It is often said that Indians are fatalists who leave everything to fate or to God.

The excuse a patient usually quotes is: "Our religion tells us that bodily sufferings are a result of sins incurred in our past life". This excuse is used to avoid taking medicines or insulin, and to explain inertia on part of the patient. "My sugar levels are always 400: they will never come down."

What do our scriptures actually teach us? Lord Krishna exhorted Arjuna to fight the Mahabharata and not to bow before his enemies. Lord Ram and Hanuman fought Ravana and his army of demons. Hindu scriptures talk of Gods fighting 'Asuras' whenever they are attacked. Sikh and Islamic traditions speak of fighting against injustice (and winning). Christianity speaks of Lord Jesus healing the sick, thus giving divine approval to our fight against illness.

What then, do we learn from the scriptures? We learn to fight disease, to fight diabetes, to fight its complications. We learn not to admit defeat, but to persevere, because if we persevere, victory will be ours

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