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December 2008 
BIRTH, DEATH, DISEASE, OLD AGE
Posted on Dec 27th, 2006
by 
Sharma
Sharma
[Originally written by me on Wednesday 8 November 2006]
Indriyatheshu vairagyam anahamkar ev cha
Janam, Mrityu, Jara, Vyadhi, Dukh dosha nu darshanam
Indriyatheshu (in the affairs of senses) vairagyam (disinterest ) anahamkar (egoless condition) ev cha (and)
Janam (birth), Mrityu (death), Jara (old age), Vyadhi (disease) ; Dukh (woe) dosha (fault) nu darshanam (watching)
Meaning : When we see the agonies of birth, death, old age and disease, we get disinterested in affairs of senses and becomes egoless (which eventually leads to levels of higher consciousness and self realization.)
This is a very deep meaning couplet from my favorite book "Bhagwad Geeta." We shall discuss the specialties of this book on some other occasion. Even full meaning and implications of this single couplet can be discussed later. At this time I want to discuss something about disease. All living entities are afflicted with four things : birth, death, old age and disease. Diseases can be divided in two categories :
1. Aadhi or mental disease
2. Vyadhi or physical disease
Mental disease can be outcome of stress, sorrow, worry, fear, insecurity, wanting etc. or it can be madness due to some previous karma. Physical disease can be anything from common cold to cruel cancer.
Disease can further be classified in two categories :
1. First Category : By infection, wrong food, unhealthy life style
2. Second Category : By birth, heredity, luck factor
How a disease can be controlled depends on its type, severity and available medication. First category diseases are comparatively easy to contain. Causes of infection can be removed, anti-infection medicines, healthy food and life style can cure. As we still lack a theory of generalization, this view is not applicable to all diseases of first category, there are still incurable diseases but this view point is somewhat applicable to second category diseases also.
Second category diseases are some difficult to deal with. Some diseases run through generations. Yesterday there was an article in newspaper relating to Simon Morgan of London. He is the lucky person in his family who has completed 50 years of his life. Since 1844 all people in his family die before reaching 50 due to a heredity disease affecting heart muscles. The disease was identified and cured timely and he lives.
If a disease becomes incurable then miracles and charms can also be tried!! I am not advocating any superstition or cult, but if everything else fails why not give a chance to something which claims to work. Before doing anything it must be kept in mind that what cannot be cured must be endured. Another thing to be taken care of is that money is not necessarily spent on these things and seemingly unhealthy practices must be avoided. Praying to God is best medicine. Even some doctors put a sign in their clinics saying "I care He Cures" and still they take their fees :-)). Prayer, spiritual practices gives solace and a positive attitude. Even astrological remedies, if don't involve much time and money, can be tried out. Here in India we have one popular general remedy. Feed cow, crow and dog. Cow for progress, crow for long life and dog for warding off diseases. Dogs and crows have an uncanny sense for supernatural. May be they can see spirits. Dog is best friend of human. Keeping a spotless pure black dog at home is considered good for health. There are families with some health troubles which kept a male black dog and most of their troubles were gone. The dog if lost or dies must be replaced with a new one.
In case of any disease emotional equilibrium should be maintained. A minor physical problem combined with down emotions can be very harmful. A few months ago my elder brother got complaint of high blood pressure. It is not uncommon to get such complaints if you don¡¦t move much becoming virtually a couch potato and with proper care and medication this is not a thing to be worried about either. But he took it to his heart and combined down emotions with it making the situation bad. I told him "Hey Bro! buck up, you are not a lady to get low blood pressure, you are a man and can get only high blood pressure (ladies please don't mind, it was said only for motivation :-). Family, friends, relatives all were busy in motivating him. After a few months he is back on track, but a lot of his time wasted and a lot inconvenience caused.
Simple diseases can be taken care of, what about serious terminal disease. It¡¦s the matter where heart gets sad. Wish a panacea could be found. Old diseases are coming out in new stronger versions and new diseases are also showing their face. AIDS is worst nightmare for humanity, affecting millions and spreading fast with no cure. There can be one positive thing about AIDS. The research for its cure is making humans wiser about the immune system. This thing can be of immense importance. A robust immune system can ward off most diseases. Instead of finding cure for many diseases making the immune system all protective is better. I see a hope for panacea in it. May God bless us all with good health, happy families and enough sources of livelihood.
Indriyatheshu vairagyam anahamkar ev cha
Janam, Mrityu, Jara, Vyadhi, Dukh dosha nu darshanam
Indriyatheshu (in the affairs of senses) vairagyam (disinterest ) anahamkar (egoless condition) ev cha (and)
Janam (birth), Mrityu (death), Jara (old age), Vyadhi (disease) ; Dukh (woe) dosha (fault) nu darshanam (watching)
Meaning : When we see the agonies of birth, death, old age and disease, we get disinterested in affairs of senses and becomes egoless (which eventually leads to levels of higher consciousness and self realization.)
This is a very deep meaning couplet from my favorite book "Bhagwad Geeta." We shall discuss the specialties of this book on some other occasion. Even full meaning and implications of this single couplet can be discussed later. At this time I want to discuss something about disease. All living entities are afflicted with four things : birth, death, old age and disease. Diseases can be divided in two categories :
1. Aadhi or mental disease
2. Vyadhi or physical disease
Mental disease can be outcome of stress, sorrow, worry, fear, insecurity, wanting etc. or it can be madness due to some previous karma. Physical disease can be anything from common cold to cruel cancer.
Disease can further be classified in two categories :
1. First Category : By infection, wrong food, unhealthy life style
2. Second Category : By birth, heredity, luck factor
How a disease can be controlled depends on its type, severity and available medication. First category diseases are comparatively easy to contain. Causes of infection can be removed, anti-infection medicines, healthy food and life style can cure. As we still lack a theory of generalization, this view is not applicable to all diseases of first category, there are still incurable diseases but this view point is somewhat applicable to second category diseases also.
Second category diseases are some difficult to deal with. Some diseases run through generations. Yesterday there was an article in newspaper relating to Simon Morgan of London. He is the lucky person in his family who has completed 50 years of his life. Since 1844 all people in his family die before reaching 50 due to a heredity disease affecting heart muscles. The disease was identified and cured timely and he lives.
If a disease becomes incurable then miracles and charms can also be tried!! I am not advocating any superstition or cult, but if everything else fails why not give a chance to something which claims to work. Before doing anything it must be kept in mind that what cannot be cured must be endured. Another thing to be taken care of is that money is not necessarily spent on these things and seemingly unhealthy practices must be avoided. Praying to God is best medicine. Even some doctors put a sign in their clinics saying "I care He Cures" and still they take their fees :-)). Prayer, spiritual practices gives solace and a positive attitude. Even astrological remedies, if don't involve much time and money, can be tried out. Here in India we have one popular general remedy. Feed cow, crow and dog. Cow for progress, crow for long life and dog for warding off diseases. Dogs and crows have an uncanny sense for supernatural. May be they can see spirits. Dog is best friend of human. Keeping a spotless pure black dog at home is considered good for health. There are families with some health troubles which kept a male black dog and most of their troubles were gone. The dog if lost or dies must be replaced with a new one.
In case of any disease emotional equilibrium should be maintained. A minor physical problem combined with down emotions can be very harmful. A few months ago my elder brother got complaint of high blood pressure. It is not uncommon to get such complaints if you don¡¦t move much becoming virtually a couch potato and with proper care and medication this is not a thing to be worried about either. But he took it to his heart and combined down emotions with it making the situation bad. I told him "Hey Bro! buck up, you are not a lady to get low blood pressure, you are a man and can get only high blood pressure (ladies please don't mind, it was said only for motivation :-). Family, friends, relatives all were busy in motivating him. After a few months he is back on track, but a lot of his time wasted and a lot inconvenience caused.
Simple diseases can be taken care of, what about serious terminal disease. It¡¦s the matter where heart gets sad. Wish a panacea could be found. Old diseases are coming out in new stronger versions and new diseases are also showing their face. AIDS is worst nightmare for humanity, affecting millions and spreading fast with no cure. There can be one positive thing about AIDS. The research for its cure is making humans wiser about the immune system. This thing can be of immense importance. A robust immune system can ward off most diseases. Instead of finding cure for many diseases making the immune system all protective is better. I see a hope for panacea in it. May God bless us all with good health, happy families and enough sources of livelihood.
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