I went through a personal crisis many years ago about what treatment to offer my patinets. Perhaps crisis too strong a word to use, but it was a significant trouble for my mind at that time. I am talking of the period about the middle ’70’s. I had “given up” on the allopathic medicine I had learned in veterinary school. I had tried my best, had gone back to school and gotten a graduate degree (PhD in immunology), gone back into practice, and still not feeling I could restore health in any consistent way. Of course, it might just be I am not a smart guy, but I prefered other viewpoints.

I did have the idea that there might be another way that would work better. I looked into several of these, such as color therapy, herbal medicine, polarity therapy, Chinese Medicine, Chiropractic, etc. I am not saying I had training in these methods, but I would read about them and experiment to some extent.

Then I came across a little book on homeopathy for dogs which intrigued me.  I can’t say why exactly but my interest was engaged. I started a path into this form of medicine that leaves me sitting here some 40+ years later — still studying it.

You may well think I am naïve about this but I feel that when more spiritually oriented and kind people accept homeopathic medicine it confirms my interest in it. I would like to share this little piece with you as it is meaningful to me.

Mother Teresa and Homeopathy

by Dana Ullman, MPH

The fact that Britain’s Royal Family are strong supporters of homeopathy sometimes gives people the incorrect image of homeopathy as primarily a medical treatment for the upper class. Those of us involved in homeopathy know better. We know that homeopathy can be of value to anyone who is sick.

The fact that homeopathy is practiced in India by more trained health professionals than anywhere else in the world provides some evidence that one does not have to be rich to experience the benefits of homeopathy.

Caring for the poor is nothing new to Mother Teresa. She has worked with and for the poorest of the poor for over a half century. She has brought a message of love to them, and her Missionaries of Charity have provided medical care to millions of people. The physicians and para-professionals who have worked in her Missions have not simply prescribed just conventional drugs, they also have prescribed homeopathic medicines. Mother Teresa has a special interest in homeopathic medicine because of its effectiveness and low cost.

At present, four charitable homeopathic dispensaries are run under the guidance of the Mother’s Missionaries of Charity. One of these dispensaries primarily provides homeopathic medicines to poor and sick children in Calcutta, while the other three provide homeopathic medicines to anyone who needs them.

Considering the serious health problems that poor people in India experience, it is truly miraculous that homeopathic medicines are so effective as the primary method of treatment for many children and many adults. Mother Teresa opened her first charitable homeopathic dispensary in Calcutta in 1950. She even prescribes homeopathic medicines herself sometimes.

Dr. (Sister) M. Comes, a physician who has worked at the Mother’s Mission in Calcutta since 1945, notes that one of the obstacles to the spread of homeopathy in the Mother’s work is inadequate funding for homeopathic hospitals. At present, several Sisters are studying homeopathy at a homeopathic medical college in order to improve the care they can offer poor people.

My thanks to Dr. Parameswar Bose and Dr. Iva Pal for providing me with much of this information.