Introduction
When I was first introduced to Organon as a subject during my first year at college I was really amazed by it. There are various aphorisms and each one is beautifully linked with the next one. I wondered how in the world anyone could write a book like this. So much in so few lines! Then I read the life history of Hahnemann and it all made sense that only a man like Samuel Hahnemann could do something this magical. He created this book that will guide upcoming generations of homeopaths to proceed in the right direction.
While I was amazed by Organon, many of my classmates were getting frustrated because they couldn’t understand what was being taught. They asked the rest of us for help. If you are a student, you also may be finding Organon extremely difficult or boring. Then afterwards in the 3rd year, homoeopathic philosophy is introduced and nobody bothers to read a single book, either Kent’s, Stuart Close’s or that by HA Roberts. These too are considered difficult or boring. We study them as students but only the “important topics” for exams.
The consequences of neglecting Organon are seen when a student gets his degree and starts his own practice. There are failures, frequent changing of remedies, turning towards patent and combination drugs for help and a lot more. We see many of our colleagues, after their education, opening their ‘so-called’ homoeopathic clinic and prescribing allopathic drugs or doing polypharmacy. (Now here is a bridge course which we all are talking about, which I am sure is a result of the “HARD WORK” of people who have not understood homoeopathy at all.)
Why is it difficult?
What causes students to deviate from Organon or homoeopathic philosophy. Is it not as interesting as allied or clinical subjects? Or is it that the Organon is really difficult?
Here in India when a student arrives in this realm of homoeopathy he usually comes from a background of physics, chemistry and biology (as a science student), which he had read since his 1st grade. So, he has always learnt about a materialistic and things that can be seen and put down in the forms of laws. Then suddenly he starts to read about vital force, law of minimum dose, Hering’s law of cure, simple substance etc. which needs an open and scientific mind to perceive, rather than a materialistic mind. And teachers could not explain all these things because they may not themselves have understood the concepts properly. As a result, the subject becomes a boring and neglected one in the eyes of students. The same happens with various philosophies by our stalwarts. Very few of the students could understand the basic concepts.
Philosophy means the views of a person on a subject. Kent’s lectures, Stuart close’s Genius of Homeopathy or HA Roberts Principles And Art of Cure are their take on Hahnemann’s Organon. But if the base (knowledge of Organon) is incomplete, then how can the student understand any view on the subject or develop his own opinion about it.
Then there are those who come to homoeopathy because they were not selected for MBBS or other careers. The mentality is that they can get a prefix of Dr easily in here. But then they start to realise that it is not so easy to master this craft, especially if you using shortcuts. Homoeopathy has a lot to offer to the young person if they fully devote themselves to it. A lot of study is the only thing that will achieve success.
What to do?
What can be done to motivate students, so that they can find the subject interesting and comprehensible? The answer is that the teacher can correlate the subject with modern sciences. A great work can be seen by Dr Manish Bhatia in his Lectures on Organon, where he related the laws of thermodynamics with vital energy. Students will find it really fascinating. Another thing that can be done is encouraging students to read Organon from the original writings and discussing each aphorism with colleagues, rather than relying on some reference book. Every aphorism contains so much meaning in every word and thus must be elaborated thoroughly. A discussion between teacher and student is much more interesting than merely reading from the book. This same procedure can be applied for philosophies. Showing live cases demonstrating remedy reaction or second prescription. Talk about obstacles to cure and show how they can deflect the vital energy.
Of course, the language is difficult in Organon and philosophy but it can be made simpler by guidance from teachers. Also, students can always use a dictionary while reading philosophy. There are various good dictionary apps available for smartphones and you can always find any difficult words in it. There are various lectures and videos on Organon and Philosophy by great teachers on the internet which are easily accessible. Students can develop a habit of reading just a page of philosophy or just an aphorism a day and then thinking about it and discussing with friends or teachers.
Organon is not tough and it is really not boring. It just needs a little effort from each side to make it the favourite subject for upcoming homeopaths.
References-
Lectures on Organon- Dr Manish Bhatia
Lectures on Homoeopathic philosophy- J.T. Kent
Principles and Art of cure- H.A. Roberts
The Genius of Homoeopathy and Essays on Homeopathic Philosophy- Stuart Close
