In this episode of The Mindful Initiative Podcast, Introduction to Homeopathy, our guest Dr. Munavvar Shaikh, shares with us nuances, origins and recent developments in the field of Homeopathy. She approaches Homeopathy in a very holistic way by talking about Homeopathy, diet and Yoga. Homeopathy deals with treatment and remedies for various lifestyle diseases and goes beyond medicine to help people deal with societal and psychological challenges that can lead us to a happier and healthier life.

Dr. Shaikh practices at the MS Homeopathy in Bangalore, India. You can read more about her and her work by visiting her website.

TRANSCRIPT

[Nitesh Batra]: Hello and welcome to the new episode of the Mindful Initiative. We are very privileged to have Dr Munavvar Shaikh, who is a Homeopathic doctor, to join us today. Welcome Dr Shaikh.

[Dr. Shaikh]: Thank you so much.

[Nitesh Batra]: Before we get started, I always like to ask the interviewee or the person who is here, a little bit about their background, where they’re from, what they have done and, and where they have reached. So, if you can just tell us about yourself, that’d be great.

[Dr. Shaikh]: Okay. Well, I’m, a graduate of a Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery. I finished it way back in 1994 from Karnataka University, Dharwad. And since then, I have started my practice and I’m practicing for the last 24 years and odd and it is still going good. Thanks to the prayers of my well wishers as well as the faith that the patients have in me. So I’m very happy where I stand today and well, it’s been quite a bit of journey though. Yeah. So here I am today, right in front of you talking to you.

[Nitesh Batra]: Yes. Oh, thank you so much. You, you practice in Bangalore, that is correct, at the MS Homeopathy and you’re also the founder of www.indiahomeopathy.com . And that’s one of the first initiatives that has been undertaken by a Homeopathic doctor to bring various doctors together. Can you tell us a little bit about that initiative?

[Dr. Shaikh]: Yes. Uh, actually it is an initiative to get all the homeopathic doctors online, especially the homeopathic doctors those are there in India. Okay, to share their cases, to share their knowledge, to also help in propagating homeopathy and taking it to a world research standards as well. And, because we believe sharing is caring and also your knowledge grows when you share and it also helps your patients as well in the long run. So thereby affecting the health of the nation, you know. So we are having a healthy nation, you know. So there are a lot of things that, we had in mind when we started this was basically to provide a platform for all the doctors to showcase their cases, to share their knowledge and help in improving the homeopathy scenario in India. We are also looking at global, but that’ll be a different thing later down the line. But this is just an initiative which has just started recently.

[Nitesh Batra]: Dr. Shaikh, homeopathy has its origins in Germany and there are lot of listeners here who may be little bit aware of what homeopathy is and some may be a little more about what homeopathy is. If you can share a little bit more about its origins, a little bit, how it flowed into the different parts of the world and where it stands in India right now. I think it’ll be really helpful.

[Dr. Shaikh]: See actually, to tell you the fact that of course it originated in Germany and from there it spread to various parts of the globe and people are following mostly in Europe, probably in America and also you have in various other countries, but it is widely accepted and practiced in India as compared to any other place in this world, which is a phenomenal thing actually because India being a country where Shushruta and Charaka started. I mean, Ayurveda practice was the most, you know, here, so Ayurveda has its roots here in India, but for homeopathy to come and have a setup here and to be so popular amongst all the people, it has really taken a long time, but it’s made an impact finally because we see today people coming to homeopathy as not the second or third option now anymore. At times

it is the first option and probably the second option. And I’m very proud to say that or rather quote, the way homeopathy treats patients is in a very simple, gentle and sure manner without causing any side effects. The only drawbacks at times that we have had with people asking is like, you know, how does it work? So sometimes, um, it’s mode of the symptoms that visible to the patients, which they get relief from. And that is how they know that it has worked and happy with the results because results matter at the end of the day and it’s visible on the test that they do as well, the blood test as well as the other diagnostic tools which are used. So once it’s cured, the patient is very happy. So that way actually, Homeopathy has, really impressed upon the minds of people today, especially here in India. The research is also coming up and it is improving day by day- the CCRH and the various other organizations which are working extensively in the research department. And that is why we have homeopathic medications, which are very helpful sometimes in these epidemics as well.

[Nitesh Batra]: Now for our listeners, what is CCRH?

[Dr. Shaikh]: That is Central Council of Research in Homeopathy. It’s body, which does a lot of research in the current, uh, you know, what are the prevailing diseases and how well these medications are helpful in which conditions. So that is what the CCRH stands for and they run their research work pretty extensively.

[Nitesh Batra]: And do they work with the Homeopathic Association? You were the General Secretary of the Homeopathy Association of the South.

[Dr. Shaikh]: Yes. So yes, they do work extensively with the other organizations and associations as well. And they also try to get information from their resources through these organizations so that they are arriving at a better, how do I say, at better research, which is conforming to the international standards, global standards as I say. There are also various pharmaceutical companies like Reckeweg and you know, Schwabe Company, German brands as well as the foreign brands, which also are pulling in amount for research within India. Some of the companies are pulling in amount within India also and on an international level also they are doing so that it does, actually, homeopathy has improved a lot from where it started, so that way I think this is the “in-thing” happening now and I think it is going to be the next best thing in health. Uh, how do I say in health providing, you know, for all, as such.

[Nitesh Batra]: Making sure we live a happy, healthier life.

[Dr. Shaikh]: Exactly. Through a holistic way, you know? Yeah, exactly.

[Nitesh Batra]: And I think that that was my follow-up question. So when you said sometimes it’s medication, but the way I understand homeopathy takes a very holistic approach towards living your life. You know, medication is just one part of it. I don’t know how substantial. Probably depending upon the disease.

[Dr. Shaikh]: True, true. I do agree. See what happens is whenever a patient comes to us, normally I’m just giving you why we call it as a holistic homeopathy is when the patient comes to you, they come to you with a lot of problems, whether it is mental or physical or a combination of both of these, like for, we call it as a psychosomatic disorders. So they have come here to be heard, number one. Second, they would like to be diagnosed properly. They would also like to have a proper, not just a medical diagnosis, a remedial diagnosis as well. And with the right choice of potency and strength given to the patient, you can definitely assure the patient of good results. And Complete Cure. That is, when we say the word Complete Cure, it is cure from the root itself. We are cutting the disease from the root level. So there’s something called a Miasm. What we have in Organon philosophy that Miasm is a disease -causing factor per se. Uh, so we believe that, uh, there are various kinds of Miasm. Again, you know, I mean, I could actually go on and on about talking about homeopathy. And the way we approach about it and the way we go about assessing which Miasm the person belongs to and you know, like we have Psora, Sycosis, Syphilis, Tubercle or the way the person fits in and we normally believe that, you know, the Miasm, you know, I mean the problems basically start from the womb and end in the tomb. Okay. So this is something which we actually see when we are born, we have no problems. I mean, unless and until there are some other medical issues as such, but otherwise, uh, we believe that there are certain factors that caused the disease. Whether it is your external factors, your internal factors, whether it has to do with your diet, your lifestyle, or you know, the problems that are prevailing at home or outside at your workplace or it could be anything for that matter or it could be the allergens, you know. And in Bangalore we have, Bangalore is like the h