I’ve been thinking of Dr. Jean a lot these past few days, and been wanting to write to her. However, on a family vacation, one’s time is rarely one’s own. It’s from her, that I first heard about Dr. Rajan Sankaran. All those years ago, in Canberra. Then, in the last few years i rediscovered his work on Facebook, as I became more interested in the Homeopathic fraternity.
Today, as I opened my Facebook page, the following post from Dr. Sankaran was the first thing I saw on my feed. It’s long, but gripping and very thought provoking. It is worth the long read, anyone would benefit hugely by applying the understanding to one’s own life. It gave me a different perspective to my experience and circumstances. I intend to explore the writings further, and also plan to order Dr. Sankaran’s book, especially the latest one on Archetypes. Sounds quite intriguing. Here is the full post:
Dr. Rajan Sankaran: A Life in Healing: My Journey Beyond Medicine
When people look at my work over the last four and a half decades, they often see the evolution of homeopathy—the discovery of sensations, kingdoms, systems, classifications, and methods. But when I look back, I see something else. I see a journey of healing—not only of my patients, but also of myself.
One of the important turning points in my life came when I developed an illness myself. Until then, like many physicians, I was primarily focused on treatment. But becoming a patient taught me something that no textbook ever could: healing is much bigger than medicine.
Whether one takes homeopathy, allopathy, or any other treatment, lasting health requires personal responsibility. It requires us to look at how we live, how we think, how we relate to others, and how we connect to something larger than ourselves.
Gradually, I came to understand that health has four dimensions: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. To heal fully, we need to care for all four.
I began paying greater attention to my own diet, exercise, emotional life, relationships, purpose, and spiritual practice. As I did so, I noticed significant changes within myself. There is a considerable difference between the person I was twenty years ago and the person I am today. I feel a greater sense of ease, acceptance, and harmony within myself.
Naturally, I wanted to share what I was learning—not only with my patients, but also with my students and the general public. This became the inspiration behind books such as Dog, Yogi and Banyan Tree, Monks, Monkeys and Memories, and Manjhi the Boatman. It has also inspired my latest books: The Six Soul Types, When Skill Meets Soul, and From Pattern to Presence.
At the heart of all these books lies one simple idea: awareness.
Over the years, I have come to see disease not merely as a physical problem but as a maladaptation to reality. Often, we are not reacting to what is actually happening; we are reacting to our perception of what is happening.
If I wear yellow glasses, everything appears yellow. Similarly, if I carry within me a pattern of humiliation, fear, rejection, insecurity, or anger, I begin to see those themes everywhere around me.
The problem is not reality itself. The problem is that I mistake my perception for reality.
Healing begins when I become aware of the glasses I am wearing.
My work in homeopathy gradually led me toward this understanding. First, I explored mental states. Then I explored deeper levels of sensation and the connection between mind and body. Eventually, through the Witnessing Inner Song Experience (WISE) processes, I discovered that awareness itself can be profoundly healing.
I noticed that when patients became deeply aware of their inner experience—without judgment, without resistance—something shifted within them. Sometimes healing occurred even before a remedy was prescribed.
This realization changed my understanding of healing itself.
Today, when something disturbs me, I try not to ask, "Why is this person doing this to me?" Instead, I ask, "How am I seeing this situation?"
That question changes everything.
Rather than focusing outward, I turn inward. I observe my thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and sensations. Often, what I discover is not the reality of the situation but my own interpretation of it.
This has led me to another important insight: we are not our patterns.
We often say, "I am angry," "I am anxious," or "I am aggressive." But what if we changed the language slightly?
What if instead of saying, "I am angry," we said, "I am experiencing anger"?
The moment I can observe anger, I am no longer completely identified with it. There is an observer behind the experience.
Thoughts come and go.
Emotions come and go.
Patterns come and go.
Yet something remains unchanged.
There is a silent space in which all these experiences arise and disappear. That witnessing presence—the observer—is what I believe is our deeper nature.
The journey from identifying with our patterns to resting in that awareness is what I call the journey from pattern to presence.
Relationships, I believe, offer one of the greatest opportunities for this journey.
In my book The Six Soul Types, I describe six fundamental patterns of human nature: the Oyster, Snail, Bird, Dog, Horse, and Lion. These are not merely personality types. They are archetypal ways of experiencing life.
Each type has its own strengths, challenges, fears, gifts, and blind spots.
Many conflicts arise because we do not understand our own nature, nor the nature of the people closest to us. We expect a Horse to behave like a Snail, or a Lion to behave like a Dog. We resist what is natural in the other person.
But understanding creates acceptance.
And acceptance creates harmony.
I do not believe compatibility depends on matching types. I believe it depends on awareness and acceptance. Beneath our different patterns, we are all expressions of the same deeper consciousness.
Another theme close to my heart is the role of the physician.
In When Skill Meets Soul, I explore what I have learned from more than 45 years of clinical practice. Technical skill is essential, but healing requires something more.
Patients rarely remember how much knowledge a doctor had. They remember how the doctor made them feel.
Did they feel heard?
Did they feel cared for?
Did they feel understood?
Early in my career, I proudly displayed a large signboard announcing my academic achievements. One patient looked at me and said, "I don't care whether you are a gold medalist or a platinum medalist. I only care whether you can help me."
The next day, I removed the signboard.
That lesson has stayed with me ever since.
Patients come to us not merely for treatment, but for care. They want to know that someone is walking beside them in their suffering.
The most important thing we bring to a consultation is not our knowledge, but our intention.
When a patient sits before me, my primary question is not, "What can I gain from this encounter?" but rather, "What is the best I can do for this human being who is suffering?"
Finally, I have come to believe that a healer must continually work on healing himself or herself.
If I speak to patients about diet, exercise, awareness, meditation, or healthy living, I must strive to embody those principles myself. People learn more from who we are than from what we say.
Perhaps that is the central lesson of my life.
Healing is not merely about curing disease.
It is about becoming more aware.
It is about accepting ourselves and others.
It is about understanding our patterns without becoming imprisoned by them.
It is about discovering the deeper presence that exists beneath all our thoughts, emotions, and identities.
Medicine, relationships, spirituality, and personal growth are not separate paths. They are different expressions of the same journey.
A journey toward wholeness.
A journey toward awareness.
A journey toward healing.
For more about this : Do read the above-mentioned books and watch the video on YouTube https://youtu.be/0QMdgd97C7I?si=d1vRY2mfDGS1lzdk
While I did have some thoughts I wanted to add, I will refrain so as not to dilute the potency (pun intended) of Dr. Sankaran’s observations. These are all connected to his Birthday musings and celebrations, held earlier in the week.
Reading this also reminded me of my wonderful Primary Care Physician Dr. Anthony Douglas, who took early retirement and moved to a different role. Dr. Douglas was the embodiment of all of the qualities Dr. Sankaran describes as requirements for an healer. Dr. Douglas was all of that and much more in his practice, not just for his patients but also his staff.
While all doctors work to save lives, as best the can in their understandings, those with the intent to heal achieve a wholistic outcome. And more and more physicians are starting to see themselves in their patients.
It’s been a lovely week and we head back home tomorrow.
Veenu Banga
29th May 2026
11:17pm
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