Dear Yogis,

Seeing it is Sunday, and there is a condition among us that requires a new point of view, I thought I would talk about healing, and a book which talks a lot about it.  I have not resolved how I think about the Bible and Healing in relation to Covid, but it certainly talks a lot about diseases and healing.  The key to the expression of healing in the Bible is to be found in Exodus 15.26 which records what the Lord said to the people of Israel in the Desert of Shur.

“If you listen to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you”.

It is interesting to note that in nearly every instance of healing in the Bible the first qualification is wanting to be free of the disease or condition.  Jesus in the New Testament always, always asks  “Do you want to be healed”, and the second requirement is OBEDIENCE.  We know that many of the statutes are designed to promote and maintain health (Proverbs 3,7-8; 4.22)

It is often understood by those who read the Bible that they would have no need of Doctors in the treatment of illness or disease. In general, healing in the Old Testament is provided or mediated by secondary sources, however it is interesting to note that these sources do not included priests although in Egypt, priests were often physicians able to examine and treat sick people.  By contrast in Israel, the priests were “the custodians of public health”. They were diagnosticians of ritually unclean conditions and situations, but were not expected to treat or remove them.

In Ecclesiaticus 38.1-3 the people are told “…to give doctors the honour they deserve for the Lord gave them their work to do…”

There are a number of cases where healing did not happen, and the Bible says that the cause of this was sin. As yogis, we could interpret this as karma.  In my own practice, when there is a karmic involvement healing may happen but there are lessons to be learned along the way. It is up to the person to take a hand in their own wellness.  They cannot expect to give the responsibility of healing to others although they may want to do this.   When Jesus called out the demons, it could be that he was driving out Karma.

 

In terms of Karma, we cannot “dodge the bullet”.  We have accumulated this weight, and only we can put it down.  It is time to get straight with your spiritual self. Read the Yamas and follow them. No excuses….

NAMASTE – JAHNE