Topic: Having cancer and having no fear!
Lessons from the Srimad Bhagawatam!
Of the four principles of animal existence eating, sleeping, mating and fearing, fearing is the one that is the most prominent.
Why you may ask is fearing the most prominent?
We are always fearful, because life is filled with problems, for example we may have a health issue without warning!
One day we feel healthy and the next day after a medical examination we may learn that we have an incurable disease like cancer. Fear of death then becomes the main focus of our mind.
I have practical experience being a survivor of urinary bladder cancer.
After multiple operations to remove the tumours in my bladder I was placed in a preventative program by my surgeon during which I was treated with a vaccine injected into my bladder with the use of the catheter.
After these treatments I was scheduled for a variety of minor procedures in the surgical centre here at St Joe’s hospital in Hamilton Canada.
The surgeon inserts a camera into my bladder to examine the walls of the bladder and then discloses the results to you immediately
The procedure is intrusive to say the least, but it is not that painful but the result is what you fear before hearing the results.
Will there be more tumours and then more surgery?
Fortunately, my surgeon announced to me at my last cystoscopy you have no worries. Hare Krishna I chanted from the operating table!
So, fear is constantly accompanying us as we deal with our problems that appear in our life whether they be health related, financial or based on poor relationships with our spouse, family or friends.
They say the greatest cause of disease is stress and stress are caused by dealing with problems which appear in our life from day to day, usually without notice.
There is a saying in India “trust no future however pleasant.”
Our problems are related to our body and our bodily attachments and involvement and go on perpetually as long as we reside in what is known as the prison House of material existence.
The body or our field of activity is also called the city of nine gates.
My guru AC Bhaktivedanta swami explains some people are first class prisoners some second and others third class but in the end we all prisoners of this material existence.
So, birth, death, disease and old age along with their results cause all of us to fear what will happen to us in the future. Noone is exempt. Like I said you can deny these words but you are simply living in denial of your eventual destiny.
People that are in denial are lying to themselves and everyone else.
This is all due to our association with the illusory energy of the Lord known as Maya
Maya means, “that which is not”.
We conceive of something to be real but in the end it is not.
I gave the example of people winning the lottery as relevant.
A man is happy living a simple life and buys a lottery ticket and wins millions of dollars.
He thought he could be happy with more money, but after winning the lottery, he’s created a whirlwind of problems, which in some cases brings him immense stress, disease and death by suicide.
So Maya is very potent a force of the eternal energy of Krishna that covers the living entity from his real position as the eternal spiritual spark of God.
Fortunately, by the grace of God appearing as Lord Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, He has provided a solution to our state of fearing through the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra
It is also known as the Maha mantra. This also means the great chant of deliverance from this world of continuous fearing and problem-solving.
One of our great teachers tells us to make the chanting of Hare Krishna as our main business in life, not the business of making money for temporary mundane sense gratification, which is easily available to the hogs and dogs
Maya or illusion is vanquished as soon as one embraces the sound vibration as taught by the yuga avatar Chaitanya MahaPrabhu.
The proof of the pudding is in the taste and the proof of chant is in its performance.
By chanting a fixed number of rounds as personally taught by Chaitanya we can free ourselves from all the problems of material existence.
Don’t be a close-minded person like most people I know.
I have a lifelong friend, a real estate broker who had been studying our scriptures for 35 years and still can’t chant Hare Krishna after all this time.
Sad but true, his false ego and self-centered life won’t allow him to take up the chanting of the holy names, to his misfortune.
Maybe at the time of death, Krishna may bless him with the holy name, like Ajamila at the time of death calling for his son Narayan.
I pray for the salvation of his soul.
In conclusion I humbly request my readers to take up the chanting of Hare Krishna.
Krishna guarantees you won’t be disappointed, otherwise live out your time on this earth in fear and die in this ocean of material misery birth after birth in some hellish existence.
Clear consciousness of the supreme cognizant is called God consciousness or Krishna consciousness.
An enlightened soul always takes full opportunity to surrender your time, intelligence, talent and wealth in the service of the Omnipresent God.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gouranga !