I had come to Krishnuv Dvur, the farm outside of Prague, to stay for one month - with the mission of going into hiding to compile the manuscript for my next book entitled "The Vanaprastha-Ashrama - Meeting Death with Joy". Jaya Gopinath Mataji and her family welcomed me in their house - I usually stay with them and have meanwhile developed a nice friendship with her, her husband and their three daughters.
I settled into a good routine of not showing up at the temple from Monday to Friday; simply getting up, chanting most of my rounds, and after breakfast I was glued to my computer for 6 to 7 hours, working on my book. In the early evening I went for a one-hour walk in nice nature, getting some exercise and refreshing my brain.
On the weekends I would go to the morning program and mix with devotees, accept invitations for lunch and have private meetings with devotees. I also offered a few classes and took part in special events such as HH Bhakti Vaibhava Maharaja's Vyasa Puja with his personal presence, and the Ratha Yatra in Prague. Amazingly enough, during this one month I managed to put the preliminary manuscript for the whole book together which will have around 300 book pages. I never expected it to go so swiftly! In this way, I spent a productive month in wonderful association.
I settled into a good routine of not showing up at the temple from Monday to Friday; simply getting up, chanting most of my rounds, and after breakfast I was glued to my computer for 6 to 7 hours, working on my book. In the early evening I went for a one-hour walk in nice nature, getting some exercise and refreshing my brain.
On the weekends I would go to the morning program and mix with devotees, accept invitations for lunch and have private meetings with devotees. I also offered a few classes and took part in special events such as HH Bhakti Vaibhava Maharaja's Vyasa Puja with his personal presence, and the Ratha Yatra in Prague. Amazingly enough, during this one month I managed to put the preliminary manuscript for the whole book together which will have around 300 book pages. I never expected it to go so swiftly! In this way, I spent a productive month in wonderful association.
 |  |
When facing a health crisis, a person in ignorance of transcendental knowledge and the science of the soul has a very different approach to medical treatments than a Vaishnava. If we live in the understanding that everything ends at the time of death, we will cling onto life as long as somehow possible, not knowing that at death the soul merely moves on to another destination and continues his activities in a newly awarded body.
Due to this ignorance of the eternality of the soul, modern medical science has indeed become inhuman. Terminally diseased patients are connected to all kinds of life-extending machines, even though they may already be unconscious - sometimes in coma for many years - and clinically dead.
So-called advanced medical technology does not allow a person to give up their body and move on. Due to such ignorance, the relatives and doctors keep such a person strapped to all kinds of machines, merely to keep the heart beating. Death constitutes a failure for irreligious doctors who have no spiritual knowledge. They consider themselves to be like 'demigods in white' who are in control and firmly believe that it is just a question of time until medical science has progressed enough to overcome death. There are indeed people who have agreed to freeze their bodies in order to wait for that point in time, when their body can be unfrozen to accept the newly discovered treatments. The Hiranyakashipu-mentality! Some doctors may have the mood of seeing a patient merely as a lucrative source of income and an interesting case to try and prove that they can control death - a thrilling undertaking: 'Let's see whether we can get this person back to life!' Very impersonal, as there may not be much of a desire to help the person as such, but rather to satisfy the gratification of being in control.
These are some guidelines when facing a health crisis:
* As a patient, it is advisable to research and gather information about our disease and have a keen interest in receiving a clear understanding of your situation. By law, doctors are obliged to give us all information, it's their duty. Nobody is as interested in our health as we are, so we have to actively take part in the decision making process, rather than blindly following what the 'demigods in white' order. If we don't ask, they may not give any information, assuming that we are in denial and don't want to confront ourselves with our disease.
* Doctors have many patients. We will receive better care and attention if we can capture a doctor's personal interest in us as a patient; in other words, if we become a 'special patient'. But if we are merely a number amongst thousands of patients, we will not receive the best treatment. Being a devotee, we stand out amongst non-devotees. Thus, it is best not to hide that we are devotees, but always visit a doctor in devotional dress and tilak, and distribute prasadam and Krishna conscious literature; apart from the fact that it uplifts our consciousness and that of the medical staff. Then they develop a personal relationship with us and will endeavor to give us the best possible treatment.
I have had plenty of experiences where doctors extended themselves personally and sacrificed themselves beyond the norm to help me.
* No harm in getting several opinions on different treatment options. There is not only one possible path. We have to involve ourselves and use our intelligence; or, if we are too sick, we have to get a trusted person to look into things for us, who understands our approach and mood and can offer us the choices. I have in the past refused certain treatments which were suggested to me, and instead accepted an unconventional chemotherapy which was recommended to me by a thoughtful oncologist; initially, nobody was willing to administer it, but since I insisted, they gradually gave in.
* It is advisable to make a legal document - a Living Will and Power of Attorney, if we want to avoid hospitalisation and life-extending measures in advanced age.
* According to my experience, India offers a high level of medical care and treatments if we choose a good private hospital. Chennai is famous for great experts in all kinds of surgeries. People in general have a higher level of God consciousness, and addiction to tablets and alcohol amongst doctors is uncommon in India, as opposed to Western countries.
* Which treatment to opt for is a very individual and personal matter, depending on where we put our faith. After all, treatments are mainly stimulating the self-healing power of the body. For this to take place, we have to have a positive attitude and faith in the treatment we choose. Some may tend to allopathic treatments, some to ayurvedic or homeopathic medicines, and others to other forms of alternative healing. Through our individual choice, inspired by the Supersoul, we receive whatever Krishna has in store for us.
* We must be very sensitive to a person's individual choice when trying to advise them. Best not to impose our choice on others, but rather respect their choice even though it may be very different from ours. Imposing our attitudes and opinions may confuse the person and undermine their faith in the treatments and medicines they have chosen. We don't have a right to impose our preferences, thinking that we know best. After all, everyone has to take full responsibility for their decision and live through the consequences. People who blindly follow somebody else's suggestions may not take full responsibility for them and later blame those who offered the suggestions.
* Unless we have some medical knowledge and education, it is better to refrain from giving advice. Unqualified advice may only bring more confusion and set-backs.
On the 25th of June I moved on to Zvolen/Slovakia...
Your servant, Devaki dd
Please visit www.theholynameretreat.net
www.therootsofspiritualculture.net
https://www.facebook.com/instituteforspiritualculture/
Due to this ignorance of the eternality of the soul, modern medical science has indeed become inhuman. Terminally diseased patients are connected to all kinds of life-extending machines, even though they may already be unconscious - sometimes in coma for many years - and clinically dead.
So-called advanced medical technology does not allow a person to give up their body and move on. Due to such ignorance, the relatives and doctors keep such a person strapped to all kinds of machines, merely to keep the heart beating. Death constitutes a failure for irreligious doctors who have no spiritual knowledge. They consider themselves to be like 'demigods in white' who are in control and firmly believe that it is just a question of time until medical science has progressed enough to overcome death. There are indeed people who have agreed to freeze their bodies in order to wait for that point in time, when their body can be unfrozen to accept the newly discovered treatments. The Hiranyakashipu-mentality! Some doctors may have the mood of seeing a patient merely as a lucrative source of income and an interesting case to try and prove that they can control death - a thrilling undertaking: 'Let's see whether we can get this person back to life!' Very impersonal, as there may not be much of a desire to help the person as such, but rather to satisfy the gratification of being in control.
These are some guidelines when facing a health crisis:
* As a patient, it is advisable to research and gather information about our disease and have a keen interest in receiving a clear understanding of your situation. By law, doctors are obliged to give us all information, it's their duty. Nobody is as interested in our health as we are, so we have to actively take part in the decision making process, rather than blindly following what the 'demigods in white' order. If we don't ask, they may not give any information, assuming that we are in denial and don't want to confront ourselves with our disease.
* Doctors have many patients. We will receive better care and attention if we can capture a doctor's personal interest in us as a patient; in other words, if we become a 'special patient'. But if we are merely a number amongst thousands of patients, we will not receive the best treatment. Being a devotee, we stand out amongst non-devotees. Thus, it is best not to hide that we are devotees, but always visit a doctor in devotional dress and tilak, and distribute prasadam and Krishna conscious literature; apart from the fact that it uplifts our consciousness and that of the medical staff. Then they develop a personal relationship with us and will endeavor to give us the best possible treatment.
I have had plenty of experiences where doctors extended themselves personally and sacrificed themselves beyond the norm to help me.
* No harm in getting several opinions on different treatment options. There is not only one possible path. We have to involve ourselves and use our intelligence; or, if we are too sick, we have to get a trusted person to look into things for us, who understands our approach and mood and can offer us the choices. I have in the past refused certain treatments which were suggested to me, and instead accepted an unconventional chemotherapy which was recommended to me by a thoughtful oncologist; initially, nobody was willing to administer it, but since I insisted, they gradually gave in.
* It is advisable to make a legal document - a Living Will and Power of Attorney, if we want to avoid hospitalisation and life-extending measures in advanced age.
* According to my experience, India offers a high level of medical care and treatments if we choose a good private hospital. Chennai is famous for great experts in all kinds of surgeries. People in general have a higher level of God consciousness, and addiction to tablets and alcohol amongst doctors is uncommon in India, as opposed to Western countries.
* Which treatment to opt for is a very individual and personal matter, depending on where we put our faith. After all, treatments are mainly stimulating the self-healing power of the body. For this to take place, we have to have a positive attitude and faith in the treatment we choose. Some may tend to allopathic treatments, some to ayurvedic or homeopathic medicines, and others to other forms of alternative healing. Through our individual choice, inspired by the Supersoul, we receive whatever Krishna has in store for us.
* We must be very sensitive to a person's individual choice when trying to advise them. Best not to impose our choice on others, but rather respect their choice even though it may be very different from ours. Imposing our attitudes and opinions may confuse the person and undermine their faith in the treatments and medicines they have chosen. We don't have a right to impose our preferences, thinking that we know best. After all, everyone has to take full responsibility for their decision and live through the consequences. People who blindly follow somebody else's suggestions may not take full responsibility for them and later blame those who offered the suggestions.
* Unless we have some medical knowledge and education, it is better to refrain from giving advice. Unqualified advice may only bring more confusion and set-backs.
On the 25th of June I moved on to Zvolen/Slovakia...
Your servant, Devaki dd
Please visit www.theholynameretreat.net
www.therootsofspiritualculture.net
https://www.facebook.com/instituteforspiritualculture/
RSS Feed
