Tuberculosis is Not the Only Killer Disease in Town

Every disease is dangerous
Conversation with disciples, September 1, 1975, Vrindaban

Doctors are not God

Doctors' Intervention Third Leading Cause of Death A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

It is not that a diseased person, because he is being treated by a first-class physician and he is being supplied first-class medicine, therefore he will be cured. No, there is no such guarantee. Because if the supreme authority does not sanction... Suppose a man is diseased; he is going to die or suffering. So his relatives and friends are trying to save him. The shastra says that "You cannot save him simply by giving him first-class medicine or first-class medical treatment." They, they can also, cannot guarantee. Ask any qualified doctor, that "This man is being treated by you. Can you guarantee that he will be cured?" They will say, "No, that is not possible. We are trying our best." Therefore we should know the ultimate sanction depends on Krishna. more

Prabhupada: They make analysis—"This is good; this is bad." The whole thing is bad; they do not understand. A mental concoction we analyze—"This is good." And because the whole population is such rascal, therefore we see whole world they are creating government, they are making this advancement, taking... Everything is spoiled. That they do not understand, that "We have tried so far, scientifically and this way and that way. Why there are so many things disturbing and miserable?" The whole policy is to give you trouble. That is the material nature. You must be always in trouble. "No." They will say, "No, this trouble is better than that trouble." [laughter] This is the... This trouble is better than that trouble. Hare Krishna. This Dr. Ghosh, he said... When he was student in Calcutta he was doctor of tropical medicine. So one English doctor was his professor, Colonel Maylow [?]. So Dr. Ghosh was lecturing and... Now the friends have come to greet. He said that "In our country 75%, at least, students are infected with syphilis."

Brahmananda: Infected with?

Prabhupada: Syphilis, yes. So in India the syphilis is very horrible disease. So he exclaimed, "Oh, it is horrible." The doctor, that Colonel Maylow, he was astonished: "Why you say it is horrible? In your country they suffer, 90%, from malaria. That's not horrible?" So the example is that when you are suffering for a doctor, either you are suffering from malaria or from syphilis, we are suffering from disease. Why you say "This disease is more horrible than that disease"? Actually this is the fact. Why should you discriminate? So he chastised him that "As a medical man, you cannot say this disease is more dangerous than that. Every disease is dangerous." Actually you should take that. Suffering, three kinds of suffering—adhyatmika, adhibhautika [miseries in connection with this body, miseries brought on by other living entities] ... The suffering is there. If you say adhyatmika suffering is better than adhibhautika suffering, that is foolishness. Spiritual life means to end all kinds of suffering. That is spiritual life. Not that I get free myself from this kind of suffering and I accept that kind of suffering. This is not good conclusion. Atyantika-duhkha. Duhkhalayam ashashvatam [Bhagavad-gita 8.15]. This place is duhkhalayam, full of miseries. And Krishna is canvassing, "Why you are suffering? Come to Me." This mercantile community, they are earning money for mitigating suffering, but for earning money they are accepting any means. In future he is creating field of another suffering. That he does not know. He thinks, "Now, if I get money somehow or other, my present sufferings will be mitigated." But he does not know that he is creating another field of suffering.

Brahmananda: In the next life.

Prabhupada: Next life or this life. Suppose you are earning money in the black market. As soon as you will be arrested, you will be punished. Just like so many people are put into jail. Why they are put into jail? They have done something—big, big leaders.

Brahmananda: In the past. They have done something in the past and now they are suffering.

Prabhupada: "In the past" means in this life. So as soon as you do something wrong, you must suffer, either by government's laws or by nature's law.

Brahmananda: They're thinking that "If I earn much money now, then later on in my life, everything will be very comfortable."

Prabhupada: That's all right, but this is the fact. If you earn money by black market and if you are arrested, then your all comfort will be finished.

Aksayananda: In the Krishna book there is one king...

Prabhupada: Yes.

Aksayananda: He says, "I worked so hard for enjoyment, but I have no time to enjoy."

Prabhupada: [chuckles] This is going on. They do not understand that this world is meant for suffering. We have discussed little in that topic with Syamasundara. Just like they invented the communistic idea. Does it mean the communists are not suffering? They are suffering more. They have no liberty. They have lost their liberty, the whole people. They are so much pressed by the government that there is no liberty at all. The younger generation, they cannot go out, so much suffering. I may live even in a big house, but if you say, "You cannot go out. Then you'll be punished," that idea will be suffering—"Oh, I cannot go out."

Brahmananda: We have one devotee. He escaped from communist Hungary, and he was telling me all the story, how on the borders how much they keep the people from trying to escape. Even in Berlin, in Germany...

Prabhupada: They shoot.

Brahmananda: They have a system, automatic shooting, that if you cross a certain line, they have these rays of light, and if you break the ray of light, then automatically all machine guns start firing in the whole area. It's all done...

Prabhupada: This is their scientific advancement.

Brahmananda: They've made such a nice place that they're afraid the people will escape from it.

Prabhupada: And they are thinking, "This system is for happiness."

Brahmananda: If it's for happiness, then why prevent people from leaving?

Prabhupada: "Why?"—that you are asking. They think it is happiness. That is called maya. It is not happiness; still, if somebody is thinking happiness, that is called maya.

Dhananjaya: But even if they cross the line successfully, they'll only suffer misery on the other side too.

Prabhupada: Hm?

Brahmananda: Yes. This is another point.

Dhananjaya: They'll only suffer another kind of misery.

Prabhupada: Hm. Yes.

Dhananjaya: Capitalist misery.

Brahmananda: Some boys, they escaped from one country, I think Romania. And they came to our temple. They had heard about our movement, so they came to our temple. They stayed for a little while, but then they were wanting to leave. So they left, and immediately they were apprehended by the authorities in... I think it was in Sweden. And now they are put into camps, they cannot leave, they have to be processed, and practically they are again in jail. They have no freedom. They cannot get a job. They have no passport. It will take them years to get all the papers in order. They have to be investigated to see that they are not spies. So again they are still in the miserable condition.

Prabhupada: So miserable condition... That is our conclusion, that either you remain this side or that side, it is miserable. By mental concoction you think that "This is better than that." Therefore Krishna says frankly, sarva-dharman parityajya [Bg. 18.66]. That is only shelter. Mam upetya kaunteya duhkhalayam ashashvatam napnuvanti [Bg. 8.15]. We have only to take Krishna's words as it is. Everything is there. He said, "This material world is duhkhalayam: it is the place of suffering." Industrialist, businessman, anyone, even ordinary man, actually everyone is suffering, but everyone is thinking, "I am happy."