How can people suffering from incurable diseases or mental defects be cured?

 

Shri Anil asked: How can I console a cancer-patient, who is known to me? Also, when mentally retarded people are unable to even pray to God, how can they be cured?

Swami replied: Any illness can be cured by the omnipotent God. But God is also omniscient. The sin is excused only if there is a real reformation in the soul. Real reformation is practically proved through the non-repetition of the sin. The omniscient God must be thoroughly convinced that the soul is truly reformed. You can deceive a human being by acting as if you have reformed by weeping, crying, singing devotional songs and so on. But all these pretenses (actings) are useless before God. He can never be convinced by such false actions and false words of repentance. If there is a real reformation in the soul, all these dramatic actions are not necessary for God. The real reformation of the soul is immediately recognized by God and the sins are excused by Him because there is no need for further punishment once real reformation has been achieved. If God is convinced in the case of a particular soul, it means that the soul must have truly reformed. Such a soul alone will not repeat the sins in the future.

A mentally retarded patient is a condemned soul in the view of God. It means that God does not have the slightest hope that the soul will get reformed. Such a soul undergoes punishment throughout his or her life. Such long and endless suffering is intended to reform the soul unconsciously. Reformation is possible in such a soul in the form of an aversion developed to the punishment. This strongly-impressed aversion to the suffering may prevent the soul from committing sins in the next birth when the soul is given a normal life. So, in view of the prevention of sinful behavior in the future birth, the soul’s continuous suffering in this birth is helpful. Also, sometimes, the kith and kin of such a soul might sincerely pray to God. As a result, the soul might attain a healthier state in which the soul can get reformed. The omniscient God knows very well which souls have some possibility of getting reformed and which souls do not. Souls with absolutely no hope of reformation will be born as a mentally retarded animal, like a mad dog.

All these are ‘administrative details’ regarding how the various cases of souls are handled. Each soul has performed different types of good and bad deeds. Knowing exactly how each case is handled is unnecessary for us. All we need to understand is that God is the best judge and the best administrator. He always helps each and every soul in the best-possible way. Only when the administrator is a human being, is there a need for analyzing the person’s way of administration. The person might err in his or her way of administration, in which case, we could suggest a better way. That is why even a country’s constitution, which is framed by human beings, often gets amended. Through such amendments, errors get rectified. But there is not the slightest possibility of even a trace of error in the divine constitution. So, there is no point in breaking our heads on these issues, which are being administered in the most meritorious way.

God is not only omnipotent and omniscient, but He is also an infinite ocean of kindness. He is the divine Father of all souls. He must have chosen the kindest-possible way to save any soul. All of us are mere brothers or sisters to our neighboring souls but God is the Father of all souls (Aham biijapradah pitaa —Gita). A father is always far kinder to his child than the brothers and sisters of the child. From all these angles, it is far far better to leave the administration and reformation of other souls to God. Instead, we need to concentrate on our own reformation. This is an extremely important point which every soul in this world should understand. Our focus should be on recognizing our own defects and reforming ourselves. This is the best and wisest path.

The Divine Father is taking the best care of each soul. Even the punishments given by God here on earth and hereafter in hell, only indicate His anxiety to reform the sinful soul, which is His child. Hell is the reflection of God’s highest kindness, which helps in reforming souls. Hell is not the reflection of His anger or desire for revenge. If we understand this very subtle point, we will be very peaceful about things taking place in this world. There is no error taking place in the divine administration. Everything taking place in this world is the result of the most perfect working of God’s wonderful administration. No soul can even dream of running the world in a better way than the way it is being run. It is our utter ignorance that causes us to misunderstand God and stray (stay) away from the path of self-purification. We are ignorant of the deeds of other souls. We are ignorant of the most wonderful divine administration working in the background. We are ignorant of God’s supreme talents and capabilities in administering and reforming souls. Above all, we are ignorant of the supreme kindness of God towards all souls.

We are worried about things, about which we need not be worried at all! People were worried about Jesus when He was carrying the cross. He told them not to worry about Him. He was under the direct supervision of the kindest Lord. Instead, He told them to worry about themselves and their children. He might have suffered for a few hours, but He was going to sit forever on the right lap of the Divine Father! These people, who were worried about Him, might be living happily on earth for a little while, but they were going to be thrown into the liquid fire forever along with their future generations! So, who should be worried? The spectators or Jesus?

A person may finish off the punishment of his or her sin by suffering for it here. The person may then get a wonderful new divine birth in the immediate future. Another person, who is wasting his time in sympathizing with this suffering person, instead of focusing on his own reformation, may finally get thrown into the liquid fire forever! Hence, it is always advisable to focus on self-rectification than unnecessarily wasting time in investigating and judging God’s administration of this world.

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