium bromatum. There is
another rubric that is covered by this remedy too: Delusion, thieves, accused of robbing.
Then, out of curiosity, I asked her: “Why are you so scared. What have you done that is
making you so worried?” She was taken aback by this question and told me how she was
in love with a scientist from the same institution and this was not approved of by their
parents, so they had to keep it all a secret.
For me, this was surprising because both individuals were independent and could have
just announced they were going to get married, but she felt as though she was
committing a crime and that others would find out.
I gave her Kalium bromatum. She did very well on the medicine and ultimately got
married to that man!
My observation was confirmed when I asked what her interests and hobbies were. She
liked to knit and play the sitar, which involved the use of her hands. She liked to keep
busy mentally and physically, especially her hands.
In this case, using detailed and accurate observations helped me to understand the state
of mind of the patient. For example, if you see a restless child, you must ask what kind of
restlessness is there. Does he want to change place? Is it the restlessness of constantly
touching things or changing occupation? Is it restlessness of a kind in which he wants to
be carried about? What feeling could lie behind his restlessness? Such accurate and
sensitive observation is the sign of a good homeopath.
Case 3
This was a case of a patient who was admitted to a homeopathic hospital with very
severe pains in her abdomen. The consulting surgeon diagnosed an ulcer and advised
surgery.
When I saw the patient, she was lying on her abdomen and said that this was the only
comfortable position for her. When I asked her the effect of hot and cold drinks, she said
that cold drinks suited her a lot. She continued to say that when she drank something
cold, she could feel the coldness going down through her esophagus and then into the
stomach, which felt very cold. The whole process of drinking cold drinks gave her some
relief. I was struck by this description and opened the repertory to miraculously find the
rubrics:
 Stomach, coldness internal, as if ice water were rising and descending through a
cylindrical tube
 Stomach pain, lying on abdomen ameliorates.
The remedy which emerged prominently from this repertorization was Elaps. There was a
very dramatic relief of her pains with this remedy.
Cases using modern approaches in homeopathy
Case 1
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This was a case of a man who had mild hypertension and lots of fear. He told me that he
had a great fear of leaving the house: “I have to travel in my profession a lot. I am afraid
of travelling by plane, I feel that someone has planted a bomb in the plane.”
While describing these thoughts, his expression appeared to be one of terror. His
eyebrows remained raised and his eyes were wide.
I asked him if there were any physical complaints along with this and he mentioned.
Patient (P): “I get gas and hyperacidity and palpitation. It starts with the anxiety of
catching a flight. I feel it when I am packing my things to travel. The pressure builds up.
Suppose the plane vibrates due to bad weather, again the anxiety starts. It is not
possible to relax and enjoy. If I start thinking, my blood pressure shoots up. I have a fear
that something will happen. Suppose the pain starts, what will happen to me? Suddenly
my heart starts pumping. What will happen now? Driving the car, do I stop it in the
middle of the road and run to a telephone. What should I do? I keep brooding all the time
and cannot make any progress. I am very fast in my work. I finish things quickly in the
office.
I asked if he had any other fears and he explained.
P: “I liked my mother's milk too much as a child. In order to get me off my mother's milk,
my parents told me there was a ghost in the attic. They said, ‘If you continue to demand
your mother's milk the ghost will get you.’ Since that time I have had fear of ghosts.
Then when I was between the ages of eight to ten-years-old, I had a severe poisonous
snake bite. I asked if I would die but they took me to an Ayurveda hospital and I got over
it. At age twenty-four, I had a jaundice attack. Years back, I was in England and instead
of getting rest I got the feeling of ants all over my head and my blood pressure shot up. I
had severe palpitations. I was sure something would happen. I went to the doctor and
wrote down exactly what was happening to me. He asked if I had taken any homeopathic
treatment. I said ‘no’ and he said he would treat me. The doctor gave me many
investigations and all the tests were normal. He gave me treatment and my pressure
became normal. But this problem has been since the past twelve years.”
I asked him to tell more.
P: “I had once gone to Singapore and I was sitting on a plane. We were continuously
drinking. The next morning, I had the same problem. The doctor told me to keep some
medicine when I travel. After that, I stopped drinking for three months. Then, I started
having professional problems. I felt a wrong had been done to me. That hurt my ego
enormously and I felt the insult socially, I felt degraded. I felt it was the end of the world
and I would not be able to travel and no one would respect me. I recited and chanted
God's name all the time. That was the only thing that I could do. I carry my prayer books
and medicines with me all over the world. I feel secure only when I have all these things
with me.”
He further explained.
P: “Most of the fears on the intake form are applicable to me. The thought that I am
growing old and I could not travel, since much is scary to me. I am especially afraid that
something will happen to me when I am traveling away from home. This is when I seek
the safety of my medicines or my prayer books. This is very important.”
I asked him about his dreams
P: “I dreamt I was taken to the gallows and hanged. I was terrified in this dream. It really
works on my mind. Then, I also have dreams about snakes. I had a dream of four or five
yellow big snakes biting a boy, and then, I heard the news that my daughter was dead.”
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Understanding the
case
This is a case of a man with sudden episodes of high blood pressure and panic.
Something happens and his reaction is immediate and too intense. He narrates the story
of being at his mother's breast and the terror of the ghost coming to get him. It is as if he
is still reacting to episodes in his life with this same intensity of panic, like a child. At
these times, he suddenly calls for help. He calls the homeopath for medicine and chants
the name of God. He is easily reassured. In between times, he does not contact the
practitioner. All is fine. This is the pace of the acute miasm.
His dreams are of him being taken to the gallows and of snakes, with the same feeling of
terror. This is the sensation of the Solanaceae family.
The basic quality of a plant is sensitivity. It is a living organism rooted in the soil. To
survive, it needs to be sensitive to changes in the external environment and also must be
capable of adapting and reacting accordingly to these changes.
In the human being, the Plant experience is that of sensitivity. They are affected by many
things and must adapt and adjust to them. Throughout this person’s interests, stressful
situations, relations, and nature, we can see that there is the same Sensation and
reaction.
Prescription: Belladonna 1M
Follow-up three months later: “The next morning after the remedy, I felt like I was in
the Garden of Eden. My head and ears felt red-hot. I felt as if the blood pressure was too
high. I telephoned and you told me to come in and the BP was fine. After that, I never
needed to check my BP. I felt a feeling of well being and no fear of anything happening.
These fears disappeared slowly. Now, if there is a tension at work, I still wonder if I can
take the load, but then it passes. Now, my responsibility has increased and I am traveling
to new places. Physically, the pains on waking have disappeared.”
I asked him about his dreams: “Now, I have all pleasant dreams and no more fearful
ones. No dreams of being taken to the gallows.”
This case has been followed for ten years, though sporadically. He no longer has panic
attacks and his blood pressure is not a problem.
Case 2
This is a case of a forty-six-year-old woman who came with joint pains and asthma. After
she told about her physical complaints in great detail, I asked about her fears.
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Patient: “I am scared of the dark. When in the dark, I feel two hands coming from behind
me to grab me. I do not go into a dark room; I send my children before me to switch on
the lights. If I see any little reflection in the night, I feel someone is coming to grab me,
to kill me. If I am alone at home with my servant, I feel ‘now he is coming to grab me.’
Wherever I am sitting, I can only think of my death.”
I asked her to tell more about this fear
P: “I had gone to secure a transfer for my daughter to a college in Bombay. The man
handling it told me that it won't be possible. That night, I dreamt that I killed both of the
men in charge.”
This was the point where I asked about dreams
P: “I always see somebody doing something bad to me in my dreams, but if you were to
actually see it I am doing something bad to them. If somebody is sitting next to me, I
may be talking nicely to her but inside of me I am thinking that I am better than her. I
feel ‘what was there in her?’ I was just talking to her nicely and putting her up.
“I am different outside and different inside. That is the reason I do a religious chant, and
even while chanting, I am thinking something bad. I am really weird. On the outside, I
look very saintly. I think that there must be no one as saintly as me. I give people
religious lectures. Inside, I don't believe in God myself!”
I asked her to tell more about her dreams.
P: “I was the richest woman in the world, living in my own beautiful, big house and able
to do whatever I wanted to. But if anyone gave me misery, I had people around me who
could do what I wanted him or her to. When you become big you have a lot of enemies
around you. I thought that I was the biggest person, so I must have enemies.”
I asked her to tell about her nature.
P: “That bullying nature is still there in me. I want to show everyone that ‘yes I am really
big! I am better than you!’
“I feel that there is somebody talking constantly inside. Whether I am occupied or not, I
see those two people talking, constantly talking. Whenever I am cooking, I can see these
two people; one says to do one thing, the other says not to do it. I can constantly see
these two people talking within me.”
Understanding the case
In the Animal kingdom, there are issue of survival, competition, victim aggressor,
sexuality and attractiveness, hierarchy (superior and inferior, high and low), a split within
themselves (an animal side and the human side), deceitfulness, maliciousness, and
jealousy. The human being who needs an Animal remedy will have all of these issues.
Among the animal remedies, different groups and classes will each have their own
characteristics.
In humans, we can see the reptile expression in the form of camouflage, where these
individuals remain hidden and employ devious tactics to go unnoticed. Suddenly, they will
spring into action or change their behavior. There is a constant feeling that they are at a
disadvantage, and potential for extreme violence follows. Snake remedies, when
compared to other animal groups, are especially jealous, deceitful, silently malicious, and
garrulous.
The main feeling of this case was the fear that someone would kill her from behind; the
danger was from behind. In Reptile remedies, this idea mimics the hidden tactics and
camouflage, followed by a lunge and attack in the snakes. The other features of duality,
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loquacity, jealousy, and deceitfulness are common to all Snake remedies, not only
Lachesis.
I selected the following rubrics:
 Delusion, people sees, behind him someone is
 Thoughts of death when alone
 Dreams of murder
Prescription: Crotalus cascavella 200C and with this, her asthma and her joint pains
improved. Her overall mental state, suspiciousness, jealousy, and fears of the dark and of
being killed also improved remarkably.
Case 3
This is a case of a man with fibromyalgia. He also came with recurrent cold and cough
that he gets three to four times a day, and for which he had to take antibiotics
(Augmentin 1000 for fifteen days). He is only better when he is taking the antibiotics.
Occasionally with this condition, he also gets breathlessness. In his history, he reports
that he has been operated for sinusitis. His blood tests reveal that he is deficient in
Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D.
Patient: “My feet are not able to take my weight. I have a disturbed sleep; I am tired
throughout the day and feel very sleepy. I am the head of marketing and for the past one
to two years, I feel a loss of confidence. I feel breathless and need to take a rest. I am
also losing hair for the past fifteen years or so. I have had dandruff for a long time;
someone has even said it is psoriasis.
“I have two kids. A younger daughter, who if I carry her, I feel I will drop her. I cannot
hold her properly. I use to be very short tempered and now I am too irritable. I shake
when I am angry and feel I will fall down.
“There is constant burning sensation in my eyes even after a good sleep. I have cramps
in my legs, especially when going to bed, and my legs are in a lot of pain. I get tired very
soon. When talking, I am feeling very tired and breathless.
“My weight is stable at 74-76 kilos for the past three to four years. Every part of my body
is shrinking, my bones are shrinking; my entire body is shrinking. I get pain not only in
my legs but also in the lower back when sleeping or when walking for long periods of
time. I have flat feet. I am getting pain all over my body.
“My job is OK, not that much stress. I don’t travel a lot, my life style is good, but my food
habits are bad. I also get acidity which is troubling me a lot. There is problem in my
stomach. The acidity is affecting my throat. I have observed that when my stomach is
not well, then it disturbs my throat and my sinuses get infected.”
After he narrated his complaints, I asked what was the effect of these problems on him.
P: “I am not able to concentrate on my job. I need to think a lot, I need to communicate,
and I want to be an innovator. I am not able to concentrate at present; no one is raising
a doubt but it is breaking my confidence. I feel I will not be able to survive.
“For any product to be launched you need innovation. It’s a new experience in life for
everybody, something that is nonexistent in the world has come up. You need to be very
well-versed with the requirements of the customers. One needs to be fresh, confident,
concentrated and thoughtful, thinking about something that is to be newly launched.
“I take care of advertising the brand, communication, and thinking. I am not confident. I
feel breathless, my saliva has become thin, so I have to spit when talking, my speech
does not flowing naturally; I have to put 110% in that. I had to give a presentation, but I
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couldn’t speak for five minutes, it was the worst presentation of my life. I felt guilty
towards the company and the brand, everyone was looking at me. I felt like, ‘what will
they be thinking? What a joker he is, he is not capable of presenting a brand!’ I just
wanted to vanish and not be visible to anyone.”
I asked him how he experienced this situation.
P: “I was shaking, I wanted someone to take me out physically, I was psychologically
broken for five or ten minutes. I was not able to speak, I lost my confidence. What a fool
I am!
“I was just not able to look at myself in the mirror, not able to convince myself that I will
be good. These days, I have to be in front of a crowd much more often than in the past.
“I feel discomfort when talking, I feel I need to have proper oxygen. Initially, when I
started to talk to you, I was feeling breathless but now I am a little more relaxed.
“I need a deep breath when talking, more when starting to talk and better after twenty
minutes. I feel a dryness in my mouth. I spit while I am talking. What will others think
about me during the presentation? Everyone will be laughing, feeling that ‘he is not
capable of taking responsibility’. You need to take a deep breath.
“My voice gets affected, I am not comfortable, I lose control of my speech, and the words
are not right. When this happens, you feel you have not done well, you feel uncertain
about the future, like you are hopeless.
“There is always this fear of failure crossing my mind; the feeling that I may have to give
up due to my health. What will become of my family, of myself? I believe I am very
intelligent but now I tend towards the extreme point of hopeless.”
I asked him what else was bothering him.
P: “In 1993, I suffered from typhoid. After this episode, I started feeling weakness and
abdominal pain; I felt a lump in the right side of my abdomen after eating food. When I
passed stools, the lump got better. It was like a spasm, a cramp-like colic. I could not lie
down during the pain and I had to sit bent forward and apply slight light pressure. Then, I
underwent diagnostic surgery, but no diagnosis could be made; they removed my
appendix but the pain persisted. I took ayurvedic treatment for this and my motions
became very clear whereas previously they were very hard and irregular. The right side
of my abdomen was more distended after eating, with bloating and gas formation; after a
while it slowly decreases. I become restless with the pain, needing to stand up or down in
order to relax. Pressing slightly on my abdomen helps to relieve the pain by passing a
little wind.”
After understanding this problem fully, I asked him about his dreams.
P: “I don’t get many dreams as my sleep is disturbed. For the past six to twelve months,
my energy is very low and I always feel very sleepy. I do not have any positive dreams,
mostly negative. I dream of losing my parents. I have two daughters. I lost a baby boy;
during my wife’s delivery there were complications and the child died, but even before
losing my child, I dreamt of carrying my child’s body.”
I asked him what he wanted to see from the treatment.
P: “I need to concentrate, every job needs concentration. You have to be innovative; you
are taking care of all of India’s marketing. For the past six months, I am feeling low, not
healthy, feel weak, sleepy and tired throughout the day. I am going to work, but I don’t
feel like going. I feel like going away, taking a break to take proper rest and sleep. I am
just working because I am supposed to. Due to the tiredness, I have made a couple of
wrong decisions. I have almost resigned three times in the past eight months. There is no
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pressure from my job, everyone is happy with my work, but out of frustration and
irritation, I get restless and irritable.
“I am shrinking; even my clothes do not fit. If my clothes fit me, it gives me confidence.
If they are very loose, I feel I am shrinking. I feel as if I am losing something, like losing
vitamins in my body or having flat feet. Then, I feel that that which was there in my body
is not there anymore. Losing is like a particular element or a thing that was within me
which I don’t have now.”
Understanding the case
To solve this case, we must look at the general nature of the problem. This general
nature is also known as the Genius or the essence of the remedy or of the patient.
Finding the Genius makes for an easier and quicker understanding of the case. In this
case, the nature of the pathology is very important and we need to match this with the
overall themes of the case.
I first looked at the nature of his pathology. He says: “I have a lot of body aches. I can
never stand, I am always tired and I’m losing confidence, losing control. I am going to fall
down, as if I can’t hold something. I’m so tired that it feels like my bones are shrinking
and I will fall down.”
From this, we can conclude that the nature of the pathology is fatigue; it is as if his
muscles, his bones, his brain and everything else has become tired and weak and has lost
its capability. The Genius or general idea here is tiredness and fatigability. Consequently,
what I want to look for in the Materia Medica is a remedy that has at its very center,
core, and in its very essence, this fatigue and tiredness, weakness, falling, and
exhaustion.
Life becomes easy when you know that there are very few remedies with this kind of
weakness. Once we get these few remedies, then what we have to do is see the themes
of one of those remedies and match it to the patient!
In this case, we have, on the one side, this fatigue and tiredness, weakness and
exhaustion, and on the other side, we have: “I cannot concentrate, I cannot work, I
cannot innovate, I cannot communicate, my confidence is very low, I have no ability, and
it is affecting my career.”
Here, we know that the patient is talking about the Mineral kingdom issues, because he is
losing his capacity and capability to innovate, to communicate, to use his voice, and he is
losing control of his voice.
Minerals have to do with structure. The central theme common to remedies in the Mineral
kingdom includes the feeling that something is lacking: lacking in structure or in
performance. It can be a lack of identity, lack of support, lack of position, lack of relation.
In human beings, the Mineral experience corresponds with the stages of human
development, which finds its reflection in the seven rows and columns of the Periodic
Table of Elements. Each Row has its own respective themes and symptoms that
correspond with that stage of human development.
In this case, there are a lot of issues that have to do with his voice; he gets tired when he
speaks, he trembles on speaking, and his voice does not come out when he is speaking.
When you put these together you get Stannum metallicum (commonly known as tin).
In this remedy, the first modality listed by Phatak is: Worse: using voice. Secondly,
Stannum is an element in Row 5 of the periodic table of elements. In this row, the main
themes are creativity, communication, performance and speech. The main feeling is that
he has lost it, that he is a failure, he wants to resign, to give up. He has lost the
capability to do things, to be creative. Further, when we see his mind symptoms we have
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a prominent symptom: Very sensitive as to what others say about her. We saw this
symptom clearly when the patient was worried about what others would say about him
when he was going into the meeting.
Materia Medica, Stannum metallicum reads as follows:







In the
Anxious, nervous, sad …Miserable and discouraged
Cannot get rid of an idea once fixed in her mind
Taciturn and dislike of society
Sudden fits of passion
Forgetful and absent minded
Uneasy, knows not what to do with himself
Hopeless, despondent; feels like crying all the time
In generalities we find:
 The chief action of tin is centered upon the nervous system, causing extreme
weakness, which is especially felt in chest, throat, stomach, upper arms and
thighs. The patient is unable even to talk; he drops into a chair instead of sitting
down, and trembles on moving.
 Weakness is felt much more on going down stairs than going up.
 Paralytic heaviness or a weakness.
This patient said that when he climbs the stairs, he feels as if he has run a marathon.
This is the kind of weakness and exhaustion sensation that he feels in his legs. In
Stannum metallicum we see the following symptoms:
12
 He trembles on moving, he drops himself on a chair instead of sitting
 It is a paralytic weakness and weakness of nerves
What can be understood is that this weakness is also a nervous weakness, therefore any
anxiety makes it worse.
 There is also a key symptom of Stannum: PAINS, INCREASE GRADUALLY AND
GRADUALLY SUBSIDE, which matches our patient. In his past complaints, he had
abdominal pain for five years. The following physical symptoms are
representative of our patient:










Pain, pressure amel.
Pain, bent bending double amel.
Pain, eating agg. after
PAINS, INCREASE GRADUALLY AND GRADUALLY SUBSIDE
Pain, Night restlessness with
Stool, Hard
Abdomen, distension, sides right
Flatulence, after eating
Flatulence, obstructed
Flatulence, pressing on abdomen amel.
The symptoms from the mind that matched our patient included:








Concentration difficult attempting to, vacant feeling has a
Despair exhaustion from
Dreams misfortune of
Mind - EXHAUSTION, mental, prostration - talking, from
Mind - EXHAUSTION, mental, prostration - trembling, with
GENERALS - REST - amel.
GENERALS - REST - must rest
Standing agg.
Mentally, our patient was empty, weak, and drained. It was as if everything had come to
an end and he had lost control. This in turn made him weak and empty, as if life has
drained away.
Prescription: Stannum metallicum 1M
Follow-up: his fibromyalgia pains and his voice’s complaints improved dramatically, and
he was overall in a much happier mental state.
This contemporary approach in homeopathy, termed Synergy, has evolved over the last
thirty years and has come to be advantageous when utilized in homeopathic practice.
While utilizing in depth knowledge in fundamental and traditional tools of homeopathy like
the Materia Medica, Repertory, and the Organon, the Synergy method also values the
newer approaches like Sensation, Kingdom and Miasm understanding. This is a system
that is unique – its design can be taught, practiced, and replicated successfully by
students and practitioners. The method has brought together both the old and the new
approaches in homeopathy.
Photos: Shutterstock
Coconut in motion; Jag_cz
Atropa belladonna; vladimir salman
Tin can; Anthony McAulay
Categories: Cases
Keywords: synergy, Guernsey, Allen, Kent, Phatak, Boenninghausen, Boger, modern
homeopathy
Remedies: Belladonna, Crotalus cascavella, Kalium bromatum, Stannum metallicum
13
From Sensation to Synergy: a clarification of concepts
by Rajan Sankaran
It has come to my notice that there is discussion in many quarters that I have swayed
away from Sensation method towards a more reportorial approach. Justifiably, many
have felt that I might be giving up on something very valuable, which has been of great
benefit to all of us.
I am writing to clarify my stand with you all and make amends. I truly do believe that
Sensation method is of vital importance to our practices and without this, I could not be
working today. But I do also believe that we cannot abandon our original tools like the
repertory and Materia Medica – I feel we must integrate it all together. The result of
this integration has been greatly beneficial to me and more importantly, to many, many
patients.
Thus, I see my current development as an evolution and strengthening of the Sensation
method. What I am doing is nothing new, it is exactly what we all do – we all integrate
the repertory and Materia Medica knowledge into our practice. Sometimes, the
Sensation Method was somewhat ungrounded and in my practice when this occurred,
the repertory and symptoms helped me to ground it even more, and helped in my
remedy prescription.
What I am doing now is exactly the same idea that you have all been doing, except a
name and nomenclature, ‘Synergy’, has been assigned. It is important to realize that
Sensation is an integral part of Synergy; without Sensation, there would be no Synergy.
Synergy is bringing people in from all schools of thought, even making believers of
those who previously disregarded the Sensation method – it is achieving what we have
always wanted to achieve – a unity and solidarity amongst us all.
I would like to say that to those who have understood and grown with the Sensation
method, it is impossible to abandon it, as it is the deepest and ultimate truth of the
patient. I surely cannot forget it and it will be forever rooted in my practice – if I
originated it, I definitely cannot forget it!
It is obvious that different cases require different approaches and I foresee that the
development of homoeopathy lies not in a militant difference between the different
approaches but in the integration and synergy of the different schools of thought. It is
only when we bring together the crucial aspects of the traditional branch of homeopathy
and the contributions of the innovators of the present generation, would we be able to
establish thorough and definite results.
What I have observed is that many of the followers of various schools or teachers get
the impression that a particular method is the only way and best way. They become
narrow-minded and adopt a one-tracked, tunnel vision. Conversely, I have seen that
the originators, researchers and innovators of the newer ideas are able to learn and
integrate other concepts into their practice.
You can say that two things happen here. One is that you integrate different approaches
into practice, and the second is that you are able to see the commonality in all
approaches and have the understanding that the essence behind all of the approaches is
the same. It is like coming to the same point from different paths – a meeting point as
such.
I feel that there is a strong need for all of these innovators to come together on one
platform so that a strong message of unity amongst diversity is sent to the profession.
I find the Sensation method a wonderful tool, but when used with other techniques, it
becomes even more powerful, solid, complete, and balanced. When we are equipped
14
with different tools, we will be able to know which one applies to the case in front of us
better.
Consistency of results is really the most important thing in practice. It is the test of any
methodology. In homoeopathy, the traditional method of Repertory, Materia Medica and
keynotes, with its comparison of the symptoms of a remedy to that of the patient, has
led to many beautiful results and has been the foundation for homoeopathic practice.
In the past two decades, newer ideas of classification of the remedy according to
kingdom and miasm have emerged. Along with this development, an understanding of
the importance of knowing the exact experience of patient in terms of Sensation has
been rediscovered. This has reawakened the idea that we can generalise the local
sensation: that what is true of the part is true of the whole, as practiced by
Boenninghausen. This generalization has been called the Genius.
The discovery that each remedy has the qualities of its Source has given a new
dimension to our understanding of our Materia Medica.
Use of this thematic understanding according to Kingdom, Subkingdom and Source
information, along with miasms, has been termed the Sensation approach, and it
addresses the conceptual side of homeopathy. This approach has appealed to the
artistic side of many in the world of homoeopathy, and it has come to be used
extensively. However, I have found that the most consistent results come when this
15
artistic side is integrated with the logical, traditional side. In fact, they have always
been integral to one another, but we have to be able to see it.
When we see this integration, our prescriptions become more rounded, complete and
sure. In remedies that are sufficiently well-known, a third aspect also has to be
considered: the genius – the main idea, the flavour, the essence, the grand general of
the remedy. When we use these three aspects: the genius; Materia Medica and
Repertory, plus the Sensation Approach, then we are using an integrated approach and
not a fragmented one. I have found that this integration has given me the best results
in thirty years of practice.
The word ‘integrate’ means to make integral. Integral means that all the parts of a
system are both interlinked and essential to its full function, to its completion.
Sensation, symptoms and genius are the three integral parts of remedy selection, and
all three are essential to its completion.
Thirty-five years of clinical practice, along with deep grounding in Materia Medica,
provings and Repertory, has brought with it an on-going evolution and refinement in my
approach of practice. I know that the Sensation idea holds true but I am not rigid about
the approach of case-taking. I believe that we should go as deep as the patient will let
us. Pushing beyond that can be counterproductive, causing us to go off on a tangent,
chasing one expression and missing the core of who the person really is.
Some practitioners and students, who observe my case-taking in the clinic or in a
seminar, are surprised that I do not use the “Sankaran’s approach” in my cases. They
see me take different approaches in different cases.
In one recent live case demonstration a student asked me how I came to a remedy
despite the patient not showing any hand gestures. These queries come from the
delusion that the “Sankaran’s approach” is totally divorced from traditional
homoeopathy and is a very fixed way of taking cases. Sometimes, I need to tell them
that I do not fully believe in Sankaran!
The knowledge of the Kingdoms and Subkingdoms is derived from the study of
provings, Repertory and Materia Medica of the various remedies within each group. I do
not see the new and the traditional knowledge as separate but as complementing each
other in a natural evolution of traditional practice. The symptoms and system speak of
the same thing from two angles. They are like two sides of the same coin. To see both
sides is definitely better than seeing only one side. I use both approaches in parallel
during case-taking and analysis. In fact, the two approaches inform and deepen each
other.
After some time, the clues become clear. You may hear very strong indications for the
Kingdom, Sub-kingdom or miasm. Then, you will want to see that all of the other
features of the given Sub-kingdom or miasm are found in the case. You may locate
characteristic symptoms and then zoom in on or confirm the remedy. Sometimes, the
most prominent feature of the case is one or more characteristic symptoms. The
remedy that emerges from these symptoms should be explored and compared to the
features of the Subkingdom and miasm evident in the case. The symptoms and the
Sensation are intertwined.
A much more serious issue to be addressed is that practitioners feel the need to choose
between the traditional approach, using Repertory and Materia Medica, and the
Sensation Approach, using analysis according to Kingdoms and miasms. I often found
that Sensation Approach practitioners did not even feel the need to use Repertory or
Materia Medica, analyzing the case solely according to Kingdom and family themes,
hopeful that the patient would spontaneously reveal the name of the remedy.
The formula for success is to be flexible and to vary the case-taking style to suit each
patient, while at the same time keeping in mind the destination – knowledge of what is
to be cured.
16
When an idea is developed or learned, it should not be put into a rigid box. As useful as
that idea may be, we need to be able to think beyond that structure, too, and not be
confined to it. This is true of any system. In homoeopathy, I believe it is also true for
any approach or technique, whether it is repertorisation, keynote prescription, or any
other ‘school’.
We should not even box ourselves into homoeopathy. We can be flexible. Our flexibility
should allow us to entertain different possibilities, to think broadly. In each case, we
need to be open to see what will really help an individual patient.
Sometimes, the diversity of classical homoeopathy has brought confusion and division.
In my practice I use many approaches, in an attitude of openness and acceptance, with
the goal that these will converge, enhance, and empower one another.
The last three decades as a practitioner and teacher have been eventful years. I have
seen homoeopathy evolve to heights not imagined before; however, developments are
a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we see many improved results in practice; on
the other hand, they have caused a schism in the profession between traditionalists those who viewed these new ideas with much skepticism and spoke fiercely against
them - and ‘post-modern’ homoeopaths, who embraced the ideas with such enthusiasm
that they ignored the solid fundamentals of Classical homoeopathy. Both these extreme
positions have helped neither the practitioners nor the profession.
The basis of the split is to view remedies either traditionally as individual entities, or
within the framework of a group. In my practice, I see no division between the old and
the new; rather, they are two sides of the same coin, like seeing the same thing from
two different angles. Understanding and practising homoeopathy with this insight has
been my personal secret of success, as well as that of many of my colleagues.
I want to share this with the profession, to address interested practitioners from both
sides of the divide and those in the middle, to discuss the reality of everyday practice:
the cases, difficulties, mistakes, techniques, remedies and systems. I feel that sharing
this, in an organized way over two years, would put to rest some of the controversies
and provide homoeopaths with practical examples and an understanding of the
development and integration of these approaches.
None of us hold the truth; we hold only parts of the truth. In order to hold the full truth,
we must integrate. I believe that the future of homoeopathy is golden and it lies in the
form of synergistic integration of the old and the new. Once we have accomplished this,
our perceptions will expand and we will have reached a stage of maturity, wisdom and
responsibility. Also, if we are able to use all these tools synergistically, our confidence
and our results will rise exponentially.
Case of Nephrotic Syndrome
D: So tell me, what is happening?
P: Now, I am in remission, I am getting frequent relapses of pedal oedema, facial
oedema, diabetes and nephrotic syndrome. My creatinine levels are currently at 1.6.
D: Tell me how it started?
P: I was studying my second year of homoeopathic school. I went for a holiday and it
started at that time, with no other complaints.
D: Tell me a little about your nature as a child?
P: I had a joint family; my grandfather’s youngest son died, so my father was the
eldest. He wanted to study but he was put into farming. My grandfather was very strict
17
so there was lot of tension and we grew up in that atmosphere; there was fear about
everything, like going out and doing anything.
D: Describe this fear a little more?
P: Fear that somebody will scold me or will beat me. I have a fear of death.
Comment: right away in the case, we see his fears. This is one area where more
probing is necessary to help individualize him.
D: What was the fear of death?
P: I have this since childhood, or I have a fear I will get a grave disease and die. For
example, if I saw a movie or read about a disease, I feel I’ll get it and I’ll die. I saw a
film, so I thought I’ll get cancer. I also had a fear that when an airplane was going
above me that it would throw a bomb on me, so I used to go home running. I had a
fear that people will laugh at me, fear of failure in exams or losing my first rank in my
class. I was coming first in the class and felt others would overtake me.
Comment: here, we see hints of the kingdom. Firstly, the patient narrated all of his
fears, which are extensive: being scolded, beaten, or laughed at, fear of death, severe
disease, cancer, airplanes, bombs, death, failure in exams and losing his first rank in
class.
D: Dreams as a child?
P: I don’t remember, but I used to wake up shouting. I used to be so scared that people
had to hold me. I used to breastfeed until fourth grade, it was like an addiction. Now, I
am getting dreams of a hostel and flying parallel to sea level.
Comment: the main story that we see so far is about fear from basically anything from
the outside, causing him to run home. However, here we see a very interesting piece,
even at age nine he was breastfeeding. As he says: “It was like an addiction.”
D: Describe this a little more?
P: I am in a hostel, I have to complete my journal so I sit on a horse and I go
somewhere. When I get there, I am in the slums and I forget my way. Then, I sit in a
rickshaw but there is no place to move, so the driver folds his rickshaw, but nothing
happens to me. Randomly, I see a bungalow and an eagle, then I go ahead and I see a
cliff. There, the rickshaw stops. The driver then climbs into the water below and gets
caught in quicksand. I left him and came back but he was dead. I felt so much guilt that
he drowned and I could not do anything.
D: Describe the other dream.
P: It is like flying parallel to sea, up and down, next to the sea. It is a totally soothing
feeling with no fear. I feel good in the dream and I have no fear of falling in water. It is
like I am sitting in a see-saw or a giant wheel.
D: Describe this feeling of being in a see-saw or a giant wheel?
P: My heart is pounding, it is a bubble-like feeling; it is good. I enjoy the thrill. When
the giant wheel is coming down, air is going in my chest and I am enjoying that.
Comment: the dreams are also important. Note the theme of up and down movement
in the flying dream, or the giant wheel or see-saw.
D: Tell me other dreams you remember?
18
P: I had a dream of marriage and I have noticed if I have a bad dream then something
bad happens with me, like financial loss.
D: What is the effect of this loss on you?
P: At first, I feel bad but then I get adjusted.
D: What is the experience?
P: I become panicked and get fullness in chest. I get palpitations, as if my blood is
going to my head. My ears and palms become hot, my palms sweat, and I have a
general feeling of heat.
Comment: the next thing that is peculiar is the warmth of the palms and soles, with a
rush of blood to the head when he encountered this financial loss.
D: In what other situations have you seen this happen other than loss?
P: During fear and when I am composing a tune.
D: Describe composing a tune.
P: While working on my harmonium, when I work up a tune and have to replay it so I
get a good tune. I feel impatient, I want to go ahead or I will forget it.
D: What is the feeling?
P: Feeling of heat and restlessness. I forget everything else when I make a tune. I
become restlessness in the sense that I go out and walk to and fro. I beat my head like
that and I get restless until I get the tune.
D: What is the feeling of restless inside you?
P: As if like there is a dam and the flow has been stopped. As if there is something like
a delicate cloth stopping it and if I pierce it, then the water will come.
Comment: here we see an example, a metaphor: “As if there is a dam and the flow has
been stopped…” This is symbolic of the patient’s delusion.
D: So what is the experience there?
P: As if I get to have a new experience.
D: Describe the words ‘new experience’.
P: Like discovering something new, like the new tune I am discovering. I have a fear of
death, but I feel that death will also be a new experience. There is a curiosity: ‘What
will be after that?’ When composing a poem, if I don’t get a word I become restless until
I find the word.
Comment: at this time, we get the experience of the patient: “As if I am discovering
something new.” Also, we see here that he feels that even though he has a fear death,
“death will also be a new experience.”
D: What are the other symptoms do you have?
P: Burning heat in the soles, then palms, then earlobes. I feel it particularly in the
month of September and whenever I sit free. The heat is more when I have not slept or
19
when I try to sleep after I get up. This heat prevents me from sleeping. I get annoyed
by the heat. Sometimes, I feel even the bed has become warm, so I have to change the
cushion.
Comment: there are more interesting and peculiar physical general symptoms –
warmth in the bed causes restlessness; heat in general aggravates him, and again he
speaks about heat extending upwards to his earlobes.
D: Tell me a little bit about your nature and temperament?
P: I am emotional. For example, I saw on the news that a woman delivered a child on
the road and left him on the road and went away. I was crying the whole night.
D: What was your feeling?
P: I also have a small daughter, so I was comparing what must be happening with the
child.
D: What will happen?
P: The innocent child will die, how did this happen?
Comment: again, note his sensitivity to life and death in a different situation.
D: To what other matters are you sensitive?
P: When diseases happens to family members, like when my nephews are ill. I feel I
cannot treat them and they should get better as soon as possible. Also, I have farm
land, so when the laborers come I feel bad about their lifestyle, about their poverty. I
pay for their work completely. When I go shopping, I feel guilty because they get so
little money while I am spending my money on small things. I am also sensitive to when
people do not look after their parents. I feel like crying when alone. I don’t want to
show my emotions because people will laugh at me and I will feel bad.
D: What are your interests and hobbies?
P: Music and reading books. I read so I can know many things and while talking, I can
give people references to convince them of my thoughts. I like to read new things. I
was always first in school and wanted to keep that position.
D: Why is it important to convince others of your thoughts?
P: I have an inferiority complex.
D: What is it?
P: I cannot convince people, I cannot put forth my ideas.
Comment: here, we see an important part of his personality. His hobbies and interests
include music, reading books, and reading new things. More interestingly, we see a
concept of this ‘inferiority complex’ resulting from not being able to put forward and
convince others of his thoughts; this is also something to consider when looking at his
individuality.
D: Anything more about yourself?
P: I am religious. I know that when I get a disease, I will die. I thank God for my
achievement.
20
D: What achievement?
P: When I got married, I thanked God. I went on my honeymoon and I thanked God
again. I thought I would never get this. I have no fear of God, I take Him as a friend. I
can share everything with Him.
Comment: also, the patient is admittedly religious – another important facet to his
whole picture.
D: Generally how is your appetite?
P: It is good, I get hungry between 11-12pm and in the evening around 7pm.
D: Do you sweat much or little?
P: I sweat more on axillary areas, palm and soles, it is quite smelly.
D: What illnesses have you had in the past?
P: I was operated for haemorrhoids. It was a precipitating infection.
D: When you have to speak on stage do you have anxiety?
P: Yes, in the beginning. I am physically weak, so I get hurt and nervous when
someone is a big shot or something. At that time, I become angry.
D: You have made a drawing, tell me what comes to your mind?
P: I am trapped and I am trying to come out.
D: Describe this – what is the experience to feel trapped?
P: Uneasy, like I am smothered. It is difficult to breath and it feels like somebody is
pulling me.
Comment: this last experience of being trapped, feeling smothered, difficult to breathe,
and someone is pulling, is another delusion.
D: How often do you get this oedema?
P: For the last three to four years.
Final Analysis
To start the case analysis, we have to look at what systematically occurred in the case.
The entry point in the case was his fears: he fears of been beaten, scolded, death, a
serious disease like cancer, a bomb, airplanes, that something will come, and the
reaction to these fears is that he has to go running home. Next, we have fear of people
laughing at him, failure and losing his first position. These are all of his fears, which are
very important. These are very intense fears, very panic-like.
One of the main, peculiar things about the patient, however, is his clinging or holding.
This is the strongest in him – until the age of nine, he was still breast-feeding. Again, he
says: “It was like an addiction.”
21
On investigation of his dreams, you firstly see that there are so many dreams, and in
one of them he is flying. We see up and down movements, even in the dream with the
rickshaw driver, who is sinking into quicksand, going down. So this sensation of up and
down movement is coming again in his dreams.
When you combine this clinging aspect to the up and down sensation of the dreams,
fears and panic, it points you towards the second row of the Mineral kingdom. The
remedy one can think of is Borax.
However, I did not choose this remedy because there was something else very
essential. When I asked about the financial loss, he said: “I become panicked. I get
fullness in chest. I get palpitations, as if blood is going to my head. My ears and palms
become hot, there is sweating on palms, and a feeling of heat and general body.” I
found this fascinating and knew that these are sure symptoms that can be found in the
repertory.
So, when we traveled into the area of the case where he composes his music he says:
“There is a dam and the water is stopped and you have to pierce it and then water has
to come out…and therefore, you have a new experience.”
This is an exact description of the labor process. He is in a stage of labor where the
amniotic sac has to burst and he needs to come out.
As a result, we then see there are two aspects of the case: one side is clinging, holding
on, and cannot let it go, and on the other hand, you see the need to burst the sac,
come out and have a new experience.
Once you can see both of these polarities, then you come to the remedy Carbon.
22
In Carbon you have two sides: one is the clinging side and the other side is the wanting
to come out. He does not know where he is – inside or outside of the womb – thus,
these are the two sides of Carbon.
Similarly to our patient, a stage of Carbon would also have the fear of death, but the
death is also a new experience because one does not know what will come. Again, we
see that on one side there is a holding on and on the other side a desire to let go, and
to go for new experiences. This is very peculiar as well.
We conclude that his remedy has to something to do with Carbon, and once we
establish this, then we need to examine further.
So now, which Carbon does he need?
Here, I only depend on the symptoms to confirm.
His main peculiar symptom is burning heat, burning heat of palms, soles and ears. What
is peculiar is that this burning and heat is more while in bed and it prevents him
sleeping.
Let us take the rubrics:
1. Sleep; SLEEPLESSNESS; warmth agg. (14)
2. Generalities; HEATED, warmed, hot, becoming; agg. (221)
3. Generalities; HEAT; extending; upward (46)
From the above repertorization of these peculiar symptoms, the only two remedies we
get are Sulphur and Carbo animalis.
Therefore, I thought of giving him Carboneum sulphuricum.
I thought of Sulphur because of the string of elements of this remedy that resemble the
patient including embarrassment, his desire gain knowledge, to know many things, so
he can discuss with many people. These are all the symptoms of Sulphur.
After matching the sensation and the symptoms, I see the remedy Carboneum
sulphuricum in the Materia Medica:
-
Delusion, he is falling in a hole
Delusion, he will received injury (as he said his first fear was that people will
beat him)
23
Delusion, talking about money – this is another important symptom, he talks
about how he fears poverty and about money
-
Religious affections is in Sulphur
-
And the whole thing of inferiority complex is in Sulphur
-
Perspiration offensive, again is a strong indication for Sulphur
Lastly, you come to the patient’s drawing, which again indicates the labor process
experience: “Something is holding me, not letting me; I feel smothered and it is difficult
to breathe. I am trapped and I need to come out.” This is typical of Carbon. So, in the
drawing, he again takes you back to confirm Carbon.
Overall, we see that there are strong symptoms of both Sulphur and Carboneum
sulphuricum.
Prescription: Carboneum sulphuricum 200C. He received this potency because he is at
Level 3, the level of emotions.
Rubrics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Sleep; SLEEPLESSNESS; warmth agg. (14)
Generalities; HEATED, warmed, hot, becoming; agg. (221)
Generalities; HEAT; extending; upward (46)
Mind; DELUSIONS, imaginations; injury; receive, will (19)
Mind; DELUSIONS, imaginations; falling; he is; hole, in a (4)
Mind; DELUSIONS, imaginations; money; talks of (4)
Mind; RELIGIOUS affections (139)
I believe that in most cases, you have to use the old and new together, both System
and Symptoms. The System will give you the crux and the Symptom(s) will give you
the hard facts, the inarguable data. Suppose you come through rubrics and
repertorizing to the remedy, you then have to see if the sensation and the experience
also match.
In this case, you have think what is central – clinging, fears, dreams, panic, holding on
and letting go from the System side – indicating a Carbon remedy, along with the
embarrassment, need for knowledge, inferiority complex, general aggravation from
heat, heat ascending upwards, and the burning of the soles, palms and earlobes from
the Symptoms side – indicating the Sulphur component.
24
The Synergy approach to homeopathic case-taking provides a much needed integration
and unification between the old schools of thought and the new. The advantages of this
approach are that it is highly reproducible and provides homeopaths with a newfound
confidence in their clinical practice.
Follow-ups
Follow-up 1: six months later
D: How are you feeling?
P: Calm, fresh and much more energetic.
D: Very good reports, creatinine has gone down to 0.9 from 1.2. Tell me, how are you?
P: Joyful, better. Getting interest in those things, which before I was not interested in,
poetry, musical instruments. I also practice.
D: What is the difference?
P: Before, I used to feel very tired, but now I wait to go to the clinic. I handle stressful
situations better. Last night, I went to a marriage, and the bridegroom had peptic acid
complaints, so I did my homeopathy properly, without my usual skepticism and lack of
confidence. My way of thinking has changed.
D: In what way?
25
P: I used to think, how will I examine someone in front of so many people, what if
people laugh at me if I forget something? I used to neglect text messages, but now I
feel my creativity level has also increased. I reply in poetry. I feel I should reply
creatively.
D: How is the feeling?
P: Pleasant feeling, like flying in the air parallel to the ground. I am happy, and I am
spreading the happiness. My heart is filled with joy, like filled with water, and
sometimes, like waves. If I get a subject, then I write about it.
D: What about all those anxieties?
P: The anxieties have decreased. But I feel I’ll get diabetes. There is no disturbance, if
there is disturbance I pass that and fly. Cool feeling. For example: the cool oil you put
on your head and then I sit below the fan. I feel relaxed, weightless. I feel like I am in
my own world. I have no sad feelings.
D: How is your sleep?
P: I sleep soundly.
D: How much do you feel better?
P: 60 % better.
D: We will repeat the same medicine.
P: I am with this doctor who will help taper the medicine. She said my spleen and liver
are no longer palpable.
Prescription: Carboneum sulphuricum 200C
Follow-up 2: one year later
D: How are you now?
P: I am more energetic now. I am doing things which didn’t do in the past, like
playing music. I feel better. I feel lightness, weightlessness.
D: Where do you feel it?
P: In my entire body. Like the fear.
D: Tell me a little more?
P: I’m going slowly with the air. Cool. The burning which I used to get has improved, I
feel cool there now. When I got this disease, I had seen a song which I used to avoid
playing, but now I have the courage play it. I was thinking that I would get the fear
again, together with the heat.
D: What is the change?
P: Now, I can see that song and reason with it. I feel more courageous and enthusiastic.
I used to feel anxious that someone could feel bad with what I said but now I can
manage that. My energy level has increased despite traveling long distances.
D: How is your sleep?
26
P: Sound; my dreams have also decreased.
D: Earlier you used to get anxious and fearful?
P: Yeah, my fears have decreased. I can talk to people with more courage.
D: Your creatinine levels also normal. I’ll give you another dose of the remedy, and
assess the creatinine again.
Prescription: Carboneum sulphuricum 200C
Categories: Cases
Keywords: synergy method, synergy, kingdom, subkingdom, source, nephrotic
syndrome
Remedies: Carboneum sulphuricum
The simplicity of homeopathic practice
by Sunirmal Sarkar
Nowadays in homoeopathic practice, with newer approaches addressing thematic
representations of remedies and with newer provings emerging, practitioners have
forgotten the fundamental and basic principles of homoeopathy and have largely shifted
away from the practice of traditional and foundational homoeopathy.
My approach to homoeopathy can be summed up in one word, simple. Most things in life
are simple and should be kept simple, and homoeopathic practice is not an exception to
this tenet. To be a fine homoeopath, one does not need to be intelligent, wealthy or have
good contacts. A fine homoeopath must be honest, dedicated, and most importantly,
have a large amount of courage to survive against all odds. My approach is overall very
simple – the aim is to find out the most characteristic symptoms in the case and prescribe
on these very symptoms. These characteristic symptoms can come in the form of
keynote(s), rubrics, themes, pathologies or even a sensation. When this characteristic
symptom is established and is sure, the remedy is prescribed based on this.
The Kolkata Approach is backed by impressive clinical results and a growing acceptance
of homoeopathic practitioners and students all across India. The goal is to simply share
and spread this knowledge of homoeopathic medicine to my colleagues in India and all
over the world in order to facilitate more success in homoeopathic practice.
27
I should also mention that my experience and practice has been mainly and hugely
influenced by Dr. Burnett. I have read and memorized all of his material, and the results
have been fruitful. His work has helped me tremendously in my own clinical practice.
Other masters, including Pulford, M.L. Tyler, Allen, Boericke, Boger, P. Sankaran, Hering,
Nash, Knerr, Bernoville, Blackie, Borland, N.M. Choudhuri, John Henry Clarke, Farrington,
Lippe and Teste. Matthew Woods has influenced my clinical practice greatly as well. Also,
my in-depth reading of Allopathic Pharmacopeia has contributed to my vast knowledge
which has definitely helped me to become a well-versed practitioner.
Another word about the role of other remedies, like sarcodes, allopathic drugs, Indian
drugs, biochemical drugs, organ-specific drugs: many of these types of remedies are
needed in pathological cases. Using one remedy and one dose in pathological cases has
not proven to be efficacious in my clinical practice.
What is greatly needed for prescription is the current symptom totality. I look at the
current symptom totality and prescribe the remedy which is closest to this totality. I also
take into account the pathogenesis of the remedy and the patient.
For me, the first prescription is just the beginning. Often, in pathological cases, the
patient requires a change in the remedy. In fact, this change can happen as often as
every 1 or 2 months, because disease patterns are rapidly changing.
Most diseases today are complicated by allopathic medicines, hormonal dysfunctions,
addictions like alcohol and tobacco and a past history of illnesses. All of these factors
must be taken into account when prescribing.w23
My earnest appeal to the younger generation who practice homeopathic medicine is to try
to learn the materia medica and repertory by heart. More importantly, apply it and have
the guts and confidence to prescribe homoeopathic medicines even in deeply pathological
cases.
When I approach a case, I begin looking for a chronology of events. I ask questions such
as: “When and how did it start, what were the first symptoms, which organ system is
affected, what were the characteristics of those symptoms at that time?” In addition, I
also look at the direction in which the symptoms move: “Which side did it start on, did it
move or did it stay in a local area?”
28
I aim to elicit exact symptoms and look for the causative factors – there may be one, or
usually there are many. With each symptom, location, sensation, modality and
concomitant are critical to complete the symptom and to aid in prescribing an accurate
remedy.
When investigating each symptom, I explore it in depth until I get a peculiar
characteristic. This can be in any area of the case: mental, emotional or physical. I
emphasize the importance of peculiar symptoms because that is what will ultimately help
to match the patient to the remedy. I also place great importance on concomitant
symptoms as they will help to quantify and qualify the experience of the patient.
Usually, the mind symptoms come at the very end. Unlike other schools of homoeopathy
who investigate the mind and mental picture of the patient first, I choose to leave it to
the end. If we start with mind symptoms, then we theorize and conceptualize what the
patient says. This is dangerous because if the mind symptoms are not clear and exact,
then you are at a risk of theorizing. It is much more useful to start with the symptoms
that are sure and dependable – choose symptoms that are factual.
In a clinical setting, we must try to understand the “apparent” behaviour of the patient,
and must question whether or not what they are showing is true. Is there a shield that
the patient is putting up or are they revealing their true self? We have to distinguish
between persona versus reality: persona is a mask or shield, and as homoeopathic
practitioners, we have to aim to remove the mask and find the reality. In order to do this,
we must first and foremost analyze ourselves before others. If the patient is comfortable
with the physician then you can find out hidden information. When there is a good bond
at an emotional level with the patient, you can ask about the mental symptoms. Once
your patient is weeping in front of you, it is the best example that a good is bond
developed.
At each level of the case, I choose the symptoms that are factually reliable, dependable
and solid. Once I have a good grasp on these symptoms, I have a few remedies in my
mind and the rest of the case is just a confirmation of one of these remedies. Eventually,
I find a remedy that correlates with most aspects in the case.
Objective observations (eg. white-coated tongue, mapped tongue, hot body and cold
extremities) and overall constitution (eg. fat, thin, tall) are also critical to success in
clinical practice. I often use physical examination and objective observations as
confirmatory symptoms. Physical generals like perspiration, menses history,
appetite/cravings/aversions, and sleep position are also key in clinical practice and aid in
confirming the remedy of choice. Family history and personal history are also areas which
I investigate throughout my case-taking. Other important things to consider include
addictions (ex. smoking and alcoholism) and what the patient is exposed to (for example,
does the patient work in close quarters with petroleum or cement?). Dreams are also
important and can assist in prescription.
In summary, when I take a case, I build a solid foundation, addressing the pathology,
toxicology, symptomatology and then the mind. It is a hierarchy which helps to organize
my approach to cases and case taking.
I also frequently utilize the Ladder of Remedies concept of Dr. Burnett, to assist in
chronic, complex cases. A ladder approach uses a series of remedies one after another,
which ultimately lead to the restoration of the health in the patient. I find that to
effectively help patients, the ladder approach is very beneficial because it targets the
patient’s current ailments at the same moment they are experiencing them. With the
ladder approach, you can treat the presenting picture of the patient and move onto the
next remedy when that picture is no longer present. It should be mentioned that I do not
employ or use poly-pharmacy (prescribing multiple remedies at the same time). Suppose
a patient comes with an organ-specific problem, we can simply employ the use of an
organ-specific remedy to alleviate their suffering. Once this suffering has been reduced or
eliminated, a new picture of the patient will come up, and we can prescribe on the new
totality.
29
Case
Case of Grade 2B Squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix
Summary: this is a case of a fifty-two-year-old woman who had four children. Her
symptoms were blood mixed with vaginal discharge. She has been menopausal for the
past two months. She is an extremely chilly patient who cannot tolerate damp weather;
she gets a cough and cold in damp weather. She has pain in her lower left abdomen and
a family history of cancer. Mentally, she is fearful and gets scared easily. She does not
remember her dreams.
Investigations: the report shows that there is a mass in the cervix, 3.15cm X 2.29cm,
indicative of a cancerous mass.
Prescription:
1: Calendula 10M, 4 doses
2: after fifteen days, Radium bromide 30, twice a day for fourteen days. This is one of the
main remedies which I give as an intercurrent in cancers, especially cancer of the cervix
with hard indurations.
Follow-up after one month: the patient is better and the bleeding and pains have
stopped. The remaining symptoms of aggravation from damp weather is still there.
Prescription:
1: Calendula 10M, 4 doses
2: Placebo, for fifteen days
3: Hydrocotyle asiatica 1X, twice a day for one month. This is the main remedy for
cervical cancer and erosions with thickening. It is one of the Indian drugs that I use as an
intercurrent.
Follow-up after one more month: there is bleeding of a dark color, with pain. This is
an indication for the remedy Ficus religiosa.
Prescription:
1: Ficus religiosa 200, twice a day for fifteen days
2: after fifteen days, 5-Fluorouracil 30, twice a day for fourteen days. This is a pyrimidine
analog, which is used in the treatment of cancer.
Follow-up after two more months: the patient overall is much better. The pain is not
there, although the bleeding increased.
Prescription:
1: Ficus religiosa 200, twice a day for fifteen days
2: Placebo, for fifteen days
Follow-up after another one month: the patient is feeling chilly, she cannot tolerate
hunger. She has vaginal discharge but no bleeding. She is wearing thick, woolen clothing,
and has revealed that she had a history of skin eruptions. These are all indications for the
remedy Psorinum.
Prescription:
1: Psorinum 10M, 4 doses
2: Placebo, for fifteen days
3: Hydrocotyle asiatica 30, twice a day for fifteen days
Final Follow-up: overall the improvement has been remarkable.
Investigations: the most recent investigations reveal that the mass has disappeared
during the last 4-5 months; the diagnosticians have written that the cervix is slightly
thickened, which shows that the pathology has reversed.
30
Photo: Shutterstock
Keep it simple; cartoonresource
Categories: Cases
Keywords: pathology, toxicology, symptomatology, sarcodes, allopathic drugs,
biochemical drugs, organ specific drugs, symptom totality
Remedies: Calendula, Ficus religiosa, Fluorouracil, Hydrocotyle asiatica, Psorinum,
Radium bromide
am not free to do what I want: a case of Sepia
by Devang Shah
This is a case of thirty-four-year-old female, a yoga instructor by profession. She was
diagnosed with vasomotor rhinitis which she had for the past three months. She was into
the fourth month of pregnancy when I saw her first in February, 2014.
The patient said that her nose was frequently blocked and was worse on lying down, from
dust, and in a cold environment. She felt better when she exercised, did aerobics, and
climbed stairs. This rhinitis resulted in tremendous fatigue, as a consequence of which
she found it very difficult to remain motivated and energized, a must in her profession.
She felt a lot of anger towards her mother. She described herself as a person who
brooded about small things and would weep easily. She had to take a lot of responsibility
at an early age due to which she felt that she was forced to grow up very early on in life.
She did not have her freedom, the freedom to choose what she wanted to do. This led to
lot of pent-up anger towards her mother. She loved to be active, doing exercises like
aerobics, but her rhinitis drained her of all energy, restricting her from being active. She
is afraid to be herself in front of others.
At this point, she was asked to describe her dreams.
Patient: I dream of anger and resentment towards my mother. Running in the forest to
escape from evil.
It was apparent that the issue of anger and resentment, which the patient had at a
conscious level, is emerging in her dreams as well.
Devang Shah (D): Describe this issue with your mother?
P: My mother is a very controlling type and has made my life miserable. She would
threaten and hit us.
D: What was your experience then?
P: I felt powerless, vulnerable, and helpless. There was no control in my life. I felt that
the relationship with my mother should have given me comfort, security, and warmth.
D: Describe this comfort, security, and warmth?
P: It is physical affection, connection, like snuggling in a blanket, cozy, protected, warm
and secure. Like a vault with a thick strong layer that no one can penetrate.
D: Describe cozy and protected?
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P: Curled up, in a safe zone of comfort, no harm.
D: What you mean by ‘harm’?
P: Someone doing something to me; forcing me, lifting me.
D: Talk more about this harm.
When asked about the harm, her memory goes to the experience of her childhood where
she was scared of robbers.
D: What did you experience there?
P: They can violate our space; they can rob, kill or rape me. Robbers made me feel
vulnerable.
The experience of vulnerable for her is of being under power, helpless like a baby who is
innocent, dependent and delicate. If this is her core experience then it has to be seen in
other areas of her life as well, so I ask a question which is not related to this aspect – a
very lateral question.
D: What items in news, movies and serials are you sensitive to?
P: I cannot see violence, someone hitting someone, heartless people, a weaker person
being hit by stronger one.
At this point, she immediately connects with her trauma as a child where her mother
used to hit her. Once, she saw a man hitting a nine-year-old on the road and after this
sight she developed fever for four days. The feeling that people can be so violent and
heartless is something that she cannot see.
We see in a completely different situation of her life that she comes back to the same
experience of ‘weak and strong, victim and aggressor’, which is the theme of Animal
kingdom.
The patient has desire for fish, and an aversion to idli (a South Indian fermented dish
made of rice). She has a strong thirst for water and is chilly.
Understanding the case
We see the experience as vulnerable, powerless, and helpless, like a delicate baby and
wanting to be safe, secure, cozy, protected like in a vault and warm. There is someone
who is controlling or harming her. This is the language of a victim. An aggressor wants to
harm and the victim experiences vulnerability and powerlessness and wants to be in safe
secure protected zone of comfort. This points to the Animal kingdom.[1]
Once the kingdom is clear, we go on to analyze the subkingdom. Her experience is of
feeling vulnerable, powerless, helpless, delicate, harm versus protection, safe, secure,
cozy and warmth. The particular sub-kingdom that corresponds to this is the mollusks.
The mollusks are soft bodied animals covered by a shell. The softness or delicateness of
their bodies makes them vulnerable to the external world; as result they have a
protective covering, the shell, which provides them with safety and security. Mollusks are
further divided into gastropoda, cephalopoda, and bivalves. Some evolved mollusks have
lost their shell and hence are very mobile.[2]
Each subkingdom of the mollusks has their individual features. In this case, the kingdom
and subkingdom were very clear. The question was which mollusk to prescribe. Here the
symptoms were well represented, too, pointing directly to Sepia.
32
Roger van Zandvoort, Complete Repertory, Mac Repertory, 8.2.01, Professional, Kent
Homoeopathic Associates
We see Sepia coming up most prominently in the Repertorisation and it belongs to the
mollusk subkingdom of remedies. On reading Rajan Sankaran’s ‘Soul of Remedies’, we
see: “The main feeling of the Sepia woman is that she is forced to undertake things
opposed to her intentions, to do what she doesn't want to do. It is a chronic situation in
which she has been dominated and not allowed to have her way. She feels forced to
accept situations against her will, because of her feeling of not being good enough. This
makes her miserable and she feels unfortunate.”
33
She felt controlled by her mother, unable to have her own freedom. She was forced to on
a take lot of responsibilities at an early age.
Sepia has also the theme of rape (dreams of rape).
The main fear with robbers was of being robbed but more important was of being raped,
violating my space.
Prescription: Sepia 200C
She received Sepia 200 twice a day for two days a month for period of nine months. In
the first three months, there were a couple of acute relapses of the cold, which subsided
with a repeat of the remedy.
After six months, the cold was more than 80% better. Her energy levels improved; she
could sleep well without any nasal congestion. She delivered a baby boy by normal birth.
More importantly, the sensation of being controlled reduced by half. Her relationship with
her mother improved so that she was able to cope with her controlling behavior more
easily. She is enjoying a life free of vasomotor rhinitis.
[1] Rajan Sankaran, The Sensation in Homoeopathy, second Edition, 2005, Vital
Sensation and the Kingdoms, Miasms, Homoeopathic Medical Publishers
[2] Rajan Sankaran, Survival – Mollusks, Homoeopathic Medical Publishers
Photo: Shutterstock
Common cuttlefish; aquapix
Categories: Cases
Keywords: vasomotor rhinitis, resentment towards mother, vulnerable, fear of robbers
and violence, mollusc
Remedies: Sepia
Fearless, excitable, and itchy: a case of Origanum
by Sadaf Ulde
On April 20th 2011, a six-year-old girl was brought by her mother with complaints of
recurring rhinitis and masturbation. According to her mother, the child was suffering
from low immunity and was not gaining weight. In addition to this, she had developed a
habit of lying on her bed and masturbating. The mother noticed her passing her time
this way whenever idle, if not reading or watching TV. This behavior had been
observable for the past four or five months.
She would get recurrent cold and coryza with a change of weather, or from the even
slight changes in her diet.
Her mother described her as very moody and unable to stay in one place. She disliked
studying. Further, her mother said: “I feel she is too matured for her age. She asks
funny questions like, ‘Do you know how I was in your stomach ? Do you know where I
came from?” She would become very interested when any adult scene appeared on
television. Before a romantic scene she would announce: “The next scene will be a
lovemaking scene!” She will tell her grandmother: “Come, I will find a boy for you to
marry.”
She enjoys watching the Cartoon Network, television soaps and movies. She prefers to
eat a lot of junk foods, especially candies such as toffees.
34
While her mother was narrating her complaints, she was constantly running and
jumping around. She would not talk softly but she was very loud, laughing and making
a lot of mischief. Sometimes, she would sing and dance.
As her mother was talking, she would at times touch her mother’s breast or touch her
private places, make a comment and laugh. Her mother remarked that she sometimes
has no manners in what she is doing and saying.
Her manner of foolish behavior reminded me strongly of Hyoscyamus, so I asked the
mother if her daughter had any fear. She replied that she had no fear at all: “She knows
only one thing and that is fooling around and playing; she is very mischievous. She is
not scared of anything but enjoys making others scared. Tell her to go alone into a dark
room and she will go and enjoy it.”
When I talked with the child, she said she would like to become a model or a television
actress because she would like to wear all kinds of sexy clothes. As she was telling
about this, she was dancing and showing me how she would do a catwalk. I asked what
she likes about this, but she only said “it’s fun”, and that she likes wearing such clothes.
She has been having dreams about her grandfather who recently died. She said: “He
comes with many colorful toys, gifts, balloons, chocolates and cake for me, and there is
a party on the terrace of our building; all the families of the building are invited, and I
am having a lot of fun.”
Without any fears reported in any areas of her life, I could not prescribe Hyoscyamus, a
remedy of the Solanaceae family, of which the main sensation is fear and terror. So,
what to do next?
I decided to look for characteristics in her main complaint. With her mother’s help, I
inquired whether she has any problem in her vaginal area. She answered that she has a
lot of itching! Her mother then said that occasionally the groin area is red, and the child
had at times been complaining about itching in the genital area.
Here, I felt was a solid characteristic. I searched in Phatak’sRepertory and found the
rubric: ‘Masturbation, female children, due to pruritis vulvae’.[1] There are three
remedies: Caladium, Origanum, and Zinc.
Then, from my observation, using the Synthesis Repertory in Radar 10.5.003, Shroyens
F Synthesis 2009 , I took the following rubrics:
Phatak S. R., Concise Repertory
MIND - Masturbation - females XXX - children due to pruritus vulvae
MIND - FANCIES - lascivious
MIND - CHEERFUL
MIND - DANCING
MIND - LEWDNESS
MIND - RUNS about
MIND - PRECOCITY of children
FEMALE GENITALIA/SEX - ITCHING – Vulva
35
The result of repertorisation was as follows:
Among the remedies appearing, the first remedy stood out as unusual, and it was also
strong in the first rubric. I turned to the homoeopathic literature to examine it and
found the following information:
FromPhatak’sMateria Medica[2]: Sweet Marjoram strongly affects the female sexual
organs. Increased desire for coitus. Eroto-mania with inclination to commit suicide.
Great sexual excitement driving her to masturbation. Lascivious ideas; impulses,
dreams. Swelling and itching of nipples and pains in breast. Thoughts of marriage,
which dispel sadness. Desire for active exercises, impelling her to run.
From Knerr’s Repertory[3]:



GENITALS: IRRITATION: HYSTERIA CAUSES
Sexual excitement: increased desire
SEXUAL EXCITEMENT: INCREASED DESIRE: LASCIVIOUS IDEAS, WITH
36



SEXUAL EXCITEMENT: INCREASED DESIRE: ONANISM, DRIVING HER TO
Sexual excitement: nymphomania
SEXUAL EXCITEMENT: NYMPHOMANIA: YOUNG GIRL, IN A
From Kent’s Repertory[4]:
Itching: voluptuous
Origanum belongs to the Labiatae family, where the main sensations are:





Excitement: vivid, pleasant, and tremulous
Exhilaration, rush of ideas, loquacity, vivacity, enjoyment
Excitability, irritability
Fright, anxiety
Unpleasant surprises
Prescription: Origanum 1M, twice a day for two days, followed by daily Sac lac
Follow up on 20/07/2011: she has not been seen to masturbate and has ceased
complaining of itching. She continues to lack in concentration and is generally still in a
very excited state. In the interview, she does some drawing, laughs, plays around and
talks in the same manner. Her mother says that her appetite has improved, and she has
had no incident of any cold or coryza.
Remedy: Sac lac twice a day for one month
Follow-up on 13/09/2011: she has not been seen masturbating, but has developed
a cold with coryza and fever. She continues to be unable to remain in one place. I
observed that she was enjoying her time off school and was happily running about.
I ask about her dreams, and she says: “Grandfather has come with lot of gifts and we
at home are celebrating.”
Her mother reported that she has had continuous running nose and coughing. The day
before the cold began, she ate and drank a lot of cold things at a party, including water
which was iced and of poor quality. She had one episode of fever with chills and she
was active with the fever. Not many characteristic symptoms were seen in the acute,
and I observed that her usual high level of activity was continuing in that illness.
Prescription: Origanum 1M, followed by Sac lac, twice a day for one month
Follow-up on 17/01/2012: she is no longer seen to masturbate nor has she
complained of any kind of vaginal irritation. Her concentration has improved, although
she is still mischievous and dislikes studies, like many children of her age. She obeys
orders given to her. She has had no further episodes of cold and coryza and her weight
and appetite are improving. Overall, she is in good health.
Remedy: Sac lac twice a day for one month
This child is my neighbor and often drops by asking for “the sweet pills”. After taking
Sac lac, she feels very happy and excited.
[1]Phatak, S. R., and D. S. Phatak. A concise repertory of homoeopathic medicines.
New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers, 2001.
[2]Phatak, S. R.. "Origanum." Materia medica of homoeopathic medicines. New Delhi:
India Books & Periodicals Syndicate, 1982. 446 - 447.
37
[3] Calvin Knerr. A Repertory of Hering's Guiding Symptoms, 2 vols. Calcutta: M.
Bhattachariyya, 1936. 2nd ed.
[4]Kent, J. T., and Clara Louise Kent. Repertory of the homoeopathic materiamedica.
New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers, 1998.
Photo: Shutterstock
Origanum vulgare; Martin Fowler
Categories: Cases
Keywords: masturbation in children, excitable, lascivious, lewdness, precocity
Remedies: Origanum
I am a short-tempered, selfish loner: a case of
Androctonus
by Rishi Vyas
This thirty-two-year-old man was first seen on 13th July, 2013. When I first scanned the
case record form he had filled, it was very apparent that he hardly had any physical
complaints. He had mainly come to me so that I could help him with his short temper.
P: I am very short tempered. I am also very selfish. I come across as a loner, I like to be
alone… My anger is terrible, which I regret later on. My biggest fear is that I may do
something terrible in anger
(Observation: restless legs). My sleep is not good. I get very restless. I get intensely
angry even when driving on the road, real road rage. I get very impulsive when driving.
Even when telling you about it, I am feeling angry.
me more about this anger.
D: Tell
P: I am very punctual. I get very irritated if someone is late or if I get late. Then, I feel as
if my blood is boiling, I become very aggressive and throw things. There is intense
aggression in me then. I become angry if someone ditches me, if someone is not on time.
I am used to having my own way, anything else makes me angry.
38
D: Tell me more about having your own way.
P: I want to do everything the way I want, otherwise I get very angry. I start screaming
and become abusive. I feel like punching. I shout at the top of my voice. I often hit the
cupboard very hard. I feel that I am right. I do not listen to people. I am selfish that way.
I just want to do everything my way. I am very quick to act, almost impulsive, I react
very fast.
D: Tell more about wanting everything your way.
P: When they tell me something, I feel that they are attacking me. I become defensive.
There is lot of aggression in me, I start screaming. I feel very bad. If someone does not
listen to me, I feel bad. No one should say ‘no’ to anything I suggest. I have a lot of ego.
How can they say ‘no’?!! In my ego, I sometimes do things which are not right.
As a child, I was very aggressive too. I used to take the chair and hit it on the floor or I
kicked the bucket hard in anger. I was not afraid to say ‘no’ to someone if I did not like
something. Even today, I am very opinionated; I form quick opinions. It is like a doubleedged sword, my anger and opinionated nature; I know it is wrong, but I cannot control
it. It is just that I cannot control my mind. I do something and thirty seconds later I
regret it. I know my actions have no justification.
D: Tell more about your nature.
P: I am very lazy. Sometimes, I care about things and sometimes I don’t. It is like I have
a lot of ego and sometimes I don’t. I am both selfish and selfless. I am not close to
people. One month I have a lot of friends and the next month I don’t know where they
are. If someone is not respectful towards me, I feel bad quickly. We have a family
business; I am a team player in that. I do not feel jealous of other people (Observation:
loquacity).
I do not feel jealous, but if there is no recognition, I feel bad and I want to be alone and
not talk to anyone. I will quarrel if anyone talks to me then. I just don’t want to be
disturbed. I just sit quiet for a long time, maybe I am randomly thinking then or maybe I
have no thoughts. This happens three or four times a week. My wife thinks that I am
becoming antisocial, but I don’t feel I am…..
I am very sensitive in comparison with anyone. I am not very ambitious. I want a good
night’s sleep. I feel that I should have a comfortable life. I have a tendency to snap easily
at my wife. She is very ambitious. I do not sulk over things, just get things done in a
jiffy. In the process, I can be very selfish. I can detach very fast, hardly have any
attachment. I feel I am strongly connected to someone, but in a minute there is no
contact. Maybe I do not care, maybe I do not have a good communication. I did say I
was friendly and open earlier… Sorry! I have no hang ups later.
I have a dream of being recognized, that many people know me, respect me. I expect
that people should speak up and tell me if they do not like me. I am not diplomatic….
I have now a fair idea of his main complaint, anger, and of his nature. So, I would like to
see how he reacts in different situation. It is important for me to know how his original
nature was, his nature as a child. This is where I will get a true uncompromised picture of
his nature.
D: Tell me about your childhood.
P: I had a lot of issues with my grandfather, I did not like him. He was always controlling
my father when I was young. He was drunk all the time. I used to scream at him. I hated
him and always wondered why my father could not stand up against him. I felt like taking
a stand for my father but could not bear thinking what others would say. When my dad
came home from the office, he would tell me of the humiliation he faced. When I heard all
39
that, I felt very bad. I was very angry, I felt like screaming, abusing, just going away and
I felt intense anxiety in my stomach. I used to be very upset by how my grandfather used
to control my father so much, always putting my father down. Watching this, I was so
angry that I wanted to kill my grandfather. Maybe he did not like the fact that my father
was going to pass him on the ladder of success. My father had been to Harvard and he
was the first in the family to do so, so my grandfather did not like it. I wanted my father
to move away from him.
My grandfather was a very negative person; he kept on complaining that he was always
alone. I did not like it, I wanted to have fun, so I moved away from home. When I had to
come back home, I did not like it. I was very angry. It did not feel like home anymore. I
felt like locking myself in the room and not talking to anyone. I felt everyone there was a
hypocrite and that everyone was like an animal. We were like entertainment for servants.
I missed the peace of mind.
I do not like politics, so I keep people at a distance. I make good friends, but sometimes I
would just close up and snap at a person, so there is no lasting attachment.
D: Tell me about your interest and hobbies.
P: I like sports, I’m almost fanatic about National Football League. I also like golf and
cricket. I played a lot of soccer and basketball during college but never pursued it further.
The experience in playing is totally different all together. I like competitiveness. I want to
win when I play, I am not like that at work. I am not very ambitious. In school too, I
used to just get cut off marks. Even at work, I do not like being at work constantly.
People suggest different things, do this, do that, then I get very angry and feel like
shouting a lot. I do not feel like working a lot. For example, if a client is expected to visit
at 10 am, I feel there is no use reaching the office by 9 am.
He loves non-vegetarian food (he belongs to a strictly vegetarian family) and likes red
meat, steak, hamburgers, alcohol++, berries and fruits. He is totally averse to sweets. He
cannot bear hot weather and needs an air-conditioner on all the time. He is afraid of stray
dogs. He does not like planning things.
Analysis
The patient’s main complaint is his anti-social behaviour and his intense anger. He gets
angry easily and in anger he becomes impulsive. He feels his blood boiling and then gets
abusive, hitting and punching. He has no control over his anger and easily indulges in
road rage. He immediately regrets his outburst of anger, but has not control over it in the
moment.
The patient is very impatient by nature, cannot wait and unpunctuality makes him angry.
If he gets close to people, he immediately cuts off, a sudden detachment, and then he
has no feeling for them; they do not matter to him anymore, and he reacts as if he no
longer knows them. He cuts off from his wife and acts very cold towards her in anger.
Thus, if we are to see only his anger and try to understand it as a totality, we get:
40
Complete Repertory, copyright @Roger van Zandvoort, from MacRepertory 8.2.01,
Professional
Then, if we are to look at the other side to his nature, there is a state where he does not
want to meet anyone and just wants to be by himself. He goes into a room and does not
want to talk to anyone; he likes to be quiet and alone by himself, not interacting with
anyone. This might come from a deep sense of isolation from the world. He likes to be in
his own space. When we repertorise these symptoms, we get:
Complete Repertory, copyright @Roger van Zandvoort, from MacRepertory 8.2.01,
Professional
If we are to see his childhood, we see here a subtle hint of the animal kingdom – me
versus you, a projection in his sensitivity towards his grandfather. He describes his
grandfather as the one who was always pulling his father back and who never allowed
him to go ahead in life. The patient hated his grandfather for taking control of his father’s
life and not allowing him to do things independently. He would get very angry at his
controlling behaviour. Since then, he has become very aggressive. The patient
desperately wanted his father to move away from his grandfather’s influence and away
from his home. He persistently felt that his grandfather controlled both his and his
father’s lives. There is so much hatred that he still does not want to go to his old home
and does not feel connected to it.
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The patient loves playing sports and likes to win. He is very competitive by nature. He
loves to travel and is very sensitive to heat and has intense desire for meat. On
repertorizing all the characteristic symptoms, we get:
Complete Repertory, copyright @Roger van Zandvoort, from MacRepertory 8.2.01,
Professional
When we just take the simple symptoms we see Androctonus (Scorpion) as the first
remedy. In Jeremy Sherr’s proving, two of the main aspects were anger and indifference.
He says: “There is a chilling sense of detachment and indifference among those needing
Scorpion. They seem indifferent to either pain or pleasure, to their surroundings and to
the welfare and opinion of others. This can feel like dreaminess or being drugged.” If we
are to look at some other rubrics of the case, we see Scorpion coming up prominently.
42
Complete Repertory, copyright @Roger van Zandvoort, from MacRepertory 8.2.01,
Professional
We have two more provings of Scorpion: one is Scorpio europaeus, (European Scorpion),
the proving of which is listed in Allen’s Encyclopedia. We have a recent proving of the
same remedy done by Hans Eberle and Friedrich Ritzer, which adds to more
understanding of the remedy. In the Scorpion proving done by Eberle and Ritzer, we also
see hatred / anger towards family.
Androctonus belongs to the Animal kingdom and to the same class as spiders: Arachnida.
This class is known for its impulsiveness, quick anger, malice, and rage.
Jeremy Sherr’s Androctonus proving
Mind:
Felt depressed and destructive, did not care if things were broken. (1)
Averse to his normal work, wanted to quit and avoid work. (1)
Felt detached, very interested in little things. (5)
Felt disconnected from the human race, as if everyone were another species.
Directionless. (7)
Totally detached - not from self but from surroundings. (10)
Cancelled an appointment without any remorse. Thought "maybe I shall feel guilt later."
(7)
Very changeable moods, one moment extremely friendly, nice and amiable, then irritable.
(1)
Felt constrained and had a gloomy approach to everything, averse company, desire to be
alone. I feel people will not want to talk or be with me. (28)
Absolutely terrified of dog on street, for no apparent reason, with numbness and tingling
through every part of his body, followed by a sick feeling in the stomach.
Terrible uncontrollable temper. (7)
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Can't avoid shouting at people she was intolerant of, could not hide her feelings. More
impatient with others and herself. (7)
Assertive, impatient, aggressive. Felt resentful and abused. Had no control over her
temper. Bellowed and lashed out at everyone. In the evening, furious for no apparent
reason. Wanted to kill her husband and children, banged doors and threw things.
Desire to break things. (7)
Short tempered in afternoon, easily excited to anger, worse from being interrupted. (12)
Became excited to anger and confrontation. She was not aware of hurting others' feelings
and did not seem to care.
Interesting – issue with grandfather: she dreamt that she had murdered her grandfather
by poking a knitting needle through his eyes while he slept. Though she felt no remorse,
she wanted to be punished but no-one would accept her guilt.
Prescription: Androctonus amurreuxi hebraeus 1M, one dose
Follow-ups
When the patient visited me two months later, he felt very calm. He said that he was
very patient and took a lot of time before reacting. He hardly got angry now, and he lost
his temper only when someone really irritated him. His overall health was good, but he
took a long time to fall asleep. He gets dreams which are work related. His work pattern
had improved, as his concentration levels were better and he was not so irritated. He
went to a holiday for three weeks where he was peaceful and experienced no anger at all!
His anger while driving also has greatly decreased.
What is more, his life had changed for the better. His relationship with his wife was much
better. In his words: “I am closer to her and am becoming more connected. I feel as if we
are becoming one. The agitation in our relationship has gone away and we are very
happy. I am listening more and do react angrily as much.”
The patient continued consulting me for the next seven months and every time I
administered placebo due to continual improvement and no new signs or symptoms. In
one of the follow-ups, his wife said that he was a changed man, a much calmer person.
After a few months, we agreed that he did not need treatment anymore and I instructed
him to stop the treatment.
Photo: Shutterstock
Buthus scorpion; Mauro Rodrigues
Categories: Cases
Keywords: intense anger, violence, emotional detachment, abusive
Remedies: Androctonus
A collection of short acute cases
by Gajanan Dhanipkar
The most common myth about homeopathy is that it is very slow acting and therefore
cannot be used in acute cases. This statement is definitely not true. Acute prescriptions
form a major part of our practices and are rewarding and gratifying because of the kind
of relief and results they give to our patients.
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Case 1
Sixty-year-old woman with complaints of recurrent cough.
“My cough is very bad and I am not able to breathe; it is worse when I lie down. When I
cough, I have a headache and nausea.”
Another important thing she mentioned was: “I always get distension in my abdomen
when I cough. Since the cough started, this distension also bothers me.”
Complete – Abdomen: DISTENSION General whooping cough, with (1)
Prescription: Kalium sulphuricum 30, which reduced her cough markedly.
Case 2
Thirty-eight-year-old woman suffering from sero-positive rheumatic arthritis with
involvement of all her joints, aggravated by cold weather.
She feels very chilly with this pain; the chills generally beginning in her lips and then
spread to the body. She feels better by warm applications and by stretching.
Complete – Chill BEGINNING lips (1)
Along with this rubric, she had other symptoms like constipation and dry skin.
Prescription: Bryonia 200, which relieved her from acute pain.
Case 3
Fifty-two-year-old man with complaints of acidity, pain in the chest (behind the sternum)
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and throat while eating.
His complaints started after he was on long term allopathic medications for viral fever. He
said: “I am losing weight though I am eating well. I do feel hungry and I feel better after
eating. Whenever I have this pain and discomfort, I feel like going into open air, which
makes me feel ok and comfortable.”
Prescription: Iodum 30
After four doses, the patient started feeling better, with reduced pain and weakness. He
could eat food without pain and discomfort.
Case 4
Twenty-seven-year-old woman with complaints of recurrent headache for the past three
or four years. The headache is accompanied by nausea.
She craves milk and spicy food and does not like anything sweet, but during headaches
she desires only sweet drinks, which relieve her headache.
Complete - Generals
FOOD and drinks sweets desires headache, during (1)
Prescription: Calcarea carbonica 200, two doses.
The intensity and frequency of headache was markedly reduced after two doses.
Case 5
A professor who is suffering from painful fissures for the last 5 to 6 months.
The pain increases after passing motions and persists for a long time after motions. He
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also complains of occasional bleeding.
The pain is better when he applies cold water.
Complete - Rectum
FISSURE General cold water amel. (1)
Prescription: Rathania 30
After three doses, the acute pain disappear ed completely.
Case 6
Five-year-old boy who used to come for recurrent fevers.
The mother said: “He has had a high fever for the last two days. He feels chilly and is
thirstless. He asks for covering and is better after that. He has a blocked nose and cough
before every episode of fever. Every time the cough starts, we know that he is going to
get fever.”
Phatak - Phatak
COUGH, FEVER BEFORE (1)
Prescription: Sambucus 200C
After the remedy, the fever subsided instantly and the cycle of fever stopped.
Case 7
Five-year-old girl with cough for the last five to six days.
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Her cough was continuous and her mother said that as soon as she lies down, she starts
coughing; as she goes off to sleep her cough stops. She also complaints of headache
while coughing.
Complete - Cough
LYING agg. night sleep amel. (2)
Prescription: Kali-bi 200C was given and the patient was able to get a full night’s sleep.
Case 8
Four-year-old girl with cough and wheezing since a week.
Her mother said: “The cough aggravates when she lies down. She gets cold sweat on her
head while coughing. She feels better when I carry and rock her.”
.
Prescription: Arsenicum album 200C, two doses
She improved immediately after the first dose.
Case 9
Forty-three-year-old woman with calcaneal spur.
She said the pain was very severe and she could not bear walking. Whenever the pain
starts, she feels hot and gets hot flushes.
Complete - Generals
HEAT flushes of pain, with (4) Complete – Generals
HEAT flushes of pain, with bones, in (1)
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Prescription: Fluoric acid 200C
After the remedy, the patient was able to walk smoothly without pain.
Case 10
Thirty-four-year-old man with acute gastritis.
He had severe burning in the epigastric region after eating spicy food, which he cannot
tolerate at all, along with burning feet. He said he also gets such attacks when ever he
has orange juice.
Prescription: Medorrhinum 200C, single dose, successfully resolved his problem.
Case 11
Thirty-nine-year-old woman with high grade fever.
She was feeling so weak and exhausted that she was brought into the consulting room
with the help of her relative. She was barely able to speak.
She said: “Every episode of fever starts with sneezing. Once I start sneezing, I know I
will get chills followed by fever.” She did not have urinary tract infections.
On observation, we noticed a state of exhaustion.
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Prescription: China 200C, single dose, which brought down the fever.
Case 12
Forty-five-year-old businessman with abdominal pain.
He says he becomes very restless during the pain, and tries many things to get relief. The
pain in aggravated after eating spicy food and increases if he is constipated. He perspires
a lot during passing motions and the perspiration is cold. The pain is better if he stretches
his body.
On examination, it was noticed that he had blackish discoloration of the gums, which
confirmed the remedy.
Prescription: Plumbum 200C
Case 13
Forty-six-year-old contractor with complaints of recurrent headache after being on the
construction site for a long time.
Just before the headache sets in, he starts yawning a lot. The headache is always
accompanied by lachrymation.
Complete - Sleep
YAWNING headache before (1)
Prescription: Agaricus 200C, which stopped his headache completely,
Case 14
Forty-seven-year-old woman with allergic bronchitis for the last fifteen days.
She says she feels breathless with pain in her throat when the cough starts. The cough is
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worse at night. As soon as the cough starts, she has to sit up or kneel down in order to
get relief. She also has involuntary urination while coughing.
Complete - Respiration
DIFFICULT kneeling amel. (1)
Prescription: Causticum 200C, which helped the patient tremendously with the pain and
the involuntary urination stopped.
Categories: Cases
Keywords: acute cases, whooping cough, arthritis, acidity, headache, anal fissures,
fevers, calcaneal spur, gastritis, abdominal pain, bronchitis
Remedies: Agaricus, Arsenicum album, Bryonia, Calcarea carbonica, Causticum, China,
Fluoric acid, Iodum, Kalium bichromicum, Kalium sulphuricum, Medorrhinum, Plumbum,
Rathania, Sambucus
Tell-a-Friend
Comments:
Arnon Vered
Posts: 1
rathania
Reply #1 on : Tue August 04, 2015, 15:03:21
Wonderful cases. Rathania, with its characteristic pains and rapidity of action,is like an old
friend that will not let you down.
It is a big task to turn on my side: a case of Ruta
by Pratik Desai
This is the case of a twenty-seven-year-old single man living in central India who
requested an urgent appointment. I first saw him in September, 2013. The patient
complained of pain in his hip joints, on either side but not both sides at once. The pain
started after an accident in September 2011, where he had fallen from his bike and had
some bruises on his left knee and left upper arm, but no fractures. His injuries were
better after two weeks and the pain ceased, but two months later he began to have
pain in his hip joints. Over the past six months, the intensity and the frequency of pain
had markedly increased.
The pain was severe and came in periods, each lasting for eight to ten days; it was then
difficult for him to manage his routine. He described the pain as unbearable; it was
aggravated mostly at night and in cold weather. Whenever the pain started, it became
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difficult for him to turn over when in bed or to pick up anything from the floor. He said
that the pain was so horrible that it used to take half an hour to just turn over. He only
managed to turn over if he took hold of something.
He described the pain as a kind of electric shock, or jerk, as if someone had bitten him
hard. Sometimes, he felt as if his leg was not there, as he could not twist or turn and
hence had to be in one position for a considerable time. The pain got worse when he
stretched his leg or bent it at the joint. It then felt as though his bone was broken or as
if someone was pulling intensely at the bone. As a result, it became difficult for him to
stand from a sitting position, or to ride a bike or drive the car. When in pain, he became
very irritated if someone tried to talk to him.
He further described the pain as very stiff and hard, and he had to make cycling
motions so as to render the part soft. He said that it was as if someone was twisting the
leg from the hip joint; it was so intense that he often felt that he should remove the
entire leg. He said it was like being twisted, as if somebody was giving too much
pressure or squeezing the leg, like a wet cloth being wrung out. The pain felt as if it
would break the bone or remove it from its attachment.
Now we have a complete description of the pain in the hip joints: a sensation as if
pulled, stiff, beaten, broken, twisted and squeezed. We need to find a remedy which has
all these characteristics regarding pain, and to examine other areas of his life to see
whether they match the remedy we are looking for.
The patient described his nature as being aggressive, unable to control his anger. He
did not trust people easily. He is helpful to others and gets sentimental over small
matters. He was emotionally hurt when his friend, to whom he had extended help and
support, broke off his friendship due to some misunderstanding. He described the
experience as of being ‘used’ and said: “When his need was over, he had used me and
thrown me out, as if I had done something wrong.”
He described another situation where his elder cousin had promised him that he could
stay with him as long he wished, but when the cousin got married, he asked the patient
to leave his home. He felt very bad that his cousin has told him something but acted
differently, letting him down. He felt that all the responsibility of his family came on him
and he was controlling his aggression within himself.
The patient has a fear of being killed by ghosts, saying that ghosts kill you by tying a
rope around your neck and pulling it up so that one is hanged. He is scared of snakes
and has dreams of them. He craves non-vegetarian food and fresh juices, especially
orange or sweet lime.
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Analysis
Prominent and particular in this case is the description of the pain in the hip joint. We have the
following information:
-
It started after an injury
-
Affection of hip joint
-
Pain on alternating sides; only one hip is affected at a time.
-
Pain worse at night, in cold weather, from stretching or turning on the side.
-
Sensation of an electric shock, as if pulled, twisted, squeezed, pressed hard and broken.
-
Tries to control the pain, as if it is a big task for him to turn on his side in bed.
-
Irritated and frustrated by the pain.
We have only one remedy which has all these characteristics: Ruta graveolens.
If we look at the other aspects of the case, we see that he felt used by his friends. They had
stopped talking to him, as if he had done something wrong (delusion he has done something
wrong). In another incident with his cousin, who asked him to leave his home after his marriage,
the patient felt that he could not trust anyone. The main feeling was that people do not keep
their promises; they say something and do something else. Here we have the rubric: Delusion,
deceived being.
Another peculiar aspect of the case was the dream of a ghost who would tie a rope around his
neck and hang him. We have the following rubrics :
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At the local level:
Roger van Zandvoort, Complete Repertory, Mac Repertory, 8.2.01, Professional, Kent
Homoeopathic Associates
Mind rubrics:
54
Roger van Zandvoort, Complete Repertory, Mac Repertory, 8.2.01, Professional, Kent
Homoeopathic Associates
We see that Ruta graveolens is the most prominent remedy on repertorisation. If we are
to look at the case from the System understanding, through the Sensation approach,
we get:


Kingdom: the patient’s sensitivity and reactivity indicates that he needs a
plant remedy.
Vital sensation and reaction: pulling, stretching, twisting, squeezing,
breaking. This is the sensation of the Rutaceae family.
Rutaceae is also known as rue, from the Citrus family, the family of lime and oranges.
This family includes fruits of great economic importance such as sweet oranges (citrus
sinensis), lemons (citrus limonum), Mexican lime (Citrus aurantifolia), sweet lime
(Citrus limettioides Tan), grape fruit (citrus decumana), tangerines (citrus reticulate),
Bengal quinces or Bael fruit (Aegle marmelos), Casimiroa or white sapote (Casimiroa
edulis) and Wampee (clausena lansium), etc. It includes common remedies such as
Aegle (A. marmelos, A. folia), Angustura vera, Pilocarpus pinnatus/ Pilocarpus.
jaborandi, Ptelea trifoliate, Ruta graveolens and Xanthoxylum americanum.
Ruta graveolens is well proved and well known in our Materia Medica, so it represents
the central theme or sensation of the Rutaceae.
In Ruta, we find many references related to sensation words such as choking,
constricting, strangling, squeezing, crushing, twisting, stretching, pressure, broken,
sprain or injured.
Sensation and reactions of the Rutaceae family
Squeezing
Squeezing and twisting
55
Squeeze and break/crush
Squeeze and compress
Constrict and squeeze
Twist, compress and break/crush
Choking/compressing/strangling and then crushed.
Miasm
Miasms are the coping mechanism of a person in response to how an external stimulus
is being perceived. In other words, it is the pace and depth or degree of how the vital
sensation is being perceived.
In the cancer miasm, an individual perceives the external stimuli as chaotic and he
wants total control over his situation. They have too many expectations: for that they
need to do a superhuman task, beyond one’s capacity or limitation.
We find the same expression in our patient when he said that to turn in bed is a big
task for him and to stand up from sitting is a huge task. In the situation with his cousin,
when told to leave the home he said “I kept my anger in control. I wondered how to
manage so many things. The situation was out of control and I needed a super-human
effort to bring things in order.” This is indicative of the cancer miasm.
Prescription: Ruta graveolens (Rutaceae + cancer miasm) 200C
Follow-ups
One month later, Oct 5, 2013: “I am doing much better; in fact the pain disappeared
on the second day after taking the medicine and has not come back. Now I am able to
do my work quickly. Day-by-day things are getting better and better. I am also less
lazy. I am sleeping well; I have no problem turning on my side. Over all I feel 99%
better. Earlier, the pain used to come on after driving or after exertion; that is not the
case anymore. I am more confident, I’m not worried if I have to go somewhere or have
a meeting with some senior people - I feel confident.”
Prescription: placebo
24th December 2013 (three months later): “I am feeling better day by day, now
there is no problem while travelling, I can run and even chase the bus. I have no pain,
even in the middle of winter. I feel totally fit in mind and body. I feel positive,
everything is going well. I sleep well and have no problem driving. I am looking for
another opportunity for my career. I feel that I can achieve my targets now that I am
free of doubts. I am more positive towards myself and about my work.”
One year later: “I am much better. I have not experienced any pain since the first
dose. My life has changed entirely. Earlier, because of the pain, my entire confidence
was lost, but now I take part in many activities. Recently, I participated in a play in our
annual company event. I even danced there and met all sorts of people. I can do all the
work assigned to me, I can travel anywhere, anytime. I have no sleeplessness and no
fear. My confidence is at its best. I can solve any problem. Earlier, I was very
aggressive; I used to come to conclusions without understanding the problem, but now
I take time to think and understand the issue and then I give my opinion so my
reactions are under control. I also listen to people’s perspective. I don’t feel any fear or
tension in my mind.”
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Until now, he is doing fine: there is no recurrence of pain in his hip joint and no need to
repeat the remedy.
Differential diagnosis: here, where the patient presented with pain in his hip joints on
alternating sides, with electric-shock or current-like pain, one can think of the
Ranunculaceae or, with the expression of pain ‘as if bruised and broken’, one can think
of Arnica; with the words ‘stretching and twisting or bending/ turning’ one can think of
Dioscorea; with ‘stiffness with the need for movement’ one can think of Rhus tox. When
we see all the expressions and symptoms of the patient together, we get an exact
picture of Ruta, where we have affections of bone and hip joint, ailments from an
accident, with the pain described as bruised/broken, electric shock-like, twisting,
stretching and squeezing. The patient feels “wrung out”, “squeezed out like a lemon”,
used and abused by others and then tossed aside. The simillimum thus selected acts
wonders.
Bibliography
1: Rajan Sankaran, Rutaceae, Insight into Plants – Vol 3, Homoeopathic Medical
Publishers.
2: Rajan Sankaran, Miasms, Sensation in Homoeopathy, Reprint 2009, Homoeopathic
Medical Publishers.
Photo: Shutterstock
Rue flowers; Scisetti Alfio
Categories: Cases
Keywords: hip pain after accident, twisting pain, squeezing pain, pain alternating
sides, Rutaceae, cancer miasm
Remedies: Ruta graveolens
Book review: The Synergy in Homeopathy by Rajan
Sankaran
by Deborah Collins
57
This book most certainly lives up
to its name in providing an integrative approach to case-taking and analysis. Drawing on
more than thirty years of practice in a busy clinic, Rajan Sankaran, together with his
team of colleagues, gives a complete overview of the possibilities open to us during a
consultation, constantly reminding us to make use of each and every one when needed.
With a very solid traditional training as the basis of his practice, Sankaran has gone on to
develop new techniques over the years, making it possible to delve deep into the inner
life of the patient and to find remedies that have not even been proved yet. His Sensation
method appeals to the artistic side of many practitioners, encouraging them to follow the
patient on an inward journey to the source, in a rather meditative manner. This method
has shown spectacular results and has gained much popularity in recent times. Its
apparent ease, however, has also made it susceptible to an over-simplification of the
science of homeopathy by those who might look for short-cuts to the remedy. One tends
to forget, while watching a master at work that many years of sheer hard work and a
variety of techniques lie behind the deft prescriptions. This oversight has led to frustration
and failure on the part of those who dabble in new methods, with the tendency to later
dismiss them as worthless, and it has also brought on scorn by the inevitable critics inside
and outside homeopathy. There has been an increasing division in homeopathic circles,
with some claiming to follow only one new method and others exclusively using more
traditional ways of repertorising. We, as homeopaths, claim to be holistic and to see the
bigger picture, and yet, we have also the tendency to narrowing our scope into that which
is comfortable and safe.
Therefore, a book which reminds us to remain awake to every possibility is most
welcome. Starting from the basics, Sankaran discusses the numerous ways in which it is
possible to find a remedy. He jokes that he does not always believe in the “Sankaran
method”, and those who have had the pleasure of sitting in on his practice will confirm
that he uses a variety of approaches, all in accordance with the needs of the patient at
that moment. Not every patient is capable of going to the depths necessary for a
sensation analysis and it is usually counterproductive to try to force someone to do so
when it is evidently not his/her path. Nor is it always necessary, since many excellent
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prescriptions can be made on the basis of physical symptoms and keynotes, for instance.
It is also not always necessary to have lengthy consultations, as much information can be
gained along the way simply by keeping all one’s senses open.
Sankaran discusses the wide variety of techniques that he has learned to utilise during his
many years of practice. He stresses the need for accurate observation rather than
interpretation, listening for the melody that lies behind the words, and the commonality
that binds the various symptoms together. He gives many examples of where one could
potentially go wrong, for instance by taking the words too literally rather than
understanding what is behind them. He emphasises “good curiosity”: the desire to
understand the patient as opposed to the desire to find a remedy. He shows how to focus
the case on its “hot spot”, and to round out the case in every way so that the information
represents the totality of the patient and not just one part, such as the emotional life. He
discusses the accurate and artistic use of the repertory, as well as its limitations. All this
leads up to a presentation of that which is illustrated on the book’s cover, a triangle
representing the genius of the remedy, the symptom, and the system, all of which form
the three legs of the stool on which the remedy rests. Various case examples
demonstrate how these three work together synergistically to support an accurate
prescription. In the case of a young woman suffering from depression, who felt forced out
of her family due to her sexual desires, the symptoms were, among others, “religious
despair alternating with sexual excitement”, the system was “sensitivity, forced out, left
out, pushed out, sycotic”, and the genius of the remedy Lilium tigrinum covered these
aspects: “nervous, hysterical, sexual, excitable, forced out, heavy feeling”. The book ends
with several case illustrations, in addition to the many short examples that enliven the
main body of the text.
With this book the circle is complete, going from the basics of homeopathic training to its
newest developments, and back to its roots, with the advice that the broadest scope is
necessary for a successful practice. It challenges us to remain open to the needs of the
patient rather than adhering strictly to one method in all cases, for as Sankaran remarks,
sometimes a patient might not require homeopathy at all but might do better with
counselling, diet or surgery. It hopefully will counter some of the attacks on the modern
masters by pointing out the necessity to utilise these new techniques only in a wellgrounded manner rather than haphazardly, and it encourages us to unite as homeopaths
rather that to foster division in our ranks, since we are all striving for the same goal, each
in our own unique way.
Categories:
Keywords: book review
Panorama: seminars and books
by Editor
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Homeopathy for today's world by Rajan Sankaran
This new method of homeopathic diagnosis--the Sensation Method--reveals that we are
shaped by an inner “song,” analogous to either the animal, plant, or mineral kingdom,
revealing itself as an underlying felt sensation and expressed through illness.
Discover the “inner song” that triggers your ailments and underlies your fundamental
nature and response to stress
• Reveals the 7 levels of experience and how to apply them to reach the core experience
behind our physical and mental symptoms
• Explains how to decode the ways we describe our pain and emotions to determine what
animal, plant, or mineral is “singing” within
• Shows how awareness of the “inner song” can reduce its negative impact on our
emotions, dreams, ambitions, careers, and relationships
The most important development in homeopathy since its discovery in the late 18th
century by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the Sensation Method of diagnosis developed by Dr.
Rajan Sankaran explains that our experience and perceptions of life’s stresses are shaped
by an inner pattern, or “song,” connected to one of the three kingdoms in nature--animal,
plant, or mineral. Revealing itself as a constant underlying sensation felt in both the mind
and the body and expressed through illness and chronic ailments, this inner song of
reoccurring reactive patterns--be it that of a competitive lion, a sensitive daisy, or
structured phosphorus--drives our emotions, dreams, ambitions, careers, and
relationships and is the underlying factor behind why stress affects each of us so
differently.
Explaining that there are 7 levels to our experiences, Dr. Sankaran provides techniques to
decode the words and gestures we use to describe our pain, emotions, and health
conditions, allowing us to probe deeper into our experiences of stress and illness to
determine what animal, plant, or mineral is “singing” within us. Showing how this core
identity can be used by homeopathic physicians to treat our problems at their source, he
reveals how becoming aware of our inner song can reduce the intensity of its negative
effects, leading to less stress, better health, and more harmony in our lives.
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Sankaran's Plant sensation in pictures by Rajan Sankaran and Sandra Petri
It gives me great pleasure to write the foreword to this book. Initially when Sandra Petri
approached me with her manuscript I felt that this would be a useful addition to the
books on sensation since it gives a visual impression of the sensation of the various plant
families. As they say ‘One picture is worth a thousand words’. I felt that Sandra Petri’s
visual representations to be aligned to my experience of the families. I also liked the idea
of the whole book being sort of informal or more at an artistic level rather than something
very structured or formal. I believe this also is in the spirit of the plant kingdom. We
therefore felt that it is best to preserve the originality of the work including the
handwriting rather than use formal typesetting.
This book is offered to the students and practitioners of homoeopathy with the trust that
it will further help in getting not only the words of each family but an actual live
experience by a look at the illustrations. The best way of using the book would be to not
only look at the pictures or the drawings but to put oneself in that position and observe
one’s experience of it.
For all books by Rajan Sankaran, follow this link: http://www.narayanaverlag.com/Sankaran/en/c270_16
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Just you see by Sunirmal Sarkar
Sunirmal Sarkar is one of the busiest practitioners in West Bengal. He was a professor of
Materia Medica at The National Institute of Homoeopathy in Kolkata. He sees over 100
patients per day, with more than 50 cancer cases. In 30 years of clinical practice, Dr.
Sarkar's tremendous success in pathological cases has compelled the rest of the
homoeopathic world to witness what he is doing and how he is doing it.
Dr. Sarkar is a dedicated and voracious reader of the Materia Medica, Repertory, and
Clinical Medicine. He is a master of Allen's Keynotes, Boericke's Materia Medica, Kent
Repertory, and Pulford's Materia Medica. His affinity and desire for reading, depth of
understanding, innovative thinking and extensive clinical practice, have created a unique
approach, which is inclusive of his case-taking method, follow-ups, and potency selection.
Jusf You See is the favorite phrase of Dr. Sunirmal Sarkar while he is teaching his
students. The unique style and approach he adopts in his cases and lectures is
remarkable and is summarized by this very phrase.
Dr. Sarkar habitually gives examples of clinical situations, along with clinical symptoms of
the patient. He then shows us where the peculiarity can be found, even in the black and
white symptoms, and he reveals the hidden values in the pages of our Materia Medica
and Repertory.
Jusf You See symbolizes a broadening of knowledge, which brings to light the countless
amounts of symptoms and approaches that Dr. Sarkar uses in clinical practice. Aside from
the traditional tools utilized in homoeopathic practice, such as the Materia Medica and
Repertory, Dr. Sarkar uses several other interesting sources such as Indian Drugs,
Potentized Allopathic Drugs, Sarcodes, and Organ Remedies to name a few.
For the first time, his ideas, approaches, and cases have been systematically recorded in
an easy to follow style. This book is entirely based on homoeopathic clinical practice and
is a must read for any homoeopathic practitioner.
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Spectrum latest issue: Fascinating Fungi
Fungi are overwhelmingly hidden – under the earth or inside other organisms. With their
caps, tubes, and bulbs, they show us at the most their organs of reproduction. In
homeopathy too, there are only a few visible representatives of this natural kingdom.
Situated somewhere between plants and animals, the fungi are difficult to classify. Yet
their effect on people is very interesting, whether as gut symbiont or agent of disease, as
intoxicant or drug, as food or poison. This spectrum of action promises a wide range of
homeopathic applications, which have so far been greatly underutilized. With new remedy
provings, miasmatic connections and interesting case histories, our group of international
authors will describe the magical kingdom of Agaricus, Bovista and Secale in homeopathic
terms – from simple yeasts and lichen to the massive organisms of the higher fungi. The
articles as a whole illustrate this complex natural kingdom. With this issue SPECTRUM
presents a further, especially fascinating chapter of its modern, living materia medica.