APHORISM 1st : THE MISSION OF PHYSICIAN

1st Aphorism of Organon of Medicine is focused on the Mission of Physician written by Dr. Hahnemann.

Here from this article, I am going to dip my cup into the ocean and fill it with salt water.

I know that I cannot fill the entire ocean into my cup as it is too small and limited.

I found it difficult to understand the lessons by Hahnemann even in multiple readings of Organon.

Because words can never contain anything completely- Any thought, any experience or any feeling. It’s just not possible.

Even though we have limited words by Hahnemann, they are the most powerful things we have.

Let us make an attempt to learn some of the therapeutic hints provided by him.

THE MISSION OF PHYSICIAN IN HAHNEMANN’S WORDS

APHORISM 1st : THE MISSION OF PHYSICIAN

First aphorism of Organon of medicine is very ideal and well known among the homoeopathic students, academicians and homoeopathic practitioners.

[I remember the classes we attended when I was a 1st BHMS student, our teachers asked each of us to remember the first aphorism and speak loudly in front of the whole class with no mistake.]

On the first impression, I found this very simple, but Hahnemann’s view was different from what I thought as a student.

There are mainly THREE components in this aphorism.

APHORISM 1st : THE MISSION OF PHYSICIAN

This is written for Homoeopathic physicians.

But why Dr. Hahnemann stressed upon this point by using ‘HIGH AND ONLY MISSION’?

Dr. Hahnemann was a sincere man and was greatly dissatisfied with indefinite medical knowledge of physicians and cruel methods of treatments of his time.

As a physician he considered curing the sick person as a holy and ultimate activity.

A Physician is a person who completely understands the ‘Art of Healing’; who is well acquainted with the ‘Art of Drugging’ and who is responsible for the restoration of patient’s health.

Whereas, A patient is a person who’s physical, mental or social health has been disturbed.

And health is the state of a person in which there is the feeling of harmony within him/her self.

Health is not merely the absence of disease on the physical level but his mind also should be in the state of balance.

  • The word “MISSION” is used when a specific task with which a person or a group is charged.

Say for example,

  • A military or naval task for bombarding mission.
  • An aerospace task to perform space mission.

Likewise, the Mission of a Physician is to restore the health of a sick person in a curative way.

So, with the 1st and principal aphorism of Organon of medicine our master gives such a high encouragement in order to become the “MASTER OF HEALING ART”.

You can read the detailed explanation on the word “Sick” by following the link, THE SICK-HOMOEOPATHIC DEFINITION.

CONCLUSION

  • Not just be a medical professional.
  • Don’t just attend your duty for which you are trained.
  • See the patient with sympathetic approach.
  • Concern yourself in improvement of people’s lives and reduce their suffering.

THEORETIC MEDICINE/SPECULATIVE MEDICINE

FOOTNOTE OF APHORISM 1

In footnote to SEC.1 Hahnemann points towards the “Theoretic Medicine” among the physicians.

Here, he criticizes some of the work of physicians,

  • Construction of different phenomenon and theories about the diseases and its causes.
  • Wasting their talent and time in formulating those theories with no practical experiments.
  • Misleading the patients with their intelligent talk (But not in easily understandable words).
  • Changing of their own hypothesis from time to time.

Instead, Hahnemann asks the physicians to,

  • Focus on giving on relief to the patients.
  • Provide treatment of the disease in curative way.

Hope you enjoyed reading the sole mission of physician in this post. Now you can proceed to the Second Aphorism where you can learn the highest ideal of cure here,  APHORISM 2: THE HIGHEST IDEAL OF CURE.