THE OTHER SONG— Discovering Your Parallel Self: Rajan Sankaran; Pub. by Homoeopathic Medical Publishers, 20 Station Road, Santacruz (W), Mumbai-400054. Rs. 450.
This is the latest in the series by Rajan Sankaran, a widely acclaimed homoeopath. The book, which attracts even a non-practitioner of homeopathy, underlines that “something else lives within us” that causes emotional upheaval during stress-induced illnesses. Insight into two primary questions — what makes us what we are and what makes us ill — shows how homoeopathy is practised by taking a patient to the “sensation” level because the awareness of this deepest experience is in itself a healing process.
Levels of experienceThe fundamental idea behind Sankaran’s approach is that there are levels of experience, the deepest, unique, and most vital of them being the one that is common to both body and mind and is called “sensation.” It is at this level there is an energy that corresponds to something “non-human,” which the author compares to a plant, mineral or an animal. It may sound weird but Sankaran says it is as if there are “two songs playing in an individual” — the human, which we all perceive and know to be normal, and the non-human, which we perhaps don’t recognise or acknowledge.
It is this non-human song that expresses itself in the language of its kingdom — plant sensitivity, mineral structure, or animal survival — and is more evident during periods of stress. He goes on to argue that both the human and non-human songs are harmonious but trouble comes when they play together, and the result is “discord leading to illness.”
MethodEvery individual has the qualities of all the kingdoms but only one core sensation level and one constant discomfort. Sankaran adopts the method of “turning down the volume” of the identified kingdom in each ailing individual. When it is done, health returns. With this as the crux, he takes the reader through the several cases he has handled over the years. There is something special about the process as the aim is to find the non-human part of the person and discern what is concealed by the regular human expressions.
He chases the main complaint of any patient through careful questioning, and fathoms the kingdom playing the other song. “It is this other song which drives an individual’s emotions, dreams, ambitions, work, relationships, illnesses and even circumstances,” he says, making the point that it is the unconscious expressions like hand gestures that “most truthfully portray the deepest level of sensation and energy in any individual and describe the other song.” Sankaran shows a sense of profound confidence in his methodology. It helps in determining the reaction pattern of a patient indicating the perceived nature of the illness in 10 categories, ranging from panic to optimism to hopelessness. These reaction patterns then help in finding remedies once the kingdom is discovered. For instance, plant is related to hypersensitivity and reactivity and once it is determined that a patient needs a plant remedy, the physician identifies the specific plant. With minerals is identified the patient’s structure and the challenge to it which arises from a sense of lack of, or losing, something. The animal kingdom relates to competition, comparison, and survival, and these are indicated by a patient’s speech and body movements. When the source of stress, which does not lie in any external reality, is accurately pin-pointed, homeopathic cure becomes easy.
CaseSankaran cites the case of a woman patient with urticaria (hives), who always felt being persecuted and victimised by her life situation. From her expressions of being a victim, her competition with and jealousy of other family members, and other facets of her case, the doctor concluded that she needed an animal kingdom remedy. As the questioning progressed, she expressed her dislike for insects, especially bees. On the doctor administering the appropriate homeopathic medicine, her skin ailment disappeared, and her perception of her life situation changed.
Enriched by the vivid description by a plethora of cases, the book makes a useful reading for homoeopathy practitioners — beginners and old-timers alike. Its merit lies in the scale of its view revealing the art of healing. The author’s overarching philosophy is explicit and intelligible, and the exposition is such as to make understanding of the subject easy.
Source: The Hindu
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