The cause of all illnesses is spiritual in origin.

The cause of all illnesses is spiritual in origin. This cause is the neglect of our loving relationship with Krishna, God, the Supreme Person. The soul that loses contact with God forgets its own spiritual identity and becomes entangled in countless material activities, becoming trapped in a web of karma and reciprocal actions. This karma causes suffering, and instead of turning to God to alleviate its pain, the soul seeks material solutions, which unfortunately lead to further karmic reactions and, consequently, more suffering.

Only loving and devoted service to God can put an end to suffering and karma, purify the incarnate being, and allow it to approach the Supreme Person.

Lord Krishna said in this regard: It is only through devotional service, and only in this way, that one can know Me as I truly am. And the being who, through such devotion, becomes fully conscious of My Person, can then enter My absolute realm.

Lord Krishna added: It is desires, thoughts, and memories that, at the moment of death, determine your future condition.

As spiritual souls, which is what each of us truly is, we are always immortal by virtue of our intrinsic nature, but we change bodies. This process is creative in that we create our own body, or our next body, according to our desire. If we create within ourselves the mentality of a dog, through our mind, we will obtain a dog's body in our next life.

If we love our pet immensely, and if at the moment of death we think of it, our thought will be recognized as a desire, and we will then receive an identical body in our next life. We will be reincarnated in an animal body in our next existence.

If we are passionate about surfing, we will develop a mindset of beings who love living in the water. Therefore, if we think of it at the hour of death, we will receive an aquatic body in our next life.

Naturally, at the hour of death, if we think of something specific, nature will give us a body accordingly through specific relatives, human or animal. It is an irresistible process.

No being, whether on Earth or among the celestial beings in higher planetary systems, is free from the influence of the three attributes stemming from material nature: virtue, passion, and ignorance. The soul acquires a particular body according to its state in relation to the three modes of influence of material nature: virtue, passion, and ignorance.

If its appetite is insatiable and it eats indiscriminately, the soul will assume the body of a pig.

If it desires to kill and feed on flesh and blood, it will take the body of a tiger or a lion.

But if it desires to feed on food offered to God, it will obtain the body of a sage.

Different bodies are thus granted to us according to our desires. Similarly, if we develop the mindset of a servant of God, we will return to Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, in His absolute realm. The purpose of life is to enable us to attain spiritual realization and the restoration of our forgotten relationship with God.