Two Conditions for Preventing Illness

The Mother describes two conditions for preventing illness from invading the physical being. The first condition is basically ‘not to want it’. When we reflect on this, the first reaction is that we don’t want it! This is however not the complete picture. We have to recognise that the human being is an amalgam of multiple different parts of the being, each with its own characteristic mode of action and response, and that these different parts are not always in agreement with each other. At the mental level, we may reject the vibration that is pressuring the body and which, if allowed, would create physical illness. This does not, however, encompass the response of the vital or the physical aspects of our existence. Some people actually have a vital nature that accepts illness as a way of achieving recognition and support from others. Such individuals dwell on their various illnesses, their suffering and the martyrdom they are undergoing, and they elicit sympathy from others. This makes them feel special. Even assuming, however, that the vital nature is not encouraging the illness, this still leaves the physical body which has a ‘habit’ of responding to certain vibratory patterns as precursors and harbingers of illness, so that the physical body simply ‘accepts’ the vibration and lets it carry itself out in the physical being. Thus, ‘not to want it’ is a condition that must be recognised as applying, not just to the mental formation, but to the vital and physical levels as well.

The second condition is ‘not to be afraid’. Once again, we have to take into account the different parts of the being. One may have a strong mental formation that one is not afraid of illness, but this does not control either the vital reaction or the physical response. The vital nature may be terrified about the risk to its life and life energy, or the physical cells of the body may be vibrating in fear. In whatever part of the being the fear arises, it creates a ‘sympathetic’ vibration that draws to it exactly what one fears. This provides the needed opening for the illness to enter through the vital protective envelope and thereby embed itself into the physical being and manifest as an illness.

Those who recognise the role of the different parts of the being in the ‘acceptance’ of an illness may utilise various strategies to ‘convince’ other parts not to fear. Sometimes this is a matter of exercising a conscious will, sometimes it is a matter of relying on the Divine Grace in a deep and abiding manner. Sometimes it is bringing in peace and harmony into the being through conscious meditation or infusing light or force from above to fill the being at all levels. For those who are unable to fully carry out any of these to impact the vital or physical levels of the being, there are additional ways to bring that trust and support to them. The physical tends to respond to physical support. Thus, when the mind recognises the situation, it may carry the confidence and faith to the physical body through means of taking a particular herbal remedy or through some simple action such as taking fruit with a known high level of Vitamin C for instance. The body gets the message that protection from another level is being provided to it in a very physical form, and thus, gains confidence to ward off the illness.

A disciple asks: “Sweet Mother, when one sees an illness coming, how can one stop it?”

The Mother responds: “Ah! First of all, you must not want it, and nothing in the body must want it. You must have a very strong will not to be ill. This is the first condition.”

“The second condition is to call the light, a light of equilibrium, a light of peace, quietude and balance, and to push it into all the cells of the body, enjoining them not to be afraid, because that again is another condition.”

“First, not to want to be ill, and then not to be afraid of illness. You must neither attract it nor tremble. You must not want illness at all. But you must not because of fear not want it; you must not be afraid; you must have a calm certitude and a complete trust in the power of the Grace to shelter you from everything, and then think of something else, not be concerned about this any longer. When you have done these two things, refusing the illness with all your will and infusing a confidence which completely eliminates the fear in the cells of the body, and then busying yourself with something else, not thinking any longer about the illness, forgetting that it exists… there, if you know how to do that, you may even be in contact with people who have contagious diseases, and yet you do not catch them. But you must know how to do this.”

“Many people say, ‘Oh, yes, here I am not afraid.’ They don’t have any fear in the mind, their mind is not afraid, it is strong, it is not afraid; but the body trembles, and one doesn’t know it, because it is in the cells of the body that the trembling goes on. It trembles with a terrible anxiety and this is what attracts the illness. It is there that you must put the force and the quietude of a perfect peace and an absolute trust in the Grace. And then, sometimes you are obliged to drive away with a similar force in your thought all suggestions that after all, the physical world is full of illnesses, and these are contagious, and because one was in contact with somebody who is ill, one is sure to catch it, and then, that the inner methods are not powerful enough to act on the physical, and all kinds of stupidities of which the air is full. These are collective suggestions which are passed on from one person to another by everybody. And if by chance there are two or three doctors, then it becomes terrible.” (Laughter)

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter XIV Power Over Illness and Pain, pp. 117-118