Dr. EDWARD BACH

INTRODUCTION

Dr Edward Bach was a qualified Allopathic doctor. Later he got his Degree in Homoeopathy and practiced homoeopathy for a few years. Then he got fed up with the homoeopathic way of treatment. He found it too complicated a system. To remember the drug-picture of hundreds of homoeopathic medicines, and to match them with the disease-symptoms of the patient, then find the correct potency suitable in a particular case is not an easy job, and then to co-relate the medicine with the previous case history of the patient-his heredity, the previous incidents and accidents of his life, the possible effect of the various drugs used by him and miasmatic affect implanted on his system-makes the choice of a suitable remedy still more difficult and time consuming.

Dr. Bach was a saintly person, having devout faith in God and his creation- the Nature. He believed that the nature which had produced innumerable living creatures and plants, and was always working towards the perfection of each individual life must have some simple means of maintaining the health of these living bodies.

What Dr. Bach understood from perfection of individual’s life was the living of healthy and happy life from childbirth till death-the ultimate union with the creator.

Dr. Bach spent six long years roaming about in jungles and ravines, collecting information about how the various plants and their flowers situated in isolated places saved themselves from the vagaries of nature- rains, storms, tempest, sunshine, clouds, lightening etc. and continued to grow despite changes in the surroundings. He collected several plants and flowers and produced 38 medicines corresponding to 38 possible changes of man’s mood. These are called Bach Flowers Remedies.

BACH’S PHILOSOPHY

Health is the birth- right of man. Health means complete harmony in the working of the body, mind and soul.

Each individual event, howsoever unimportant, has some divine purpose behind it.

Every life has some divine purpose behind it and the soul executes the divine will through the agency of the body and mind so that the harmonious working of the three results in complete peace and happiness.

In the execution of Divine Will no sacrifice is called for. It is not necessary to run to jungles in order to seek peace, neither it is necessary to shun the beauty of nature and the pleasure there from in order to be happy. Rather one should derive the maximum pleasure from all things of the world. One should apply his mind fully to the work he does, and if he derives the maximum pleasure while doing his/her job, and develops love for his/her work, then it should be understood that the work is according to the Divine will and his/her destiny lies in continuing to do that work without fear or interference from any quarter.

When man is convinced that such and such work is in accordance with the Divine Will and he can spend his/her life span on this planet with happiness and a sense of fulfillment, only through such work, then he/she would not brook any interference in his/her mission from ay quarter, nor would he/she cause any obstruction in the other’s way of life. Whenever an obstruction is placed in the chosen way of life of a person, his/her mental peace is disturbed. The harmonious working of his/her soul, mind and body is upset and his/her health suffers.

Take the case of a child who has a natural liking for art. If he/she is forced to take any other profession, say engineering or medical, then his/her natural development suffers. He/she cannot feel pleasure or sense of fulfillment in any other line. He/she will ultimately revert to Art as his/her profession or if that is not possible due to certain circumstances, he/she would adopt Art as a part time hobby.

It is only Art through which he/she can feel a sense of fulfillment and becomes really happy. It is therefore necessary for a fruitful and a happy healthy life that there should be no obstruction in the chosen way of life of any person, provided that the chosen way of life is according to his/her natural inclination, his/her inner voice, the voice of his/her soul.

However, obstructions do come in the way of life on this planet. It is very much in the order of the Divine Will. Mother Nature so arranges things in the life of a man/woman that he/she becomes perfect-healthy, happy, self-reliant and capable of combating and withstanding any obstruction in the chosen way of his/her life. These obstructions are necessary to give strength to man/woman to withstand and remove the obstruction from his/her path. We should give these obstructions the position of an honored opposition and invincibility.

When we consider an obstruction in the above light we feel we feel inclined to accept the challenge and try to remove or overcome the obstruction blocking our path. The greater the obstruction, the greater becomes the importance of our mission and our determination to do away with the obstruction increases, adding to our self-confidence.

If, however, we consider an obstruction as an impediment in our way, the obstruction gets an undue importance, and we may be cowed down by its presence in which case the harmony in the working of soul, mind and body is disturbed and the health suffers.

Whenever an obstruction in the life of a person disturbs his/her mental balance, some symptom of illness appears on his/her body, because the body is only a mirror, reflecting the human mind.

When the mind is happy, a smile on the face comes automatically. In case of mental tension, furrows appear on the forehead. The mental condition is reflected on any part of the human body. Physical ailment is the result of an impediment in the way of life of a person.

So long as we lead our lives according to our conscience which is the inner voice of the soul, we remain healthy and happy. When an obstruction is tolerated in the way of life by some extraneous influences (other than the inner voice), the harmonious working of the trio–soul, mind and body is disturbed and the man/woman falls ill.

Sickness of a man/woman is only an expression of the fault by which he/she ignores the guidance of his/her Superior Self, the conscience, the inner voice and forgets that this inner voice is the Divine Command which always leads us to the path of fulfillment, to our goal.

According to Dr Bach there is no physical disease; physical ailment is only an exhibition of the mental disturbance, which follows when we, despite the warning from our inner voice, adopt a way of life other than what our conscience suggests. When we do some work against the dictate of our conscience, we become prone to some mental disturbances such as fear, doubt, anger and it is due to this mental disturbance that the body suffers.

The more this mental disturbance becomes chronic; the physical ailment becomes more deep rooted.

According to Dr Bach’s philosophy it becomes clear that:

1. The basic cause of all troubles is the obstruction which a man/woman allows to be placed in his/her chosen way of life or puts in the chosen life of some other person.

2. Whenever a person ignores the guidance provided by his/her inner voice and acts against his/her conscience, his/her mental peace is disturbed.

3. Physical ailment as such has no meaning; it is an expression of the mental disturbance. As soon as his/her mental state improves, the physical troubles disappear.

Thus while treating a patient no consideration of his/her physical ailments is taken into account-whether it is a headache or diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting, stomachache or sneezing— no symptom has any relevance in the formation of the prescription.

How these physical troubles have affected the mind and changed his/her mood is of importance. Whether it is fear or hopelessness, anger or irritability, hate or envy, doubt or conviction, the prescription is based on the mental symptoms alone and as the remedy succeeds in rectifying the mood of the patient, the physical symptoms automatically disappear.

Physical ailments are no disease; they represent only the imbalance or non-syncronisation of the vital trio–the soul, (inner voice), the mind and the physical body. Physical ailment is only an exhibition of the above imbalance. When we tread our way in complete freedom and let others tread their path without interference, then the path of life is easy and without any hold.

Any hold in the path is troublesome. Very often we forget that even petty things hold us unnecessarily and destroy our freedom. Such things as we want to hold to, things in the absence of which we feel frustrated such as some property, some piece of furniture, some pieces of rare art etc., these are the things which hold us and destroy our freedom. The inner voice tells us that the worldly things are transitory and separation from them is a must, even then we get attached to them and become unhappy.

You are welcome to use the worldly things and derive pleasure from their use, but do not give them so much importance that the thought of their absence destroys your happiness. Do not consider that the impediments in your way are an unnecessary evil. Give them the status of a friendly opponent whose aim is not to destroy you, but to train you against odds and to make you fit to withstand adverse circumstances. Like a trainee who gets punches and blows on his/her face from the boxer and yet touches his/her feet to show his/her respect, you should treat these impediments as friendly opponents meant to strengthen your mental condition so that you can face and overcome, with confidence, any impediments in your mission of life.

The creator is perfect and so is his Creation- the Nature. The Nature according to the will of the Creator leads everything towards perfection and provides simple means of overcoming any obstructions in the way to perfection.