The Sensation in Homeopathy
This latest book by Dr. Rajan Sankaran is the most evolved and comprehensive of his work to date. As he notes at the beginning, it is the fullest representation of his ideas, both new as well as incorporated from his earlier works. It approaches completeness, with regard to formulating a system of homeopathic case-taking, analysis, prescribing and management (follow-up), knowledge of remedies, and the understanding of how this practise relates to the fundamental principles of nature. In its totality, Sankaran delivers more profound insights regarding all of the above, in a new way, representing a significant advance in the field of homeopathy. In collaboration with his colleagues in Mumbai, he has developed various principles and 'maps' which help to systematise homeopathy. To my knowledge, no one in the field of homeopathy today has attempted anything like the scale of this effort, which is not only based solidly on the firm foundations of homeopathic philosophy, but also opens new frontiers to understanding. The fundamental idea is that a remedy is curative when it is given on the basis of the patient's deepest level of experience, his/her vital sensation. At that level, there is an energy which corresponds to something non-human, something which is like a plant, mineral or animal. It seems like non-sense. It is as if there are two songs playing in the same person: the human part, which is supposed to be there, and the non-human, which isn't. The song of the remedy will express itself with the language of its kingdom: plant sensitivity, mineral structure, or animal survival. It will express itself precisely as the song of a substance. All of Sankaran's previous work culminates here. His observations which led to the classification of kingdoms and miasms were explained in his earlier books, and are recapped in greater depth. In An Insight into Plants (2002) he introduced his model regarding levels of experience, and how this applies to understanding information which the patient gives in case taking. In The Sensation in Homoeopathy, he takes you from the patient, via the levels of experience and the maps of kingdoms and miasms, to the source of the remedy itself. Through his sensitive and skilful case-taking, he shows how to encourage the patient to take you there. The cases selected for illustration have been carefully chosen to provide a suitable range. This amounts to nothing less than a coherent system of practise, one that can be learned and replicated. Central to Sankaran's thesis is the concept of 'levels'. In the chapter called 'Deeper Insights' he expands on this: level one is 'name', two is 'fact', three is 'feeling/emotion', four is 'delusion', five is 'vital sensation', six is 'energy'. Each level arises from the one before, though in a circular, rather than linear fashion: from the level of 'name' (e.g. headache) to 'fact' (worse lying down) to 'emotion/feeling' (it makes me sad) to 'delusion' (it feels as if someone is driving a nail into my head), to 'sensation' (my head is splitting open) to 'energy' (to follow this progression, the source of the remedy might be from the tree family conifers). Equally, you can move in the other direction: 'energy' gives rise to the 'sensation' which gives rise to the 'delusion', which gives rise to the 'feeling/emotion' and so on. Then, Sankaran addresses the question of the next level - level seven which has no other name. It is the level from which energy itself arises. Within this discussion he says, "We experience the Seventh level just at the moment of conception, where something, a life or energy form occurs from nothing, just as creation has happened out of nothing. It is therefore the basis for energy. It is also experienced by us as a void at the moment of death." (p.225) --Reviewed by Ilana Dannheisser,This book review is reprinted from Homeopathy, Volume 94, Number 3, July 2005, with permission from Peter Fisher, Editor. For Editorial communications, Advertising and Subscriptions contact: British Homoeopathic Journal, 2 Powis Place, London WC1N 3HT, U.K. Tel: 0171-837 9469. Fax: 0171-278 7900.  The Sensation in Homeopathy  By: Rajan Sankaran  Homeopathic Medical Publishers,  Mumbai, India, 2004 ISBN: 8190110365  Rajan Sankaran's latest book 'The Sensation in Homeopathy' represents the next stage in his epic journey of discovery and understanding of homeopathy; the journey which started in his first book 'The Spirit of Homeopathy' and has progressed through 'The Substance of Homeopathy', 'The System of Homeopathy' and 'An Insight into Plants' He describes the process thus:  'When I started as a homeopath, the state of the profession could be likened to a man with an air gun standing in a field shooting up in the air randomly. Once in a while a bird flew into his aim and was shot. And the homeopath would say, "What a great shot that was!" Patients had to struggle to get into the line of fire! There was a lack of consistency. Each of us had some brilliant results but not consistently... I realized that consistency was a necessity if we were to have any credibility as a system of treatment... My effort all along has been to find a method... that is consistent and reproducible.'  The aim of this book is to revise and enlarge upon concepts which he has developed to systematize homeopathy. The concepts of kingdoms, miasms, sensation and levels, as he is at pains to point out on several occasions, are based on the very solid foundation of knowledge of homeopathic philosophy, materia medica and repertory. This is not a new method of homeopathy which disregards traditional teaching but rather leads to a deeper understanding of the case and the remedy.  For those who have not read his earlier books, I suggest that, because Sankaran gives an excellent review of his thinking to date, it is quite possible to start with this book and gain a clear understanding of the system which he is developing. The layout of the book-if a little muddled and repetitive in places-is easily accessible, either to dip into or to sit down and read in one long session. The excellent Foreword and Introduction could have been written as one section; somewhat bizarrely, Acknowledgment and Note to the Reader are sandwiched between these two. However, this is a small point and does not detract from their content which sets the scene beautifully. This for me was like a spring board from which to jump into the main sections of the text. He has divided the book into three parts with the aim of following the evolution of the current concepts. Each stage of the method is illustrated with clinical cases.  Part I: 'The Spirit of Homeopathy' introduces the ideas of The Central Disturbance, Miasms and Kingdom Classification. Hahnemann's definition of disease as a 'dynamic derangement of the dynamic vital force' is explained by Sankaran as 'The Central Disturbance'-the mental and general symptoms together. These come first and local and pathological changes follow later.  ' ... as if pathology grows on the Central Disturbance as a creeper on a stick. To remove the pathology, it is the Central Disturbance that needs to be corrected and the physical pathology will have nothing to sustain it.' He expands on these ideas and their practical application and then moves on to introduce miasms, kingdom classification and the system of case taking and analysis. Six cases with follow-up and analysis complete the section. Reviewed by Maggie Curley, Kenilworth, Warwickshire --Reviewed by Maggie Curley, Kenilworth, Warwickshire