In 1970 Poojya Gurudev suffered a heart attack when he is was Mysore. After recuperating he was moved to Bangalore. Devotes awaited him at the new Chinmaya Hospital; Poojya Gurudev would be the first patient. He greeted everyone with his characteristic sense of humor, “I inaugurated the out-patient ward in Mysore, and today I inaugurated the in-patient ward here!”
Many people came to the hospital to visit him. He always maintained a jovial mood and would make a joke of the inconveniences he had to put up with. Someone noticed a bedbug and flicked it away. “Isn’t that my luck. Lord Vishnu is sleeping on that wonderful snake in the milky ocean, and all I get is a few stray bugs!” Poojya Gurudev jested.
At the physical plane even enlightened masters are subjected to the laws of nature – birth, growth, decay, death. Poojya Gurudev explained:
Illness and pain are the nature of the body. Whoever has a body will experience them. We must have the courage to suffer them with peaceful joy. Never pray for a cure. The Lord will never give anyone – even His enemy – more pain than he deserves. Pray for the strength and courage to suffer and pray ardently to the Lord for His love. Keep on smiling, always, at all times, under all conditions.