Mahāsangama of Healing Arts

It would be a fair comment to state that I have been blessed with the Grace of Teachers - be they at school, in the profession or in the Healing Arts. Therefore, if I were to be involved in a research project, I would like to pursue or undertake a study that would encompass and integrate all the knowledge I have been exposed to and move towards greater unification and synthesis. A Mahāsangama of Healing Arts, so to say.

The science and practice of Yoga and Meditation was used more than 5000 years ago to raise Herbalism to an evolved system of therapeutics called Āyurveda. The language of Āyurveda is the language of Yoga and Tantra, which were practiced in their truer form in the previous era or Age (Yuga). Āyurveda has a prolific Materia Medica and the actions and qualities of the remedies are described in terms of energetics, vibrations and sensations. Homeopathy interprets the same concepts in a more contemporary language while retaining its feet firmly on the bedrock of Vital Force.

Hahnemann stands like a Rishi (Seer) of this Yuga or era. It would be only fitting if Homeopathy could make use of the remedies in Āyurveda by initiating fresh research via provings. Āyurveda employs the concept of Rasa (Flavor), our subjective interpretation of the Five Elements; Vīrya or vibrations that affect our Prāna, the Vital Force; Vipāka (Post-digestive effect), the drug-receptor interactions; and Prabhāva, inexplicable energy that arises out of Samskāra, i.e. processes like trituration etc. In today’s practice these metaphors are poorly understood even in India, especially by the doctors and even members of the faculty of Āyurveda in Medical Schools. The focus has totally shifted to extraction and distillation of chemicals and active principles from herbs and finding applications that will earn them a pat from their Big Brother, The Allopath. Hahnemann can be seen as the Rishi of this Age who gave us the wonderful technique of Provings and the Law of Similars; making it possible for the present day Man, who is not versed in Tantra and Yoga, to practice the Healing Art as it should be – on the plane of the dynamis that animates us.

The project or study that would stimulate me would be reviewing the Āyurvedic Materia Medica with the Homeopathic model of provings and introducing Homeopathic therapeutics to Āyurveda. Āyurveda provides a very simple and commonsensical approach to dietetics and Yoga provides a very simple yet effective form of exercise that promotes calm and awareness. The combination of the Triad would truly benefit every citizen of the world, rich or poor. Also, Yoga can contribute immensely to Homeopathic psychology as it will bring with it its Vitalist perspective, something that is sadly lacking in the contemporary Western model of psychology.

Somewhere, the deeper secrets of Āyurveda have been lost during the cultural churning that has taken place in India over the past many millennia. The seed of Homeopathy has flowered and prospered on the cultural and intellectual soil of India from the very beginning. With globalization and free exchange of information I feel there is now a critical mass of people both in the East and the West who desire that this transformation must take place. I am sure there will be many who are working towards this end and God willing, I shall be a close witness or even a participant in this revolution.

Amen!

Ashok RājGuru