. . . continued from last issue
If the go ahead signal to “manufacture” viruses is given by the miasm, then is it not possible that, due to an activated miasm, endogenous latent retroviral agents may seemingly spontaneously arise from within? If this is true, it is possible that potentized anti-miasmatic remedies may be the much sought after treatment for viral infections.
These ideas require a shift in attitude toward the concept of disease and its etiology. According to homeopathy, disease is an internal dynamic process that is constantly changing, rather than being a fixed material entity that invades from without. This applies to the miasms also. Modern medical science has categorised disease according to the different systems of the physical body, giving each a separate name, etiology and treatment, but according to the theory of the chronic miasms, these different so-called diseases are but different expressions of the three miasms that can all be traced to a common origin. This concept requires a holistic outlook rather than the separatist view that prevails in the modern medical world.
The word miasm as adopted by Hahnemann to characterize his particular conception of disease literally means “any noxious emanation, effluvia or polluting factor.” Hahnemann was a genius and he chose his words very carefully. The word miasm is absolutely appropriate to convey the internal disturbances that are the source of all disease. The pollution can be inherently present, imposed from without or transmitted through infection to others. And in addition, pollution is exactly what occurs when there is obstruction to the flow of energy on any level—body, prana, mind and even on the subtlest levels. Is it not amazing that the whole concept Hahnemann was trying to convey is contained in this one small word?
Hahnemann’s contemporaries objected seriously to his chronic disease theory. One of the major criticisms was his assertion that “at least 7/8 of all chronic maladies spring from psora as their only source, while the remaining 1/8 spring from syphilis or sycosis or from a complication of all three of them.”
These objections are justifiable only if one is regarding the theory of the chronic diseases at a superficial level. But if we study it from a truly homeopathic viewpoint, with the acknowledgment that disease is an internal dynamic process, and along with this we open our minds to ancient and modern knowledge regarding the subtler levels of the human organism, these objectives can be discarded as merely lack of understanding and insight.
We are now ready to study each of the miasms individually, and will start with psora. Hahnemann’s choice of the word psora was not haphazard. At that time it was a common expression used as a general term for many different skin troubles, though it also was used in the more specific sense to indicate itch proper. However, Hahnemann used the term psora in a much broader sense, making it the source of all chronic diseases except venereal diseases.
. . . to be continued
Dr. Barbara Bova, HOD, Dept. of Homeopathy