Homoeopathy and Religion
There has been considerable bias directed from different sources towards Homoeopathy and it's principles for many years, largely due to a misunderstanding and lack of thorough investigation into what Homoeopathy is. Which is not necessarily the same as what Homoeopaths do in there practices. This has led to an ongoing struggle with various religions regarding Homoeopathic medicines. The Homoeopathic Association South Africa regularly addresses comments regarding misconceptions which may spread like wildfire and do damage to the profession. There is absolutely no religious/ occultic/ spiritual or other basis to the principles of Homeopathy.
In it's essence, Homoeopathy is a scientifically based and logical approach to healing that takes many factors into account when approaching a patient (not just there illness and how they are experiencing it). Some of the terminology used in the older writings can be misread and there are modern texts available that clear up any confusion. The term 'life force', which is often used in texts may be related to many doctrines of healing and spirituality but cannot be defined as anything more than the innate physical strength of an individual, which sometimes has more to do with willpower (and faith) than physical strength. Identifying this capacity within a patient is one of the key elements to selecting an aproppriate Homoeopathic remedy.
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia regarding the life of Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of Homoeopathy:
After giving up his practice (c.1784) he made his living chiefly as a writer and translator, while resolving also to investigate the causes of medicine's alleged errors. While translating William Cullen's A Treatise on the Materia Medica, Hahnemann encountered the claim that Cinchona, the bark of a Peruvian tree, was effective in treating malaria because of its astringency. Hahnemann claimed that other astringent substances are not effective against malaria and began to research cinchona's effect on the human organism by self-application. He claimed that the drug evoked malaria-like symptoms in himself, and concluded that it would do so in any healthy individual. This led him to postulate a healing principle: "that which can produce a set of symptoms in a healthy individual, can treat a sick individual who is manifesting a similar set of symptoms."[4] This principle, like cures like, became the basis for an approach to medicine which he gave the name homeopathy.
Hahnemann tested substances for the effect they produced on a healthy individual and tried to deduce from this the ills they would heal. From his research, he initially concluded that ingesting substances to produce noticeable changes in the organism resulted in toxic effects. He then attempted to mitigate this problem through exploring dilutions of the compounds he was testing. He claimed that these dilutions, when done according to his technique of succussion (systematic mixing through vigorous shaking) and potentization, were still effective in producing symptoms.
To me he was clearly a healer beyond his time and was directly responsible for saving many lives from atrocious medical acts like blood-letting and medical amputations, as well as encouraging hygiene, no alcohol, good nutrition, and even no gambling or fast driving in some of his writings! This all equals a better quality of life to me, by practicing 'risk avoiding behaviour' in your life. Modern practitioners contantly revise what puts their patients in harms way.
Hahnemann has also been criticised for being influenced by Paracelsus, but here we need to keep in mind that outside of Paracelsus philosophising, he also broke new ground in many medical treatments beyond his time and was one of the first doctors to acknowledge that toxins (including bacteria, which had not discovered yet) caused illness, not mystical powers and spells (which at the time, was one of the accepted theories). Hahnemann was not influenced excessively by Paracelsus or Eastern religions (also often stated), there are no references to either of these in Hahnemann's writings. The link between Paracelus and Homoeopathy has been made by a statement Paracelsus made regarding toxic substances in his writings, which can be related to the Homoeopathic principle 'let likes be cured by likes':
Paracelsus, sometimes called the father of toxicology, wrote:
German: Alle Ding sind Gift, und nichts ohn Gift; allein die Dosis macht, daß ein Ding kein Gift ist. 'All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous'. That is to say, substances often considered toxic can be benign or beneficial in small doses, and conversely an ordinarily benign substance can be deadly if over-consumed. Even water can be deadly if overconsumed!
Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine. His hermetical views were that sickness and health in the body relied on the harmony of man (the microcosm) and Nature (macrocosm). He took an approach different from those before him, using this analogy not in the manner of soul-purification but in the manner that humans must have certain balances of minerals in their bodies, and that certain illnesses of the body had chemical remedies that could cure them. (Debus & Multhauf, p.6-12)
The issue of dilution is also a complex question and has been the leading corner for attack against Homoeopathy since it's inception, however things are changing with research indicating that the higher dilutions may cause changes within the hydrogen bonds of a water molecule. This may be the key to why these substances have an effect on our health. Dilution of substances also allows for molecules to aggregate, thereby being recognised by the immune system in a modulatory capacity. Immune regulation via the bystander reaction is a well researched area of our white blood cells ability to respond to highly diluted substances, regulating overt inflammatory responses.
'Eastern medicine' is often viewed as having roots in the occult and many patients avoid Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Traditional Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture because of it's origin. There are many different philosophies around these medicinal approaches, but with modern research into the actions of these medications and healing techniques we are finding evidence that many of these approaches have a provable and repeatable effect on various illnesses. Purely science based results. Sometimes these effects are contrary to what they were originally used for, but conversely we find that there is a powerful pharmacological action to these herbs. An example here is White Willow, which has been used for centuries within occult ceremonies to heal people after surgery. Today synthetic extracts of salicilin, which was originally isolated from White Willow is one of our most frequently prescribed drugs worldwide, Aspirin. If we research the origin and history of most of the frequently utilised herbs today you may find two things - firstly, that they have been used for centuries within various medicinal and spiritual doctrines and secondly, that at some point they have been widely used in conventional medicine to heal patients for a variety (and often contradictory) of reasons. What is it in a plant, that grows on this earth, that makes it belong to any of our religious, spiritual or medicinal philosophies?
The intention of any practitioner is to heal there patients, and they should be bound to a moral code on the best possible way to achieve this. I may prescribe medication within my practice from different complementary and alternative medicinal systems, but the intention is always to heal my patients. Many of our commonly used culinary and 'western' herbal medications have also been used in occultic practices- such as ginger, cinnamon and garlic. However if your intention is to use these herbs in your kitchen to flavour food, or to enjoy them in a hot drink with lemon and honey to soothe a sore throat, how would you classify them?
In summary, questions directed at Homoeopathy, that it is based on spiritual or occult practices are unfounded. As a practitioner, I have been provided with various tools to lead my patients gently towards health. My intention is to make an informed clinical decision in my patients best interest, using the tools that nature has provided.
