Acharya Mahaprajna
Our body passes through various vicissitudes of time and life. Every one is sometimes happy and at other times miserable; at times healthy; and sometimes sick; sometimes young and sometimes old. However, there are three chief miseries: sickness, old age and death.
Whenever one is sick, one suffers the misery of sickness. Normally a state of disease is a painful one for everybody.
Some scientists are engaged in research to eliminate suffering during sickness. Pain-killer-drugs are administered to alleviate pain during sickness. Some derivatives of opium, like morphine, are commonly used as pain-killers and every year sale value of such pain-killers amounts to millions of rupees. People buy them for headache, stomach ache, pain in joints and knees and continue to consume such drugs hoping to alleviate their suffering.
A variety of therapies and remedies have been developed for curing the illness and/or getting rid of the suffering. One of these is to establish an alliance with the illness. Psychological research claims that in the next ten or twenty years, we shall discover a mental exercise and give such training to the sick that it would be possible to live with the illness without suffering, even without drugs. It has been well established recently that chemical substances having the same effect as powerful painkillers, such as morphine, are secreted by certain parts of the brain.
Another form of psychotherapy has also been established in the system of Preksa Dhyana by which practitioner can remain calm and composed even in the state of serious illness. Moreover, he can experience mental happiness without any drugs.
Practice of auto-suggestion will bring about radical attitudinal and behavioural changes. For integrated development of personality, it is necessary to bring about changes in the chemistry of the body, that is, the synthesis of various chemical factors in the body which have profound influence on the mental states and behavioural patterns must be transmuted. These chemical factors are mainly the hormones secreted and distributed by the endocrine system. Exercise of auto-suggestion influences the functioning of hypothalamus and pituitary which, in turn, produces a strong state of faith and belief. A strong sense of faith can help a person cope with the various crises that arise in life. Countless number of people with sincere religious beliefs and faiths become free from serious, incurable diseases by just touching the feet of saints and mahatmas (or putting the dust of their feet on the head). Does the miracle lie in the dust? No. It is the miracle of faith and religious belief. Thousands find inner calm and peace of mind through faith. Prayer and worship produce profound joy and contentment. Nor is it essential to have a specific religious belief. One must merely develop faith in one's own consciousness and psychic self to help one to cope with crisis by developing underlying mental strength. Exercise of autosuggestion (bhavana) is based on the practical application of faith and belief. The exercise brings about the necessary change in the body-chemistry, thereby weakening the forces of disease and ultimately curing it. The process of producing or transmuting the internal chemicals is a form of faith-hailing or spiritual healing.
