Homoeopathic Seva Niketan

"Holistic Healthcare remains a very big attraction. Best of the doctors are moving towards Homeopathy. There's a mood for Holistic Healthcare. There's a mood to go toward stress free life from a stressful life."

-Sh. Narendra Damodardas Modi, Hon'ble, Prime Minister of India

What is Homoeopathy?

Homoeopathy is a system of medical treatment promulgated by Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician. It was developed in the 1790s by the physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) from Saxony in Germany.

He had spread a long and useful  life of 88 years during which he benefited the suffering humanity immensely by introducing this new system of medicine.

Homoeopathy has originated from Greek words 'Homoes' which means 'similar alike' and 'pathos' which means 'suffering, feeling disease'. 'Similia Similibus Curantur' which means 'likes cure likes'. 

It is a method of curing the sufferings of a person by the administration of a drug which has been experimentally proved to possess the power of producing similar suffurrings in healthy human beings. In short, it is therapeutic system of symptom-similarity.  

Fundamental or Cardinal Principles of Homoeopathy:

There are seven fundamental principles of this great science and true healing art of which the first three are more important. They are as follows:

1. Law of Similia

2. Law of Simplex

3. Law of Minimum 

4. Principles of Drug proving

5. Principles of Chronic disease 

6. Principles of Drug dynamisation

7. Principle of Vital force

Samuel Hahnemann and the Beginnings of Homoeopathy:

As a young physician Samuel Hahnemann experienced again and again how little he could achieve with the theoretical knowledge he had acquired. Disappointed, he withdraw from medical practice and, over the following years, made a name for himself as a translator and medical author. 

When translating William Cullen's Materia Medica in 1790 he came across the Simile Principle which he publicized for the first time in 1796, in the Journal der practischen Arzneykunde (Journal of practice medicine). In the 'Rule of Similars' Hahnemann thought to have discovered the foundation for the effective treatment method which he had been trying to find for many years. 

In the decades that followed he meticulously investigated the effect of medicinal substances. He published the outcome of his observations in his Organon der rationellen Heilkunde (Organon of the Healing Art) in 1810, which, up to the present time, has remained every homoeopath's mainstay. During the great European cholera epidemic (1830-1832) homoeopathic treatment saved more lives than any other method. This overwhelming success won many people over to the new approach to healing.

Homoeopathy  Worldwide:

Still in Hahnemann's lifetime, homoeopathy became known beyond the borders of Germany. Translations of his main writings, personal contact among homoeopathic physicians and a cosmopolitan clieentele played a major part in this expansion. Today Hahnemann's approach to healing is represented  in many countries worldwide and is often officially included in a country's public health system. 

This development was strongly driven by Samuel Hahnemann's main work Organon of the Healing Art (1810). By the 1830s it had been translated into several other languages. It thus became known internationally which was quite unusual for a scientific publication at the time. 

The world history of homoeopathy can be divided into three phases: rise and consolidation up to c. 1900; stagnation and decline up to c. 1970; then renaissance. Europe was dominant up to the 1860s. After that the homoeopaths in the USA became more active. Since the 1970s India and Latin America have gained increasing importance. At the same time homoeopathy is also experiencing a revival in Europe and the USA.

France:

The dissemination of homoeopathy in France was promoted by Hahnemann's Paris practice which he maintained from 1835 up to his death in 1843. 

The French national health system acknowledged homoeopathy in 1965 and pays for medicines and treatment. France is Europe's biggest market for homoeopathic medicine's. While they were used by 22% of the French population at least once in 1984, the percentage has since risen to more than double that figure. French homoeopaths were also crucial in introducing the method in Brazil and, since the 1970s, also in promoting the training of physicians.

Great Britain:

In Great Britain there have been practicing homoeopathic physicians since the 1830s. The Royal family has sought homoeopathic treatment since the 19th century and advocates the approach publicly, thus securing for it a high reputation in society. The Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital  is a flagship for homoeopathy in the United Kingdom.

Due to training and the English language the influence of British homoeopaths has remained strong-above all in India, Japan and the USA. Britain's per capita remedy consumption, however, occupies only 13th place in Europe.

Other European Countries:

In Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Greece homoeopathy has long been widespread. Its position in Scandinavia is relatively weak in comparison. In some Central European countries such as Hungary and Poland, as well as in Russia and Ukrain, it is presently experiencing a renaissance. 

Non-European Countries:

USA:

It was mostly due to immigrants that homoeopathy became known in the USA in the 1830s. 

Central and South America:

In some Central and South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay homoeopathy looks back on a long and consistent tradition. 

In other countries the number of homoeopaths picked up again after a first flourishing period, such as in Chile or Bolivia, or after disruptions, as in Cuba, and rose steadily during the last third of the 20th century. Since 1992, homoeopathy has enjoyed systemic support in Cuba. 

Brazil:

In Brazil homoeopathy has had an ongoing tradition since 1810. Since 1977 homoeopathy has been officially recognized in the pharmaceutical, since 1979 also in the medical field. 

Introduction of Homoeopathy in India- First in Calcutta:

In the Asian region, India and Pakistan are the geographical focus point for homoeopathy. It was introduced in the first half of the 19th century by European physicians. Soon, native doctors and lay healers also developed an interest in homoeopathy as its concepts were easily reconcilable with traditional Indian healing approaches. At the same time it was seen as modern Western medicine. The fact that it does not rely on 'strong' drugs made it particularly popular. 

Homoeopathy did not take much time to be introduced in India. Roundabout 1810 a German physician and geologist landed in India with some of his countryman, for geological investigations, perhaps at the order of his Government. This Germann genntleman remained  for a time in Bengal distributing homoeopathic medicines to his Indian servannts and other poor men. There is also some reference to one Dr. Mullens, of the London Missionary Society, who was known to distribute homoeopathic medicines to the peoples of Bhowanipore, Calcutta. Because of this Bengal remains as the most popular area for Homoeopathy in India.    

Bengal became the geographical centre of homoeopathy in India. Its capital Calcutta featured most of the training institutes, pharmacies and publishing houses. From there, homoeopathy spread especially to the North in the 20th century. On the South Indian coast, local centres had been founded already in colonial times, partly by missionaries, more often due to the cooperation between British state officials and Indian physicians. 

Homoeopathic physicians work as part of the national health system, for example in primary care. They operate 230 hospitals of their own. More than 20 national institutes carry out homoeopathic research including the proving of Indian active substances. Homoeopathy has also been used for decades for the prevention and treatment of epidemics.

The 154,000 homoeopaths (as of 2007) make up 13.4% of all Indian physicians. This is the highest percentage worldwide. Here, homoeopathy proves to be especially effective, economic and relatively easy to use. 

After gaining independence India developed into an internationally highly acclaimed centre for homoeopathy. Physicians from all over the world have travelled there for decades to gain work experience because homoeopathy is used for many more disease pictures in Southern Asia than, for instance, in Europe. What is also special is the seasonal use of remedies which takes into account the country's climatic conditions. 

Homoeopathy Today:

For over 200 years now homoeopathy has proved to be a successful healing method. Although there is not yet sufficient scientific evidence of how it works, its therapeutic efficacy is now also recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Homoeopathy has proved amazingly successful in the treatment of chronic and allergic conditions such as rheumatism, migraines, asthma or skin disorders. We see these symptoms more and more often due to the ageing world population and the increasing pollution through harmful substances in everyday life. Emerging countries also use homoeopathy to combat infectious diseases such as cholera and AIDS.

As homoeopathy is by now practised all over the world, regional specialities develop. Homoeopaths often deal with specific challenges (disease symptoms) by using native, proven medicines. In some countries mostly complex remedies (consisting of more than one active agent) are prescribed, in others the 'classical' single remedies dominate.

Demand and Supply:

Since the 1980s the demand for homoeopathic treatment and homoeopathic medicines has grown worldwide. By 2005, almost a third of all Germans had tried homoeopathy; in France it even 40%. Everywhere, the majority of homoeopathy users are women, most have higher education, are rather dissatisfied with their state of health and have an above average interest in health issues. They want to have a say as patients. About three quarters of Europeans wish to see complementary and  alternative medicine (CAM) more strongly represented in their health systems. Patients who use CAM are younger than average, which points to a potential further expansion of homoeopathy.

The number of homoeopathic practitioners is growing disproportionately fast. Almost half of all German general practitioners prescribe homoeopathic medicines 'very often, often or occasionally' according to a representative survey. Around 6,000 physicians have adopted the additional title 'homoeopathic doctor', three times as many as in 1993. The percentage of homoeopaths among general practitioners now amounts to almost 3%. The number of non-medical practitioners with homoeopathic specialization is also on the increase.

Comparable growth tendencies can also be observed in other European countries: the percentage of physicians with an equivalent homoeopathic specialization is in some countries higher now than in Germany. In India, Brazil and other nations the number of homoeopaths is also growing fast.

Globalization has also benefited homoeopathy: In Japan, for instance, where there used to be just a few homoeopathic physicians, Torako Yui started a very successful school in 1997 where 700 homoeopaths have been trained over the last ten years. A patients' association which she also initiated is said to have already 20,000 members. In Sri Lanka and Malaysia the health ministries are seeking to obtain information about the efficacy and potential of homoeopathy. In the United Arab Emirates, where homoeopathy has so far not been practiced, it is being discovered by physicians now. In South Africa and Australia interest is also growing.

From Physician to Homoeopath:

Only physicians with a further specialization in homoeopathy are allowed to use the title 'homoeopathic physician' in Germany. So far, the method has not been firmly established at any universities in Europe. There are, at best, teaching assignments which convey the basic knowledge to medical students. The training of homoeopathic physicians therefore takes place in further training courses that are offered by the homoeopathic physicians' associations or institutes.

Apart from homoeopathic general practitioners, there are also gynaecologists, paediatricians, dentists and veterinarians who offer homoeopathic treatment. Veterinary homoeopathy is steadily gaining importance in some European countries because this kind of treatment, among other things, avoids the drug residue in the animal that tends to reduce its potential for further usage.

Many activities are striving to improve the training of physicians and non-medical practitioners (in Germany). In other European countries the unification of standards is still the most urgent issue. The European Committee for Homoeopathy  already published the relevant recommendations in 1994.

Homoeopathy: Research and Efficacy:

Research is supported by the manufacturers and a few foundations. As homoeopathy is not established yet at the universities, it is investigated there only in exceptional cases. In the last two decades individual European countries such as Germany and Denmark have initiated small-scale temporary research programmes which also benefited homoeopathy. The British National Health Service supports clinical research to an extent, while India has a board infrastructure for homoeopathic research.

It still has not been explained satisfactorily how homoeopathy works. More recent investigation has, however, confirmed that highly potentized (i.e. very strongly diluted and succussed) substances do affect humans, animals, plants, cells and enzymes. One explanation for this might be that the potentization and the extra energy it provides cause a restructuring of the solvent.

More important are the studies on the actual, observable effect of homoeopathic treatment. Evaluation of over 600 homoeopathy trials carried out in 2006 for the Swiss Bundesamt für Sozialversicherung (Department of Social Security) showed clearly that there is sufficient evidence of the preclinical and clinical efficacy of homoeopathy. It is, in its own right and compared to orthodox therapies, a safe and usually cost-saving method. Some studies carried out by German health insurance companies confirm that its effect is sustained which means that it reduces the cost of health care indirectly.