Questions From Miss Dorothy Eisaman (Akuti), a nurse In San Juan

MPR 12-14. 15 October 1968, Aum Centre, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Answers summarised by Agni.

Question: Very frequently we must decide whether or not to resuscitate a patient. If he is sick, with some incurable disease, is it wrong to allow him to die without using all the sophisticated methods at our disposal? Then, on the other hand, is it wrong to use all possible measures to save a patient when he would have died naturally?

Sri Chinmoy's answer, summarised by Agni: The doctor's role is to give the soul as much time as it can possibly get in this incarnation. If the patient is a spiritual person, a few added moments or hours will be of benefit to that soul. But if the patient is not spiritual, each additional moment is still an opportunity to accept the spiritual life, even if only at the last moment; even on the deathbed.

A spiritual nurse like Dorothy should say, "Since I am not a realised person, I don't know if it is the Will of the Supreme that this person should live or die. That outcome will be decided in a few hours or in a few days in spite of my efforts. My role is to do everything possible to prolong the life of the patient and to leave the results in the Hands of the Absolute."