By Nama Prabhu das
HEALTH AND SADHANA
“In the meantime try to recoup your health, depending on Krishna, because after all, He is the ultimate Master of all situations. It is not the doctor, or the medicine, or the place, but it is ultimately Krishna Who is the Master to do every thing. With this viewpoint we shall go forward.”
Recently a quote has been going around the devotee community that Srila Prabhupada said that we should take care of our health first, then our other devotional activities. This seems to be another “Prabhupada said…” quote that Srila Prabhupada never said. Here is a response and comments regarding that topic. We will start with some excerpts from a very nice Vyasa Puja offering by Prahladananda Swami.
Prahladananda Swami – Vyasa Puja Offering 2000
At the end of his letters Srila Prabhupada often wrote, “I hope this meets you in good health.” Some people may be surprised that a transcendental personality such as Srila Prabhupada would be concerned with something that might seem as mundane as a person’s health. Srila Prabhupada, however, gave Krsna conscious reasons why he was concerned about our health.
Although the body is material, since it is being used in Lord Krsna’s service it now belongs to Lord Krsna and should be taken care of nicely:
We should always remember that our body is not for sense gratification; it is for Krishna’s service only. And to render very good sound service to Krishna we should not neglect the upkeep of the body. We learn from an instance of Sanatana Goswami. He was sometimes very much sick on account of eczema, and he was therefore sometimes bleeding. But whenever Lord Caitanya met Sanatana Goswami, He used to embrace him in spite of Sanatana’s request for Him not to touch him. Because of this. Sanatana Goswami later on decided to commit suicide so Lord Caitanya would not embrace him in his bloody condition. This plan was understood by Lord Caitanya, and He called Sanatana Goswami and said to him, “You have decided to end this body, but don’t you know that this body belongs to Krishna? You have already dedicated your body to Krishna so how can you decide to end it?” So you must not neglect the upkeep of your body. This is the lesson we get from Lord Caitanya and Sanatana Goswami. Try to take care of your health in the best possible way.
[Letter to Rayarama dasa, 9 February 1969]
Service to the body and mind may also be service to Lord Krsna:
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura warns us in this connection that we should not mistakenly think that the idea of giving up everything implies the renunciation of duties necessary in relation to the body and mind. Even such duties are not sense gratification if they are undertaken in a spirit of service to Krsna.
[Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 4.170, purport)
By maintaining one’s health nicely one can do nice service for Lord Krsna:
Keep your health in good condition and work very hard for Krishna. That is our motto of life.
[Letter to Rayarama dasa, 6 March 1969}
Srila Prabhupada understood that ill health could hinder one’s devotional service to Lord Krsna:
If you are willing to offer your medical services to my students, when it is required, that will be very nice. It is important to keep the body fit and healthy so that we will not meet the obstacle of ill health while serving Krishna. Ill health may hinder one’s service, so, we want to avoid it as much as possible.
[Letter to Dr. W.D. Currier, 19 June 1975]
Srila Prabhupada wanted his disciples to live a long time to preach Krsna consciousness:
Be careful about your health first. This information is not only for you but all my noble sons. I am an old man. I may live or die it does not matter. But you must live for long time to push on this Krishna Consciousness movement.
[Letter to Rayarama dasa, 21 December 1967]
To maintain one’s health doesn’t have to be difficult:
Regarding your question about maintaining your body nicely, I think that if you follow our regulations of diet, sufficient sleeping, and keep to the prescribed rules of cleanliness, two baths per day,* then you will be able to keep yourself in proper health. Of course, disease will always be there at some time while there is this material body, but this we must tolerate and not be very much agitated by. Actually, the Vaisnava who knows that he is not this body, he does not therefore neglect his body, but he takes very nice care so that he may utilize his body in the service of Krishna. Just like a man may know that he is not his car, so he does not therefore neglect his car, but he will take care of it so it will be able to render service to him. So we must take sufficient care to provide our bodies with its demands, but when disease or other necessary inconveniences arrive, we do not become disturbed because such troubles are simply temporary manifestations. *at least one
[Letter to Balabhadra dasa, 12 May 1969]
Fasting is the best medicine:
Regarding your fasting, if you are sick, then fasting is the best medicine. For disease and unwanted guests, if you do not give them food, they will go away.
[Letter to Revatinandana Swami, 16 January 1975]
The ultimate protection comes from Lord Krsna:
Regarding Syama Dasi’s health, it is to be understood that so long we have got this material body there must be some trouble. Actually, medicine is not the remedial measures for our bodily troubles unless we are helped by Krishna. Therefore, whenever there is bodily trouble we may adopt the prescribed methods of medical science and depend upon Krishna for His Mercy. The best remedy, not only for Syama Dasi but for everyone, is to consult some approved physician. But ultimately we have to depend on the Mercy of Krishna, so we should chant regularly, pray to Krishna to give us a chance to serve Him, and, if required, we may adopt the approved method of treatment.
[Letter to Kirtanananda Swami, 14 February 1969]
Although Srila Prabhupada wanted the devotees to be healthy, he also wanted them to tolerate the inevitable miseries of material life:
So long we have got this material body, the miseries will be coming and going, simply we have to tolerate them and try to make advancement in Krishna Consciousness as best we can.
[Letter to Pradyumna dasa, 23 March 1968]
The order of importance:
In some of the Vedic literatures, it is said that Atmanan Sarvato Rakshet, that means one should give first protection to the soul. Then he should take care of his particular type of faith, then he should take care of the material things, namely this body, and anything in relation with this body, or wealth.
[Letter to Tosana Krsna dasa, 7 October 1968]
Srila Prabhupada’s eternal servant,
Prahladananda Swami
This was a very helpful offering and shows that certainly Srila Prabhupada wanted us to take care of our health. I would like to add two comments. One is that it is interesting to note that three of the letters quoted were to Rayarama das who was obviously very concerned with his health so Srila Prabhupada did tell him to “be careful about your health first.” Yet unfortunately, he did not last very long as a devotee and left the movement shortly after. Also, to balance these quotes and letters it would be helpful to note how often Srila Prabhupada emphasized the importance of reading, chanting and serving both in his books, lectures and letters. Reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, chanting our rounds and kirtan and engaging in devotional service is the life of the devotee. Nothing else takes priority no matter our physical condition. In this regard, here is part of a letter Srila Prabhupada wrote to the very same Rayarama das:
My Dear Rayarama,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 14, 1969, and I have received a similar letter from Brahmananda also that you are finding some difficulty in keeping pace regularly with the routine work. My advice to you under the circumstances is that at least for one hour you must all go to have Sankirtana outside on the streets or in the park. That is your life and soul, first business. The next business is completing the chanting of 16 rounds every day. The next business is your editing, and if you find extra time, then you can attend the temple ceremonies. Otherwise you can stop these activities, but outdoor kirtana, your editing work and chanting of 16 rounds must be done. Outdoor kirtana must be done, even at the cost of suspending all editorial work. That is your first and foremost business. Temple worship is not so important. If need be, the whole temple can be locked, but the outdoor kirtana cannot be stopped.
And in a lecture in Hawaii:
So you must have to follow these rules and regulation if you are serious. Then take initiation. Otherwise, don’t make farce. Don’t make farce. That is my request. One has to be very determined, bhajante mam drdha-vratah. This word is used in the Bhagavata: drdha-vratah, strong determination: “Yes, in this life I shall go back to home, back to Godhead.” This is determination. And what is the difficulty? No difficulty. Chant Hare Krsna mantra. You are taking the beads, sixteen rounds. You can be finished, utmost two hours or three hours. So you have got twenty-four hours. If you want to sleep, of course, twenty-three hours, that is another thing. You have to minimize your sleeping. If you cannot finish sixteen rounds, then you must not sleep on that day; you must not eat. Why don’t you forget to eat, forget? Why do you forget chanting Hare Krsna? This is negligence, aparadha, offense. Rather, you should forget your sleeping and eating and must finish sixteen rounds. This is called determination. This is called determination. So you are welcome to take initiation, but if you are neglectful, if you want to make it a farce, that is your business. I cannot give you any protection.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.35 / January 28, 1974, Honolulu
And here is a nice excerpt from Krsna Book. Of coures, we cannot imitate the Supreme Lord and His perfect devotees, but we can learn the proper mood from His pastimes….
The Meeting of Lord Krsna with Sudama Brahmana
Although the brahmana friend of Lord Krsna was a householder, he was not busy accumulating wealth for very comfortable living; therefore he was satisfied by the income which automatically came to him according to his destiny. This is the sign of perfect knowledge. A man in perfect knowledge knows that one cannot be happier than he is destined to be. In this material world, everyone is destined to suffer a certain amount of distress and enjoy a certain amount of happiness. The amount of happiness and distress is already predestined for every living entity. No one can increase or decrease the happiness of the materialistic way of life. The brahmana, therefore, did not exert himself for more material happiness; instead, he used his time for advancement of Krsna consciousness. Externally he appeared very poor because he had no rich clothes and could not provide rich clothes for his wife. Because their material condition was not very opulent, they were not even eating sufficiently, and thus both he and his wife appeared very thin….
“With great compassion our gurudeva said, “My dear boys, it is very wonderful that you have suffered so much trouble for me. Everyone likes to take care of his body as the first consideration, but you are so good and faithful to your guru that without caring for bodily comforts you have taken so much trouble for me. I am glad to see that bona fide students like you will undergo any kind of trouble for the satisfaction of the spiritual master. That is the way for a bona fide disciple to become free from his debt to the spiritual master. It is the duty of the disciple to dedicate his life to the service of the spiritual master. My dear best of the twice-born, I am greatly pleased by your acts, and I bless you: May all your desires and ambitions be fulfilled. May the understanding of the Vedas which you have learned from me always continue to remain within your memory, so that at every moment you can remember the teachings of the Vedas and quote their instructions without difficulty. Thus you will never be disappointed in this life or the next.’“
And in conclusion, here are some very powerful and instructive excerpts from Hari Sauri’s diary:
A Transcendental Diary – Hari Sauri prabhu
October 1976
Bala Krsna also asked for some advice. One of his best distributors, Rudrani dasi, although only twenty-three years old, is so badly stricken with arthritis that she can barely sit, walk, or even sleep. Despite this, when she is able to go out, she sells twice as many books as anyone else. She has a strong desire to continue with her service, but no doctor has been able to help her. She is currently taking twenty-five aspirins a day just to be able to function. Bala Krsna expressed his reluctance to bother Srila Prabhupada, but due to frustration with any other solution, he now asked whether Srila Prabhupada could recommend any Ayurvedic doctor or medicine, or whether she should “just accept it as her karma and go on serving as best she can until she dies.”
Srila Prabhupada was as philosophical about her problem as he is about his own health. He offered no panacea other than that given by Krsna Himself. His advice came right out of the Gita 2.14 and eighty-one years of experience: “The girl who has got health problems must learn to be tolerant. As long as the material body will be there, there will only be pain. Pleasure is a misconception.”
… There was a poignant letter from Krsna Vilasini dasi in Los Angeles. She explained that she has a debilitating muscular disorder that over the last two years has practically incapacitated her. She can barely talk and has almost lost the use of her arms and legs. “Reading is very difficult but I force the issue because I am afraid I may not finish your books before I die.” Lamenting that she is unable to do even the simplest service, she wrote, “I am humbly asking if there is any way at all to regain even enough health to be able to sit and engage in some simple service . . . If it is my destiny to live a long time in this condition I am begging and crying that you will mercifully benedict me with spiritual strength to remain always at your lotus feet.”
Prabhupada was touched by her plea, but he again offered the same practical advice and philosophical perspective that he gave Rudrani dasi from Seattle two days ago. “As long as the body will be there, there will only be pain. Pleasure is only a misconception. Do not be sorry if you are in an ‘unfortunate’ situation. It can also be fortunate if you take advantage by becoming serious to become Krsna conscious. Follow the regulative principles, chant 16 rounds and as far as possible render service and study my books. Success is sure.”