Mostly, the homoeopaths of today claim to have cured the patients suffering from various diseases with mother tinctures. But we have to think that, is prescription of mother tinctures follows the principles of homoeopathy as stated by our Master in his Organon of Medicine. From following discussion we will try to understand whether mother tinctures are similimum or not.

   Dr. Hahnemann in various aphorism of Organon of Medicine describes the concept of vital force, diseases, potentisation and homoeopathic posology.

Dr. Hahnemann in aphorism 16 taught us – “ Our vital force as spirit-like dynamis, cannot be attacked and affected by injurious influences on the healthy organism caused by the external inimical forces that disturb the harmonious play of life, otherwise than in a spirit-like(dynamic) way…..”.

Dr. Hahnemann claimed that “all such morbid derangements (diseases) cannot be removed by any other means than by a spirit-like (dynamic) alterative powers of the serviceable medicines acting upon our spirit- like vital force”.

Here Dr. Hahnemann emphasize the nature of vital force and claims that only potentised drug can treat the diseases not the unpotentised mother tinctures.

According to Hahnemann’s posology from aphorism 245-258, in aphorism 247 he told us- “ It is impractical to repeat the same unchanged dose of a remedy once, not to mention its frequent repetition. The vital principle does not accept such unchanged doses without resistance….”.

But in case of mother tinctures we always give massive amount of drug with frequent repetition.

Dr. Hahnemann advocate the use of dynamic drugs in treatment but mother tinctures are not dynamic in nature. In aphorism 269 he emphasize the use of dynamised drugs which in their crude state give no evidence of the slightest medicinal power on the human body.

Regarding strength of the dose which is not consider during prescription of mother tinctures, Dr. Hahnemann in aphorism 275 and aphorism 276 explains the injurious effects of large dose and give the importance of small doses. He says- “ The suitableness of a medicine for any given case of disease does not depend on its accurate homoeopathic selection alone, but likewise on the proper size, or rather smallness of dose…”.

   So, if above explanations given by Dr. Hahnemann is right and his discovery is infalliable then the claims made by the homoeopaths are false. There is no other way to cure both acute and chronic diseases except through dynamic potentised medicines or any other form of dynamic energy.

Present scenario and utility of mother tinctures

   In the hurry and bustle of this age, the physician is not in a position to devote much time to reach the similimum nor he is paid for that. Allopathy-minded patients demand immediate relief of ailments. Many mother tinctures will at once arrest the progress of many diseases and afford instant cure. In some cases where miasms are in background only palliation can be obtained with the help of mother tinctures. In such cases relief should be given and then attempt should be made for radical cure by application of the most similar drugs of high potency.
So, now a days, mother tinctures are primarily used for their physiological properties and not as true similimum. A much larger dose is required to elicit the physiological properties and hence the current trend of giving n number of drops, n number of times each day. But if our medicine is similar, we don’t need that.