Letters to the Editor
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1997 Jan / Feb VOL VI NO 1.

It has been a great pleasure going through the NJH issues. It gives great satisfaction in reading the case histories given by different Homoeopaths. It just shows that there are different routes in Homoeopathy to reach the ultimate goal - which is CURE. Some Homoeopaths prescribe on the mental symptoms as given by the patient, some on mental symptoms as interpreted by the physician, and some on a combination of mental and physical generals and some on pathological symptoms only. Likewise selection of potency and dosage also changes with different schools of Homoeopathy. But they all strive and succeed to a certain extent in curing the patient.

It, however, pains me to find a few younger Homoeopaths trying to base their prescription on what they conceive as similarity, without going into greater detail about the Materia Medica. A few years back a well-respected Homoeopath reported a case of a young child being treated with Tarentula on the basis of amelioration of symptoms by dancing and music with very good results. To this day there are many Homoeopaths trying to over-simplify the matter by asking directly whether the patient (more commonly a child) likes dancing and music and prescribe Tarentula. With the mind blowing and foot-taping music dishes out these days, it is common for children to dance to it. But this does not make it a grand general of the patient. Little wonders then that these Homoeopaths get disillusioned with Tarentula. In such cases, I think the teacher should repeatedly stress that these symptoms were the keynotes only and the presence in varying degrees of importance helped them to clinch the remedy. These keynote symptoms help us clinch the remedy but only when taken in the right perspective. And to gain that insight, there can be no shortcuts except thinking over the different repertories and Materia Medicas.
Dr. Sheila Rao Bombay.

Editor
'All paths eventually lead to God.' So the different approaches lead to the Simillimum. But it must not become like the 4 blind men feeling the Elephant.
All methods are meant only to open up the path - eg by Keynotes Guernsey meant it unlocks the door but then you need to enter the room and check that all the mental and physical aspects and the personality of the patient match the remedy. So too the 3-legged stool of Kent or pathological generals of Bogers and so on. All stalwarts have emphasized the totality matching in great detail. We don't read, we only grasp the entry point. Man has become truly superficial, but the Homoeopath cannot afford to be so. So watch out and retrain yourself.
I came across the Lachesis case in July-Aug '95 issue; I feel Lachesis is repeated often. According to me, same potency of medicine may not be repeated second time because if the person has susceptibility to a given potency, he would surely respond to the first dose. Inspite of repetition, cure has taken place. This has confused me. Does it follow the Hahnemannian law of cure?
Dr Barun Rai West Bengal

Dr Rashmi Nagar Replies: I would like the reader to go through the follow-up carerfully-
1) In a matter of about 3 months, 3 doses of Lachesis have been given
2) Lachesis 200 has not shown any changes, therefore 1M had to be given
3) Second dose is given after a month as other warts and her menses had remained the same.
4) Hepar-Sulph had to be given as the throat complain was acute.
5) Tuberculinum is an intercurrent at the appropriate time
6) Third dose of Lachesis was repeated after one and a half month of the second dose to improve her periods.

This is certainly an ideal cure as
1) A complaints of one year standing has responeded in two and a half months time which is rapid, gentle and permanent.(No warts have recurred till date.)
2) The warts disappeared in the reverse direction of their appearance. The warts on wrist disappeared first.(See ODP- Knees, wrist and thighs.)
3) Two doses of Lachesis 1M in about 2 months is certainly an infrequent repetition. The pace of the medicine must match the pace of the disease. Whenever improvement stalls, same potency may be repeated before changing potency. Sometime dose does not fulfill the susceptibility.

The concept of planning the treatment according to acute, intercurrent and constitutional remedies can be well understood by learning the teachings of the late Dr M L Dhawale of the ICR.
1. Only cases presenting a holistic approach should be published in NJH. Refer pg 397 Approach to a Case 6/96 Dr S M Takyar's cases do not follow this path.
Dr Ange Khanna, Punjab

EDITOR:
The terms classical and Holistic mean different things to different people, and is a Hornets nest, when someone says such and such case should not be given, The purpose of NJH is not to restrict to one type of approach but to put before the reader many valid approaches, and let one choose which approach one wishes or finds appropriate.
Our purpose is not to force-feed anyone. Just as we are not God to our patients, so too let us not act as God to the Homoeopathic World. As we grow mature we realize that Practices and results are different. In my area of practice, I have a colleague practising near by; whom I know practices 'Holistic' Homoeopathy. Yet in the last 2 years, I have had 2 dozen cases, which improved with me. This is not to say, I am a better Homoeopaths. I am sure dozens of my cases improve with others.
I went to Jaipur recently and 3 doctors came and told me that a certain case in the Ferrum issue was treated by someone else and robbed by this author as his own.
Is NJH a police force? These things are beyond our control.
After 21 years of practice, I have learnt that it is more useful and beneficial to spend time learning the good things from others than to spend all our energy in criticizing. Vociferously and tirelessly, others wrong doings. I can only live by my ability and standards and not by someone else's.
Live and Let Live. Separate the grain from the chaff-learn good points from others and leave out the bad. Amen.
I received the bumper issue of NJH yesterday, really a praiseworthy number from NJH Family. I myself feel dejected that I am not among you. This was one of the golden issues of NJH. I Promise, that I shall circulate it among many around me, who are not subscribers of NJH.
Dr Shagi Kutty Trivandrum.

Dr S S Vithal's Replies: To Dr Rana's letter in App to Case (Nov-Dec 96). (Clarification on my article published in Sept-Oct '96 Ferrum Issue) I am happy to read the remarks of my learned friend Dr Satish Rana on my article. "The Iron Lady." He has written that the first prescription Ars-alb was absolutely wrong. It was wrong, that is, why it did not work. I chose this drug according to Dr Sehgal's method i.e. prescribing on three or four mental rubrics only.
1. Carried desire to be fast
2. Restlessness
3. Industrious
4. Fastidious etc.

Dr Rana has suggested Ignatia or Calc-carb as he has repertorised the case. Only repertory is not Homoeopathy but good knowledge of materia medica, and above all good observation along with perfection in the basic medical sciences ie Genetic, Embryology, Physiology, is also needed for a successful Homoeopathic prescriber. He has asked me if only the theme of medicine is sufficient to prescribe? As told by Dr P Vijayakar at Khanna Seminar, which was attended by Dr Rana also, Homoeopathy is simple Mathematics, which means if the medicine is selected it should cover the patient as a whole that is Mentals, Physicals, Thermals, Modalities, Miasm, etc. And cure should take place according to 'Herrings Law' I have read Dr Rana's article on Sehgal's new technique in Impotency issue of NJH. Prescribing on this new technique is just like half baked cake. Chances of suppression are more likely by this method.
It is for the information of all the readers of NJH who have read my article 'The Iron Lady' that the same patient, about whom I have written, visited me last week and reported that she never suffered from the heart disease till date. Also her fibroid uterus is better about which she did not mention before. Her Hb is 12 Gm% which was never so since her childhood.

This is the best issue of NJH of all the issues I have ever gone through. You can say it is worth preserving (Iaminating). Articles, non-clinical approach to a patient by Dr C H Asrani, Zen of Case taking by Dr Parinaz, Essence of each case by Dr S M Mamgain, Dr Mohan Gune's "Individualize...." are very nicely written. Our sincere Congratulations to the authors as well as NJH Family.( Page.no 10)
We differ from your point when you have written in your Editorial 'An Approach is one that works, and again on page 353 you have written All religion and paths leads to God so too.... to one remedy - similimum. Respected Madam. Homoeopathy is a great science and based on certain principles. To gauge the depth of cure 'Herrings Law' is there. One can monitor if the progress is going in right direction or not.

A snap shot can work and that can be the constitutional similimum of that patient. If the medicine given is partially similar or otherwise, it will definitely lead to suppression. It is wrong to say that Homoeopathic medicines are harmless or only allopathy is suppressive treatment. Constitutionally similimum does not mean what most of our colleagues might be thinking of ie Hydrogenoid, Oxygenoid, or fat, fair, flabby constitution. Here I mean basic nature of the patient, basic build, likes, aversions, thermals, modalities, gestures, miasmatic effects, change of nature, delusions, emotions during diseased phase etc. It should represent the person as a whole. If it is so then there will be
a) No need of repetition
b) Cure will take place according to Herings' Law
c) Seldom needs to increase the potency
d) What symptoms shall develop is predictable
e) Newer state including newer drug never crops up
f) Patient will experience a sense of well being as a whole and there will be increase in weight, blood values etc. without any tonics....
All round immunity will be established and there will be complete CURE. We must treat the DISEASED MAN, NOT DISEASE IN MAN.

Editor's Comments:
I don't think any Homeopath would deny Herings' Law, so there is no controversy on this. Dr Vithal, I don not think any one denies any of the other points too so I don not think there is any controversy. You object to my statement that any religion leads to God. Then Dr Vithal's religion only leads to God and all others go to hell? I do not think you mean this.
All I am trying to say is that all our masters have given various methods and different repertories and each method may look different but when you go deep, all are saying that the whole totality must fit.
We all know that Homeopathy must be practiced in totality and that is what we all are striving for, is it not? Our efforts have to evolve continuously. But one cannot be PERFECT on DAY 1, can we? We make mistakes and learn from them. And the process continues. Or are we not allowed to make mistakes? Coming to 'Iron Lady' why did you give Ars-alb? And did it lead to Suppression?
I only will answer for you. Single doses don't suppress. In fact if a remedy has little or no similarity, it just bounces off and makes no impact on the patient.

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