Vol. 23 No. 5 November 2003

Regular readers of magazines and newspapers will have noticed that every now and then there will be a letter to the editor from an older person lamenting that many things were much better years ago – usually interest rates on mortgages, teenagers’ behaviour, the price of train travel, the flavour of tomatoes.

This stuff amuses younger people and provides fodder for comedians. (“Mirrors were better quality back then, they showed your hair colour properly . . . not all faded out.”) Now that I am in my sixties I catch myself looking back, too. Looking back on my involvement with homœopathy in New Zealand, from the 1960s, stirs mixed emotions. Where, I wonder, is the Homœopathic Society heading now that it has about 500 members when it once had 1500? Could it ever again hold a seminar attended by 400 people?

Was homœopathy here in better shape years ago when there was a strong spirit of cooperation among Society members and practitioners? Is today’s homœopathy becoming increasingly “New Age” and not based on clearly perceived rational principles? Was there in the past an eagerness to learn from all sources, absent today? I am particularly perturbed by the thought that students at homœopathic colleges seem not to want to read beyond their booklist, or do more than in their curriculum.

This last year has, however, provided some elements to feed hopes that all is not bad, and getting worse. Homœopaths now living in New Zealand who have graduated from excellent training institutions in India and had lots of experience in treating serious physical conditions will, I hope, spark enthusiasm for further study when they share their knowledge and experience with students and practitioners here.

On this note I would particularly like to thank Doctors Nikhil Zaveri, Niri Pandit and Venu Chintapatla for their contributions to monthly meetings of the Society. Much can be learned from these good people; sadly their audiences are small. Best wishes to all for the holiday season and the coming year.

Bruce Barwell