The Doctor Saint!

Dr. Madho Lal Mullick

A Legendary Healer and Saintly Physician of North India

Dr. Madho Lal Mullick was one of the most revered physicians of North India in the period following the First World War. A man of deep compassion, spiritual devotion, and remarkable medical acumen, he embodied the rare union of Western scientific training and Eastern spiritual wisdom. Born in Alipur (Bengal) in 1878, his life spanned a transformative era in Indian society, during which he emerged as a pioneering healer and a quiet saint in the garb of a doctor.

His early life was marked by adversity. Dr. Mullick lost his father, Devi Prasad Mullick—a doctor in the Provincial Medical Service—while still in school. The family responsibility fell on his elder brother, but young Madho Lal remained committed to education. After passing the F.A. examination, he pursued medicine at Lahore Medical College for four years. However, his aspirations did not end there. Encouraged by his close friend Dr. Bageshwari Narayan, he traveled to England—a decision that led to his expulsion from his caste, as going abroad was then considered a transgression. Undeterred, he earned his L.R.C.P. & S. (Edinburgh) and L.F.P. & S. (Glasgow) in 1902.

Upon his return to India, he initially practiced allopathic medicine in Allahabad. But a fateful turn came when he met Maharaj Saheb, the spiritual head of the Radhasoami Faith, whose influence reshaped the course of his life. Deeply moved by Maharaj Ji’s presence, Dr. Mullick found himself unable to continue in conventional Western practice. He gradually shifted to homeopathy, where he achieved unparalleled success and renown. 

Homeopathy in United Provinces: Mahendra Lal Sircar reported the opening of a homeopathic dispensary in Allahabad in August 1869, which was operated through private donations. A lay healer named Preo Nath Bose, who practiced in Allahabad, was appointed as its director. Sircar also reported the opening of a homeopathic dispensary in Agra in 1870, which was led by the lay healer Gobin Chunder Roy. According to a report in the Calcutta Journal of Medicine, J.H.B. Ironside, having personally benefited from homeopathy, wished to pass on this blessing to the community, especially to the poor. Through his efforts, homeopathic hospitals were established in northern India in the cities of Benares, Allahabad, and Agra. According to R.K. Kapoor, Preo Nath Bose (whose name he spells Priyanand Bose) later moved to Lucknow and opened a charitable homeopathic dispensary there in 1880. In the same year, a student of Loke Nath Moitra, Harish Chandra Mukherjee, founded the ‘Hahnemannian Dispensary’ in Gorakhpur. From 1890 onward, Beni Madho Banerjee practiced in Allahabad and persuaded a conventionally trained physician named Madho Lal Mullick, Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons (LRCP & S) (Glasgow), to convert to homeopathy. (From: Geschichte der Homöopathie in Indien von ihrer Einführung bis zur ersten offiziellen Anerkennung 1937, by Samuel Vijaya Bhaskar Poldas). He was the most famous allopathic physician of his time, being also the family physician to the family of Moti Lal Nehru in Allahabad, to convert to homeopathy. By the 1920s, he was considered the most famous homeopathic physician in United Provinces.

Yet, his fame rested not just on his medical prowess but on his character. Dr. Mullick treated all patients—rich or poor, Hindu or Muslim—with equal compassion. He charged a fee of eight rupees, which he never demanded, accepting only what patients could afford. He regularly paid for his poor patients' medicines, food, and even household needs from his own pocket, often in secrecy. His practice included not only homeopathy but also traditional forms such as Ayurveda, Unani (Hikmat), Hydropathy, Chromopathy, and even home remedies, always choosing treatments that were affordable and suited to the patient’s condition.

Dr. Mullick’s life was steeped in devotion to the Radhasoami tradition. He was a close disciple of Maharaj Babuji, who held him in exceptional regard, once declaring in a public satsang that “even water given by Dr. Mullick acts as medicine.” He preserved prasadi water in bottles, using it to treat patients during the influenza epidemic of 1918 with astounding success. His deep spiritual faith never faltered, even in the face of intense personal suffering. He endured the long illness and death of his second wife with saintly forbearance, caring for her wounds with his own hands. After remarrying in 1924 at the age of 46, he had a son, Mohan Lal Mullick, but passed away two years later in September 1926.

In his final days, his physical form had wasted away from prolonged illness, but his soul remained luminous. Despite having once been affluent, he died with no money, having given away everything to the needy. When Maharaj Ji came to visit him shortly before his death, Dr. Mullick humbly requested two rupees to offer his guru. Maharaj Ji described him as a "hans atma" (swan soul) and said that his passing, prolonged by illness, was a purification of karmas—a final act of spiritual charity.

The entire city of Allahabad mourned his death. His funeral procession was attended by people of all religions and walks of life, with flowers, chants of “Radhasoami,” and reverence filling the air. Maharaj Ji himself gave his shoulder to the body and accompanied the final rites at the banks of the Ganga.