Why do enlightened people still get disease?.
When your mind and heart are truly open abundance will flow to you effortlessly and easily.
Question:
“I have a question that has concerned me for a long time.
You mention in the books that all illness is caused by a ‘dis-ease’ in the mind and that the negative effects of Karma can be transcended by entering Samadhi.
With these two points in mind, my question is, why did Ramana Maharshi die of cancer?”
Response:
Many illnesses do have a psychological component, but not all.
There are exceptions for everyday people, and those exceptions explain the physical illness that eventually occurs for all enlightened sages who have transcended the binding influence of karma.
Even enlightened souls will have some residual karma associated with the physical functioning of their bodies.
In India it is called leshavidya, the remains of ignorance.
The analogy used is that when you throw a ball of butter from your hand, a tiny bit of butter remains on your fingers.
So even though with enlightenment you have effectively cleared off the binding influence of karma, as long as you maintain the physical body, your health will be subject to the actions and history associated with that body.
But what happens to the body in no way reflects on the state of consciousness of that person.
Samadhi is still maintained even through terminal illness.
I have heard from others who are disturbed by the way Ramana Maharishi died, but when the physical karma is exhausted and the prana begins to withdraw from the body, something in the physical body has to stop or deteriorate first for the transition to occur.
Whether the body exits through cancer, kidney failure, heart disease, or a stroke, it really doesn’t matter to the spirit.
Love,
Deepak
