Ek OnKaar Sat Naam
Why the difference between paracetamol and heart surgery? They are both interventions!
What about inherited disorders or disorders that are not fatal but degrade quality of life and/or independence? For example, cataracts cause blindness. An operation to remove the cataract will restore vision and make you a more useful member of society? Is the blindness and resultant reliance on others also promoted in abstaning from medical treatment? What about mental health disorders which require medication, eg schizophrenia? Without medication they will not die but can have a negative impact on society.
How about other interventions such as physiotherapy? Or preventative actions such as vaccination which have a positive impact on society as a whole? Measles for example is very nasty and causes much pain but only rarely kills. Same with flu in the elderly.
Some of the children I have worked with who would have died without medical help, have ended up being more wonderful souls and have done more good for this Earth than their healthy counterparts!
Surely it is possible to live a simple, non-materialistic life without having to die early? Older people often act as an anchor in our modern fast moving life and are often the best influences on the people around them! Possibly it is better for society to retain them for their wisdom and ability to give perspective rather than lose them. Without perspective, materialism is likely to increase.
The environment is indeed a mess. A mess that I'm very passionate about. But surely the best way to tackle that is to raise awareness about habits amongst those you come into contact with so more can be done to preserve the Earth's treasures. And you can only be a campaigner when alive! Having a wasteful life then dying early isn't the answer IMHO.
Interesting perspective. Thanks for joining the debate
Findmyway ji, I thank you for your response.
Finding solutions that are always running in accord with a single track one-way path are very diificult to find. I cannot for the life of me say where exactly I would draw the line between one form of ailment and another, or one form of treatment and another. I can only comment loosely with use of extremes, such as paracetemol vs heart surgery. Where the line is drawn, if and when I come to a situation where I need to make a critical decision that will determine my life will depend on my frame of mind at the time. Hopefully I will still remember Guru ji's advice at that time, will retain full faith in God, and will not be clinging on with my finger nails for a few extra months or years. I hope my faith will allow me to progress to my next life, without any fear of death. If I am extremely fortunate, I will not be reborn. The Lord God will look after me hereafter as well as now, so I have no such fear at the moment; however I do not know how I will feel as death draws closer. Hopefully I will fortify my mind yet further, in coming months and years, with Gurbani, and maybe some selected extracts from Buddhist technical texts. With this knowledge I hope to avoid gasping for a bit longer, when I reach my end.
If I need to make a decision about my youngest child, if he becomes very ill, then my wife's thoughts will weigh deeply upon my mind, as will any doctor's opinion about future quality of life and prognosis.
What is good and bad is subjective, so even if children who receive treatment are deemed to do more for society than others who receive no treatment, I don't think it is fair to use this as a reason for saying this justifies the treatment. The reason why and when one enters the human life form, or when one leaves is in the hands of the Lord, and He determines what is good and bad, and He is the cause of all actions during life anyway. He is the architect of destiny.
If I as an individual see my purpose of life to be over, then I am content to not receiving any treatment. If I see there is more to be done, then I may seek treatment. I am not here to make money, to win respect or status. They will not go forward, and I have only my innermost mind to take forward to next birth. At this moment, I feel Gurbani has shown me why I am here, and I have understood why I am here, and I have faith In God. I love Him. I really do, and I dwell on Him as much as possible, and care for little else, including all religions, even though it was Sikh religion that brought me to this state of mind. They are now seen as just another tool provided by the Lord, to take me to Him. He is all that counts, although I will continue with my daily life. I have full expectation that He will not let me down hereafter. He can take me when He wants. I neither need to take forward steps or backward steps from death. It will happen at a time of His choosing.
One does not have to take any steps to make oneself die earlier than one would naturally, but if one is dying then there is no need to intervene. God is the one who looks after all, and God determines life and death. If one dies 5 or 10 or 20 or 50 years earlier than others it is no big deal. God
will still look after all, even afterwards. One harvests what one sows and if I behave, there is absolutely nothing whatsoever to fear from death, and I can actually look forward to it, without jumping towards it.
Sat Sri Akal
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