Keywords
homeopathy - society - violence - aggression - personalized treatment
The title of this article is a legitimate question that has been torturing my mind
for almost three decades and has been preoccupying me more and more recently. Its
answer is crucial for me and for my students, who have been applying this therapeutic
approach. Even though homeopathy's therapeutic potential has been apparent to millions
of patients and to many thousands of homeopathic physicians, and despite numerous
incurable chronic cases published in medical journals,[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15] we still have a long way to go before seeing homeopathy become a recognized medical
specialty. It is unclear whether homeopathy will ever be able to take its rightful
place within the field of general medicine.
It is a strange paradox that, despite evidence that classical homeopathy can successfully
treat chronic conditions that are considered incurable with conventional medicine,
homeopathy still remains an untouchable issue for the majority of medical authorities.
If, in conventional medicine, a cure were found for a previously incurable chronic
condition, such discovery would make world news headlines; but reports of corresponding
homeopathic cures are met by total silence! I have tried to think what has happened with homeopathy
and why its amazing effects are not appreciated as much as is deserved.
Homeopathy is a therapeutic system aiming at re-establishing the body's mental, emotional,
and physical balance. It is a most “peaceful” therapeutic system, which has existed
for two centuries with an impressive record of cures, and yet it has remained in the
background all that time. In trying to give an explanation for the paradox, I shall
start with an example from daily clinical practice.
A stressed, depressed, insecure, irritated, and troubled patient, who is under the
strain of daily hardships and who suffers also from a multitude of physical discomforts
and aches, seeks help from homeopathy. The homeopath will investigate the conditions
that brought about such an imbalance and, sometimes after hours of meticulously investigating
and studying the case, will try to find the correct substance—a personal remedy—for
this person to “re-set”[16] and enable a return to a healthy state. Once this personal remedy has been taken,
the patient's health is restored, with an overall balance and a sense of well-being.
The concern is how long this physical, emotional, and mental balance[17] can last in a sensitive patient when he or she is living in a world that is so overtly
influenced by violence and aggression? How long can the immune system—the inner defense
of the organism—remain in balance in the midst of a polluted atmosphere, with foods
filled with chemicals, and on top of these living within a maelstrom of the ruthless
competition and aggression so prevalent in society? Experience has shown that the
restored balance will not stay for very long: under such stresses the sensitive patient will once again start feeling
unwell. The problem is that once an organism is back to a balanced state, it is much
more vulnerable to stress than an already compromised organism.
In many instances, the patient will not return to homeopathy, thinking that the cure
should have lasted for ever. The fact is that patients living in modern society have
to face many obstacles to their health. The modern society that we have created incites
people to ever greater aggression. The accumulation of material possessions above
everything else, at times taking the form of inhuman behavior, is normal practice.
Meritocracy has long disappeared from the collective consciousness, while the seizure
of power by any means is the accepted norm. All these conditions create barriers for
the health of people through anxiety, phobias, and depression.
Those who seek and promote spiritual advancement for themselves and for society, refusing
to compromise their own conscience and moral ethics, are today considered a meagre
and weak minority. Only a few such individuals will be found among different groups
of civilians—for example, among scientists, artists, homeopathic physicians, social
workers, religious or spiritual seekers—but all such people are either marginalized
due to their peaceful temperament or those who are still fighting will be exhausted
since the majority of society is so imbued in violence and corruption that almost
automatically negates any efforts for change by small groups who are seeking peace
and justice. Yet, it is such groups that deserve and appreciate the care provided
by this peaceful therapy. Those people, despite being pillars of society, feel powerless
to impose a system of therapy that has served them so well and so efficiently.
Violence, in all its forms—between states, between nations, between terrorist groups,
by anyone who possesses any power over more vulnerable groups—is prevailing in today's
world. It is thus interesting that conventional medicine, with its generally invasive
approach, fits so well with the mentality of today's society and therefore dominates
the contemporary health sector. To develop the original question of this article:
in such a society, is it possible that homeopathy—a non-violent therapeutic system
that tries to restore inner peace and balance—can survive and grow?
Unless a person, especially the most perceptive, is able to put up a remarkable resistance
to the general trends of corruption and aggression, he or she will find it extremely
difficult to maintain their mental emotional balance. Living in environments where
corruption and self-interest prevail can drive sensitive people, in order to survive,
to compromise their conscience and their own moral ethics. As a result, such behavior
makes them deeply ill at the outset of their efforts. Under those conditions it is
difficult for a fragile person to maintain his or her health and remain well for long,
even under the best homeopathic care.
It is quite logical to conclude that homeopathy is not a therapeutic approach suited
for a modern “developed” society, that it will never be widely practiced in our contemporary world, and that it will never become truly adopted
by medical schools—apart from a few avant-garde medical institutions that have visionary leadership. That is why I have always maintained
that conventional medicine in the developed world should not be afraid that homeopathy
will ever invade its space.
Homeopathy has earned, and will keep earning, the approval of only those few practitioners
with high ideals who still believe in a free and just society—an ideal society—which
may emerge after much time and much suffering. A mild form of medical practice will
not be given room to thrive in tomorrow's world, unless and until the days of constant
assault on moral values are confined to the past. But, realistically, will that happen?
My sense is that, even if a prophet with extraordinary qualities and power were to
emerge tomorrow, inciting the masses to help eliminate violence and corruption and
bring about peace and justice on earth, what would be the most likely scenario? Our
modern society would kill the prophet!
