Rays of hope
By Alok Pandey
Doctor
Reproduced below are some of the questions asked by patients in a terminal care unit. Most of them were suffering from an advanced stage of cancer. We take them as typical when human beings are faced with the prospect of a disease that is seriously debilitating and from which the prospect of recovery is poor. Many of them concern existential issues; others are related to our belief-systems that are being challenged through the crisis, a crisis of faith as it were. Some are connected to the illness itself.
References
1. Have I got this due to God’s displeasure?
Illness and adversity come to all human beings. We do not fall ill because God is angry with us or punishing us, but because such is the nature of our body. Our body is made up of elements that are prone to wear and tear, disease and disintegration. Saints and sages also suffer and so do children of God. The difference lies only in the way each one of us reacts to our illness. God is only Love and Compassion. He, in fact, aids and helps us through every crisis, carries us through life and death. He never abandons anyone and reaches out equally to the saint and the sinner. We must keep our faith through illness and every crisis. By believing that God is punishing us we close our doors to Him who is All-Compassion, All-Grace. Whereas when we trust that He is there only to help us then He too responds in keeping with our faith. That does not necessarily mean we will get cured. The human body, as it is now constituted, is prone to succumb to one disease or another at some point. But if we remain full of trust in God then we create the best conditions for ourselves, whether for cure or for journey to another world after death.
We need to also remember that illness is the result of an imbalance between the different parts of our nature or between us and the environment. The reasons for this imbalance are many and complex. But they are certainly not due to God punishing us. If that was the case, science would not be able to find the cure for any illness, many of which were taken in the medieval ages as an expression of God’s wrath. In fact the Will of God is to make mankind free of all diseases. That is why mankind is able to gradually discover the various inner and outer causes of illnesses and slowly overcome them. When mankind has grown into a state of perfect Knowledge by God’s Grace and evolution, we shall be able to conquer every illness but we are still far from such a complete conquest over disease.
Whether the cause is hereditary or due to diet or bad lifestyle, we cannot undo the past. We have only a right over this moment and if we use this moment rightly we can help the future. So face it and let this difficult passage, this crisis, become a door to a fruitful change.
Besides, death and disease strike everybody although the timing varies for different people. No one is an exception in this regard. So quite obviously, you have not been singled out or especially punished for some wrong! In fact, death and disease can be an occasion for some great progress and often the worst crisis comes to those who are the favourites of the gods so that they can develop strength in their souls and bring out the best from within. Look at God’s own sons and see how much they went through. No one is an exception in this regard. And yet we can make a difference by our attitude and our faith. By taking an attitude of trust and hope, we can actually help ourselves minimise the trouble, whereas by taking the attitude tha
