Theos-Talk Archives (December 2002 Message tt00720)

Dec 27 2002

Dear Friends:

The following article by H P B seems to be of current interest.

As one who had small-pox in Bombay at age 7 (1929), I can state with
accuracy that I was treated by the Indian method: complete darkness
in the room, the providing of regular glucose dissolved in water, and
the daily scattering of fresh "Neem" leaves ( from the Neem-tree) in
the bed in contact with the naked body. The result is that I emerged
from the treatment without any scars at all. I received a certificate
stating that i was immune for life from the Director of the Arthur
Road Isolation Hospital, Bombay -- a doctor who specialized in this
disease, and who stated to my parents that he had never seen before
any one coming out of the disease unmarked.

Many years later my wife contracted the disease in New Delhi (1967).
I gave her the same treatment and she emerged unscarred. I did the
entire nursing.

The disease is marked by high fever and the patient needs 24 hour a
day nursing. The frequent giving of glucose in water is necessary to
give energy -- as other foods are not kept down, and water for
hydration, is essential. The room, area and wastes must be sterilized
immediately with antiseptic / antibacterial fluids. ( I used Phenol.)
Dark curtains that exclude any sun-light must be used and the interior
of the room can only be illuminated by light from a red bulb for the
full period of 21 days until the crisis occurs and is passed. The
patient sleeps fitfully and when awake is to be entertained by music
or reading from some pleasant light literature.

Dallas

-------------------------


DOES VACCINATION PREVENT SMALLPOX ?

by H. P. Blavatsky

THE November Journal of Science (London) contains an interesting
review of Dr. Parkin's new work "Epidemiology, or the Remote Causes of
Epidemic Diseases in the Animal and Vegetable Creation," which is well
worth reading.

Dr. Parkin's theory is that "there occur certain 'pestilential
epochs,' during which the world is at frequent intervals devastated by
epidemics which travel in a determinate direction from Central or
Eastern Asia to the west of Europe and even to America; that during
such epochs all diseases, even those not considered as communicable
from one person to another, increase in frequency and violence; that
these epochs are further marked by Epizoötics and by 'blights' or
widespread diseases in the vegetable world, and are attended by a
general intensification of earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts,
fogs, seasons of abnormal heat or cold, and other convulsions of
inorganic nature. Such an epoch is generally ushered in by the
appearance of new diseases, or the reappearance of maladies that had
become obsolete."

The last great pestilential term, Dr. Parkin thinks, began about the
seventh century, and the fatal wave or current rolled westward without
check to the beginning of the eighteenth century.

During this time a succession of epidemics raged, among them the
fearful plague or Black Death. In 1803 an epidemic of yellow fever at
Malaga carried off 36,000 persons. The plague visiting London in 1665
destroyed, between the months of June and December, 20,000 persons, or
one-third of the then whole population. According to Sydenham it had
invaded England every thirty or forty years. In 1770 it was at
Marseilles, in 1771 and 1772 at Moscow, in 1815-16 in the Neapolitan
dominions. But despite its frequent challenges to medical science the
best authorities have confessed that of its treatment little is known
(see Am. Cyclo. XIII, 369). Nor, in fact, is anything definite known
as to the causes of epidemics in general.

The author of the medical articles in the Cyclopedia just named
prophetically (A.D. 1859) says: "The progressive sciences of
meteorology and physical geography will probably soon throw additional
light upon these difficult questions."

Dr. Parkin's new work comes almost as a fulfilment of this prophecy.
He seems to have conclusively disposed of two pet popular theories,
that of the sanitary reformers that dirt is the primal cause of
epidemics, and the notion that they are propagated by contagion. Such
is also the opinion of the reviewer in the Journal of Science, who
admits that the historical facts mentioned by Dr. Parkin "are
decidedly opposed to both." As examples he cites the facts that "the
cholera has been known to travel steadily for hundreds of miles in the
teeth of a strong monsoon. It often works up a river, showing that it
is not occasioned by infectious matter draining into the current." And
he adds significantly, "alike in epidemics of plague, cholera, and
yellow-fever, it has been found that classes of people who from
occupation or habit were most exposed to the air suffered most, whilst
those who kept themselves shut up escaped. How ill this agrees with
the teachings of the sanitary reformers!"

But we have not referred to this subject merely to show the
helplessness of Western scientists in face of one of these mysterious
waves of death that flow around the globe at intervals.

The immediate cause is the bearing they have upon the subject of
compulsory vaccination in India. We have before us an interesting
public document kindly sent us by the learned Dr. Leitner, President
of the Government University College, Lahore.

The opinion of the [Journal] Anjuman upon the Bill making vaccination
compulsory having been asked by the Punjab Government, that body after
a sensible and temperate debate, advised against the adoption of the
compulsory clause.

The Hindu members especially, and Dr. Leitner himself, pointed out
that if the ignorant Hindus should once learn that the vaccine lymph
is obtained from ulcers on the teats of the cow, there would be a
general protest, perhaps forcible resistance, to the enforcement of
the Act. For, while certain products of the cow are regarded, upon the
authority of Shastras, as holy, all others, including blood and its
impurities are regarded as most impure and unholy. And any one who
should knowingly permit either of them to enter his body in any
manner, would lose caste. We are not aware what action was taken by
the authorities in the premises, but if it is not too late perhaps
those in charge of the subject will be interested in the following
extract from the same article ("The Sanitary Millennium") in the
Journal of Science:

Amongst the diseases which had become less frequent and less severe,
but which have since resumed an epidemic and highly dangerous
character, a prominent place is due to smallpox, especially as its
alleged preventive, vaccination, has taken rank among the political
questions of the day. We are told that if this disease no longer
carries off its victims by tens of thousands, as in the dark ages, the
change is due to vaccination. But there can be not a shadow of doubt
that small-pox had begun to decline long before the discovery of
Jenner was introduced into practice.

In 1722 Dr. Wagstaffe wrote that the mortality among children did not
exceed 1 per cent of the cases. From 1796 to 1825 there was not a
single epidemic of small-pox in England. Yet, according to a report
published by the College of Physicians in 1807, only about 11/2 per
cent of the population were vaccinated. Now if we admit that the
immunity gained by this operation is absolute and permanent, how is it
possible that three vaccinated persons out of every 200 would protect
the remaining 197? At the present time about 97 per cent of the
population are supposed to be vaccinated. Yet so far from being able
to protect the residual 3 per cent it is considered that they are
imperiled by the obstinacy or neglect of this small minority.

We have the lamentable fact that, whilst vaccination has become all
but universal, small-pox has reappeared among us not in isolated cases
but in epidemics succeeding each other at short intervals, and each
more deadly than the foregoing. Thus in the epidemic of 1857-58-59 the
deaths were 14,244: in that of 1863-64-65, 20,059, and in that
1870-71-72, 44,840. Thus in the first interval the deaths from this
cause had increased 50 per cent, whilst the population had grown only
7 per cent. In the second interval the deaths from small-pox have
risen by 120 per cent, but the population only 10 per cent.

Another ugly fact is that the number of persons who have been
vaccinated but who are subsequently attacked with small-pox is
steadily on the increase. At the Highgate small-pox hospital from 1835
to 1851 the previously-vaccinated formed 53 per cent of the total
small-pox cases admitted. In 1851-52 it rose to 66.7 per cent; in
1854-5-6 to 71.2 per cent; in 1859-60 to 72; in 1866 to 81.1 and in
1868 to 84 per cent.

How are such facts to be reconciled with the orthodox theory that
vaccination is a safeguard against small-pox'? What would be the
conclusion formed by an unprejudiced statistician if these figures
were laid before him? If a grows more common as b increases in number
and general distribution no man in his senses will argue that b is a
hindrance to a. The very opposite conclusion, that b is causally
connected with a would seem more legitimate.

How the credit of vaccination is to be saved is not apparent. We
cannot cut the knot by supposing that modern medical practitioners are
less careful and skilled in the performance of the operation or less
scrupulous in the selection of vaccine lymph.

There remains, then, merely the conclusion that small-pox, too, has
had a period of cessation during the latter part of the past century
and the first quarter of the present;--that the apparent success of
vaccination was mainly due to its coincidence with this temporary
lull, and that the disease is now rapidly regaining its old virulence
and reassuming the pestilential proportions which it displayed in the
days of our forefathers.

It is but fair to remark that our esteemed colleague, Dr. D. E.
Dudley, President of the Bombay Theosophical Society, takes exception
to the accuracy of the above statistics of mortality, and but for the
exigencies of his rapidly growing practice would have added a note.
Possibly he may find time to do so next month. Meanwhile let us hear
from native medical practitioners, astrologers, and pandits what the
Shastras have to say as to the cause of epidemics and other abnormal
phenomena.

And here is another matter upon which Europe would like to be informed
about by them. It is taken from Spiritual Notes (London).

According to Dr. Vincenzo Peset y Cervera the crystals of hæmoglobulin
obtained from the blood of different animals have forms so distinct
and characteristic that the origin of a sample of blood may thus be
determined! All that is required is to mix the blood with a little
bile, when crystals not exceeding 0.003 metre in size are formed in
the mass. The shapes of the crystals are said to be as follows: Man,
right rectangular prisms; horses, cubes; ox, rhombohedrons; sheep,
rhombohedral tables; dog, rectangular prisms; rabbit, tetrahedrons;
squirrel, hexagonal tables; mouse, octahedrons, &c.

Commenting on these allegations the Journal of Science sagely suggests
that "if they are confirmed they may serve for the solution of a most
important question raised by Dr. Lionel Beale. If the theory of
Evolution be true, the crystals obtained from animals which are nearly
related should be either identical or such as are in form easily
derived from each other. Should the hæmoglobulin crystals--e.g., of
the horse and the ass, of the dog and the fox, of the rabbit and the
hare, or of the rat and the mouse--belong respectively to different
systems, it will supply a serious argument in favour of independent
creation.

Theosophist, March, 1881

1 Proceedings of the Anjuman-i-Punjab, in connection with the proposed
Vaccination Bill, etc.