23 Apr
2014

Conscious Living

In the history of both traditional and conventional medicine, we have read or heard about cases of successes and failures. Evolution of medical science is something that we human beings are very proud of. Many new medicines have been invented to deal with incurable diseases and new diseases. Not only medicines have evolved, viruses and diseases have also caught up in the process.

I admire the commitment of most of the doctors, traditional and conventional, to help their patients in the time of physical difficulties. No one likes to get sick. Getting sick means you are finished. Even if you have lots of wealth, lots of resources and you are very capable, you cannot do anything if you are unhealthy. This is why the profession of doctors is very much respected in almost all of the societies. We trust doctors because our lives depend on them.

Lately, some experiences I have had and experiences of my dear friends and students, have made me doubt the intention of some doctors and hospitals. Some of my friends and students have been advised to go for operations, not because they need them, but because the doctors or the clinics want the “businesses” to happen. These days, I feel that some of the operations and expensive medicines are prescribed because of the need to increase profits and pay for the esteemed lifestyles admired by everyone. Almost all cases of tumours and lumps are recommended for operations and almost all cases of cancers are recommended for chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. Surgeries, chemotherapies and radiations are like the only answers to terminal sicknesses. Most of the time, patients still die of side effects of these treatments. Many times, lives of these patients are destroyed because of wrong treatments and medications.

I am not saying that these conventional methods don’t or won’t help. I have doubts about the intentions of some of the doctors, clinics and hospitals. Are their suggestions of medical treatments based on the needs of the patients or their own material desires? Therefore, the doctors and those studying medical sciences really need to keep in the heart that curing the patients or the interest of the patients should be the top priority, the other reasons should be secondary.

Anything we do, as I always say, check our motivation. Something that seems to be beneficial may end up being harmful, just because of your selfish motivation. I am very much afraid of going off track, because as spiritual teachers, like doctors, we have the responsibilities to take care of the spiritual health of people and beings who believe in us. If we are only looking for material gains and success for this life and if we do not believe in the cause and effect and in future lives, we can of course do anything for our own sake, without the consideration for others. The bad news is this is not the universal law. The universal law is based simply on karma, the deeds and their effects, which can be so complicated that sometimes, there are instances beyond our control. We have no control of what we had done in the past. Sometimes, we are busy undoing or paying back the debts of past lives that we ourselves can’t even remember.

Our actions have to be governed by the will to do good for others and to set a good example for others to follow. Whenever I think of these, I feel sad. Managing our desires and keeping our conscious thoughts on track are a full time job. Our mind is so wild. I like this phrase “losing our mind”, because we always lose our mind as soon as our burning desires take over.

Whatever we do, think and check again and again. Are we doing to bring benefit only for ourselves, without any concern for others? Are we ready to accept the consequences? Life is of course very challenging. External environment can be difficult, but more difficult is to manage our mind. If we manage to keep our mind on track, that itself is a successful and fruitful life.

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