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What is Health?


Dr. Samuel Hahnenmann who founded the system of homoeopathy says in the first aphorism in the Organon  “The physician’s high and only mission is to restore the sick to health, to cure, as it is termed.”  It is important to note that he does not begin by praising the virtue of homoeopathy or any other system, but with a simple yet powerful statement. Cure is nothing but restoration of health. And, this one needs to knows the things that derange health and cause disease.

So, what are the things that cause disease? If we consider the word ‘disease’, it means we are in a state of dis-ease, not at ease. This means that our health is deranged.

World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as ‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well- being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’

The above definition covers two very important aspect concerning health, one is the stress on social well-being and the other is that the mere absence of disease or infirmity does not mean a person is healthy.

This can be explained with the help of an example, let’s say, someone is suffering from Asthma or High Blood Pressure or any such ailment and after taking some medication he/she is no longer breathless or that the blood pressure has normalized but you find that this person has now become lethargic, unable to concentrate & wish to stay away from social situation. Here the absence of disappearance of disease or symptoms does not mean that a person is healthy.

Health is the feeling of well-being; your whole being is functioning at its peak without any disturbance, you feel a certain well-being, certain atonement (unity) with existence.  Health is holistic; it is attunement of the body, mind and soul with the purpose of our existence (living).

next post: Pill For Every Ill Syndrome.

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