Survival,
Volume 1
The Mollusc
Rajan Sankaran & Sudhir Baldota
Homeopathic Medical Pulishers, Mumbai,
2009,peparback,453 pages, Price EUR54,75,ISBN 978-81-906316-4-8

 
Reviewed by Bharti Ankalgi Devkota,

BHMS,CCH,RSHom(NA),USA

 
This book is the first in the new series on the animal kingdom. It covers soft-body in-vertebrates and sheds more light on a group of remedies of which we had earlier understood only a few, such as sepia and Murex.

This book includes both new and old ideas incorporated from Sankaran’s earlier works. Besides cases from the authors it includes contributions by homeopaths from all over the world such as Anne Schadde,Anne Wirtz, Dinesh Chauhan, Helios Homeopathic pharmacy, Juergen Hansel, Linda Johnston, Malcom Smith, Mirian Peters, Peter Tuminello, Resie Moonen and Spero Latchis.

The first few pages cover the schema of the book and the animal kingdom. The issues pointing to an animal remedy are well explained. At the deepest level, the experience of a patient in need of an animal remedy is expressed in terms of victim, aggressor, modes of attack and defence, issues of his or her survival, sensations such as freedom, lack of morality, malice, lively communication, sexuality and attractiveness.

The introduction of mollusk starts with the list of 26 remedies such as Calcarea Helicis, Cepea Hortensis, Conchilinum, Craasostrea Gigas, Cratena Peregrina, Patella Vulgata, Venus Mercenaria etc. The authors proceed further with a detailed description of the mollusk divided into three classes: Bivalvia having two-part shells (Oyster, Mussel, Clam and Scallop), Gastropoda or univalves (Cowry, Muricid, Land snail and its remedy from such as Murex Pupura, Helix tosta) and Cephalopoda (Nautilus, Cuttlefish, Squid and Octopus). All three classes are presented with an introduction, anatomy, life cycle, behaviour, threats, defence, its remedy form, its cases, summary and its expression in the patient. At the end of each class a summary of characteristics features and source words is given. Differences between classes and comparisons among their subgroups are presented in the form of chart.

Cases Presented by Dr. Sankaran demonstrate the challenging aspect of the case taking process and show that if we are very patient, a keen observer of all the gestures and pay attention to each word the patient is expressing, we can be led towards the source as well as to the exact remedy pictures. The whole case-taking demonstration in this book itself is thereby made very interesting and guides us to recognize Mollusc in a patient.

At the end of the book, a summary on Mollusc is presented with the general features and source words of Mollusc. For example, the feature of the body and mantle may have source words of soft, delicate, formless, shapeless, etc. Features of vulnerability may have source words such as feeling exposed, unprotected etc. Comparison of three classes of Mollusc are presented in chart from along with their common name, anatomy, Radula, Foot, tentacles, attachment, locomotion, behaviour, food habits, predatorial threat, environmental threat, attack, defence and miasm. A glossary, a categorized list of species and an index of scientific names with common names are presented at the end of the book.

This book will interest those who like to explore new concepts and depths in the understanding of homeopathy. But to start with this book as a new beginner would be a challenge as the whole concept may be difficult to understand; So it is strongly recommended that such readers first read the earlier work of Dr. Sankaran.

I found that the introduction of  each group on biological features contained a lot of detail but not enough structure, thus demanding a lot of focus from the reader. So I recommend that this be looked at in further editions. Aspects on homeopathic pharmacy could be added to make the work more complete. The pictorial representations in the book are wonderful. The high quality of the paper and its sea blue cover give the work a marvelous look and add to its appeal. This is a book that can be highly recommended for all homeopaths.