Book Review by Dr Sushil Vats on Boger’s Legacy

“Boger’s Legacy & Augmenting the Synoptic Key’s Repertory” — A book by Dr. Anil Singhal

I bought this book after reading it’s review in our publication Vital Informer, also the fact that Dr. Anil Singhal is an old friend, we both studied in Nehru Homoeopathic medical College & Hospital, New Delhi (NHMC), so there was an urge to know what he has written and  how this book is different in its knowledge & contents.

Dr. C.M. Boger has a special place in the history of homoeopathy science and also he is known as one of the best contributors to the clinical sphere of homoeopathy, so a book on his legacy should be welcomed and read by one & all homoeopaths.

Dr. Anil has written that this book “Boger’s Legacy & Augmenting the Synoptic Key’s Repertory” is enlightening journey through the time, a tribute to a legend, yes, this is the remarkable aspect of this book that it has covered the life & time of Dr. Boger in timeline manner and reading this book you will come to know all about Boger, his birth date & place, his early education and his academic &  professional studies & training. In a way this book is a perfect biography about Dr. C.M. Boger.

It is important to know that Dr. Boger had a command on German language, this allowed him to access and interpret original provings and homoeopathic literature, and he translated Boenninghausen’s literature in English, this incident changed the scenario of Homeopathy in USA and rest of the world. This was the time when the USA Homoeopathic scene was dominated by Kentians, and the entry of Boger with his translation of Boenninghausen’s books brought a paradigm shift in the way homoeopathy was practised in the USA till then. Dr. Anil Singhal’s book is very captivating in its narration of Boger’s literature work and influences these brought about in the homoeopathy profession of that time not only in the USA but also in the rest of the world.

This book lets you know that BBCR (Boger’s Boenninghausen’s Characteristics and Repertory) is the result of Boger’s deep desire to consolidate the major works of Boenninghausen into one comprehensive volume. And, Boenninghausen’s Grand Generalization is actually a concept which, though criticised sometimes, has been a successful tool in practice. 

Author has really explored the Boger’s writings, and writes “Boger perceived disease as dynamic evolutionary phenomena in Nature, progressing from the Phase of Normality [Health] through the Phase of Diathesis to the Phase of Disease evolves from the Prodromal phase through the Functional to the Structural Phase, and from Psora to Syphilis. Boger’s significant contributions to the evolution of the  ‘Portrait of Disease’ [natural and drug induced] lie in his comprehensive appreciation of the following areas:

1. The Time-Dimension
2. The tissue affinities [Region, Areas, tissues, Organs, System]
3. The Pathological Generals.

This book covers all life time work of Boger and deals in details on:

1. Boger’s Journey: The making of a Homeopathy Legend
2. Boenninghausen’s Repertory: The Foundation of Boger’s Legacy
3. The Synoptic Key: The Apex of Boger’s Legacy
4. Augmenting the Synoptic Key’s Repertory: Proposing New Additions

Boger is no less genius than other greats of homoeopathy, and his different editions publications to Homoeopathy are path-breaking as well as path-defining. Boger’s emphasis on pathological conditions in different parts of the body [tissue affinity] as a representation of the patient as a whole could be seen as a reflection of Virchow’s principle of cellular pathology. Boger considered these pathological processes in the context of homoeopathic philosophy and established the concept of Pathological Generals which was a ground-breaking concept in Homoeopathy at that time. Another of Boger’s concepts of the Genius of a Drug, referring to the unique character or essence that distinguishes each homoeopathic remedy is a golden tool which cannot fail the test in our practice. Dr. Anil Singhal has gone into the genesis of these concepts and has written in detail how Boger enriched Homeopathy Literature and took Homeopathy Teaching & Practice to new levels.

Augmenting the Synoptic Key’s Repertory: Proposing New Additions, the author says that the pressing need for updating arises from the practical considerations to using the Boger’s Synoptic Key [BSK-VI] repertory in today’s medical practice. The existing list of rubrics in BSK-VI seems limited in comparison to the expansive content of current mega repertories. Moreover, the remedies of each rubric in BSK-VI are minimal, contrasting drastically with the extensive lists of remedies in today’s larger repertories. The author is very clear that the intention behind this suggested augmentation is not just to increase the quantity of remedies, but to enrich the existing content, thereby enhancing its practical utility in the current landscape of Homoeopathy.

This is a well-known fact that in Homeopathy practice we begin with Allen’s and Boericke’s Materia Medica, slowly graduating to Kentian approach of MIND dominance prescribing. But, with my experience of almost 35 years in this profession and watching many contemporary Indian masters from close quarters, I can assure you that Boger’s approach is the lasting ground and clinically much successful method that Homoeopathy has. Therefore, this is heartening to know that Dr. Anil Singhal has brought this book on one of the all-time great masters of homoeopathy, and you can have all information about Boger, his Life and Work in this book.

Dr. Anil Singhal did his M.D. Homoeopathy on Boger so this book is a reproduction from his thesis work back in 2003, and has come out as a very important reference book for students who would like to do their research work on Boger-Boenninghausen’s work. 

I congratulate Dr. Anil Singhal.