Survival Vol 1 Mollusc

Review

This book review is reprinted with the permission from the Summer 2009 Edition of The Homeopath.

Reviewed by Alison Fixsen

Survival is a collaborative project between Rajan Sankaran and Sudhir Baldota, with varied contributions from Anna Schadde, Peter Tumminello, Anne Wirtz, Linda Johnson, Dinesh Chauhan, Antonia de Souza and others.

A departure from more recent books by Sankaran, the focus here is entirely on one phylum, the Mollusca, taken from his unique homeopathic perspective and the first of a promised series. After a forward by Anne Schadde, we are given a clear and relatively concise explanation of the case taking approach according to kingdom classification, and how to recognise the 'animal song' through carefully observing, recording and translating the renditions of our patients. This is followed by an introduction to the Mollusca, with examples of 'expressions' of these species, which come to light in a patient's case.

The underlying rationale for studying and considering classification in this way is that 'sources closely related to one another in the natural world express similar sensations'.

This is a very interesting account of an aspect of marine biology, with systematic thorough background research into the classes and subclasses of the Mollusca. We are treated to a journey into the life of Bivalvia, Gastropodia, Cephalopoda, and a general summary of the classes. This uniquely combines with clear illustrations of cases in which the sensation method was successfully applied.

The use of key words and expressions in bold type links the animal physiology with symptoms from homeopathic provings, and those which emerged empirically through real expressions and gestures made by patients. We are shown how the global and local symptoms of a kingdom connect and how the animal experience is expressed through a human voice.

There are case examples from various homeopaths, followed by an explanation of important words, phrases and rubrics, and their association with the group and subgroup under consideration. One drawback for researching topics further, is the absence of referencing or bibliography, although acknowledgment is paid in the text; this should not deter teachers, homeopaths and students from using this book, as it is one of the best of its type. Students unfamiliar with the method will probably find this book more useful if they first study previous books including Sensation Refined, containing a more extensive explanation of this way of working and thinking. The clarity of writing makes this accessible to students at all levels, who will be delighted to gain new understanding of classical remedies such as Calcarea carbonica and SePia and an introduction to new provings of remedies including Pearl Immersion, Cowrie Shell and Nautilus.

In recent years a range of books has been published focusing on the study of remedies according to kingdom classification. This book is a very useful addition to the genre.

This book review is reprinted from Volume 22, Autumn 2009 edition, with permission from Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Bharati Ankalgi Oevkota, BHMS, CCH, RSHom (NA), USA

This book is the first in the new series on the animal kingdom. It covers soft-body invertebrates 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 Hanse/, 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 Mollusc starts with the list of 26 remedies such as Calcarea Helicis, Cepea Hortensis, Conchilinum, Craasostrea Gigas, Cratena Peregrina, Patella Vu/gata, Venus Mercenaria ete. The authors proceed further with a detailed description of the Mollusc divided into three classes: Bivalvia having two-part shells (Oyster, Mussel, Clam and Scallop), Gastropoda or univalves (Cowry, Muricid, land snail and its remedy form such as Murex Purpura, 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 characteristic 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 casetaking 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 picture. 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 form 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 marvellous look and add to its appeal. This is a book that can be highly recommended for all homeopaths.