Mahavira's Scripture Of Health: [05.04] Who Is Ill? - What Type Of Person - What Type Of Disease?

Let us try to understand Mahavira's idea of health from these three points of view. The non-absolutism approach lays down that the organ and the one whose organ it is, should not be regarded as distinct. If they are regarded as distinct, they will form separate units. No organ is independent unit. The organ and the one whose organ it is are linked together.

While analysing the disease, do not think only about the knee pain or only about the headache. Do not think about the pain in any particular organ. Find out what lies behind that pain. In this situation, two things come before us. First is to see the type of disease from which the patient is suffering and second is to think what type of person is suffering from what type of disease. There is a lot of difference. Which disease has affected the patient? Looking at it that way, we look at the disease and consider the patient secondary. But when we think about what type of patient has got what type of disease, the patient appears to be more important and the disease becomes secondary.

According to the non-absolutism approach, when one is considered important, the other becomes secondary. When the disease is regarded as more important, the patient becomes secondary. When the patient is regarded as more important, the disease becomes secondary. When the one to whom the organ belongs is given more importance, the organ becomes secondary. And when the organ is given more importance, the person to whom the organ belongs becomes secondary. Both these aspects are before us.