DISEASE - CURE (Death of Disease - 8)

Purpose of Pain and Disease

(Excerpts from the book – Death of Disease)

1.  What is the purpose of disease and especially the pain which is most of the times associated with the disease? Before the 'treatment' of the disease is to be discussed, we should definitely consider this 'purpose' aspect also.

The study of nature of pain is essential for throwing more light on purpose of disease.

A man loses his feet in accident. He loses his weight during the attack of fever, and his tooth when decayed. But besides all this why nature also adds pain? What is the role of this accompanied pain?

2. Mechanism of Pain

The nerved scattered widely throughout the body finally end into the central nervous system. The pain impulses more along special tracts within the spinal cord to arrive to their destination in brain part called thalami. Then the pain sensation is relayed to the sensory area of cerebral cortex and from that place the pain messages become more conscious.

The complicated system of distribution of pain impulse is neatly to be understood through knowing the fact that whole body has a unit nature. If a finger suffers, then the restlessness results, for the whole body and not the hand alone. If there is a toothache, other parts of the body also become restless. The pain focuses the entire attention of the person when it pricks.

Of course, reaction to the same amount of pain may differ from person to person.  It may be difference in sensibility of nerves conveying pain or the difference may be due to degree of control exercised over the thalamus by cerebral cortex.

There may be any other explanation what so ever, the fact remains that PAIN VARIES FROM INDIVIDUAL TO INDIVIDUAL.

3. Patient

Pain, subject to personal variation, is the prime factor which converts the whole man into a 'patient' subject to pestering pain.

4.  Prima facie purpose of pain 

The prima facie purpose of pain looks to be that of warning the patient. If the disease overpowers without pain, a large number of human lives would be lost.

Pain plays the role of a preliminary warning for alerting the patient. A second purpose of extremely annoying pain is to punish the person for his wrong.

Illustration - If you overeat, it may result in diarrhea. If you under eat, it may develop anemia.  (Both also depending upon many other factors).

Mostly in such cases the result can be co-related to cause. Since cause and effect is absolute law of nature, all diseases must be the result of related causes or defaults you have committed, though you may not directly be able to link one with the other.

Pain and disease both teach us

The book quotes Keats and Dr. Walker, who say in different words that we learn something from pain and disease. But 'We' means what? Which component of the body learns? Physical components have nothing to learn by themselves. Obviously, mind has to learn. Material things do not possess sensory qualities.

5. Controlling or balancing emotions

Thus most scientifically we arrive at the conclusion that training the mind in disease alone is legitimate procedure. 'Emotions' is the visible expression of mind. That is why training the mind amounts to training i.e. controlling or balancing emotions.

6. Nature's Purpose 

Every individual is created by nature to see how it reacts, given a particular combination of emotions. Without further analysis (which is beyond the scope of this book), we venture to guess that this august experiment of Nature tends to shaping the men towards perfection. We dare not and cannot dispute Nature. We need understand her laws to enable us to adjust our lives accordingly.

We envisage pain as necessary to teach our mind through its visible expression, emotions. We have already admitted that a direct link between a disease and a particular emotion out wits (confuses) our understanding for the simple reason that it depends upon ratio of that emotion to other emotions, which separate his personality from others.

7. Conclusion

The same disease arrives from different causes. This fact fumbles doctors and their reasons struggle helplessly. The knowledge of the fact that 'disease' and 'emotions' have causal relationship and that conditioning to emotions can yield desired results, yield us happiness.

The emotion should be neutralized, consequently, irrespective of its classification the ailment will meet its solace.

(To be continued)

Vijay R. Joshi.

DISEASE - CURE ( Death of Disease - 7)

Emotions and the Individual

(Excerpts from Chapter 15 of the book Death of Disease)

1. To recapitulate the conclusions of the previous chapters (i.e. discussion so far in the book Death of Disease).

1.1         Medical practitioners know that their respective pathies give no answer with regards to fundamental problem of disease, nutrition, protection. Masters of medicine admit it. Evidence endorses it.

1.2         In practice, the practitioners treat all ailments and proceed to cure all diseases. May be they really lack knowledge of disease in its proper perspective, may be they ignore it for personal benefit, or may be the dominance of ego leads them to act as they do.

1.3         Every pathy contains partial truth to a more or less degree. Yet the claim of perfection and infallibly in respect of any pathy is obviously unsustainable.

1.4         Disease cannot be cured unless 'mind' is properly treated. All present media of treatment, including psychotherapy, commit the common mistake of 'standardizing' their way of analysis of treatment. We must isolate The H.C.F. (Highest Common Factor) of cause and cure the disease.

 (H.C.F. is 'mind related'. Man may change, basic emotions are the same)

1.5         Joint consideration of body and mind alone leads to correct diagnosis. But mind controls body. Even the doctors subscribe to the view that ninety percent of diseases originate from mind (Psycho-somatic disorders)

1.6         However, debatable the nature of mind, for our purpose by concentrating on 'Visible Expression of Mind', we reach a sufficient good starting point. Visible expression of mind are 'emotions' primarily six.

1.7         Emotions reign supreme, not for a moment can we remain conscious without emotions.

1.8         If consciousness evolves primarily from emotions, our problem reduces to more simple level. Soldier for his 'patriotism' emotion throw his life in war. Saint Peter sacrificed himself for faith (other examples in Indian Context are - Sambhaji, Shikh Guru). Thus, the brave don't care of ' body' but value emotions. This is true for a coward also. He flies to save himself from some imminent danger, his individuality bursts with emotions of fear and therein he ignores his body. Often the heart of such person stops and they kill themselves.

Apparently, a height of paradox of life, that this coward so attached to his body, obviously kills the body itself by emotion.

2  A superficial analysis would lead to conclusion that each one kills himself with diametrically opposite emotions. Man remains under the sway of emotions till a breath of life remains and he considers his bodily existence altogether inferior.

3. For a human race the outer appearance of body may change from race to race, location to location in terms of color, weight, height, face, etc. but the same emotional trend will be discovered within all prevailing human beings (The mix may vary but basic emotions are the same). This is the H.C.F.

4. We carry a wrong notion that education basically changes emotional set up. Even time fails to teach human race in that sense. The driving emotion of a speculator (in share market) today is the same - greed - as that of his predecessor who joined the Alaska Gold root in 1880.

Technical knowledge apart, space travel of today differs emotionally in no way from Columbus who fought his way with unimaginable zeal to America.

5. Emotions are primary instincts whether the individual is a child, or century old, a weakling or a champion; poor or rich; a primitive or a modern man. Ignorant and rich behave as they do, because of identical craving of sex, ego, greed, anger, affection and envy.

Wherein then lie individual differences?

Emphatically in the difference of proportion of emotions, the nature of constituents remains the same.

6. It is easier to treat and cure a man through his emotions than through his physique.

Medicine are many and they will continue to come in many numbers as the disease change in nature. The history of modern medicines reveal that with all the progress in terms of body - treating - medicines, the diseases are not controlled, nor human life is made comfortable we can't wait for centuries for the body cure. Till the ideal modern medicine comes (which has not come so far), we should attempt to treat emotions, the primary cause of disease.

If disease is to be treated at individual level, and if emotions have been proved to be a part and parcel of even conscious person leading him to disease, we better treat emotions. Certainly, it is better to treat a disease by catching at its root.

7. Dr. Alexis Carrel says - "Disease is a personal event. It consists of the individual himself. There are as many different disease as patients".

We endorse this wholeheartedly. Each individual will differ from the others. This is due to variation of wide extent of ratio or combination of various emotions which prevail each moment he is conscious. This play of emotion with each individual at each moment of conscious life is an unalterable fact.

To quote Dr. Carrel again - "Death is the price he (man) has to pay for his birth and his personality". The 'personality' undoubtedly manifests itself through emotions.

Humanity has to learn to conquer emotions for eliminating disease.

(To be continued…)

Vijay R. Joshi.

DISEASE - CURE (Death of Disease - 6)

Visible Expression of Mind (Emotions)

(Excerpts from Death of Disease chapter 14).

1.   ‘Emotions’ is visible expression of mind.

Every moment, the mind of a person (which is invisible) expresses itself through his emotions. Even a blind man can visualize the mind of the person standing opposite and draw conclusions as regards the feeling of the anger, just from the penetrating words being uttered. A deaf person merely looks at his neighbor and even then one look enables him to see the greed of the person reflected from his eyes. The reader reads a book and from the weight and feel of the words reads the emotions of the author, though he might have never seen him. A man cannot remain without emotions. An individual rests in chair and his face may look calm, but in the minds emotionally he might be meeting his love, a thousand miles away.

2. Six major emotions cause outward expression of Mind.

(a) Envy, (b) Greed, (c) Ego, (d) Anger, (e) Sex, (f) Affection. One may be permitted to add or to subtract from this list. As there are any number of shades of emotions from person to person. Yet, for the present purpose, our main emphasis lies on the aspect of expression of mind. Thus the variation of details in terms of the description of emotions hardly matter. There is not moment in the conscious life when we don't be under the effect of the swing of any emotion. We cannot conceive a moment without thought and thought run only parallel to emotion.

3. Chemically our body changes every day.

As Donald Cooley expresses in the book, 'The Science Book of Wonder Drugs', "Biochemically, your body is never exactly the same from one split second to another" (125 crores cells change/second). Then what remains constant in man throughout his life? It is the individual made (personality) that prevails with regards to proportion of emotions that go to make his mind. This remains so, till mind itself in its natural process plans to change it.

The supremacy or otherwise of one emotion over the other, and their relative effective force differs from case to case. The difference in emotional set-up makes persons distinct individuality. Therefore, given the same set of circumstances, various person act differently. Thus, same situation may create stress for somebody, for other it may not disturb at all.

Every 'disease' therefore rests on some emotional basis which could be immediate or distant. The link between emotions and disease is known to doctors. They do know that blood pressure is connected with anger. Their only difficulty is that every angry person may not go sick (with B.P.).

a)                     Sickness should be attributed to a specific proportion of other emotions in the person concerned.

b)                    A disorder in the body does not spring up spontaneously. Nature gives a man long rope before the person is finally hanged or intermittently disabled by any disease.

Every (impact of) emotion must be marking an ascending line on the graph of our physical condition. Unfortunately, an attack of disease remains latent till it assumes proportion of big red lined disease on the graph paper of our body.

4. We express our emotions through change in body motion.

Dr. Franz Alexander says - "All our emotions we express through physiological changes. Fear by palpitation of the heart, anger by increased heart activity, elevation of B.P. and changes in carbohydrate metabolism, despair by deep inspiration and expiration called sighing.  (The interaction with other people emotions. Emotions by act perceived stimulation, which from brain work on body parts, muscles, glands, systems. And then they are again visibly expressed in terms of our emotions as reaction to all this process.)

(The cycle is from emotions to emotions)

5. Our unexpressed emotions also create disorder.

Dr. Kenneth Walker shows that not only our expressed but our unexpressed emotion create disorders in our body. For instance, the suppression of anger adrenalin and sugar get poured into the body stream.

6. Inter-relation between emotion and disease.

Therefore, it would be an absurdity to suppose that every emotion turns into visible disease. It is equally illogical on the other hand, to suppose that disease, when visible, should be linked with an immediate preceding cause.

To link up a crude superficial cause effect relation brings no credit to the modern day’s intelligence. If somebody gets his leg broken, then the conclusion has to be that a broken leg must have relation with past emotion - though apparently unknown.


(to be continued .. )


Vijay R. Joshi.

DISEASE - CURE (Death of Disease - 5)

Location of Disease (The mind stands supreme)

1.  To a question – where the disease is located, the answer normally given is 'body'. We are conditioned to believe so far over a prolonged period. The reasons for the disease normally given are:

(a) Bacteria (Infectious disease); and (b) Constitution (of body)

2. Infectious disease – If the origin of infection is bacteria was a true notion, then there appears no valid reason why large number of people remain unaffected in epidemics. (Because every person is subjected to the bacteria say air-born-virus, but everybody does not get effected by it) so besides the 'bacteria' there has to be some other reason.

3. Constitution – If it is assumed that these with sound/healthy constitution are not affected by the disease and disease affects only the weaklings, then we don't find so in practice. Many healthy person (constitutionally strong/stout) catch up disease and succumb to it. And many weak (looking) person remain healthy for a long life.

4. Mind, the location.

Thus by a different path, we arrive at the same conclusion that cause of disease neither lies in the bacteria, nor in the constitutional factor. It apparently looks more or less an individual equation and its inter relation between constitution and bacteria.

According to many, including some respected doctors, disease on body surface forms merely a visible expression of the afflicted mind (injured mind).

The force of mind that plays a role during the state of disease (and also cure process) makes itself (mind) clearly revealed in many instances.

          Faith cure

          Magic cure

          Psychological cure

So-called scientific medical practitioners of today, also held indirectly that patient gets cured because of his faith (and will power also). The 'faith-cure' seen from age old times also endorses a view that mind must be the fundamental basis of disease as well as cure.

5. What constitutes Mind?

Is it merely the function of the brain? Are the limitations of the brain are created by mind?

Mind according to us is the energy that persists in our life.

Explanation – A still born (dead on birth) child apparently possesses same features, physique and constitution as a living child. What then is lacking? Certainly the energy!

Though eyelids, iris are present, they remain unmoved. The brightness of iris imparted to it by that energy is absent. (So the difference between a still born and the living child is energy).

6. None dare deny that a mere mechanical body or brain cannot produce life. A super-super model of computer if compared with brain becomes less than preliminary model.

7. We therefore conclude

7.1 Brain does not solely represent mind. It practically reflects mind as all parts of the body.

7.2 Brain might depend upon matter that builds body as a whole. But that body depends on individual life-giving energy.

This energy is the same as mind. The reason is simple that the purpose of mind and energy (in present context, understood as today) remains identical i.e. to shape the individual.

7.3 If mind was a function of brain, all intelligent persons would have been strong minded or healthy. This is not so in actual observation.

7.4 Mind shapes body, consequently the brain. Mind keep it healthy (brain-body) till the purpose of particular life comes to an end.

7.5 Only the equivalence of mind and life-energy explains satisfactorily the causation or elimination of disease. Doctors also agree this in case of about 90% of the diseases.

7.6 When body of a man, which lives for fifty years, starts decaying and decomposing, then doctor can prevent the damage for say 50 hours. Not beyond (a certain limit). Then who protected the man for fifty years from the occasional diseases?

The energy of mind kept the decay away for fifty years. When the Nature puts aside the charter of energy, the end cannot be avoided.

7.7 The brain dependent mind is a mechanical view and not justified.

7.8 Mind is undeniably considered an essential absolute and distinct from the body. This view is held by many thinkers as well as scientists. However, both the components (mind and brain) continue an undistinguishable whole (one) throughout the life.

If the view that mind or thought springs from the functioning of the brain were true, scientists would have rushed to set right brain instead of mind.

'Mind' can be called by different names (mental faculties, consciousness, thoughts, etc.) but we are using the word 'mind' as it is commonly understandable.

8.   The mind stands supreme. Mind causes life as well as death. Hence, a great medical authority wondered whether the shock of Napoleon victory at Austerlitz killed Pitt rather than any disease (We also see how a blowing mental agony totally ruins a healthy person overnight).

Vijay R. Joshi.

DISEASE CURE (Death of Disease - 4)

Certain Fundamental Definition (Individual, Disease and Cure)

(Excerpts from book: Death of Disease. Author Swami Vijnananand).

1.  In order to look attractive and impressive, an individual takes minute care for garments. But very strangely such care is very strangely totally forgotten in the far more important matter that of health.

The primary task is arriving at the definitions of –

 a)      An Individual

 b)      A Disease (which an individual wants to get   rid of)

 c)      Cure

The book discusses these definitions from important sources and arrives at the following.

Definitions

An Individual – is characterized by five features –

 a)      Every individual stands out distinct from others and distinguishable from all other human beings.

 b)      As an individual, he forms a complete whole. So long he is alive, he is further indivisible.

 c)      His mind and body are inseparably correlated, till he is alive (which factor dominates is a separate issue, which will be considered later).

 d)      Certain physical features may be common between two individuals. But mental factors must have some difference.

 e)      Mind is not visible. However, emotions are expressions of mind and to that extent mind is expressed to others.

Disease – Is a condition of mind where one has lost ease because of any abnormality in mind or body or in both.

Cure – Absence of condition of disease as described above will amount to cure.

Condition of Mind

ｷ                 In disease definition the starting point is 'Condition of Mind'. It needs some explanation.

ｷ                 What is to be stressed is that – unless the mind is taking cognizance, the physical condition of disease assumes a secondary role.

Illustration

(I) suppose there is a big black spot on the left thigh of a person. It will be ignored if it is painless. If the same spot is on the nose, he would lose all his ease. He will rush to consult a doctor and take the recommended treatment. This is because here 'no pain but ego of the person' is involved. He would even invite use of plastic surgery, which is not short of a condition of disease in ordinary sense. This illustration reveals how a painless condition also forces a condition of disease.

(ii) Broken leg is a condition of disease. But after the wound gets healed, whether or not to call the nervousness that continues to exist a condition of disease, remains an individual equation. An ordinary person will develop an inferiority complex, while a king like Taimurlang will intensify his oppression with doubled revengefulness. It is in this light the words 'Condition of Mind' in this definition are relevant and significant.

Conception of Disease

1.  Mere emphasis on 'loosing ease' may not clearly explain our point. The definition made above, includes amongst others the following categories of 'diseases':

       

 i)    Accidents

 ii)   Casualties of War

 iii)  Sufferers in Cold War

 iv) Criminals or prisoners of Jail

 v)   Victims of atomic radiations

 vi) People staying in foreign lands (unlawfully) away from native places

 vii) Individuals inflamed by concepts of race superiority

 viii)   Individuals inflamed by feeling of religious superiority

 ix)  Very high birth rate

 x)   Very low birth rate

The above list can be easily lengthened.

2. The book gives adequate explanation why these groups define sufficient conditions for disease.

3. Some scientists tend to the view that some of the above categories are better classified under the heading 'State of mental uneasiness' rather than as 'sick'. But except group No.4 (Criminals/Prisoners) and 10 (Very low birth rate), any of the above groups will be equivalent to any grave miser-causing disease.

In modern medicine, the conviction has gained ground that very often in the case of a sufferer from greater shock, his minor shock/pain/disease is absorbed. Scrutiny properly carried out indicates that most of the above groups as being victim to disease, though one may differ as to the degree.

Location of Disease

1.  To a question – where the disease is located, the answer normally given is 'body'. We are conditioned to believe so far over a prolonged period. The reasons for the disease normally given are: (a) Bacteria (Infectious disease); and (b) Constitution (of body)

2. Infectious disease – If the origin of infection is bacteria was a true notion, then there appears no valid reason why large number of people remain unaffected in epidemics. (Because every person is subjected to the bacteria say air-born-virus, but everybody does not get effected by it) so besides the 'bacteria' there has to be some other reason.

3. Constitution – If it is assumed that these with sound/healthy constitution are not affected by the disease and disease affects only the weaklings, then we don't find so in practice. Many healthy person (constitutionally strong/stout) catch up disease and succumb to it. And many weak (looking) person remain healthy for a long life.

4.  Thus by a different path, we arrive at the same conclusion that cause of disease neither lies in the bacteria, nor in the constitutional factor. It apparently looks more or less an individual equation and it’s inter relation between constitution and bacteria.

According to many, including some respected doctors, disease on body surface forms merely a visible expression of the afflicted mind (injured mind). The force of mind that plays a role during the state of disease (and also cure process) makes itself (mind) clearly revealed in many instances.

        Faith cure

        Magic cure

        Psychological cure

So-called scientific medical practitioners of today, also held indirectly that patient gets cured because of his faith (and will power also). The 'faith-cure' seen from age old times also endorses a view that mind must be the fundamental basis of disease as well as cure.

5 What constitutes Mind?

Is it merely the function of the brain? Are the limitations of the brain are created by mind? Mind according to us is the energy that persists in our life.

Explanation – A still born (dead on birth) child apparently possesses same features, physique and constitution as a living child. What then is lacking? Certainly the energy!

Though eyelids, ins are present, they remain unmoved. The brightness of iris imparted to it by that energy is absent. (So the difference between a still born and the living child is energy).

6. None dare deny that a mere mechanical body or brain cannot produce life. A super model of computer if compared with brain becomes less than preliminary model.

7. We therefore conclude

7.1 Brain does not solely represent mind. It practically reflects mind as all parts of the body.

7.2 Brain might depend upon matter that builds body as a whole. But that body depends on individual life-giving energy. This energy is the same as mind. The reason is simple that the purpose of mind and energy (in present context, understood as today) remains identical i.e. to shape the individual.

7.3 If mind was a function of brain, all intelligent persons would have been strong minded or healthy. This is not so in actual observation.

7.4 Mind shapes body, consequently the brain. Mind keeps it healthy (brain-body) till the purpose of particular life comes to an end.

7.5 Only the equivalence of mind and life-energy explains satisfactorily the causation or elimination of disease. Doctors also agree this in case of about 90% of the diseases.

7.6 When body of a man, which lives for fifty years, starts decaying and decomposing, then doctor can prevent the damage for say 50 hours. Not beyond (a certain limit). Then who protected the man for fifty years from the occasional diseases?

The energy of mind kept the decay away for fifty years. When the Nature puts aside the charter of energy, the end cannot be avoided.

7.7 The brain dependent mind is a mechanical view and not justified.

7.8 Mind is undeniably considered an essential absolute and distinct from the body. This view is held by many thinkers as well as scientists. However, both the components (mind and brain) continue an indistinguishable whole (one) throughout the life.

If the view that mind or thought springs from the functioning of the brain were true, scientists would have rushed to set right brain instead of mind.

'Mind' can be called by different names (mental faculties, consciousness, thoughts, etc.) but we are using the word 'mind' as it is commonly understandable.

 8.      The mind stands supreme. Mind causes life as well as death. Hence, a great medical authority wondered whether the shock of Napoleon victory at Austerlitz killed Pitt rather than any disease (We also see how a blowing mental agony totally ruins a healthy person overnight).

(To be continued)

Vijay R. Joshi