Vaikunthanath Das Kaviraj 31st October 1946 – 2nd March 2013
With great sadness I report the passing of Vaikunthanath Das Kaviraj, born Ben Rozendal, who many of you knew as the Plant Doctor. He died on March 2nd in Northern France. 
A Dutch Homeopath, Kaviraj was an extraordinary healer and researcher, who did pioneering work in the development of agrohomeopathy, developing it to a high art. His knowledge of that field was unmatched. He was one of the most generous hearts I’ve ever encountered. His was a life dedicated to service and he spared nothing to help others. It was common for him to traverse continents to visit patients who couldn’t travel to him. Lately he had gone to India where he was teaching sustainable agriculture to poor farmers. He understood the delicate interactions of plant, animal, insect and microscopic life.
Kaviraj was a passionate person who spoke frankly and did not suffer fools or injustice gladly. He was ardent about stopping GMO crops from ruining agriculture and harming life on the planet. He saw it as criminal, an illegal experiment, conducted without the consent of the subjects.
During the 1960′s Kaviraj co-founded the Magic Bus company, offering rides to India by minivan. He experimented with psychedelics and kept company with Alan Ginsberg, Bob Dylan and Ken Kesey. He ran organic farms in France and Belgium, studied with an herbal witch and astrologer and travelled the world to study plants. While in India he became ill and was cured by homeopathy. The desire to understand what had cured him lead to an apprenticeship in the 1970′s followed by 10 years running Dr. Chatterjee’s rural clinic. He wrote textbooks on various aspects of homeopathy as well as the fictional Boon Files (in the style of homeopathic detective stories.). In 1982 he was initiated into the Bhakti and Shamanic healing traditions.
In 1986 Kaviraj successfully treated apple trees with Belladonna and subsequently moved to Australia where he did large scale experiments with remedies for sick plants. This led to his pioneering book Homeopathy for Farm and Garden. He was a unique and powerful spirit who lived with purpose every day, spending a lifetime working to relieve suffering and preserve life.
I find it difficult to imagine him gone. He still lives in the minds of those he taught, and the hearts of everyone who knew him. Good bye dear friend.
(You can read an interview Kaviraj gave to Hpathy in Dec. 2008)
https://hpathy.com/agrohomeopathy/v-d-kaviraj/
The Hpathy International Short Story Contest – Deadline Extended
We received very many excellent stories that require much time to study. For this reason, and because many of you have busy practices – and writing is so time consuming, we are extending the deadline for submissions to May 30, 2013. Thank you for all the hard work and passion that went into writing these lovely stories.
In this issue:
Our interview this month is with Hermann Keppler, founder and principal of the College of Naturopathic Medicine. A homeopath for many years, he studied other healing methods and eventually opened the college, which now has schools in the UK and Ireland.
Bill Grannell talks about A Promise of Health, which provides homeopathic healthcare to Mexico’s rural villages. He discusses the work of Dr. Soledad Ramírez Medina in reaching so many of the poor.
Meryl Dorey shares the ongoing story of Australian homeopath Fran Sheffield, whose cases and articles have appeared on Hpathy’s pages. She faces a day in court for publishing the truth about homeopathy and vaccines.
Our wonderful Elaine Lewis has done it again, she’s written Elaine’s Tidbits, an article full of practical, down to earth advice and tips which you won’t want to miss.
Iman Navab and Mark Moodie who were both close friends of V.D. Kaviraj have written remembrances of him. Mark has also agreed to take on Kaviraj’s Plant Doctor Column. He wants us to understand that he cannot replace Kaviraj, but will run the column with his own skills and style. We offer him all our support.
As you will see, we have more cases and articles than I can comment on here. Pull up a comfortable chair and see what resonates to you. As always, you’ll find a new quiz, crossword, cartoon and Tips and Secrets. We love to receive your comments, questions, cases and articles, so keep them coming! Send them to: [email protected]
Dear Alan,
The report of passing of Vaikunthanath Das Kaviraj – our beloved ‘Plant Doctor” is very very saddening and heart breaking.
His demise has created an unfillable vacant place in the hearts of all “Homeopathy4Everyone” readers as well as ezine team.
When I glanced on the editorial heading, I was shocked and immediately gone through your editorial.
The Almighty God may rest his soul in peace and give the strength to every one, related to him in any way, to bear his passing away.
Yours sincerely,
ML Singh
Keep on your excellent work Alan!
The report of passing away of our beloved plant doctor V D Kaviraj was saddening.I loved reading the columns,May God rest his soul in peace.
It is difficult to console Dr.Kaviraj family. May god rest his soul in peace
Very sad to hear that a plant doctor will not be there to guide us. May God rest his soul in peace and give strength to all the near and dear ones to bear this loss.
Sir,
It is very sad news of passing of Respected Kaviraj, who open new field of agrohomoeopathy. God may give strength to his family to bear this hard time.
Thank you everyone for those kind words. Kaviraj was very much loved and appreciated. He wanted so much to make the world a better place. It is the job of those he taught and who learned from him, to carry on the work. There are good people now researching agrohomeopathy around the world. The world needs that information more than ever. Kavi will live through all of us.
Shocking …
“The Plant Doctor” as fondly known– will no longer be there to give his curt replies, rev.( Ben Rozendal alias )Kaviraj equally a good Human and Animal doctor and healer par excellence , The world of Homeopathy will miss you .
The apple will miss you
the bees will miss you
the plants will miss you
the horses will miss you
the human patients will miss you
grateful they are
so God will place you nearer
with Great healers
and will bless you,but,
We will always miss you…
Dear Alan,
Kaviraj’s passing is a great shock and loss to the world. He will be sadly missed by many.
Are there any of his follwers or other experts willing to fill his shoes and help many of us with advice and recommendation on the application of agrohomeopathy?
Dear Alan,
I’m really shocked. Thanks for the tribute.
Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. Loved him. Love him.
In Memorium to Dr. V.D Kaviraj
In memory of Dr. V.D. Kaviraj., 2nMarch 2013 might be the mortal end of Dr. V. D Kaviraj, but he will live in the memory of thousands of his followers for his pioneer work: Homeopathy and Plant life. Pioneers live a hard life themselves to make the lives of others easy. Our Hahnemann worked so hard facing odds, went through privations in order to create a revolution in the art and science of healing by his theory of Similia Similibus Curentur and potentization of the minimal dose. By dint of sheer hard work and sustained effort, he has attained immortality. Dr. Kaviraj also spared no effort to apply Homeopathy to crops , insects and animal life. His devotion and hard work will surely make him live for ever in books and memories of generations to come. Great men live by their actions more than by their breath.
Dear Dr Alan,
It is very sad news for me DR V D KAVIRAJ “The Plant DOCTOR” no more with us.
May GOD rest his soul in peace.
Dear Alan
I would like to express my deepest sorrow and condolence to you, to Kavi’s family and all my dear homeopath colleagues.
His great efforts will never vanish neither his prominent homeopathic works. During the Haiti disastrous earthquake he went to the damaged regions and helped the affected people very effectively.
His remarkable humanly behavior toward people and the nature specially plants is exemplary.
Doubtlessly he is a remarkable and true teacher of agrohomeopathy and a symbol of caring for human being.
God Bless him and help his family to tolerate his empty place.
I express my deep sorrow by the demise of Dr Vaikunthanath Das Kaviraj. I was a good friend of Kavi and his strong opponent also. Since last two years we used to debate about memory of water. Dr Kaviraj was very adamant in his argument. Frequently, he kept trying to convince me about the existing models of explaining homeopathy, which I intended to refute. Both of us were bothered in thinking who will win the debate, but never had it come to an end. Often the conversation reached to personal level also, but I always respected him as my elder brother and he was also amicable to me, which grew a kind of amity between us. I have communicated several times in his facebook also. There he was a completely different person. Few weeks back we were discussing about the possibility of existence of traces of drug molecule in homeopathic dilutions, the theory which is budding recently, which he strongly denied. That was our last communication. I will miss him greatly. He was a brave warrior to campaign for the cause of Homeopathy. We have no choice but to fight the scuffle without him. We pray for him to God the almighty: let the departed soul rest in peace in his heavenly abode.