The Importance of Looking After Your Health and Wellbeing in Devotional Service

By Dr Malav Bhimpuria

Devotional service in this day and age is not an easy endeavour, with many obstacles on this material platform. However looking after yourselves is imperative, as the body is an instrument of devotional service. In short, if we fail to do that, our devotional service can be impaired. As part of The Devotee Care Festival held at the Bhaktivedanta Manor recently, I expanded on these themes.

According to the World Health Organisation, health is “…a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This neat definition has far-reaching consequences. It is holistic and refers to the biopsychosocial model of health, where mental and social health plays a significant part. Health and by extension wellbeing therefore is not only about your physical health but also about coping with the daily stresses of life, working productively and actually contributing to society in a meaningful way: essentially it is about “becoming the best version of you”.

In order to become the best version of you, we have to however debunk some myths first. Devotees often believe that whatever diseases they get is all due to Karma, so what is the point in resisting? This can perversely lead to a stoic acceptance of our fate, which can be mistaken for fatalism. This can then lead to therapeutic nihilism: “…there’s nothing to be done…leave it all to Lord Krishna”. Consequently, effective treatments and therapies are declined. Because we believe that life on this planet Earth is miserable and death is not a terminal endpoint in our journeys but a transition to the next life, in essence it is a comma not a full-stop, devotees will often accept their illnesses very passively.

I would argue however that this is a false dichotomy and actually a false perception of reality and thus is not presenting the best version of you. You can and should look after your health and wellbeing and by doing that, you will improve your devotional service. To answer the question “who cares?” it should be “you care, because Lord Krishna cares for His devotees”. Yes Karma is important, but it is a complex concept with many levels, and immediate and distant causes. To simplify it to a terse statement “it’s all due to Karma and there is nothing that can be done” is wrong and performs a grave disservice to the medical devotee community, to yourself and more importantly to Lord Krishna.

Immediate causes of disease and suffering can and should be corrected, such as eating properly to prevent or treat diabetes. This is not just a meek surrender of our fate or a passive resignation to Karma, but an active recognition that certain things about us we can and should change. Other causes of our suffering can be more distant and they are often unavoidable, but through our spiritual understanding, we can choose to accept this in all humility whilst still mitigating against some of the worst effects of the disease, such as accepting that treatment for metastatic cancer.

So, who cares? You do, as Lord Krishna cares for you. Your body, which is your instrument of devotional service, is not your property, but Lord Krishna’s and therefore taking care of your body is not a material activity but a spiritual one, enabling us to facilitate it in the service of the Lord. By proactively looking after your body, you can undertake regular, uninterrupted service to the Lord which does not stop even when the body begins to fail. The sickness may be material but the devotional service is transcendental and will thus help purify your existence.

There are five “p”s which enable us to better look after ourselves.

1) Proactive not reactive healthcare. Preventing a problem before it occurs is far better than reacting to it once it has happened. This means screening for important diseases such as breast, bowel and prostate cancer. It also means ECG analysis for heart rhythm abnormalities to help detect and prevent strokes or checking blood pressure and being tested for diabetes. Vaccinations against Covid-19 and seasonal influenza are imperative too and there are ones available that are not gelatine-based or grown on eggs.

Proactive healthcare means you are in charge of your health and anticipate problems before they occur, such as taking medication to prevent stomach acidity after your Ekadashi fast.

2) Personal “me” time. As your health is simply not your physical health but also your mental and emotional wellbeing, having regular time to yourselves is important to sustain your spiritual journey. Meditation and chanting are the obvious enablers here.

3) Paying attention to warnings. In medicine they are called “red flags”. Do not ignore that blood in your stool or urine as it could signify something more serious. That cough that will not go away or the chest pain you get when stressed. By seeking help when these warning signs first manifest, more serious complications can be averted.

4) Pridelessness. Disease is a “great leveller” and teaches us humility. We may be proud of our minds, our bodies and our strength but sickness will humble you so you should never be too proud over your health.

5) Partnership. By working in harmony with your doctor or health care professional and forming a shared understanding of the problems you face and possible solutions available, you can have better health outcomes.

As our founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada eloquently stated in Hawaii, 1969: “It is important to keep the body fit and healthy so that we will not meet the obstacle of ill health while serving Krishna. Ill health may hinder one’s service so we want to avoid it as much as possible”.

In conclusion, to answer the question “who cares?” You do, because Lord Krishna cares about you. Taking care of your bodies in a responsible way is a crucial part of devotional service.

This talk was delivered by the Bhaktivedanta Medical Association as part of a series of talks at the Devotee Care Festival held at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, on 25th November 2023. The Bhaktivedanta Medical Association aims to provide holistic health care “for devotees, by devotees “on a virtual platform through telemedicine consultations for allopathic advice (currently in the UK, South Africa and India), Ayurveda (worldwide), emotional and mental health (worldwide).