Sarkar B K
THE NEED OF AGGRESSIVE HOMOEOPATHY
The spirituality of India is as old as the snow – capped mountains guarding the frontiers of the country. Still Swami Vivekananda had to revivify it and give it a strong lead. Sister Nivedita talked and preached about aggressive Hinduism. And today we perceive the triumphant march of India Spirituality throughout the length and breadth of our country, meeting the challenge of the aggressive. West and throwing out the giant personality of Sri Aurobindo in the attempt of reconciling Spirit with Matter.
The way to progress is not though escapism, not through circumventing and avoiding the onslaught and impact of myriads of ideas facts and problems pressing on the modern mind for solution and synthesis. Expansion is life, stagnation and contraction is morbidity and failure to assimilate and adapt thousand and one environmental ideas and facts is death and annihilation.
Similarly though homoeopathy was perceived as an efficacious therapeutic method since the time of recorded history in the West as well as in the East it was codified and put prominently before the medical profession by Samuel Hahnemann in the fag end of the Eighteenth Century. Boenninghausen, Jahr, Hering and their contemporaries poured their life – blood to spread the dynamic spirit of this new Healing Art throughout the four corners of the world.
Their zeal infected the mind and spirit of those who were open in mind, receptive to new and newer truths and agile enough to carry the torch of homoeopathy in the marathon race of human progress and its fight with death, disease and incapacities. The torch continued to burn brighter till it reached the bands of Kent and his giant colleagues. Kentian age in the American Homoeopathic history can be likened to the great Periclean Age of the ancient Romans. After him came the period of stagnation and vegetation inspite of the solitary efforts of Boger, Roberts and a few of their ilk.
The dynamic spirit of homoeopathy began to wane; nothing of real importance was discovered in its field, drug – proving came practically to a stand – still, progressive vision was clouded and Homoeopathy seemed to lose ground in competition with her rival, the orthodox school of medicine which is popularly known as the Allopathic school.
After them no Vivekananda appeared in the domain of Homoeopathy to keep ablaze its aggressive flame to transmute the recent advances in Medicine into the purest gold of Homoeopathic philosophy and outlook – even though the so – called modern scientific medicine raised more problems than it could possibly solve in the sphere of Science and Art of Medicine.
Homoeopathy took a wrong turn both in the West and in the East. American Homoeopathy is being slowly strangled out as separate Homoeopathic institutions died out due to more than one reason and Homoeopathy came to be taught as an elective course in the still existing Homoeopathic institutions e.g. Hahnemann Medical college of Philadelphia and New York Medical school. When Homoeopathy was thus crowded out is it not inevitable that it will fall on lean and evil days, fail to attract new students and its field for teaching and practice will become contracted and contracted till it reaches almost to a vanishing point.
Though we are disheartened to note the present sad plight of Homoeopathy in America we find a silver lining the dark cloud in the attempts of the American foundation for Homoeopathy and of Mexican and Brazilian to give a fresh life to the decadent spirit of Homoeopathy. But to our mind their attempt is not bold enough in America as they still dream of starting and spreading only a post – graduate Homoeopathic training course.
Times without number we have discussed about the merits and demerits of having exclusively under – graduate or exclusively post – graduate course of Homoeopathic training. Suffice it to say that both the under – graduate and post – graduate course of Homoeopathic training are “sine qua non” of a successful rejuvenation of Homoeopathic teaching and practice.
In India though right start was made by establishing under – graduate course of training in Homoeopathy, and especially in Calcutta, it defeated its own purpose as the whole attempt was half – hearted and envisaged no scheme for upgrading teaching institutions and standardisation of Homoeopathic institutions. That is why the conditions of the present day institutions have not improved and are far below the standard of a modern properly equipped medical College and Hospital.
And the greatest tragedy in Homoeopathic history of our country is that an opportunity has arrived but we have been weighted in the balance and found wanting. The blame might be laid against the doors of the Government, the public and the Homoeopathic profession but that is a poor consolation when a stark reality stares us in the face.
A defeatist mentality has taken possession of the Homoeopathic profession of the West as well as of the East. The Editor of the “Homoeopathic Recorder” (August 1954 issue) poses in his editorial “with conditions in medical education as they are today, would it be possible for Homoeopathy to found and maintain a class A medical school which could find the time adequately to teach Homoeopathy?
The answer is no”. And in India we still cast our beggars glance at the tightened purse of the apathetic, nay, actively antagonistic Govts. both at the Center and the States for our very existence and not to talk of upgrading our institutions, standardising our teaching and carrying on research works to throw light on thousand and one obscure points and riddles and mysteries in all matters cognate to Medicine in general and Homoeopathy, in particular. We weep, we wail and we gnash for want of men and money! But these two elements are inter – dependent.
Proper men never suffer for money; and adequate money makes available, for the purpose, required talents. The most difficult part of a thing is to make a start and begin the beginning. Once the ice is broken both the elements will not turn out to be as scarce as is first thought of. But who is to bell the cat? when neither bells nor cats are wanting.
So long we do not start under – graduate courses of Homoeopathic Study and fully equipped hospitals with different departments for treating disease – conditions to which distinctive names can be applied with some justification (viz.Tuberculosis, Cancer, Infectious diseases like Cholera smallpox, etc.) and research works relating to various mooted points in the Science – portion of Homoeopathy we would fail to hold our own in every field of medicine and attract public attention and sympathy – however loudly we may sing Hallelujah to our master Hahnemann in season and out of season and however great might be the therapeutic successes of individual Homoeopathic practitioners.
HOMOEOPATHY CAN BE A BOON TO PAKISTAN.
Karachi, April 12 – Dr. A.M,. Malik, Minister for Health, Government of Pakistan, expressed his belief that a widespread use of the homoeopathic system of medicine, the cheapest in the world, could be a boon to his country, which is poor and lacks doctors.
He was replying to an address presented to him on the occasion of Dr. Samuel Hahnemanns 199th anniversary, observed by the Pakistan Central Homoeopathic Medical College Students Union.
Dr. Malik informed the staff and students present that the Government had provided in the budget a sum of Rs. 10,000 for the College and Hospital. Provision of Rs. 5,000 had also been made for the homoeopathic board to come into existence after the Non – Allopathic Medical Practitioners Bill was passed into law.
“ESSENTIALLY ATOMIC”
Dr. Malik described the theory of Dr. Hahnemann, the founder of Homoeopathy, as “essentially atomic” for the latter believed that the divisions of a molecule have more energy in them than the molecule itself.
When he took charge of the portfolio of Health, stated Dr. Malik, leaders approached him to support the cause of Homoeopathy. Being a believer in self – help, he advised them not to depend too much on the Government but to start an institution of their own. He was happy that his advice was well taken and a Homoeopathic college was started which now had more than a 100 students and a number of experienced members on its teaching staff. He was sure this was only a beginning. A long and arduous path would have to be traveled before it could be made a first class institution.
“In order to give an impetus to your work,” the Minister said, “the Non – Allopathic Medical Practitioners Bill was introduced in the Assembly. I am sure you know how anxious I am to get the Bill on the registration of homoeopaths passed as quickly as possible and I hope that it will be passed through the select committee and the Assembly during this session.”
USEFUL SYSTEM
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. Ghayasuddin Pathan, who is also Chief Whip of the muslim League Parliamentary Party, assured the homoeopaths that the League Party was trying its level best to expedite the matter and legislation would very soon be passed accordingly to the satisfaction of those concerned.
