The Substance of Homeopathy is the second book by Dr. Rajan Sankaran and I am delighted to be reviewing it here.  After publishing his first book, The Spirit of Homeopathy, Dr. Sankaran dug deep in to the realm of miasms and the link between drug source and its symptomatology. The outcome of these adventures is presented in The Substance of Homeopathy.

In book 1, the Spirit of Homeopathy, Dr Sankaran presented the idea that disease is a delusion, and it could be resolved and cured brilliantly using homeopathic remedies. So, he set out to understand the remedies that form the “substance” of Homeopathy.

He also tried to classify the disease state (or the state of delusion) as reaction to how reality is perceived, used the word “miasm” to describe these reactions and expanded and added new miasms – acute, ringworm, malarial, typhoid, leprous, cancer and tubercular – to the three original miasms, psora, sycosis and syphilis, as described by Samuel Hahnemann. This expansion helped him understand the new and emerging diseases in the contemporary world.

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In his attempt at classification of diseases, Dr. Sankaran ponders the four basic miasms – acute, psora, sycosis and syphilis, connects them to four stages of life and personality types, and concludes that the state of mother and father at the time of conception is inherited as miasm… Read More

In  his  earlier   work,   “The   Spirit   of  Homoeopathy”,    Rajan  Sankaran delved  deep  into  homoeopathic philosophy and introduced many  original ideas  of great value  to the  practitioner. That  book,  while  generating some controversy,    was  very  well  received   by the  profession    and has won  much acclaim. Starting where the “Spirit” left off, this much   awaited book rekindles  the flame  of Homoeopathy – the spirit  flows   into  the substance.

In the “Spirit”, Rajan presented   his concept   of disease as delusion. Here, he shows how delusion can be classified using Hahnemann’s theory of miasms. With numerous illustrative cases, he shows how this classification can be  used as a map  of  disease   to  facilitate  remedy  selection. Next, a detailed study of homoeopathic drugs with reference to their source reveals the purpose of traditional classification into plant, animal  and mineral kingdom.

The  result   of  a detailed   study   of  the  Periodic   Table  are  presented which   show   the  relation   between  Chemistry and Homoeopathy, underlining the scientific basis   of  Homoeopathy. The mineral    remedies are studied   in detail and with cases, call forth vivid images to mind.  A number of recent  drug provings conducted  by Rajan  in his  seminars    all over  the world are included, which   give  a new  insight into these  drugs. After a study of some   plant   and animal remedies, there follows a differential analysis of drugs from  the  various    kingdoms  – this  study   will   prove   a landmark in the homoeopathic field. Finally, many original ideas on homoeopathic philosophy are expounded, chief among these being his thoughts on how  and why  organic   pathology  develops.

Rajan has drawn from his vast clinical experience to give us many original and thought-provoking ideas. Lucid though succinct, and copiously illustrated with cases, the book will be of interest to all serious students of the healing art.

“This book is a gem, for the experienced homoeopath as well as for the beginner. For the student it offers a glimpse into the  wider range  of possibilities Homoeopathy has  to  offer after  the basic skills have been learnt; for the  experienced it may  be a welcome stimulus  to expand  their own  framework and  find new challenges to learn, experiment  and  grow.”

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Dr. Beat  Spring
(Review in Homoeopathic  Links 2/94)