Proceedings of the Prayer Meeting — Page 19
The Sermon 19 or the Aryas—regardless of however scholarly or proficient he may be—because he never had the opportunity to freely and extensively compare the principles of different religions. In short, just as there is worldly peace throughout the country under the British Government, so also is there a widespread prevalence of spiritual peace. Since I am concerned with religious and spiritual affairs, I will chiefly speak of those things that the Government has bestowed upon us as a favour, inasmuch as they help us carry out our religious duties. It should be kept in mind that one can perform acts of worship with freedom and satisfaction only when four preconditions are met. They are as follows: First is Health— If a person is too weak to get up from bed, how can he observe fasts and Salat [Prayers]? Likewise, he would be unable to perform the Hajj, Zakat, and various other obliga- tions. Now, it is worth noting how many means we have been provided by the Government for the maintenance of physical health. In every major city and town, there is at least one hos- pital where patients are treated with great care and sympathy. Furthermore, medicines, meals, etc. are provided for free. Some patients are admitted into the hospital and are looked after and cared for in such a way that it would be impossible for someone to be treated with such ease and comfort even in their own home. The Government has set up a separate department for healthcare on which millions of rupees are expended annually. It has taken extraordinary measures to keep towns and cities clean. There are systems for drainage and waste disposal. What is more, all sorts of effective medicines are manufactured and supplied at fairly low