Is the Society, which is the embodiment of the individuals like us, hostile to people affected by HIV Aids ?

Photo Image : Sadhguru serving a meal to those affected by HIV-AIDS after the Sathsang. 

Questioner: My name is Vadivu. I have been living with HIV-AIDS for the past seven years. There are hundreds of thousands of people who are infected with HIV-AIDS in Tamil Nadu. Many people do not seek medical help eventhough they are aware that they have this disease.They also hesitate to tell others if they have been found HIV positive.  If people come forward for testing, even if they have the disease, they could be treated and made to live longer. Instead, they just suffer and die.What can you say about it?

Sadhguru:  No matter what kind of a person someone is, his life is very valuable to him. Why would he not go for medical treatment to save his own valuable life? This only speaks of the extent of hostility that exists in society. That is why he is prepared to die rather than letting anyone know of his disease.Because there is so much hostility in society towards HIV, people are afraid to even speak about it to others. In addition to suffering from the disease, they are also in fear of being confronted by the question as to how they got the disease.  If one denies one’s illness and keeps saying “I don’t have any disease. I am well,” then it is possible that he or she will spread the disease to many others. If their own lives and the lives of others have to be protected, we have to create an environment that is supportive to them.

People who have this kind of disease become some what weak in every way. If we do not create an environment free of hostility, their state of mind and emotions will be terribly affected. This hostility from the society will be a source of much greater suffering than this disease itself.  In other parts of the world, people with HIV/AIDS have even lived for 15 years or so after their diagnosis. Everybody has to die one day.  Are the other people going to live for 300 years? They too live only for a limited time - maybe a few years more or few years less. If one takes care about how one lives, there is a possibility of going beyond this disease.Much research is being done about HIV/AIDS. Efforts are being made to even create a vaccine for the disease. This is ofcourse important. But in India, the most important challenge is to remove the hostility against the disease. This hostility, thisdisease that the society is afflicted by is much more dangerous than HIV/AIDS

itself. Removing this hostility alone is proving to be a very big task. It is not something which can be removed in a day.

For detailed view on Sadhguru's take on HIV AIDS, visit http://www.scribd.com/doc/44465800/Compassion-Cannot-Choose-Sadhguru