Living with a Terminal Disease

9 years ago, she was diagnosed with the terminal disease of ALS. But that hasn’t stopped her from leading a meditation center in Toronto, Canada, and inspiring countless of people with her positive outlook and focus on the internal world. As she says herself, “the disease is an opportunity to turn within”.

In today’s talk you get to meet and learn from Madhavendra Puri dasi, an old-time friend of Balakhilya. You’ll hear us discuss how real life is the interior world of spiritual life; when our external life starts collapsing we need to have an internal world to take refuge in—we need to know that we are not the body which is falling apart. But for that to happen, we need to come to a point of having a change in heart.

You’ll hear stories from both Madhavendra’s and Balakhilya’s travels around the world, sharing the knowledge they’ve received with others. We speak about how actually spiritual life starts when we come to the platform of realizing our vulnerability and inability to face the difficult situations of the world on our own.

Through their different stories, Ruben, Madhavendra, and Balakhilya all came to the same conclusion—there’s something beyond all of this. The nature of the world is to change, and they all found a place to find comfort.

Highlights

– 0:00 Intro: We are all born with a terminal disease
– 1:40 Common interests bring friends together; meet Madhavendra Puri dasi, bhakti yoga practitioner, traveler, and a long-time friend of Balakhilya
– 12:54 When diagnosed with an illness, many are lost and scared as their external world deteriorates. Madhavendra shares her experiences with finding peace internally.
– 19:19 By understanding that we are eternal spirit soul, we can truly help others who might be experiencing the pain of their body deteriorating – whether it’s cancer, ALS, or old age
– 23:58 “Have mantra, will travel” Hear some stories from Madhavendra and Balakhilya during their travels, sharing knowledge, practicing; learning that what’s happening internally is the most important
– 32:00 We can find a weird comfort escaping into our own misery, but self-pity is a form of anger. Changes need to take place internally, at the heart level; and facing these truths will help us in everyday life.
– 44:07 Jumping back in time to Madhavendra’s journey as a “child of the 60s”, Balakhilya and Madhavendra share what it was like in simpler times, and their experiences during the era of George Harrison and the Vietnam War
– 1:00:17 Through their different stories, Ruben, Madhavendra, and Balakhilya all came to the same conclusion —there’s something beyond all of this. The world’s nature is to change, and they all found a practical place to find comfort.