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Preface
100 years of Homoeopathy and what a fruitful journey it was! My father T.V. Joseph and my grandfather P.V. Varkey practised it. The family tradition is kept alive by my son Dr. Jose Isaac and grandson Dr. Isaac Jose.
My intention to write this book is never to belittle or hurt anyone. My sole concern is the future of Homoeopathy and its invaluable disciples who are evolving out of the prestigious institutions around the globe as graduates and post-graduates. I have been practising Homoeopathy for over 60 years and God has been immensely benevolent to my honesty towards this blessed profession and to the teachings of the greatest physician ever, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. I have been sincere to my patients and hence I have witnessed many wonderful cures. I wish that every one of my Homoeopathic brethren should have these blessings.
Homoeopathy is a science with sound principles. Every cure ever attained through Homoeopathic treatment testifies it loud and clear. The scientific world is in the process of rediscovering Homoeopathy. Yet I have great anxiety for its future. I fear as to what will happen when the scientists are presented with a crippled and mutilated system and how they will weigh Homoeopathy when they find that we have deviated far away from the true principles.It will only ruin its future for ever.
Every school of thought stands as long as its propagators anddisciples are steadfast and strong in their convictions. What welearn in Organon should be practised and shown to the students inclinics. This science is entirely based on the solid foundation laiddown by the Hahnemannian philosophy. There were greatteachers such as Dr. B.K. Bose, Dr. Sarkar and Dr. Kanjilal whodevoted themselves to the cause of Homoeopathy. The sincereefforts of many like them brought popularity and acceptance toHomoeopathy in India. Today it is hard to find people who arewilling to spend their time and energy for Homoeopathy withoutexpecting any monetary benefits. We have to ask ourselves, wheredo we stand? Are we being sincere to our patients, the system andour masters? Are we working hard enough to enjoy the benefits offame and money, all in the name of Homoeopathy?
I request you to kindly bear with me and try to understand that weare in a dangerous phase of loosing the essence of Homoeopathy.We should acknowledge the tireless efforts of our pioneers. Weshould be working hard to bring more honour to this system,through true and genuine cures as well as authentic scientificresearch.
In my 60 years of experience in practising Classical Homoeopathy,by strictly following all the fundamental principles ofHomoeopathy as laid down by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, I havewitnessed many miraculous cures, some of which I havementioned in this book. I earnestly request you to read it with anunprejudiced mind and take firm convictions to stand forHomoeopathy, for it has a promising future. I pray that yourHomoeopathic heart will be rekindled after you read this book andeagerly hope that a few, if not many, like-minded people will joinhands for this noble purpose of upholding the truth and dignityof this divine method of healing.
Thiruvananthapuram Dr. K.J. Isaac
5th January 2017 D.M.S., M.B.S (Hom)
Dr. Isaac - Walking The Extra Mile
Life is one long winding road with its twists, turns and surprises.No one knows when you will reach a crossroad, drive through a sharp bend to an alley and feel that push from somewhere ushering in a new dawn in life.
It happened in 1961. Dr. Isaac was working at the KottayamGovernment dispensary. A 30-year-old lady, born blind, gingerly walked into the clinic with the help of her brother. At that time, noone even thought of curing blindness, let alone congenital. ButDr. Isaac did. With the prowess of Homoeopathy, she finally walked out of the dispensary with glitter in her eyes and a whole new world before her. For Dr. Isaac, there was no looking back since then.
Isaac was born on 8th February 1931 into a family that was practising Homoeopathy for two generations. His grandfather P.V. Varkey was a landlord and farmer in central Kerala. New settlers were colonising and cultivating far-flung tropical terrains. The nearest town Kottayam had found its place on the spices map of verdant Kerala. Varkey knew that the hapless lone settlers needed medical care and started practising Homoeopathy quite seriously. It is said that his mother once suffered from a bad bout of hiccough and could not take water and food for many days.Doctors were called in from Kottayam but the cure finally camefrom a homoeopath. After observing Varkey's mother for a while,the doctor administered medicine and asked her relatives to prepare rice porridge. When the gruel was ready after 30 minutes,the persistent hiccups were gone and she was ready to have food!That impressed Varkey, making him an ardent believer of the system. He expressed his eagerness to study this wonderful system of medicine. Seeing his genuine interest, the homoeopath gave him a book on Homoeopathy and a small medicine chest. Years of dedicated learning made him a practising homoeopath. As time passed, son T.V. Joseph followed the footsteps of his father and opened a Homoeopathic dispensary at Koothattukulam and had a moderate practice. Isaac was the second son among the six children of Joseph and Mariamma. He was born when India was fighting for freedom and the dark clouds of an impending war,later coined as World War II, was looming large. Joseph and Mariamma and the six children lived in their ancestral pastoral“Thekke Puthen Pura” at Puthuveli in Kottayam District.
Early Days
Isaac did his schooling at Puthuveli Lower Primary School,Koothattukulam Middle School and Kurichithanam HighSchool. By this time, India had gained independence and the Second World War, which shattered the existing socioeconomic set up, had ended. Young Isaac was sent to study Homoeopathy at the Royal College of Homoeopathy in Kochi. Dr. Padiyar was the head of the institution and a renowned homoeopath of his time. Ina matter of months, Isaac came to know that the college lacked official recognition. Isaac voiced his concern to Dr. Padiyar and discontinued his studies. Dr. Padiyar was deeply impressed by Isaac's courage and straight forwardness.
Taking a cue from his father and grandfather and learning the fundaments from the Royal College of Homoeopathy, young Isaac was bold enough to start a clinic with a friend near Mala.Here is a quotable story of the times, which is quite interesting.There was a marriage ceremony near Isaac's clinic. Many people who had wedding feast from there developed acute diarrhea and vomiting. Young Isaac was summoned for a cure. A year into serious studying had made him bold enough to take the plunge.He questioned the cooks and found out that the pork they cooked for the feast was cleaned and chopped on a big stone which was not properly washed. It was found that a day before the feast someone had crushed a poisonous seed (neervalam) on it. Isaac had no difficulty in guessing that this was a case of 'Arsenic alb' and all the patients got quick relief. In no time he became the villagers' acknowledged homoeopath. After mustering enough strength and raising requisite finance, Isaac started a clinic on his own near Irinjalakkuda railway station after two months.
A Giant Leap
He came to know about D.M.S (Diploma in Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery), a four-and-a-half years' course being offered by Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College, from his elder brother K.J. George who was working in Bombay. During a table talk with his brother while vacationing at home, his brother urged him to study Homoeopathy from a reputed institution and also extended a helping hand to meet the initial expenses. Isaac told his father how he yearned to learn Homoeopathy from are nowned institution. His father gave him the nod to proceed to Calcutta. Isaac fondly remembers his brother's support which helped to shape his future tellingly.
The Calcutta Homoeopathic College had many illustrious teachers. His classmates, mainly from Kerala and Bengal, were intelligent and equally spirited with whom he bonded well, which continued for decades. He was immensely inspired by the enlightening lectures of the classically trained and highly qualified teachers like Dr. B.K. Bose, Dr. R.G. Ghoshal and Dr. G.N. Sinha. Dr. Isaac ardently cherish those days of learning even today.
But after two years into this course, he had to take a break. His funds were shrinking. His professionally oriented self couldn't idle away time. So he started a dispensary near Kothamangalam, in Kerala. When he had enough funds, Isaac rejoined the college after one year and completed his Diploma in 1958.
On October 27th, 1957 Isaac got married to Chinnamma, the youngest daughter of Manakkunnam Kurien and Mariyamma of Piravam village. They had a son, Jose, in 1959 and a daughter,Beena, in 1960.
After completing his D.M.S, Dr. Isaac joined Royal College of Homoeopathy, Kochi on 1st August, 1958. Impressed by his student's achievement, Dr. Padiyar spared no time in appointing Dr. Isaac as a lecturer in his college. In 1960, he joined as a lecturer in Athurashramam NSS Homoeopathic College, Kottayam. It was while working here, his home turf, that the true calibre of 17Dr. Isaac started to come into play.
In 1960, the Government of Kerala decided to have five full-fledged Homoeopathic Dispensaries in Kerala. This was the beginning of the development of Homoeopathy at the government level in the state. Dr.Isaac was appointed as a Medical Officer at the Palakkad Dispensary,where he worked for one year. The other four appointees too were from the same Calcutta College. Together they started to lay the foundation of Classical Homoeopathy in the state.Soon he was transferred from the Palakkad dispensary to Kottayam,where he established a Government dispensary and worked there for two years. Qualified and confident,Dr. Isaac was now ready to take up bigger and tougher roles in life.He used to see around 250 patients per day. Miraculous incidents such as curing of blindness and deafness started to appear in newspapers and magazines bolstering the impact of Homoeopathy among people. Government Health Authorities in Kerala were now becoming aware of this cost effective and successful medical system.
These positive developments brought wide acclaim to Dr. Isaac and he was noted for his ingenuity and deftness for treating a wide range of medical maladies. People swamped his clinic from far off places. After two years of busy professional life in Kottayam, he served Kadalikkad dispensary in Thodupuzha for six years.
In 1970, Dr. Isaac was transferred and posted as Medical Officer in Government Homoeopathic Dispensary, East fort, Trivandrum,now Thiruvananthapuram (The capital city of Kerala). The dispensary was soon upgraded into Government Homoeopathy Hospital accommodating 25 beds and later 50 beds and Dr. Isaac became the Chief Medical Officer there. A series of medical achievements took his career to new heights. The special clinics conducted by him on the 5th day of every month brought in difficult-to-cure cases such as Hemiplegia, Infertility, Pituitary Adenoma and Deaf mutism, among others from all parts of the state. Many of them were really perplexing and the reader will go through a few in the following pages.
Fights the Good Fight
During this phase, Dr. Isaac befriended many people from the upper echelons of the society. At that time, many stories were doing the rounds, among them this one is curious. A prominent MLA of the Kerala Assembly, Shri Kuttappan, had a problem. His eldest daughter had to sit for her board exams and was afflicted with chicken pox. The MLA had a large family and he feared that if all the members of his family got infected, it would wreak havoc.Curative and preventive therapy offered by Dr. Isaac cured his daughter and brought solace to the family. And a grateful MLA was ready to oblige. Dr. Isaac requested him to grant a permanent building for the hospital so that the current 50-bedded facility running on a rented premise could be shifted. But the MLA had brighter plans. He prodded Dr. Isaac to chalk out a plan to start a Medical College. The MLA lobbied hard for Homoeopathy and a medical college for the system in Trivandrum. Unfortunately the unexpected death of the MLA halted the programme midway.
But the relentless efforts of Dr. Isaac and the Homoeopathic Association bore fruit soon. In three years, the capital city got its first Homoeopathic Medical College and Dr. Isaac was appointed the Principal and Special Officer on Duty. The next step was toacquire land for the college building within the city limits. A team led by Dr. Isaac could find and parcel out five acres of land from theland bank of Department of Kerala Health Services. The then Health Minister K.G.R. Kartha, who was a good friend of MLA Kuttappan, was quite lenient in finalizing the college-cum-hospital project. The building construction was entrusted with the Kerala Health Research and Welfare Society (KHRWS). Meanwhile, a full-fledged Homoeopathic College started functioning from a dedicated wing of Pattom Thanu Pillai Government Homoeopathic Hospital in 1983.
Now the focus was to give Homoeopathy its due. Dr. Isaac wanted bright minds to study the subject. In those days, aspiring studentshad to crack the Kerala Medical Entrance Test to get enrolled into the medical colleges. Dr. Isaac wanted to include Homoeopathy too into this common selection process. But the call was greetedwith strong objection from practitioners of allopathy at the Trivandrum Medical College. The common notion was that Homoeopathy cannot be brought at par and hence a Common Test cannot be evolved. Dr. Isaac countered that the duration of the course and the basic qualification required were the same.Besides, both the systems emphasized studying the same syllabus for common subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Practice of Medicine, Social and Preventive Medicine among others. After a long deliberation the Medical Board and the Health Secretary Smt. Padma Ramachandran (who was a patient of Dr. Isaac) agreed upon a Common Entrance Testgiving an impetus to classical homoeopathic studies in the state.The second batch of students to the Homoeopathic College was selected through a Common Entrance Test.
Teacher at Heart
Dr. Isaac was crystal clear about the academic advancements of his students. The first few batches of students were taught non-homoeopathic subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, Practice of Medicine, Social and Preventive Medicine, Forensic Medicine and Surgery, among others by professors from Trivandrum Medical College. Arrangements were also made to take the students to the Forensic medicine lab of the Medical College for practical classes. Likewise, the students got practical classes on Surgery at General Hospital and Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Women & Children Hospital in Trivandrum.
The first batch of students from the Trivandrum College fondly remembers Dr. Isaac's classes. Like his illustrious teacher B.K. Bose, Dr. Isaac too was punctual and handled his classes with great charisma and devotion. He would invariably attend the morning OPD daily. His students were encouraged to join him so that they could learn and understand the intricate yet simple ways of cure from their sure-handed master. Dr. Isaac could instill the spirit of pure Homoeopathy in their young minds. His students could always sense his palpable admiration for great masters such as Dr. Hahnemann, Kent, Farrington; and his teachers such as B.K. Bose and G.N. Sinha. He kept in touch with his beloved teachers all along and visited them in Kolkata whenever he could.He would often quote them in his classes to bring alive the by goneera of those stalwart teachers. Dr. Isaac is fondly remembered as the founder and first principal of the Government Homoeopathic Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr. Isaac was also instrumental in putting in place a selection process for posting homoeopathic teachers through Public Service Commission in the state. He was the homoeopathic expert for Kerala Public Service Commission for recruitment of medica lofficers in the Department of Homoeopathy in 1975. He was the member of Academic Council and Senate of University of Keralafrom 1983 to 86. He was the first Homoeopathic Faculty Dean in the University of Kerala for five years from 1983. He was also the first Chairman of the Board of Studies in Homoeopathy for University of Kerala from 1982 to 86 and Mahatma Gandhi University from 1983 to 87.
Dr. Isaac retired from Government Homoeopathic Medical College on 30th April, 1986, after 25 years of Government service. After retirement, he worked as a homoeopathic advisor to KELTRON for two years for formatting the computerized repertory of homoeopathic Materia Medica. He also guided three batches of post-graduate students from 1986 to 2000 and inspired many to practice Classical Homoeopathy.
Born into a family of successful professionals, Dr. Isaac was the first in his family to get medical education (D.M.S in 1958 and M.B.S (Hom) in 1975). His son, Dr. Jose Isaac, B.Sc, B.H.M.S,M.D (Hom), is a very successful practitioner of the art. He is currently Professor and the Head of the Department of Organon of Medicine, Government Homoeopathic Medical College,Thiruvananthapuram. He is also the Chairman of Board of Studies in Homoeopathy (PG), University of Kerala. Besides, he is the Member of Faculty of Homoeopathy and Member of Board of Studies in Homoeopathy, University of Kerala. He has presented many papers on national and international fora and is a homoeopath and teacher of international repute. He is a visiting professor and head of the Homoeopathy department of the Friendship University in Moscow, Russia. He is also regularly giving lectures on Homoeopathy in San Francisco, USA and Toronto in Canada. Dr. Isaac's daughter, Dr. Beena Isaac holds a Doctorate in Philosophy and is currently the Head of the Department of Philosophy, University of Kerala, Kariavattom.She is also the chairman of Board of Studies in Philosophy (PG)and member of the Academic council, University of Kerala.She has published many articles and books on philosophy. His grandson, Dr. Isaac Jose, is the youngest in the line to practice Homoeopathy (Fifth generation). He just completed his Masters(M.D in Homoeopathy) and assists Dr. Isaac in his evening clinic.
Amidst these success stories, two deaths in the family shattered this octogenarian. His beloved wife, Chinnamma Isaac expired on 13th October, 2015. She was his professional companion as well,dispensing medicines to his patients and handling the record section at his clinic with élan. After documenting the case, Dr. Isaac, in his unique booming voice, would call her out as 'hello' following which she will take the prescription and dispense the medicines like an experienced pharmacist! She is popularly known among students and patients as “hello”. She was punctual, dedicated, caring and always gave that invaluable reassurance to the patients that everything will be fine. Her loss was a rude shock for Dr. Isaac. This happened while he was recovering from a nearlier shock when his daughter was widowed at a young age a year ago, rattling his otherwise calm retired life.
Dr. Isaac was conferred the prestigious ‘Dr. Mahendra Singh Memorial Life Time Achievement Award’ on 13th March, 2016 at a grand ceremony “Shraddhanjali 2016”, jointly organized by Dr. Mahendra Singh Memorial Trust and the teacher's wing of the Homoeopathic Medical Association of India (HMAI) at Indian Science Congress Auditorium, Park Circus, Kolkata.
Dr. Isaac, over the years, rose to become one of the most eminent homoeopaths in India. People from all walks of life ardently admire his capabilities. Patients from all over the state throng his evening clinic at his residence, “Tharangam” on Gas House Road, Trivandrum, even today. And Dr. Isaac is 86 years old!
Written & Compiled by:
Dr. Sobhana Rama Varma B.Sc, B.H.M.S, M.D (Hom)
Dr. Nishma Jones B.Sc, B.H.M.S, M.D (Hom)
Dr. B.S. Shary Krishna B.H.M.S, M.D (Hom)