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| BOOK REVIEW |
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| Year : 2015 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 4 | Page : 285-287 |
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Chronic diseases
Neeraj Gupta
Reader NFSG, Department of Organon, Nehru Homoeopathic Medical College, New Delhi, India
| Date of Web Publication | 30-Dec-2015 |
Correspondence Address:
Neeraj Gupta
Reader NFSG, Department of Organon, Nehru Homoeopathic Medical College, New Delhi
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0974-7168.172870
How to cite this article:
Gupta N. Chronic diseases. Indian J Res Homoeopathy 2015;9:285-7 |
Author: Dr. A. K. Das
Language: English
Published by: Books and Allied (P) Ltd., Kolkata, India
| Introduction | |  |
Homoeopathy is known for curing the chronic diseases from the roots and the basic principles on which it is founded have to be really followed for the rational healing and curing. Hahnemann, the founder after having failed in curing several chronic cases, analytically and with the logical mind came to understand the reasons that were acting as obstacles in the process of cure of relapsing conditions and gave the world his theory of Chronic Diseases in the form of the book describing in detail their peculiar nature and cure. But the said book has been translated in English that is cumbersome and complex which the readers find difficult to understand and practice. Like the mongrel sect in Hahnemannian times the understanding of Homoeopathy has become a matter of diverse speculative understanding by the different sects of homoeopaths especially in teaching institutes. The said book written by the author aims at simplifying the understanding of the complex matter written by the master not only for the students, teaching faculty but for the common man as well who is interested to know the concept of chronic diseases, the underlying cause as miasms and their way of dealing for cure.
| Outline | | |
This book has been divided into two parts: The First part dealing with the Theoretical part explaining the Nature and the Cure of chronic diseases and the Second part dealing with the Antipsoric medicines in addition to the Hahnemann's prefaces of theFirst edition, 4th and 5th Volume and different editions of this book whereupon the author has tried to bring the correlation between the Hahnemann's Organon, Chronic diseases and Materia Medica Pura.
Each chapter is started with an introductory page in Dialogue Box like presentation that gives beforehand a brief-up of the actual text parawise with a short description of each para that gives a quick glimpse to the reader as to what all one can get as the subject matter. It is like the analysis is done by breaking down in smaller segments for better and detailed understanding.
The first Theoretical part starts with the chapter on Nature of Chronic Disease that is broken up para wise starting from Para 1–99 with a subdivision of themes like Background behind the Development of Theory of Chronic Miasm form para 1–26, Psora as a Chronic Miasm from para 27–29 and Development of Psora from para 30–99 with its evolutionary history, Development of Latent Psora and its symptomatology and Diseases due to awakening of Latent Psora (Secondary manifestations). Key Terms are provided at few places after Glossary to describe about a historical event or description of some technical terms or some concepts which were used contemporarily at that time. This serves as a reference work and helps the reader to further grasp the idea or concept in detail. Each chapter ends with a Summary that is worth reading, it describes the whole text point wise with the inclusion of catchy colourful flow charts that make the understanding easier and one does not get bored of reading the dry text para after para.
The second subdivision ofFirst (Theoretical Part) is Cure of the Chronic Diseases which is subdivided in five parts starting from a small chapter on Cure containing 2 paras but the same style of explanation has been maintained by the author giving first the main original text then the Glossary, Simple Description and Summary
| Critique Argument and themes for Evaluation | | |
The content of theFirst part of Hahnemann's original Chronic Diseases is very less while this book is made too bulky to carry but seems to be quite exhaustive.
At many a places few words of actual main paras are not changed and are used as it is in the Simple Description part e.g., words like 'yeilded' and 'inveterate' in para 7 at page-15 are used as it is under Simple Description at Page-17th thus making it a repetition of what the reader has already read in the original para. This could have been avoided by the use of simplified words.
There have been few repetitions that are noted in the content mentioned in Simple Description and the Summary. Similarly the explanation of Foot note is merely repetition of the actual Foot note without simplification. See F/N at Page-28 and F/N at Page-30. In the F/N of para 16 (page-28) Hahnemann has mentioned passing of information about the nature of Chronic diseases to two of his pupils. If the author had tried to find out from the literature of 1827, who these two pupils were and had mentioned their names it would have proved fruitful and thus would have enriched the academic knowledge of the reader.
Under the Simple Description the difficult words are not simplified and are used as it is in the original paras/text, though their meanings are given in the Glossary and the readers don't get the feel of reading the simplified version and they have to invariably refer to the Glossary for understanding.
At many a places, the para, its summary and its simple description contains the same words and language being used by the author without any simplified explanation e.g., Refer para 15 at Page-27
At some places the author/Publisher needs to review the spelling mistakes and correct them e.g., On Page-30 under para-17 there is mention of the word 'clew' on sixth line and same word under Glossary on Page-31 has been mentioned, though under the Summary given at Page-30 the correct spelling as 'clue' in the fifth line is given. These discrepancies could have been avoided by a thorough revision of the text.
Summary given at Page-395 under Doctrine of Psora and its Treatment is very precise and useful but the author/Publisher has mismatched the description with the actual paras, as the S. no. from 19–27 do not match with the description of actual no. of paras in the original text.
Para 60 given at Page-434 is written separately while it is a part of the actual para 59 at Page-131 in the original text at twelfth line (B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd. Reprint Edition: 2006, 2007 Edition 2005). For the reader it becomes difficult to locate the para in the original Text. Henceforth the subsequent numbering of the paras in the original text gets altered/different from the AK Das's book thereby creating confusion.
Though the Glossary given at the end of each para is very useful for easy understanding of difficult words but somewhere the author has forgotten to put the meaning of similar words e.g., in F/N of 121 at Page-529, the meaning of word 'amara' in fifth line is not given thus making it difficult to comprehend.
Under the chapter Psora, the author has abruptly seemed to have forgotten the explanation/discussion of the paras from 122–136 (14 paras). At page 529 last para mentioned is 121 while others as mentioned before are missing.
The sequence of next chapters that follow are in connotation with the main text as Sycosis, Syphilis, Psora and The Medicines, and each chapter starts with an introductory page describing the summary of each para in brief while the inner content remains the same starting with the sequential original paras followed by Glossary, Key Terms (given sporadically) and Simple Description with colorful and eye catchy flow charts at places help in better understanding of the complex concepts. Short summary of each para in boxes are put and descriptions of Foot notes on either side of the page adds to the appropriate utilization of the space that gives the appearance of good designing work. Each chapter here is followed by 2–3 pages of Summary that summarizes the whole chapter point wise and gives a quick review of what the reader has read.
In the Second part, chapter of Antipsoric Medicines is included in which the same previous style of explanation is being maintained with an Introductory page with the parawise brief up followed by parawise original text, Glossary, Simple Description in the centre and short Summary and Flow charts on each side of the main text. The chapter ends with the Summary describing point wise brief up of the main content.
| General Evaluation | | |
The readers will appreciate the colorful flow charts depicted at places that are quite innovative and give a quick grasp on the concepts in the long paras.
The main beauty of this book is its Glossary (word meaning) given at the end of each para that simplifies the difficult words and makes the understanding quite lucid and easy.
Also Summary given in Blocks after each para gives quick overview of the detailed original paras without deviating from the original subject matter.
From page 531–546, the author's simplified version of Diet and Mode of Living, Obstacles to Cure of Chronic Diseases, Cautions regarding the use of Antipsoric medicines to cure Chronic diseases; mistakes while treating Chronic diseases, Follow-up during Antipsoric Treatment etc. given in the end have been written in simple language for the easy grasp of the reader that makes the hallmark of this book and makes the understanding of various concepts used in Cure of the Chronic Diseases easy.
| Recommendation | | |
Since, there is no simplified version of the Chronic Diseases available, this book is highly recommended for both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students, teachers of Organon and for the true homoeopathic practitioners as well, for the easy grasp and understanding of the chronic diseases.
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