In response to a question about whether a sick body hinders spiritual progress, as suggested by Osho, Acharya Prashant affirms that this is true, but not absolutely. He explains that there is nobody who is absolutely sick or absolutely healthy; people are healthy or sick in degrees. The extent to which sickness affects one's spiritual path depends on the extent of one's inner resolve and how much importance one gives to the sickness. For example, one person might be perturbed by a common headache and miss their spiritual practices, while another, even if very sick physically, might decide not to deviate from the path of Dharma. This, he states, depends on the depth of one's love. Acharya Prashant further elaborates that physical sickness is a good way to test one's resolve and spiritual mettle. When everything is fine, one can have the illusion of being a determined spiritual seeker, but a minor ailment like a fractured bone can make all that determination vanish. He points to the unbelievable stories in religious literature—of saints fighting with severed heads, fasting for days, or being covered by termites while meditating—which indicate the spiritual seeker's resolve not to listen to the body. The body is a conditioned machine whose only job is to seek pleasure and reproduce, and the seeker's resolve is to not listen to it so much. He clarifies that while it is preferable to have a healthy body and one should not deliberately seek sickness, illness is inevitable, just like old age. When sickness strikes, it becomes a test of one's resolve. It is a love game; one needs a heart to continue despite physical ailments. He contrasts this with the modern, unfortunate situation where, in the name of spirituality, people start cultivating the body, as seen in what yoga has come to mean today—a focus on well-shaped, chiseled, and attractive bodies, which is not true yoga.
