Structure, Experience with the Mineral Kingdom 2 volumes

Review

This book review is reprinted from Summer 2008, 27:1 edition, with permission from The Homeopath.

Reviewed by Jean Duckworth

This 2 volume set by Sankaran follows work on the plant kingdom. He opens with acknowledgements to all who helped with the development of the ideas and books (there are chapters by Roger Morrison and Patricia Le Raux). The text starts with explanations of kingdoms in homeopathy, of minerals and of the 'mineral song'. I particularly liked the short chapter on 'mineral source words' and believe it will enhance my understanding of my patients.

As with all Rajan Sankaran's recent texts, there are ample case examples, including verbatim case histories, by way of illustration, which help with understanding both the remedy and methodology. As someone who appreciates his work, I was also interested in Roger Morrison's hypothesis and aphorisms in the chapter on Miasms in the Mineral Kingdom, and will see if it has an application in my own practice. Another useful feature is that Sankaran looks beyond the minerals as they appear on the periodic table, he also classifies the minerals by their common substances, for example in his classification of carbon, he looks at the pure carbons, including Adamas, Carbo animalis, Carbo mineralis, Carbo umbra, Carbo vegetabilis and Graphites and then the acyclic carbon compounds such as Aceticum acidum, Carboneum dioxygenisatum, Citricum acidum and so on. He then mentions the cyclic carbon compounds before moving on to the substances of organic origin, including Antipyrinum through to Terebinthina and finally to the synthetic drugs, which include Barbital, Heroinum, Phenobarbitalum, right through to Phlorizinum.

The work builds on that already completed by Jan Scholten and adds the further dimension of the Bombay school, a welcome addition to our knowledge of this kingdom.

There are two things that I felt would aid my use of the books: a schema, like the one already compiled on the plant kingdom which would enable me to see an overview rather than always having to search; and emboldened text in the index, whenever it relates to the main information about a remedy.

Other than these very minor points, this is not simply a replication of Jan Scholten's work; the book is valuable to everyone, and gives to those who use the Bombay or Sensation method, another way of accessing the mineral kingdom.

This book review is reprinted from Volume 15, 2009 Edition of The American Homeopath with permission from The American Homeopath.

Reviewed by Laurie Dack, RSHom (NA), CCH

The periodic table has held a special interest for me since the first time I walked into a science lab. The configuration was different than any other schoolroom I had seen. The chairs had become benches and the desks were large work surfaces that included drawers filled with curious tools and built-in sinks with running water. The room sparkled with different shapes of glassware and strange, varied heat sources with warnings and protective clothes and eye glasses assigned to each area. The whole atmosphere was full of mystery and promises of fantastic possibilities. It was a new land. And there, framed regally, front and center on the wall was the map (the periodic table), a colorful collection of cubes, organized in symmetric rows and columns. Each square contained several sets of numbers placed in the corners. A combination of two or three bold letters stood out like addresses on a row of apartment doors, and in smaller print, mysterious equations of letters and bracketed numbers. Tucked in the upper-right corner of each box was a geometric line drawing of stars, tilted boxes or wheels with spokes inside. There was an obvious color code to the map, ranging from blue and purple to pink and yellow, indicating things like alkali metals, transition metals, liquids and noble gases. Later I understood these symbols reflected things called atomic weight, atomic number, valence-shell configuration, density, conductivity, crystal structures and ancient Latin names. It all seemed like a marvelous code.

Dr. Sankaran's Structure: Experiences with the Mineral Kingdom delves into the code of the periodic table and homeopathy by mapping out, deciphering and recording human experience of the elements. Through masterful casetaking, the song of the mineral kingdom unfolds. The book starts with the evolution of Dr. Sankaran's thinking as he discusses his understanding of the mineral kingdom, outlining the underlying thread of "structure" that differentiates this world from that of plants and animals.

He describes how he grew to see the periodic table as a mirror of human development: starting from conception and birth, moving through infancy and childhood, continuing into adulthood, and ending in deterioration and death. This metaphor is used to reflect the various stages of building up or formation of inner structure, the maintenance and protection of established structure, or the destruction, disintegration or dissolution of structure. The periodic table of elements sketches out a framework of the basic building blocks of matter and transposes it into human experience. Dr. Sankaran beautifully illuminates the building blocks of human development.

He introduces us to the mineral world of Structure as expressed in terms of existence, independence, performance, relationship, strength, role, pressure, resistance, value, security, position, identity, organization, et cetera- all the inner scaffolding that contribute to the construction of the self. Wonderful lists throughout the book read like dictionaries: they have been collected from patients' words, materia medica and repertory. These catalogs attune us to the vocabulary of "mineral-ness."

As we read on, we are led into further differentiation of the mineral language, to reveal the type and the level of inner structure. "Overview of the Columns" and "Overview of the Rows" layout for us the characteristics of the positions within landscape. As we move from the left side towards the middle, there is a sense of deficiency of structure, and efforts are towards building up. On the right side, there is a sense of losing or loss of structure, and the effort is to maintain or protect what is there. The eighteen columns are explored individually, again, giving an invaluable word list that shows the stage of development. Moving from left to right and from top to bottom, a dynamic grid is constructed in our understanding.

Now that the terrain is defined, the journey begins. One by one the elements are explored, starting with an overview of the characteristics of the developmental stage reflected in each row. For example:

Row 1: Hydrogen/Helium line-the row of existence.

Row 4: Potassium/Calcium line-the row of security and task. The qualities of mass, solidity, consolidation and accumulation are investigated and demonstrated through case after case.

Row 6: Cesium/Barium/Gold line-the row of responsibility and leadership, expressing qualities of accountability and power.

Each masterful case, accompanied by clear, insightful analysis, shows the underpinnings of patients' energies through their language and expression.

A treasure chest of wonderfully instructive cases, the wealth of learning packed in these pages is impossible to grasp in one reading. The clarity and scope of this remarkable work is hard to express, and I find myself understanding more and more each time I refer to it.

The voyage into the world of the periodic table is a journey into the smallest particles of life that we know of so far. As homeopaths, our love is discovering the smallest parts that make up the whole. This book brings us a magnificent understanding of the homeopathic melody living in these minute building blocks of life.

Dr. Sankaran and his colleagues have given us yet another invaluable contribution. This road map/travel guide essentially and brilliantly deepens our understanding of homeopathy and the world in which we live.

This book review is reprinted from Volume 102, Number 1 Spring 2009 Edition, with permission from American Journal of Homeopathic Medicine.

Reviewed by Mitch Fleisher, MD, DHt

The art and science of homeopathy have been experiencing a renaissance in the past few decades evidenced by the dissemination of fascinating new concepts for integrating all the knowledge of the sciences; i.e., biology, chemistry, physics, etc., into reliable methodologies for application by competent homeopaths in clinical practice.

Certainly, one of the most interesting and promising of these new approaches to homeopathic case-taking and case analysis is the Sensation Method, developed by Dr. Rajan Sankaran and his Mumbai School colleagues. Sankaran notes that this method is in constant evolution as direct clinical experiences refine the efficacy of its application.

Though there has been some controversy from certain quarters of the international homeopathic community regarding the 'orthodoxy' of the Sensation Method, I can speak authoritatively from direct, personal and professional experiences over the past decade of integrating this approach into my busy, homeopathic family medical practice, and state emphatically that it is extraordinarily effective when applied appropriately, and has, on many occasions, yielded remarkable clinical results in my patients, who benefitted from constitutional simillimums that were not perceivable using other methods.

It should be understood that these new, evolving, exploratory and analytical techniques are firmly grounded upon the basic principles of homeopathic medicine and are a natural extension of Hahnemann's principled passion for unprejudiced, empirical experimentation and perpetually perfecting the applied art and science of homeopathy.

In particular, the 'Vital Sensation' Method of Sankaran, et al., and 'Conceptual' Method of Scholten, et al., have been instrumental in ascertaining curative, mineral remedies in complicated cases of chronic diseases that have failed to obtain relief under the care of skilled homeopaths that had been limited only to the 'classical Hahnemannian' method.

For example, a 64 year-old business woman, very limited by her severe, recurrent, asthmatic bronchitis, COPD, GERD, osteoarthritis, hypertension, psoriasis, anxiety and chronic fatigue, who had been given several, polychrest remedies for over ten years by a strict 'classical' homeopath to no avail, thus requiring allopathic medical intervention, responded beautifully to ascending LM potencies of Ruthenium muriaticum over the course of two- and- a-half years. She has been virtually free of all respiratory complaints for over eighteen months, is not bothered by GERD, arthritis and psoriasis, no longer requires her antihypertensive, anti-asthmatic and/or antacid allopathic medications, is able to manage a dozen rental properties, and still has enough energy and joie de vivre to go on vacation ocean cruises with her large family, which was impossible before her true simillimum.

Moreover, there are many other cases of chronic disease in my practice that have gone to cure or are in the process of cure, utilizing mineral remedies prescribed by these new methods, including salts of Scandium, Vanadium, Chromium, Zirconium, Niobium, Molybdenum, Ruthenium, Lanthanum, Tantalum, Tungsten, Rhenium, etc., that were not possible to perceive by traditional, classical methods due to the unfortunate paucity and/or absence of available material medica, repertorial and proving information. They stand as testimony to the clinical validity of the new approaches of case-taking and case analysis. I will endeavor to present some of these cured cases, of at least three years' duration, in future issues of the journal.

Dr. Rajan Sankaran published Volumes 1 and 2 of Structure: Experiences with the Mineral Kingdom in 2008. The books are dedicated to Dr. Jan Scholten "in acknowledgement and appreciation of his cardinal contribution to the understanding of the mineral kingdom." The pioneering works of Sankaran and Scholten have expanded the horizons of our clinical perception and our ability to achieve homeopathic cure.

This book represents a functional synthesis of the 'Vital Sensation' and 'Conceptual' Methods that I prefer to call 'Integrated Thematic Analysis (ITA).' ITA draws upon all the available homeopathic materia medica, repertorial and proving data, as well as all the comparative information in the vast array of medical and non-medical sciences, to formulate a deep understanding of the constitutional state of the patient, filtered through the lens of very careful and comprehensive case-taking, with the earnest intention to perceive the innermost physical sensations, feelings and delusions that comprise the thematic driving force of the disease process, in order to ascertain the true simillimum.

Other foundational works that it would behoove the student of homeopathy to study in order to comprehend the proper application of this method in clinical practice, as well as to grasp the enormity of the philosophic and practical contributions that Sankaran and his colleagues have made to our great science, are Sensation Refined, The Other Song: Discovering Your Parallel Self and An Insight into Plants, Volumes 1 through 3.

Sankaran's Structure is, in essence, a very well-organized, relatively readable, voluminous and excellent reference for a deeper understanding of 'thematic analysis' and the proper utilization of the periodic table of the elements in homeopathic medicine. It includes many illustrative cured cases to demonstrate the application of the essential concepts in clinical practice, as well as comparison charts and lists of keywords that are helpful for more precisely pinpointing the indicated remedy.

The seven rows and eighteen columns or stages of the periodic table of the elements are described in great detail as to their fundamental, distinguishing characteristics with respect to specific mental, emotional, physical, and general symptoms and themes.

Methods for perceiving the constitutional states of the salts of the elements are also presented, illustrating the relationships between the wide variety of cations and anions.

The book touches briefly on some of the actinide elements, but foregoes discussion of the lanthanide series. This will obviously be the subject of a future text and hopefully will expand upon the understandings elaborated thus far by Jan Scholten in his recently published Secret Lanthanides.

For example, in the cured case given above, the patient's primary concerns about something being wrong within her body that kept her from functioning more efficiently to achieve her goals and her focus on relationship issues, which she believed were the result of some fault in herself, strongly suggested that her simillimum lay in the mineral kingdom, since the core themes of the mineral kingdom are structure, function and relationship. The important key words and themes in the case included a love and excitement for 'new' business opportunities, meeting 'new' people and traveling to 'new' places, being able to use her 'creativity,' 'skills' and 'talents' to 'solve complex problems' for which she would be 'recognized' and 'praised' in the business community. These pointed to row 5, the silver series. She approached her business with unusual, mental and physical 'strength' and 'stamina,' despite 'heavy pressures operating against her' as a woman in her field. She was extremely 'strong willed,' was' determined' to succeed 'no matter what,' endeavored to 'persevere against all odds,' and prided herself on her 'toughness,' 'resilience' and unflagging willingness to 'push herself' to 'work hard' and 'focus intently' on her goals. These thematic keywords all pointed clearly to column or stage 8, thereby indicating the element, Ruthenium.

Interestingly, she was initially given Ruthenium metallicum, which worked pretty well, but not deeply enough to satisfy my definition of cure. At the first follow-up, more detailed information was elicited about her relationship with her mother, which revealed a 'very abusive, mother-daughter interaction' in which the patient received virtually 'no love, caring and nurturing' as a child, was expected to take on the responsibilities of 'mothering' her younger siblings at a very young age, for which 'her mother constantly criticized her' for 'never doing good enough' despite incredible efforts on the child's part. She recalled repetitive fantasies of feeling 'trapped' and craving to 'escape her mother's tyranny and abuse,' which culminated in her leaving home at sixteen years of age to make it on her own in the world with a 'nobody will stop me' attitude. The patient harbored chronic, 'bitter resentment,' 'anger' and a modicum of 'hatred' at the profoundly 'disappointing relationship with her mother.' She was also bothered by the direct sun and craved salt. These words, themes and symptoms strongly pointed to the halide, muriaticum. Thus, she was subsequently prescribed the row 5-column 8 salt, Ruthenium muriaticum, with very gratifying, long-term, clinical results.

Sankaran's Structure helps to reveal the profound healing power inherent within the very accurately prescribed homeopathic constitutional simillimum. It will be of greatest utility, of course, to those homeopaths that employ these new, evolving methods in their practices; however, there are intellectual sustenance and mind-opening revelations for those recently introduced to the new methods and even for the skeptics among us.

I wholeheartedly recommend Structure and the other aforementioned texts by Dr. Rajan Sankaran to any serious homeopath interested in more often attaining for their patient clientele Hahnemann's first aphorism of "the highest ideal of cure.. ..the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health."

This book review is reprinted from Volume 21, Winter 2008 edition, with permission from Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Dr. Joseph Rozencwajg, MD, PhD, NMD, New Zealand

As he did with the plant kingdom in "An insight into Plants", Sankaran now studies the mineral kingdom, using the Table of Elements the way Scholten pioneered.

When I started reading this book, I was weary it would be a revamped copy of Scholten's work; and in a way it is, but with such a difference in presentation and explanation that it seems even I understood it.

It starts with a condensed and summarized study of the rows and columns that puts clear foundations to what is to follow. Then each row is considered, with each mineral described, as well as many salts, and often a clear explanation of their differences. As is usual with Sankaran's work, he uses rubrics from all the repertories to confirm his findings, showing, as Scholten did, that this way of looking at remedies is not a magical hat trick, but is grounded in the provings and practices of homeopaths; the way of looking at them though, is different.

With extensive cases to illustrate the remedies, interspersed with explanations as to how and why he arrived at that specific prescription, we have on top of a materia medica a nice collection of the use of the Sensation method and the use of gestures to get to the remedy.

That is where my personal problem resides: although I think I understand what Sankaran teaches, I could never apply his method of questioning to my patients: all I got was at best funny looks, and often "didn't ya hear what I just told ya, mate?" reactions; as for the use of gestures, I wonder how Rajan would treat Italian patients, or some very immobile Nordic patients?

Does that make his books useless? Certainly not! This approach has widened and expanded the understanding of many remedies. For example, reading that the Natrum patient expects things to be done without him or her asking and is distraught when it does not happen created the reaction "of course, how didn't I see that before!", and many more like that.

The book ends with tables that are a very good summary of the Kingdoms approach and the stage of life of each specific mineral.

Roger Morrison has included a chapter that attempts to classify minerals according to Sankaran's miasms, clearly pointing the difference between those we are certain about and those that need more investigations. A short chapter about metals in pediatric prescription by Patricia Le Roux is also included.

The practitioners who use Sankaran's methods will definitely need this book; those who don't will also need it for a deeper understanding of our remedies.

Another modern classical.