Homeopathy XV – Study of Materia Medica

Remedies for Healing XV

Study of Materia Medica is an art. There are so many Materia Medica books. But Dr. Kent’s Lectures on Materia Medica is the one from which one can understand easily and select a drug suitable to each constitution. Dr Kent has explained the Materia Medica in a personified way. So each drug is to be visualized as a person, then symptoms of the drug can be perfectly matched with the person. That means while reading the Materia Medica of any given drug, the reader would feel as if he is talking to a person. When one can perceive the drug as a person it is easy to conceive similarity for the natural disease. It is a penance. As many number of times we read the Materia Medica so many new dimensions of the drugs are revealed. There is some force passes as under current through the lines of Kent’s Materia Medica. It should be studied as Bhagavat Gita by Hindus or Khuran by Muslims and so on. Then only it is possible to have a comprehensive darshan of each drug which can be otherwise called the drug picture.

All the important lines relating to the person are to be underlined with red ink so that they cannot be missed at the time of need. For Example:

1. 

   Sepia officinalis

   Sepia – man-built features. This means, there are male symptoms in females. Likewise, in the same drug – “bad effects due to over vigorous husbands”, “affections are stilled” and so on.

2. Kali Carb, “fights with the bread giver”. He will fight with those upon whom he depends.
3. Pulsatilla, “weeps while reporting”. Feels sex life a sin.

If the physician is able to match the symptoms of his lifestyle with those given in the Materia Medica, it is 100% success. It is also difficult to translate the language of the patient in terms of Materia Medica which is necessary. It differs from locality to locality.

All the symptoms obtained in a person suffering from a natural disease which form the totality of symptoms are all available in the Materia Medica viz.,

1. False Symptoms (Diseases that are likely to be cured by the drug.)
2. Constitutional Symptoms
3. General Symptoms
4. Mental Symptoms
5. Modalities
6. Peculiarities
7. Causation
8. Drug relationship.

Study of some drugs divided under the above groups are given in this booklet as an example.

For the purpose of selecting a drug the totality of symptoms of the person are to be matched with those available in the Materia Medica. If they match point to point it ensures a permanent cure. The physician has to understand carefully the nature of the person and the drug picture in the Materia Medica. If it is done based on 1 (or) 2 external symptoms it is a defeat. It is not just reading the symptoms and applying the drug.

Therefore, study of Materia Medica cannot be literal. Since Kent’s Materia Medica is prepared in a personified way the selected drug should have a perfect match with the drug picture derived from the Materia Medica. This method of study proves to be holistic and restores health permanently.

… to be continued