Author: Rajan Sankaran
Published by: Homoeopathic Medical Publisher, 2017
222 pages total
ISBN – 978-93-803556-5-6
$18.00
Reviewer: Vatsala Sperling, RSHom (NA), CCH, MS, PhD, PDHom
Ever since Dr. Rajan Sankaran’s system of organizing remedies into the category of minerals, plants and animals and his sensation method of case taking revolutionized homoeopathy, homoeopaths have found themselves either accepting these developments with enthusiasm or having their doubts about the usefulness and practicality of his approach. When I was beginning my own adventure in homoeopathic education, Dr. Sankaran’s system helped me understand and grasp homoeopathy in an organized and orderly manner and to look at “sensation” as the golden thread that connects the patient, diseases, symptoms, remedy picture and the place of the remedy in nature. After reading Dr. Sankaran’s first book, then the next, the next and the next…. now I am holding his latest book Dog, Yogi, Banyan Tree in my hand. As I begin to dip into the flow of the pages, I am wondering if this book will tell me something about the genius that manifests itself as Dr. Sankaran – not just the homoeopath, but also the human being.
A few pages into the book I realize that folks who have been attending Dr. Sankaran’s seminars, must have heard many of the anecdotes given in the book. On reading them in a sequence, beginning with his ancestry and his parents, who have had a remarkable influence on Rajan, gives us a whole new perspective on the author and the era when his newlywed parents began their life together in India.
As an only child, Dr. Rajan Sankaran was brought up with what he felt was a special love by his parents and he followed his dad’s footsteps as he enrolled into a homoeopathic medical school, but the untimely demise of his dad turned him into a seeker. Rajan began seeking true guidance from the father-figures, people whom he knew through his dad, and who were willing to take him under their wings. However, Dr. Sankaran did not limit his search for the father-figures just to the circle of reputed homoeopaths. He assigned this role even to a car mechanic and accepted his guidance with an open heart.
It is easy to imagine that this method of absorbing the input and positive influence of well-meaning people might have created a mindset of receptivity to new ideas, hunger for expanding what is known and an ardent desire for reaching out for the unknown. Many a great man (and women) in the history of humankind have made it their business to learn from all sources and let knowledge flow into their being from all directions so that their inner being begins to resonate in the realm of true knowing. Knowing and being become one. Knowledge becomes being. Though such concepts are rooted in the Vedas, they can be seen exemplified in people who leave their mark in the field of human endeavor.
At the end of the chapter “The night in the black forest” Dr. Sankaran writes, “There are times when I give my thinking and analyzing a holiday and function from pure observation and awareness.” I had always wondered if and how Dr. Sankaran did such a thing as suspending his analytical mind and tapping into his right brain that houses the spark for intuition, awareness, creativity, art and imagination. I got my answer in the chapter about music lessons and I found myself watching a couple of You Tube videos of Dr. Rajan Sankaran singing a few ragas. He has gone into the depth of Indian classical music and learned it well. I will not be surprised at all if his next adventure would be to look for remedies in the realm of music and melodious sounds from nature. Indian classical music has ragas that affect mood, wellbeing and emotions. The ragas also elicit specific feelings and inner states. The ragas help the listener experience and visualize various aspects of nature and all of these are accomplished by virtue of human voice and musical instruments. Sound is energy. Homoeopathy is energy medicine. Put two and two together and look forward to Dr. Sankaran’s next contribution to homoeopathy in the form of remedies made with the energy of Indian classical music ragas. This is my forecast and I almost see it coming true.
Dr. Sankaran says that he has seen his dad, his teachers and many of his colleagues like Dr. Jayesh Shah, using homoeopathy for acute conditions with an exceptional confidence in the power of the remedies. The chapter, “Testing Your Faith” might make American homoeopaths cringe a bit. At the time of our homoeopathy certification renewal, we are reminded every year that we do not diagnose and treat any diseases, we do not give any medicines and our homoeopathic remedies contain nothing…. (thanks to the process of dilution).
With frequent re-enforcement of such a strong negation of the power of homoeopathy, how are we to develop confidence and faith in our trade? America, for all its education, wealth and scientific bent of mind, is far from becoming a fertile ground for advancement and growth of homoeopathy. This great country has the potential but it has to wake up from its big-pharma-induced slumber and eventually embrace homoeopathy wholeheartedly…until then, it is a great consolation to see that there are people out there who proclaim their faith and confidence in homeopathy on a daily basis, Dr. Sankaran being one of them.
In his book, Dr. Sankaran has summarized his upward and downward spiral while discovering the sensation method and synergy, and he says, “The real joy of being a physician is that it gives you an opportunity to help a fellow human being in a unique and personal way; not only through treatment but also through empathy, listening, counseling and advice.” In pages 124-125; he presents in a nutshell what a homoeopath can do, “When you have this kind of intention, then everything else becomes natural. You do not have to learn ethics or good values in practice. This intention itself will create all that. Then you are not possessive about your “pathy”, your method, your innovation or anything else. You primarily want to help. You want to see what it is that you can do to help the maximum number of people. You do not ask what you can achieve, but rather what is needed in that moment.”
Co-incidentally, in my own growth as a homoeopath I had begun to experience the power of positive intention and found that all the systems and methodologies are nothing but tools. I have the freedom to choose what serves my client’s needs in the best manner and relieves him of his suffering. That alone is my job and I do not have to get involved in any academic squabble over methods, systems and schools of thoughts. Pages 124 – 125 helped me crystallize the idea about the power of positive intention in my practice.
In the last few chapters, Dr. Sankaran narrates his encounters with realized beings and concludes the book with the only color picture of him arms spread, lying on the trunk of a huge tree where he felt that he – the world-weary traveler – had arrived home feeling one with all of nature.
It is a full circle indeed – from the beginning of a quest to the ultimate and inevitable realization. Whether you set a goal or not, whether you strive to achieve your goals or not – if you can see yourself as a part of the whole picture that nature untiringly creates and re-creates every moment in time, and know in your heart that there is no separation really amidst the spirit beings and all separation is only in the name and form, then it is a life well lived and a lesson well learned. To see in the life-narrative of a master homoeopath that this coming to full circle is possible, is reason enough for all homoeopaths to pick up this book and read.
REVIEWER BIO:
Vatsala Sperling, RSHom (NA), CCH, MS, PhD, PDHom was the Chief of Clinical Microbiology services at a children’s hospital in Chennai, India, where she published extensively and conducted research with WHO, Denmark. On moving to the USA to start a family, Vatsala pursued an education in homeopathy in Misha Norland’s school. An author of nine books (www.InnerTraditions.com) and many essays and articles in the field of homeopathy, spirituality and health, Vatsala continues to study with several teachers as well as Drs. Bhavisha and Sachindra Joshi and practices classical homeopathy in Vermont. She has served on the board of directors of North American Society of Homeopaths and she is currently volunteering in the case review committee of Council for Homeopathy Certification. Vatsala can be reached via her website (www.Rochesterhomeopathy.com)
