When 64-year-old Delhi-based social activist Malti Khaitan,fractured her backbone in 1989,the doctor told her to rest and cut back her village visits for social work. During recuperation,another doctor friend suggested that she study flower remedies,which were popularised by Edward Bach,an English homeopath and physician in the 1930s. During a visit to England soon after,Khaitan collected literature on Bach’s philosophy and is now a flower healer.
In her latest book,Flowers That Heal – Indian Flower Remedies,Khaitan explains that flower essences are not like other medicines. They do not contain active chemicals,nor possess pharmaceutical properties. Flowers work on emotional levels,which in turn often heal our bodies. “They work invisibly within the body,alleviating stress,negative energies and the symptoms of disease. Flower therapists base their diagnoses on the mood and temperament of a patient,because these have a definite relationship with physical disorders,” says Khaitan,who was in Chandigarh for a brief visit
To some,this might sound like mumbo jumbo. But Khaitan,who did her Ph.D. from the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines at Kolkata on Indian flowers and their healing properties says that some essences free us from negative moods. “Others go further,helping us to recognise and let go of behaviour patterns that generate negative feelings,” she says. These flower remedies,she highlights,essentially work on the mind-body connection. As Khaitan herself admits,“Taking these remedies can be likened to surrounding yourself with exquisite flowers which never die.”
Talking of how her own journey with flower healing began,Khaitan says that as a mother of two growing children,she found time to study the literature only at night,and found it difficult to concentrate.
This led to some faith in this remedy system. Next,Khaitan used ‘Rescue’,a crisis formula created by Dr Bach. Rescue is a blend of five flowers: Rock Rose,Impatiens,Cherry Plum,Star of Bethlehem and Clematis. This mix was created by to deal with stressful moments,from last-minute exam nerves to the aftermath of an accident. “I found this highly effective,and wanted to get into flower healing. So I pored over Ayurvedic texts and from there the journey began,” says Khaitan,who lived in Chandigarh from 1980 to 1990.
In the two decades of flower healing,Khaitan has developed 81 flower remedies. Of these,almost 75 are made from flowers she grows organically in a farm in Delhi. In different seasons,she grows 55 varieties of flowers. The rest of the flowers she uses are those,which grow on trees like Amaltas,Ashoka,Neem,Tamarind and Eucalyptus. She has them plucked for her remedies. Khaitan lists chamomile,champa,harshringar,morning glory,sunflower,rose,jasmine,kachnar,zinnia and a others as healing flowers.
