Yoga, Alchemy, and Homeopathy
Opening doors
I was raised in the Judeo-Christian tradition, devout through my childhood years up to my early adolescence. The path of mysticism and the search for the experience of the divine always attracted me. As I became dissatisfied with the formulaic elements of religion, and with the restricted world-view it presented, I was open to learning about alternative views of reality.
That doesn’t mean I left behind the fundamental teachings; I have always honored the deep knowledge and wisdom of my teachers, many of which were extraordinary people. It was my need to seek the spiritual path rather than follow the dogma devoid of the understanding and compassion which I saw represented by Jesus in the scriptures of the New Testament; even as I explored other perspectives there I maintained my center of gravity.
I got introduced to yoga in the mid-seventies. Instantly, I felt it was something helpful and interesting. The beginning stretching exercises, silent sitting listening to soft music and the hypnotic voice of the instructor during the relaxation exercises brought peace and calmness to my otherwise stressed young life. Little did I understand how profound how profound is the path of Yoga. After a short stint with it, I got busy with other distractions and put it aside for a while. At that time I didn't know anything about Alchemy or Homeopathy either, if I had ever heard the words.
A few years later, during my last year of medical school, I encountered conventional medicine's limitations as I prescribed partially helpful medications for patients suffering from chronic conditions. At that time, I ran into a group of fellow students learning the principals of acupuncture and Taoist philosophy. That exploration opened my eyes to an alternative view, and understanding, of disease and treatment.
As I continued exploring I went to a clinic where integrative medicine was offered; there, the practitioners used acupuncture, herbal medicine, and naturopathic methods, including homeopathy. Initially homeopathy didn't seem plausible to me, but as I saw people's responses to the medicines and I thought it would be worthwhile to study and research it. Since then, I have integrated homeopathy into my life and use it as my primary medicinal method, personally and professionally.
Homeopathy is a system of medicine developed by Samuel Hahnemann at the end of the eighteenth century. It consists of the use of substances, primarily mineral, vegetable and animal, capable of causing in a person the same symptoms that need to be treated in disease. These substances are used in infinitesimally small amounts and they are supposed to stimulate the body's own healing mechanisms. These mechanisms, according to the vitalist tradition, are animated by the vital force-the chi, or prana, as it may be called in the Eastern traditions. (1)
What about a guru?
At that time, at the clinic, I saw the picture of a white-bearded Indian man hanging in front of the clinic's director’s station. I asked him, "Who is that?" and he responded, with great reverence and humility, "That is my master!"
This was quite intriguing to me and his response puzzled me. As I wandered through his library I found out that the man in the picture was a yoga master, Sant Kirpal Singh, who taught about the "Surat Shabd Yoga," the yoga of the divine sound and light. After reading all I could find about this practice, I found a complementary worldview that expanded and explained some of my unanswered questions regarding spirituality; his was a syncretrist exposition. I started integrating the principles and practice into my life and began, formally, the "path" of yoga. However, I can say that I began the path of yoga when I first started desiring the union with the divine, as a child, and that every religious path is in fact yoga. (2)
Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root "yuj" which can mean: meeting, union, communion, consummation, abstraction, realization, or absorption. As a metaphysical philosophy the practice of Yoga promises to bring proximity between soul and Oversoul-God-The Divine.
According to Patanjali, the reputed father of the yoga system, yoga involves the elimination of the distracting fluctuations of the mind that hinder the individual "soul" from dissolving into the universal one, the two being essentially the same, one derived from the other; something which most of us are not consciously aware. From early childhood we start adding layers of sensory and mental perceptions that enshroud our consciousness from such truth. Sages and mystics have developed various means to help us withdraw the veils that cover our true nature and keep us in bondage, psychologically and spiritually.
Indian sages, hundreds of years ago, explored the physiological, social, cultural and religious conditionings that keep people emotionally, psychologically and spiritually entrapped. They outlined the obstacles to the spiritual life brought on by the workings of the unconscious long before modern psychology or western religions, and described spiritual exercises to develop the contemplative life.
The goal was not just to identify these conditionings but also to master them and free oneself to experience life without bondage. With the consciousness as witness, free from the psychophysiological structures and their temporal conditioning, humans emancipate themselves from temporality and get to know true inexpressible freedom. The conquest of this absolute freedom, of perfect spontaneity, is the goal of all of the Indian philosophies and mystical techniques. (3)
There are various styles and practices of yoga -- Hatha, Kriya, Bhakti, Karma, etc -- which are supposed to help achieve that goal of liberation and enlightenment. Perhaps each style is suitable to different individuals and to different periods of life. Some practices focus on contemplative techniques, others on social action and service, and others on developing and cleansing the physical body for its ultimate condition as a vessel for the manifestations of the "spirit," the achievement of our highest human potential.
I dedicated myself to the practices of Surat Shabd Yoga and felt I was slowly making progress but found there were various problems in being able to follow the discipline consistently. I had difficulty sitting still, my body restless, achy, experienced pains in different parts while trying to meditate. My mind wandered from one thought to another and entertained thoughts I considered unwholesome. I encountered the darker aspects of my being; images, thoughts and feelings of anger, jealousy, and lust, among others, crept into my meditation.
While out of meditation, more than ever, I encountered the intrusion of emotions and thoughts I was not supposed to be having since I was following a sattvic (spiritually based) diet and being an initiate in such a supposedly blessed spiritual path. I realized that I was not prepared to develop spiritually just through the practice of Bhakti Yoga, as my first teacher required, but that I needed to prepare my organism, my body and mind, better through the practice of Hatha Yoga the more physically based practice.
I also started encountering various physical ailments not severe enough to require the more aggressive conventional approaches but significant enough to interfere with my comfort and peace. Because of my clinical history and familial predispositions I felt the work had to be more intensive. I had been a somewhat sickly child and required a lot of antibiotics and other conventional medications, during my developing years. The practice of yoga asanas and the kriyas (cleansing techniques) improved the function of my organism; I felt healthier, clearer, and lighter.
Transformative elements
This idea of preparing and purifying the physical body, to make it a dignified vessel for the full manifestation of the spiritual aspects of our being, is also found in another philosophical system, alchemy. I believe alchemy is also a contributing precursor of homeopathic medicine and chemistry. The various remedies used in homeopathy are the same substances alchemists used in their work, sulphur, mercury, nitric acid, etc. Many of the antecessors of the homeopathic tradition were considered alchemists, like Paracelsus, Von Helmont and the British Iatrochemists (4).
It appears that the concepts about alchemy appeared independently in the East and West as parallel branches stemming from the trunk of human need to understand and chart the world. The Chinese, Indian and Islamic alchemical traditions appeared to develop independently of each other. Alchemical concepts became part of yogic texts as early as the third century A.D. (3,5)
Before the appearance of alchemy there were philosophers of nature, and their various theories about the world became part of folklore and religion. The early metal workers and miners, like shamans, had a magical-religious relationship to nature. They included their observations of the heavens and their astrological concepts to their work, finding relationships between the elements, planets, metals and elements.
The origins of alchemy are uncertain but they appear connected to the discovery of mercury, 300 years before the common, Western, era. It was probably from the dealings of the primitive metallurgists that the art of alchemy began. The alchemists added other metals and salts to their work as they were being discovered. As they mixed, burned, fused and manipulated the elements, they explored and revealed the mysteries of nature. Through their experiments they developed a great variety of procedures, like sublimation and distillation, which later became a fundamental part of the science of chemistry.
Besides the actions of alchemists they developed an arcane philosophical system that grew from their witnessing the processes of the heavens, and the manifestations of earth, and defined them as the will of the Creator. They believed that, if correctly understood, the processes would yield the key to God’s intentions, and if mastered, the practitioner can become co-creator within the divine plan.
It was believed that this process of transmutation would transform the practitioner from old to young, and assist in the passing from an earthly to a supernatural existence. Some people believed that alchemists transmuted any metal into gold, or were able to produce the universal medicine, the panacea, able to cure all ailments and be the fountain of eternal youth.
Alchemists presented their formulas and processes in a rather complex form with the use of elaborate symbolism intended to confuse and dissuade the general public from finding out the esoteric truth. Each tradition has its own symbolism and description of the process of transformation. The similarity between these various alchemical traditions is remarkable considering they developed independent of each other.
The meaning of alchemy connotes transmutation or change; from it derives the word, and the science, of chemistry. Transmutation is the key concept that characterizes alchemy. It can be applied to, metaphorically, to the chemical and physiological changes the organism goes through as it moves from disease to health.
Alchemy in the East
The Vedas contain vague references to concepts found in the traditional alchemical tradition, like the association between using gold and the achievement of a long life. References to the transmutation of metals into gold, in the yogic literature, are found between the second and the fifth century of our era, at about the same time as in the west. It has not been possible to discern if one tradition, Indian, Chinese, or Greek influenced the other. What is notable is that the Indian and Chinese alchemists were more concerned with the medicinal use of the alchemical compounds and elixirs, while the West was more interested in the production of gold.
Alchemists aimed at the achievement of health, wealth, longevity and immortality. But, most importantly, the alchemist's true goal was to become pure, to understand and to experience the nature of the creator, to become whole. As the metallurgical alchemist was busy attempting to transform metals into gold, the yogi worked on him or her self for the purpose of extracting from his/her dark, enslaved, psychic life the free and autonomous spirit, which shares the same essence as the symbolic gold. There were yogis who also practiced the chemical arts and used various substances in the process of their transformation to attain "liberation from life," to be a "Jivan-Mukta." (3)
The alchemist of the mind
The alchemical enterprise was all but discarded in the West until Carl Gustav Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, presented the idea that alchemical symbolism was the manifestation of some universal psychological processes. He found a similarity between his western patients' dreams and the symbolism that appeared in primitive cultures' mythologies and in alchemy. (6)
He postulated that in the process of psychological development, of individuation, one goes through a series of stages that correspond to the alchemical stages of making the philosopher's stone, the universal medicine, the catalyzer in the process of transmuting metals into gold. He suggested that as the alchemist was working on his art he projected onto the labor his own psychological processes. Seven, and at times eight, stages in the process of transformation have been described, in modern times, only in the context of psychological and spiritual transformation.
The human organism, through the normal processes of metabolism, goes through various stages that can be made to correspond to the alchemical process. We know the organism takes about seven years to exchange almost all the cells of the organism in a continuous process, as it goes through creation and destruction of cells and tissues, the circular process of life and death.
The processes of transformation
The first step in the alchemical process is Calcination. In this step the stifled and lower consciousness is broken down. The ego and its defenses are torn down until we surrender our attachment to the material, our deceptions, impurities and fixated thoughts are confronted and our habits deconditioned. This process is caused by the trials and tribulations of life on a psychological sphere, and by acute disease on a physical level. (7)
The second stage is that of Dissolution, where departing from the left-over "ashes" of the calcination, the concrete unemotional state starts to show the appearances of subtle change in the form of dreams, voices, visions, and strange feelings that reveal a less ordered and less rational world. The revelation of our innermost parts, the source of emotions and feelings, becomes manifest and our true nature becomes visible. Here, within the pain and wounds appears our true being, our true gold. We reach then a state free of inhibition, prejudice, and restrictive mental structures.
The third step is that of Separation, when the organism lets go of what is unnecessary and integrates what is of value. Here, the energy that was released from the breaking down of habits and crystallized thoughts (assumptions, beliefs and prejudices) and emotional blockages, neuroses and phobias, is retrieved and used for further transformation. This essence that remains is the best part of our spirit and soul, our mind and heart.
The fourth step is Conjunction. Here, the process reaches a stage of union between divergent and contrasting aspects of the individual, into a higher level of discernment; new attributes, insight and perspective, into existence develop. Masculine and feminine attributes integrate. There is a sense of a superior reality beyond thought and feeling, a state of higher intuition and harmony. At this point, true individuation is achieved.
The fifth step is Fermentation. The individual at this stage prepares to move from having achieved an earthly balance and raises the transformation into a new level of being. Here, the individual may have mystical experiences, near-death experiences, psychic visions, paranormal encounters or a great professional inspiration and integration. The mental images and visions present a reality that appears even more real than what we can see with our eyes. Our consciousness leaves the bounds of matter and exists outside the physical body, an existence beyond physical limitations.
The sixth step is that of Distillation, where the fermented solution becomes purer and it is boiled and condensed again. The agitation and sublimation of the psychic forces ensure that no impurities are left over in the ego and the id before it achieves the final state. Here, through introspective techniques individual sentimentality and destabilizing emotions are let go; the personal identity is joined with the universal spirit, all light, all exaltation, a sublime and numinous experience and existence.
The seventh step is that of Coagulation. In this stage, the purified elements of the individual, united with the universal spirit as one, becomes a permanent state of consciousness that embodies the highest aspirations and evolution of the mind capable of surviving any psychological onslaught.
Homeopathy as a catalyzer
As I encountered the challenges in my spiritual path I found that homeopathic medicines also offered options that could help with the physical and psychological issues I was struggling with. I found the homeopathic medicines helped with the rigidity of the muscles and joints, the wandering of the mind during meditation, the anxieties, and even the particular kinds of emotions I struggled with on a daily basis and which did not appear to relent on their own. I seemed to be getting rid of accumulated psychic and physical dross and becoming healthier as various discharges occurred. I believe my organism was going through an organic transformation as described in the alchemical paradigm, and the homeopathic remedies helped to minister through the steps.
Homeopathic remedies can help to go through the different stages of transformation, both at an emotional and a physical level. They help to decrease the darkness and confusion of the Calcination, the pain and emotional turmoil of the Dissolution; they help in the process of Separation and Conjunction, foment the Fermentation and help to crystallize the Coagulation, the highest state of joy and freedom we can experience.
The physical organism tries to maintain its functioning balance through the circulatory, immune, neuro-hormonal systems, and the detoxifying and eliminating organs, all of them interconnected and working cooperatively. As substances come in through the air we breathe, the fluids we drink, and the food we eat, the body sorts out what it needs and discharges the leftovers of metabolism and the unwanted substances. We eliminate through our skin, our mucosal membranes, our kidneys and bowels. All of the techniques of Kriya Yoga (Neti, Dhoti, Basti, Shanka Pashala, etc) are geared to cleanse the organism and aid in its natural process of elimination of toxins, the stages of calcination, dissolution, and separation.
When the organism can't clear the body of offending substances it uses more drastic reactions like fever, vomiting, diarrhea or skin eruptions. If these healing reactions are suppressed, unnecessarily, the result can be the manifestation of a more chronic condition like asthma, rheumatism, chronic infections, etc. When these reactions are potentially life threatening they need to be treated with the adequate medication or surgery, even if it is suppressive. For example, that is the case with a severe infection, in which antibiotics are required; or an asthma attack, in which the use of cortisone may be needed; or in cancer, where radiation or chemotherapy may be needed. Later, after the recovery from the acute episode has occurred, there will be time to get back to the process of elimination under safer conditions. (8)
In order to find the correct homeopathic remedy, it is important to take the complete list of symptoms describing their exact character, what is peculiar and characteristic about each symptom, what makes each of them better or worse. The list of symptoms is then compared to the symptom pictures of the proven homeopathic remedies, as described in a Homeopathic Materia Medica, and the remedy that resembles the list of symptoms to be treated the closest is the one chosen. The Homeopathic Repertories of Symptoms are very helpful in narrowing down the choices of remedies. Most homeopaths use these two sources to select the proper homeopathic remedy. Homeopathic self-help books can help with selecting remedies for the most common ailments. (9,10,11,12).
The method of preparation of the homeopathic remedies can be found in Hahnemann's Organon, or in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, which is the official document of incorporation of homeopathic remedies into the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of the U.S. Congress in 1938. (1, 13).
It is possible for the homeopathic remedy to cause an initial aggravation of symptoms because of the premise of homeopathy, the use of substances capable of causing the same symptoms that it is supposed to treat. Any kind of aggravation of symptoms should be small and transitory. Otherwise, a better-suited remedy should be chosen to decrease the aggravated symptoms. Aggravations usually happen because the potency chosen was too high for the person or the dosage, the total amount of remedy, was too large. (1,14).
The goal of the homeopathic treatment, as well as yoga, is to help the organism become stronger, to get rid of biological susceptibilities and to combat diseases more effectively, in sum, to become healthier. According to Hahnemann, "In the healthy human state, the spirit-like life force (autocracy) that enlivens the material organism as dynamis, governs without restriction and keeps all parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation, as regards both feelings and functions, so that our indwelling, rational spirit can freely avail itself of this living, healthy instrument for the highest purposes of our existence." (1, paragraph 9)
Bibliography:
1. Hahnemann S., "Organon of the medical art", Birdcage Books, WA, 1996.
2. Singh K., "The Crown of Life, A Study in Yoga", Ruhani Satsang, Anaheim, CA 1983.
3. Eliade M., "Yoga, Immortality and Freedom", Princeton University Press, NJ, 1958.
4. Merizalde B., "Homeopathy, Alchemy and the Process of Transformation", Proceedings of the 52nd. Congress of the Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis, Seattle, WA, 1997.
5. Encyclopedia Britannica, "Alchemy",
6. Von Frantz, M.L., "Alchemy, An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology",Inner City Books, Ontario, Canada, 1980.
7. Hauck D.M., " The Emerald Tablet, Alchemy for Personal Transformation", Penguin-Arkana, NY, 1999.
8. Reckeweg H., "Homotoxicology, Illness and Healing by Antihomotoxic Therapy", Menaco Publishing Co. New Mexico, 1980.
9. Dhawale L.D., "Principles and Practice of Homeopathy", Institute of Clinical Research, Bombay, 1967.
10. Neatby, "A Manual of Homeotherapeutics", John Bale Sons. London, 1927.
11. Schroyens F., "Synthesis, Repertorium Homeopathicum Syntheticum", Homeopathic Book Publishers, London, 1998.
12. Ullman D., "Consumer's Guide to Homeopathy", Atlantic Books, CA.
13. Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention, "Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States", USA 1982.
14. Merizalde B., "Dynamic Homeopathy", Journal of the American Institute for Homeopathy, publication date pending, 2000.
