Name of the book: Body Language and Homoeopathy
Author: Dr. Ajit Kulkarni
Published by: B. Jain Publishers, New Delhi
Price: Rs. 799/- or US$ 72.50
Hardcover: 766 pages
ISBN: 978-81-319-0888-4
Book reviewed by: Dr. D. E. Mistry

Homoeopathy in its evolutionary journey has witnessed many milestones since the innovation by Dr. Hahnemann. It began with the experiment on Cinchona bark. Evolution began right at that moment. Various thought processes, experiments and clinical experiences went on to form a portrait of a science of healing, based on sound philosophy and practice. Homoeopathy is evolving at many levels - case taking, philosophy, materia medica, repertory, miasms, clinico-pathological co-relations, understanding of dreams, delusions, sensations and emotions, the study of personality, etc. Many new avenues of prescribing methods are also evolving and facilitating the application of homoeopathy at bedside. This has helped our homoeopathic fraternity to a great extent, thanks to the technology which has made vast literature of our science easily available to the aspiring students of homoeopathy.

Dr. Ajit Kulkarni opens up a new modeling frontier and explores a whole new world of possibilities and avenues of prescribing through his book on 'Body language and Homoeopathy with Clinical Repertory of Body Language'. In the first instance, I was astonished to see 10 pages of 'Contents', 20 pages of 'Index' and 'Bibliography' of more than 100 References of this bulky volume that gave me a wide panorama of what I am going to visualize. When I started pondering over the minute details of the work, it was spellbinding and kept me reading late into the night. So much rang in my heart as true that I pondered the sections and sub-sections of the book for weeks. During my normal work day, some piece of the book would pop up in my mind and I'd have to stop and absorb it before moving on.

The book is divided into well-defined chapters which are further divided into easy-to-digest sub-sections. Broadly, there are four sections. Section I deals with 'Introduction' through Kinesics as a science, History and Understanding language in general. The theme of Section II is 'Communication' where the author elaborates through Body language as communication, Communication skills, Intra-psychic communication, Silence and Characters of body language. Section III focuses on the core elements viz. Personal appearance, Gestures, Posture and stance, Facial expressions, Eye expressions, Voice and intonation, Space and Distancing, Tactile communication, Vocabulary of body language and Universal gestures. Section IV takes care of 'Homoeopathic perspective' through Relevance of body language to homoeopathy, Basic modes and Materia medica, Kingdoms and body language, Discovering the patterns, Handy tips for a successful practice, Clinical repertory, Learning through cases and Conclusion. Each section is insightful and you can sense the diligence with which the author has worked upon.
What do our symptoms and physical problems tell us about ourselves? The body constantly sends out the messages and we are unknown to their meanings. In this book Ajit investigates the most powerful and effective communication device, the human body. Ajit has thrown light over the micro human expressions (he calls them as 'choreography') and has tried to portray their significance from psychological, philosophical, spiritual and homoeopathic point of view. The explanation of each expression carries an easy understanding supported by relevant scientific observations. He has not hesitated in quoting the observations of some famous faculties in relation to their studies. I cannot afford to forget the fact that Ajit has described the homoeopathic perspective briefly at the end of each chapter and this will certainly help the study of remedies as well as rubrics in an interesting manner. The book keeps a lasting impression on the mind and next time when you observe a peculiar expression in your patient, this book will indeed assist you as a desktop guide.
The most useful contribution is the 'Clinical Repertory of Body Language'. It's not a customary repertory. Instead of symptoms, you will find cues of body with the index of homoeopathic remedies against them in an alphabetical manner. So, if you want to search for 'pouted lips', this book is the answer to your query. Go into the text material, understand the body cue, interpret it rightly relating with your patient, pick up the related rubric and try to grasp the relevant remedy. Repertory is the very essence of this book and also a boon for a busy physician.
It is obvious that a lot of efforts have gone into the design of this book, to make it an efficient operational tool. The text is fairly large, illustrations are generous, the images are meaningful and relevant and it overall gives an impression of being crisp, clear, unambiguous and profound. Every day we see lots of things around us but are attentive only to those to which we are sensitive. Indeed this book will make us more sensitive to our daily routine and life. We were following homoeopathy through the books only till now but how about following it through our bodies also? The study of body language is not only about the ability to create a definitive dogmatic goal of finding the simillimum in the field of Homoeopathy, it is about unfolding of thought process, of dialogue and continuum and this book fulfills this demand to a large extent. The great benefit of this book is that it widens and expands our consciousness at all levels.
The research is well-placed and well-cited. Smooth transitions, a varied vocabulary, a well prepared index and exclusive, awe-inspiring images with touching quotations make the book more enjoyable. The book is an ideal amalgam of the world of ideas and the world of images intertwined to the holistic science of homoeopathy. Indeed, this book will be useful to all- professors, teachers, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, executives, artists, actors, businessmen, students, lay persons and all those directly or indirectly related to homoeopathy and concerned with the art of healing.
Dr. Ajit Kulkarni must be complimented for his scholarly work and enlightening discussions! For a different perspective on the world around us, and the world inside each of us, this book is definitely worth reading. He often emphasizes that the art of deciphering the truth through the body language is a skill which needs constant polishing and that there are limitations of body language too.
Here is a book like a prism - shards of light glancing off in different directions, different colours and tones, but grounded by the actual bedside work of years standing by the author and his team. I now appeal the homoeopathic fraternity to further this work to make the application of homoeopathy more powerful.
Are you ready to dive in and get started? If so, 'roll up your sleeves' and enjoy the incredible work Ajit has offered.

Click here to Read the book review by Francis Treuherz, London