Acharya Mahaprajna
Mahatma Gandhi used to say, "I shall never fall ill, because I am following the path of detachment and also trying to keep myself away from attachment and malevolence." It is absolutely true that a dispassionate person can neve fall ill. Let us forget about those minor illnesses which come now and then. But the sources of major illnesses are attachment and malevolence, or the emotional impulse resulting from the intent of attachment and malevolence.
Those whose impulses are not strong cannot have incurable diseases. A person may fly into a fury of anger. The result of uncontrolled anger is instant heart attack. The one who has detachment he never attacked by heart disease because the anger never comes to him. One cannot get angry without malevolence. If a person is calm and composed, he would not have the heart attack resulting from the excitement of anger. If this negative bhava is absent, if one does not think ill about anyone, does not envy or hate anyone, then the possibility of getting cancer would be minimised. Consumption of intoxicating substances is one of the factors leading to cancer. If a person has pure bhava within, he would not use intoxicating substances. If we consider the question of health in relation to the bhava, think about health along with the changes occurring in the world of the bhava, then we can save ourselves from a large number of illnesses. Following the path of dispassion is not merely a spiritual pursuit; it is also the pursuit of health.
