JAMES COMPTON  BURNETT

    (10 July 1840  -  2 April 1901)

INTRODUCTION

            The history of Homœopathy can be traced back to 1790.  Any new idea will be resisted especially if it strikes at the very root of established ideas and practices.  Homœopathy too therefore was strongly opposed, and persecuted.  Even today in some places this witch-hunt is on.  The Pioneers of Homœopathy were very robust and vigorous.  They withstood all the storm.  They were equal to any of the heroes in the Iliad and Mahabharata.  Many of them achieved brilliant, miraculous cures  which today we may not be able to!  They left behind their treasure for us to use, bring benefit to humanity, and to add to the treasure for posterity’s use.

      James Compton BURNETT (July 10, 1840 – April 2, 1901) – of Great Britain is one such unique pioneer whom we  consider in this book-let.  The life-sketch of BURNETT may be studied in H.L. Chitkara’s book –‘Best of Burnett’.

      BURNETT performed many miracles.  I would like to bring to your attention that BURNETT, CLARKE and COOPER met together during week-ends and discussed till late in the night.  The gems that fell from the mouths of BURNETT and COOPER were carefully collected and noted by CLARKE; we will find these ‘gold nuggets’ in Clarke’s ‘Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica’.

      One who reads Burnett’s small monographs – there are 21 of them now available, and that’s not a small number – will be awe-struck at the results!  The ingenuity of BURNETT sparkles.  For example, in his ‘Delicate, Backward, Puny, Stunted Children’ he writes of saving very delicate, puny, children by regularly rubbing on their body warm oil and keeping them wrapped in old, oiled flannel!

      I have read BURNETT several times.  His monographs were all slim (except the ‘Consumption’) and I would always carry one in my bag and read it while standing in the queue for a bus or waiting on the platform for a suburban train or wait in the bank for a transaction, etc.

      BURNETT used the Nosodes beyond their ‘symptoms’ and obtained great results.  Why shouldn’t we?  I thought of picking up Burnett’s indications for using the Nosodes and listing them for application.  We can also read them along with what already are in the Materia Medica and gain a knowledge of  ‘totality’ of the Nosode.

      It has taken a long time to compile these.  It meant going carefully through  all the 21 booklets.  My colleague Dr.C.R. Sivaram, M.D. (Hom.) did the laborious work and I am indebted to him.

      I would suggest that we may interleave our Materia Medica with these indications so that they are not missed.  Some or more of the symptoms may already be there in the Materia Medica, may be in different words.  Doesn’t matter.  It is good if there is repetition.

      The number superscribed to every symptom denotes the source from which it was drawn.  These sources are serially listed at the end.  It would be more useful if we read the symptom and read it in the source so that the context in which it was found to be useful is also understood.

      It has been said that more than ‘research’, which of course is necessary for the progress of any Science, the ‘big Breaks’ were the careful, patient, deductions of the observations by the Professionals that make the difference.  Hahnemann’s inductive method is a result of such ‘observations’ and deductions confirmed by actual application.  Read BURNETT and note how observant he was of each case and how he deduced and confirmed.

      Wishing you onward, progressive movement in the cure of the sick and looking back for your feedback (please do write).

K.S. SRINIVASAN.

AUGUST 2004.