Open in App
Open in App

You are perfect in all respects. You are your own doctor.

Hari Sauri Dasa: He resumed his morning exercise, walking down to Juhu Beach as usual. Prabhupada asked Saurabha about a dentist interested in opening a clinic in the new temple compound. Saurabha explained that the man had seen the floor plan, which includes a room for medical use, and immediately proposed that he use it to give free treatment to the devotees. Prabhupada did not approve. "No, there will be no medical service in the building." 
 
Lokanatha Swami asked if medical facilities should be set up on another part of the land. Prabhupada replied, "That we shall do at our convenience. It is not very urgent. When there is spare room, then. Medical service is to cure the material disease, this temporary headache and stomachache. There are so many medical services for these things, but where is the medical service for curing bhava-roga, material disease? That is wanted. Medical service does not give any guarantee that there will be no more disease. Our service is to guarantee that there will be no more birth, death, old age, and disease. That is the difference." Pausing for a moment, he recalled his recent trip to Africa. "In Mauritius I was suffering so much from dental pain. I never went to the dentist; I invented my medicine and it cured." Everyone smiled in admiration. Prabhupada seems to know nearly everything. He was referring to his own toothpaste recipe: a combination of ground mustard seed, salt, calcium carbonate, eucalyptus oil, camphor, menthol, and oil of wintergreen. Many devotees are now eagerly making it for themselves, and Prabhupada asked if they like it. He grinned when Harikesa assured him, "Oh yes! The best!" Lokanatha Swami voiced what we all felt, "You are perfect in all respects. You are your own doctor." Prabhupada humbly responded, "I am not doctor, but I created many doctors." 
 
We then met up with Dr. Patel, walking in the opposite direction. He stopped to offer his pranamas, but he said he wouldn't walk on with us. He was still miffed about being turned away yesterday morning. He obviously decided to register his complaint with a boycott. He told Prabhupada how offended he was at being refused admittance. Although I had given Prabhupada the medicine, I hadn't informed him about the fuss Dr. Patel made at not being able to see him. Prabhupada heard his grievance, and without jumping to any conclusions, gently inquired what the reason might be that he was denied admittance. I explained that Dr. Patel had arrived when he was taking his morning rest, so I did not want to disturb him. Prabhupada indicated his approval of my action. Yet he also discreetly pacified the doctor. When Lokanatha invited him to join us, the doctor declined, perferring to continue with his friends. Although we missed the usual lively debate, without Dr. Patel to monopolize the conversation the devotees had more opportunity to ask questions. 
 
We had a long discussion about the relationship between Lord Vishnu and Lord Siva. At one point the famous battle between Banasura and Krishna was mentioned, where the ultimate weapons of Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu were pitched against each other. The siva-jvara produced intense heat, but the vishnu-jvara, which generated intense cold, was the victor. An Indian devotee said that when Prabhupada was very ill in Vrindavana with a high fever he had prayed that the vishnu-jvara might reduce his fever. "So we were just reading the Bhagavatam when you were sick. Anybody suffering from fever means you read such and such a portion. So it should come down." It seemed like a nice sentiment, but from Prabhupada's pure devotional viewpoint it wasn't acceptable. "No, Vishnu should not be utilized for curing your fever. That is not bhakti. That is business." 
 
Kirtanananda Swami asked, "Can a disciple invoke Lord Vishnu's help for serving his spiritual master?" Srila Prabhupada replied more enthusiastically. He also revealed something of his internal mood in his struggle to establish the Bombay temple. "Hm! That is nice. That is for curing Vishnu's representative. When we were in danger, there was so much obstruction for constructing the temple, and we prayed to Krishna that it should be stopped. We prayed to Krishna, 'Please give your protection.' That is for Vishnu's purpose." As we walked along the firm sand near the water's edge we suddenly found ourselves caught in a small cul-de-sac formed by the incoming tide. The flux of the waves revealed a shining object imbedded in the sand, glinting in the sunlight like a valuable gem. Lokanatha ran over to see. It was a piece of broken glass. Everyone laughed as Prabhupada declared, "That is called maya! The light is here, but it appears light is there. This is called maya. The real world is the spiritual world and here it is simply reflection, but we are taking this is real world."


Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 1 by Hari Sauri Dasa