Homeopathy is a system of medicine that was discovered by a German medical doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, in 1796. The word Homœopathy is derived from Greek words Homœo meaning “similar” and pathos meaning “suffering”. The basic principle of homeopathy is Similia Similibus Curentur which means “likes cure likes”. In simple words, it means that a disease can be cured by that medicine which can cause the same disease in a healthy person.

The basic concepts in which homeopathy differs from some other systems of medicine are explained below.

Human Organism

Homeopathy has a holistic view of the human organism. It believes in the existence of mental, emotional, and physical levels as well as a spirit-like vital force in the human organism. The mental level is that part of the organism which registers changes in perception and understanding. Human being’s spiritual side is the highest part of the mental level. The emotional level is that part of the organism which generates and registers emotions. Human being’s psychic part is also included in the emotional level, expressed through the subconscious and the intuitive element. The physical level is that part of the organism which can be recognized with the help of the five senses. Finally, the most important of all is the vital force, which is an invisible force present in the human organism. It is responsible for maintaining health and fighting against disease.

Disease

Homeopathy defines disease as any perceptible change at one or more levels of the human organism. When a patient says that one or more things are not “normal” at any of the three levels of the organism, (s)he is sick. Homeopathy takes help from diagnostic tests, but doesn’t solely rely on them for making a diagnosis. Many a times the patient has concerns about his/her health but all the diagnostic tests are normal. Therefore, homeopathy gives the most importance to what the patient says regarding his/her sickness.

Remedies

Homeopathic remedies are derived from plant, mineral, and animal kingdoms. The remedies are prepared in such a way that the energy lying dormant inside the atoms of the medicinal substances is procured. This is done because homeopathic remedies need to be in the same plane as that of the vital force. Therefore, when a homeopathic remedy is administered to a patient suffering from a disease, the remedy resonates the vital force to its “normal” level, which in turn tries to cure the disease.