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Review
. 2018 Jul-Aug;22(4):560-564.
doi: 10.4103/ijem.IJEM_228_17.

Coping with Illness: Insight from the Bhagavad Gita

Bharti Kalra  1 , Ameya Joshi  2 , Sanjay Kalra  3 , Vivekanand G Shanbhag  4 , Jyoti Kunwar  5 , Yatan Pal Singh Balhara  5 , Sandeep Chaudhary  6 , Deepak Khandelwal  7 , Sameer Aggarwal  8 , Gagan Priya  9 , Komal Verma  10 , Manash P Baruah  11 , Rakesh Sahay  12 , Sarita Bajaj  13 , Navneet Agrawal  14 , Sivatharshiya Pathmanathan  15 , Inderjit Prasad  15 , Ashim Chakraborty  16 , Nanik Ram  17
Affiliations
Review

Coping with Illness: Insight from the Bhagavad Gita

Bharti Kalra et al. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

The Shrimad Bhagavad Gita enlightens everyone on how to cope up with various situations in life. It uses the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna to highlight initial negative coping mechanisms exhibited by the latter. It goes on to showcase positive coping skills suggested by Lord Krishna and implemented by Arjuna. The Bhagavad Gita, through this "case-based methodology," teaches us how to cope with a demanding situation. Diabetes is a lifestyle disease, which warrants a thorough change in one's lifestyle, including changes in basic activities such as diet and exercise. This brief communication utilizes the teachings of Bhagavad Gita to help in coping with illness, especially chronic illness such as diabetes. The article cites verses from the Bhagavad Gita to show how one may cope with the stress of illness such as diabetes.

Keywords: Acceptance; action; anger; blame; coping skills; dejection; denial; diabetes distress; grief; knowledge; optimism.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

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