Endurance – The Law
There is a beneficent way of paying off an ancient debt in relation to sickness. It is still followed by men of wisdom. There was an ayurvedic scholar who could do substantial cures to many. He could recover many dying persons to health. He carried his practice of healing for over forty years and was himself a Vedic scholar that lived as a true Aryan. In his seventh decade of life, he had facial paralysis. He could no more speak well and communicate. He preferred not to cure himself. He decided to endure the sickness. He was stating to his ardent followers that he would prefer to endure it than to cure it to pay off a debt that was incurred during his youthful years. He stated that he was irresponsible with his speech in the rigorous youthful times and has hurt many, that he has to pay back in retribution so that he would pass away in peace. He lived so for sixteen years with his impaired speech. He consciously departed from the body after taking a bath on the appointed day, putting on the new clothes. He instructed his followers to chant Veda, seating himself in an armed chair. As the Vedic chanting was in progress, he closed his eyes and remained still. The departure was so peaceful that the chanting group did not notice until after forty minutes.
In this modern world, for every little discomfort, man runs for one medicine or the other. He has lost the ability to endure sickness. The ancient dictum is “Enduring is a way of Curing”. It is distorted through time as “What is not curable has to be endured”. Endurance is but one of the noble human qualities. The enduring one is strengthened from within. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela need to be emulated but not deified for the courage of endurance that they demonstrated. Even today, we have Stephen Hawkins as a great example of endurance.
The benefit of endurance is that the body develops the needed mechanism to meet the sickness, to resist it and sometimes even to cure it.
Eating medicines for every little discomfort is but an example of intolerance, impatience, fear and anxiety which are seen as the psychological symptoms of sickness. Enduring enables developing the needed strength from within. This potential of the body is not fully recognized. While there are civilized men who would fear death if they don’t get their meal, there are also men who would eat once a week or once a month. The body finds its own vitalization through air, water and sunlight. It has its self-surviving mechanism – a great gift of Nature. This potential of the body is systematically killed through the modern way of frequent eating and eating medicines. Today, as many medicines are eaten per as many sicknesses. To counter the effect of medicines, again medicines are eaten along with the first set of medicines. Vitamins and minerals are also eaten as a third set of medicines. The course of medicines overtake the course of the dishes on the dining table. This cannot be seen as wisdom.
The sick should be taught to endure as much as one can and even fast if necessary. There is a saying in Ayurveda “Lankhanam Parama Aushadham”- “Fasting is the best medicine”.
This attitude of endurance is beneficent. It induces into the patient, a constructive attitude. It produces a sense of responsibility for right action. This right action will lead to ‘full payment’ of penalty for wrong action and ensures the process of inducing health through right action. The example of the Ayurvedic healer unfolded this ancient law. Till date, enduring sickness is prevalent where there is absence of modern medical facilities. It gives rise to two benefits. Firstly, the body develops self-surviving mechanism. Secondly, excessive medicines are not dumped which would ensure the body in its normal health. In all such cases, deaths have been experienced more as a departure than a prolonged struggle.
Let endurance be seen as a Law of Healing.
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