Yoga - A shattered dream

I still remember the day when my late wife Soma went to meet a reputed yoga master along with me. There were few other patients too. The master taught us about yoga and demonstrated different poses and techniques in an easy and excellent manner.

He assured us that yoga would cure a patient even if he/she was suffering from ‘last stage cancer’. His way of speaking and intellectual use of words installed a belief in me and Soma. We not only hoped but strongly believed that Soma would be able to win over the fight against the deadly cancer and to enjoy her life free from pain and tension.

Soma loved me a lot, her unbounded love for me was so intense that she always wanted to shower more and more of her affection and love on me. I still can hear her singing “we shall overcome someday ….”.

Her objective was to make me happier and happier. She knew that I was under tremendous tension because of her health. She started practicing yoga with a strong belief, pure devotion and sincerity. I too was looking to the horizon thinking about the beauty of her love and happiness. Every one of my family, barring two of my relatives, became optimistic.

You already know that Soma is lying forever in eternal peace. If yoga could cure cancer she would be dancing with me instead of being a portrait, hugging a wall silently. But her case isn’t an isolated one. I have the unfortunate experience of roaming around three leading cancer hospitals in India. So far I haven’t met a cancer patient who claimed to be cured by yoga. Most of the cancer patients, in the age group of 20-40 years, pass away within 6-7 years after detection. This is the harsh fact.

But what I noticed was that the effects of yoga were different among the patients depending upon their physical and psychological frame work. Ridiculous yet true what a healthy person is practicing that same yoga method is applied on terminally sick patients. I guess yoga master should learn to judge the psychological and physical condition of a person before teaching him/her about yoga.

Splendid words from the yoga masters lead a patient to a serene smile for a short period only. But unfortunately long term empirical evidence doesn’t support that yoga can really cure. Once a patient realizes that yoga can’t really help him/her to win the battle against cancer, he/she may demonstrate severe psychological changes.

to be continued.................