The most misunderstood topics in homoeopathy are
‘mind symptoms’(section 213 of the Organon) and
‘uncommon-rare-strange-peculiar-symptoms’ (Section 153.)
When Section 213 is read with section 153 we can conclude
that we should take only those mind symptoms which we have
never heard before normally/commonly/usually in any patient.
‘Mind Symptoms’ and ‘uncommon symptoms’ (for
selecting the remedy) are not what you have learnt but
they are, in reality, something different which you have
to learn by rote.
Again, most of the valuable ‘mind’ or ‘uncommon’
symptoms cannot be classified under any head in the
repertories and an honest and conscious homoeopath
has to learn them by rote. (‘rote’ means mechanical or
habitual repetition). Therefore, in many cases (if not
all cases), homoeopathic software is of no use, however
costly it may be and how much praised by the so-called
leading homoeopaths.
The following actual cases cured by the author would give
the reader a clear and accurate meaning of ‘mind symptoms’
and ‘uncommon symptoms’ in a matter-of-fact way.
Dr. Hahnemann advises that without prescribing on mind
symptoms a cure is not possible (Section 213 of the Organon.)
‘Anger’ ‘restlessness’ etc. are ‘common’ symptoms of mind.
‘When Section 213 is read with Section 153, we infer that we
have to prescribe on ‘uncommon mind symptoms.’
Case: A renal failure patient under dialysis and waiting for kidney transplant, was under our treatment. We could not find his remedy. There is no guarantee for kidney transplant, because after a few years, many patients die when the donor kidney stops functioning. After transplant he was heard saying, “Now I feel as if I am released from prison… as if I have taken a rebirth.” This he said because he is now freed from the torturing and exhausting bi-weekly dialysis, taking rest, body becoming weak etc. This mental picture of the patient should at once bring to our mind the following words:
…desire to be released from what seems to be a
perpetual burden of sorrow… (See p. 111 in the Final
Mat. Medica of Mind Symptoms by the author) We are going to give Ignatia to him and we are confident that his other kidney would start functioning and even if the donor kidney fails he would live long.
Case: A patient with weeping eczema etc., came to me and
said, “Doctor, I am not taking the treatment to live long. But
I have an aged daughter to be married off and a son who is
looking out for a job. Who would come forward to marry my
daughter, if I have a weeping eczema? Only because of that,
I want to get cured. Before I die, I want to settle things in my
family; my daughter getting married and son getting a job.
Then I can die peacefully.”
Under the homoeopathic remedy Petroleum (Boericke’s
Materia Medica) we find the following:
Feels that death is near, and must hurry to
settle affairs.
Now, this sentence fits in approximately with the
remarks made by the above eczema patient. This remedy was
given in single dose and it cured him completely.
Case: A peptic ulcer patient’s condition worsened day by day
and allopathic antacids were giving only temporary relief. At
the height of his suffering (hunger pain with burning sensation
in the food pipe, temporarily relieved by eating) he was heard
saying, “I think that my end is approaching; I must call the
lawyer to write the will; that this hotel of mine should go to
my wife; money deposited in the bank is for my son. My
widowed sister who has been living with me for several years
and helping me should take the house which I bought
recently.”
This mind picture fits with the remarks made by the
patient in the last case. One single dose of
Petroleum-10M cured this patient as well. We do not prescribe
on names of disease or pathology but on ‘uncommon’
symptoms having no connection with pathology.
The above two cases would show the reader that
(a) one and the same remedy may be called for in
different persons with different diseases; also,
(b) different persons suffering from one and the same
disease may need different remedies.
Case: A seventy-year old carpenter was under my treatment
for skin complaint. During one of his visits he was
accompanied by his 48-year old son. The latter was coughing
with chest congestion etc. The carpenter told his son; “Why
don’t you also take treatment from this doctor? See how much
I have improved, whereas the other seven doctors to whom I
consulted earlier could not do anything in my case.”
To this, the son said: “The new house where I shifted has
no raasi.”3 (‘Raasi’ in Tamil means luck). In other words the
person feels that everything was going wrong ever since he
started living in a particular house. So, that house has no raasi.
Or, a person feels that ever since he bought and started using
a car, nothing went right. He attributes his sufferings, failures,
difficulties etc. to that vehicle. I hope the reader would
understand this. The son continued, “Even the new work place
where I am going daily is not raasi (or has no good luck.)”
The other word to describe ‘raasi’ would be ‘sentimental’
or ‘luck’. The carpenter’s son was not ready to take treatment
from me only because he felt that the house and the work
place is the cause of his respiratory complaints.
I gave him one dose of a remedy telling him to take that
and he need not pay me any fees. He took it. (Later I learnt
that he was completely cured.).
Can any homoeopath tell me what remedy I gave the
patient?
‘Mind’ Symptoms: Superiority of Lilienthal:
Read the remedy Staphisagria in the chapter
Melancholia in Lilienthal. (page 701) There we find the
following:
Inwardly gnawing grief and anger,
he looks at everything from the darkest
side… disinclination to work and
think; dread of the future and dread of
being constantly pursued… a
3
A professor was having a two wheeler. After ten years it was no more
useful, also the vehicle was outdated and could not be used because
spare parts were not available and so it was to be condemned. He bought
a car and also very good latest Japanese two-wheeler. But he was not
ready to dispose of the ten-year old two wheeler. He said, “Everything
went well and I got prosperity only after buying that vehicle. So I won’t
sorrowfulness ending in paralysis of the
intellect…
The enthusiastic reader would be eager to know how I
selected this remedy for the above case.
(a) Reproaches others (blaming the house and work
place.)
(b) Sentimental.
I write down the remedies common to both the above
rubrics (Kent’s Repertory—MIND) and read them in the
chapter Melancholia in Lilienthal. Staphisagria suited the
symptoms of the case.
Case: A lady of forty-two came with a large calculus in her
urinary bladder. She said that allopathic doctors advised
surgery as the only answer but she declined to undergo it. She
continued that she had already undergone two caesarean
sections and one appendicectomy; after each one of these
surgeries, her general health ran down. Therefore she could
not afford deterioration of health any further with another
surgery and she had to safeguard her health for the remaining
period of her life. Under the remedy Nux vomica (p. 128 in
the Final Mat. Medica of Mind Symptoms by the author) we
find the following:
Afraid he might not have
enough to live on…
Nux-vomica-1M, one single dose was given in the
evening. Not only did her general health improve, but also the
size of the stone started reducing. (Patient is still under
treatment.)
Case: A chronic renal failure patient came to me with a few
relatives, all of whom were allopathic doctors. They showed
3The reader may note here that in most cases the ‘uncommon’ symptom
(on which we can make a prescription) is told by the patient at the end
of the consultation, or, in some cases, after you have made theprescription! In yet a few cases, during the second or subsequentconsultations!me a file containing the medical papers of the patient. Afterthis, one by one, the relatives went out.The patient was still sitting. He said, “Doctor, my sonssay that I am sick and so I should not ride bicycle, go out anddo our business. They say they will do everything and ask meto sit at home taking rest. As my children, they should onlytell me that I am alright and would recover soon. But insteadof encouraging me for speedy recovery they have branded meas a permanent and incurable patient.”3This patient feels that his sons, instead of encouraging, are letting him down. What one requires from his relatives isnot money nor help but moral support. In this case the patientfeels that this is completely missing.This symptom we find in two remedies. They are“… a feeling of moral deficiency…” – Kalibrom.“… despondency, sadness, moral depressionand relaxation…” – Tarentula hisp.[See the Final Mat. Medica of Mind Symptoms by theauthor. p. 113-114 and 146-147]Tarentula hispania 10M – single dose was given.Case: A lady of fifty-five, school teacher, was under mytreatment for three months for sinusitis with little relief. Shelives thirteen kilometers away from my clinic and she worksin a school which is near my clinic. Before going to schoolshe would come to me once a month, take medicine and go to school. Seeing no relief in spite of three visits, I told herthat a certain acupressure doctor would come and give just 3-minute treatment once only and for this she need not pay anyfees and I also assured total relief. Since the acupressuredoctor comes to my clinic on Sundays only I asked her tocome on a Sunday. To this she replied, “I have to come all theway… from… (her residence.)”During the earlier three visits she would come to me inthe morning before going to her school which is near to myclinic. Sunday is holiday for school and she feels it an ordealto come for acupressure treatment all… the… way from herresidence thirteen kilometers away.It is hesitation. I told her that she need not pay any feesfor the one-time acupressure and 100% cure was also assured.Therefore, travelling thirteen kilometres won’t be a crime. Butto do this she has hesitation. Before we show the reader howwe selected the remedy on this symptom, let us now see twomore cases.Case: A lady allopathic doctor was learning homoeopathyfrom me every Sunday morning for two hours. She consultedme for her complaints and for total relief of her ailments.Once she said, “Doctor, can you give one-dose treatment formy son? Since birth he is having perennial cold; now he isfive years and almost every week he has to take drugs.” I toldher that she must bring her son at least once and I would curehim completely. Bringing her son once (and I am not going tocharge her since she is my student) is not an ordeal orsomething immoral. To this she replied, “For this I have to…bring him all the way from my home” (which is just tenkilometers away.)She hesitates for this small thing of bringing the boyonce only to me and for which the boy is going to get totalrelief permanently.Only if you actually listen to the patient’s reply in personmay you understand this. Let me explain and elaborate onthis.Suppose you are asked by your teacher to murder acertain person. What would be your reaction? Immediatelyyou would reply as under: “Sir, I… have to…” (The sentencewould be incomplete. Because you have hesitation sincedoing this job would prick your conscience.)In the above said two cases, for merely travelling tenkilometres they have lot of hesitation as if I am asking themto do some crime or immoral thing. In other words, they areover conscious of a trivial thing. The apt term would be“Conscientious scruples.” This symptom is in the remedyArsenicum album. [See the Final Mat. Medica of MindSymptoms by the author, p. 77.]Let us repeat, that uncommon mind symptom may be inmost cases one only, and the computer-software or ‘remedyfinders’ are of no use. One single dose of Arsenicum Album-10M completely cured the above sinusitis patient (case No.12above) and even acupressure treatment was not given.Case: This is a cancer patient and after the consultation wasover, I asked my fees of six thousand rupees. To this hereplied, “Money… is…” (The sentence was incomplete andhesitation was as if they are asked to do some immoral act.)He should say that either he has no money or that he wouldtry to borrow from relatives. But he does neither. Ars. Alb-10M, one single, dose cured him. The above cases would illustrate the meaning andinterpretation of mind symptoms of a patient. In some casesthe repertory or software is not useful and you have to learnby rote these uncommon mind symptoms.The above three cases are quoted here to illustrate that ifthe practitioner can memorise the symptoms of variousremedies given in the Final Mat. Medica of Mind Symptomsby the author he would be able to select the remedy in morethan fifty percent of cases that too at the very first attempt.—————Let no one practise homoeopathy who does not have acopy of Lilienthal and does not make use of it.Precision and versatility is required to practisehomoeopathy. What is most disappointing is that no one talks about Dr. Lilienthal’s work, be it in seminar papers, monthly meetings or articles in journals.Said Charles Gatchell in a review ofHOMOEOPATHIC THERAPEUTICS, “… it is anextraordinarily useful book and those who add it totheir library will never feel regret…”In a review, Samuel A. Jones said about Lilienthal’sas under:“For the fresh graduate this book will beinvaluable… to the older one who says he hasno use of this book, we have nothing to say.He is a good one to avoid when well, and todread when ill.”The authors who have correctly and elaborately writtenmind symptoms are: Only the useful portions from this 10-volume have been taken out byDr. V. Krishnaamurthy and compiled in two volumes with the titleWilkinson’s Mat. Medica.(1) Dr. Samuel Lilienthal(2) Calvin B. Knerr’s Repertory.(3) Dr. Constantine Hering (Guiding Symptoms of ourMateria Medica 10 volumes)3(4) Dr. William Boericke (Mat. Medica)And Lilienthal tops the list. If you can understandcorrectly and thoroughly the lines under all remedies in thechapter Melancholia in Lilienthal, you get more than 70%success in your practice.Lilienthal is ten times worth its weight in gold.Wilkinson’s too is good at mind symptoms. How tomaster mind symptoms with Hering?After having selected a remedy and having seen that ithas cured the patient with one single dose of that remedy, readthat remedy in the Chapter ‘Mind’. If you do it two or threetimes for a remedy, fourth time when that remedy-type patientcomes in, you can straightaway prescribe that.For example, I would never miss Lycopodium and Nuxvomica for patients, most of whom throw the followingsymptoms:Lycopodium:• (Wilkinson’s) – Talks with an air of command. Mannerstiff and pretentious.Nux vomica:• (Boericke’s Mat. Med.) –…particular, careful, zealous…fiery temperament.• (Wilkinson’s) – Desire to talk about one’s conditions withanxious reflections about it. (The patient comes in, sits and turning his face to one side, stares at the roof andtells his complaints in the past-present chronologicalorder. He continues to stare up the ceiling continuouslytill he finishes the history of his complaints till date.)Sometimes, you have to read the entire symptoms underMind in all the remedies to select a remedy for a patient. (Forthis I use Lilienthal, Boericke’s Materia Medica andWilkinson’s). But once you find the remedy, subsequent casesrequiring that remedy becomes easy.I am not reporting here cases with their follow-up but myattempt is to tell the reader how and what exactlyhomoeopathic practice is. As one cannot learn swimmingwithout getting into water, or driving a car without sitting onthe wheels, so also without actual cases on hand one cannotlearn homoeopathy. To that extent only I am quoting actualcases as seen in my clinic.I am a freelance medical journalist and so I took thefollowing two cases as a challenge for homoeopathy.Case: A patient with chronic headache, after spending muchmoney with various doctors, specialists and homoeopathscame to me. After finishing the history of his seven years’ painin head, he ended up saying: “Doctor, if you or anyone cancure me of this terrible headache, I won’t mind even givingaway half of my property (worth three millions) to thatdoctor.”Doctors of all other systems would simply ignore thisstatement of the patient.If a patient is ready to pay 1.5 million… I thought overthis. I took this as a challenge to homoeopathy. I asked him tofirst pay me ten thousand rupees and also give me two weeks’time with a promise that if I do not cure him in one singledose (or a few doses) I would return double the amount paid by him. Also, if he is cured he may pay me another tenthousand rupees. He agreed to this condition and paid tenthousand rupees.I took a copy of Boericke’s Materia Medica and went toa professor of English and requested him to render me a help;that he has to read the lines given only under the chapter‘Mind’ in all the remedies in Boericke’s Mat. Med. andunderline if any relevant line is found equivalent to thestatement of a person who says that he would pay half of hiswealth if his headache is cured. I paid him five thousandrupees (which the professor said is more than sufficient for thework.)—It may take a few days, spending two or three hoursdaily to go through the lines given under the chapter ‘Mind’in Boericke’s 688-page materia medica.To another professor of English I gave a copy ofWilkinson’s Mat. Medica and paying him the remaining fivethousand rupees, requested him to do the job of reading thelines given only under the chapter ‘Mind’ in all the remedies(and this too would take a few days, working for three hoursdaily) and to tell me if he finds anything equivalent to theabove said statement of the headache patient.The first professor (using Boericke’s) could not findanything apt. But the second professor underlined and pointedout the following lines in the remedy Stillingia (under ‘Mind’in Wilkinson’s).“Deplorably downhearted; suffering extreme torture frombone pains.”Stillingia 1000, one single dose cured the patient and hepaid me another ten thousand rupees. Precision and versatilityis the culture of Homoeopathy. After this case I cured twomore patients with Stillingia both of whom said the above words (ready to give his entire wealth to the doctor who cureshim).Diligence and knowledge of English language, bothto the core, are required to practise homoeopathy.The above two cases would illustrate the reader howrich, exact and accurate (and also complete) our existingmateria medicas are. Thus and therefore, what is needed isexact mastery of the use of five reference books viz., lilienthal, William Boericke, J.T. Kent, Wilkinson’s and Knerr(and more importantly Yingling, for medical emergencies atthe time of labor or abortion.).Case: Here is another case of headache. This 55-year old malepatient remarked: “Doctor, all these years I have been havingthese pains; my sufferings are such that no amount ofcompensation would be equal to it. Even if you make me thePresident of all the nations in the world that would not be asufficient compensation.” I told him the same condition whichI put to the patient in the earlier case. After taking tenthousand rupees I went to the two English professors, onewith Boericke and the other with Wilkinson’s Mat. Medica. Inthis case the professor going through Boericke’s Mat. Medicacould help me. He pointed to the following found under theremedy Selenium.“Extreme sadness. Abjectdespair, uncompromisingmelancholy.”Selenium 10M, one dose cured the patient and he paidme ten thousand rupees.On a later occasion the above said professors asked mewhat I did by their help and I showed them how I practise homoeopathy. Soon both of them started learning andpractising homoeopathy.Homoeopathic system of medicine is exact and accurate.Precision and versatility is its culture.—————Myth and reality of ‘mind symptoms.’In some cases Calvin B. Knerr’s REPERTORY isexcellent to work out cases with mind symptoms.Case: The other day I was sitting by the side of a seniorhomoeopath in his clinic. A patient entered and asked, “Doyou have medicine for diabetes?”Doctor: Yes, tell me your symptoms.Patient: (Stretching his hand towards the doctor).hmW X{Im{, XdmB© Xm{ & [“see my pulse; give medicine.”][The tone of the patient was in a commanding notesimilar to a king, who, when anything is required would order,“Bring the head of the thief in two hours.”]The doctor turned towards me and said, “See doctor, these patients don’t tell symptoms. How can I prescribe?”That doctor always thinks of ‘sensation’ ‘location’ ‘modality’‘concomitant.’ I took Calvin B. Knerr’s Repertory to him andshowed the following:MIND, Answers, imperiously: Lycopodium.Further I showed him the following from Wilkinson’sMat. Medica under the remedy Lycopodium:“Talks with an air of command…manner stiff and pretentious.”Dr. Calvin B. Knerr, M.D.Lycopodium 10M, one single dose, cured diabetes. Let us reiterate the following:Homoeopathy is a system where the patienthimself (by way of some words or actions or as areaction to his disease or treatment or attitude towardsthe doctor) indicates the remedy to us. Homoeopathy is practical and practical only and there is no place for any theory, imagination, etc. Among pharmacologically-oriented systems of therapeutics homoeopathy will ever remain supreme to cure patients with the least number of medicines/doses. For example, we have cured lakhs of chikungunya patients completely and permanently with one single dose of the homoeo medicine called Polyporusofficianale-200.Why is Polyporus officinale (Boletus Laricis) almost aspecific for chikungunya disease? With crippling joint painsmany chikungunya victims were virtually crawling to go to thetoilet etc. Their face was gloomy.Knerr’s Repertory—Mind—Gloomy, ague, in: Bol-la(Polyporus officinale).Homoeopaths were then asking medicine for the pandemicswine flu.Those who had died in hospitals with swine flu had lungfailure; The nearest rubric (for purposes of selecting the homoeoremedy) for this is ‘pneumonia.’ In Samuel Lilienthal’sHOMOEOPATHIC THERAPEUTICS (in the chapterPNEUMONIA,) under two remedies, viz., Merc-sol. and Ferrummet. we find the following words: “epidemic pneumonia.” Thetwo remedies were studied in the materia medicas andMerc-sol. agreed with most of the symptoms than Ferrum met.Patients who had come to me after being tested positivefor swine flu were given ONLY ONE SINGLE PILL of thehomoeo medicine Merc-sol-1M, and in just an hour all theirsymptoms disappeared and after a week when they tested, theresult was negative. (Rate of success: 99%).One of the best shortcuts to homoeopathic practice (toselect the remedy—the similimum) is Dr. Samuel Lilienthal’sHomoeopathic Therapeutics. (Drop the symptom in Lilienthaland you get the remedy!) ———<
