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Table of Contents
1. Organ donation – an introduction
Organ donation has become a common practice and is widely encouraged by modern medical science. The early successes of organ transplantation surgery, and especially those in the 1960s and onwards, rapidly increased the number of transplants happening around the world. National organ donor registries now maintain lists of people who have consented to offering their organs in the event of death. Many countries today have even adopted opt-out policies on this form of organ donation.
The basic reasoning behind organ donation is that those who receive the organs can live longer and enjoy a better quality of life. We were curious about the spiritual implications of organ donation, so we studied its spiritual aspects to learn more about it.
2. Spiritual effects of organ donation
Every action we take has the potential to generate a give-and-take account. Actions that give others happiness are merits and give us happiness in return, while actions that give others unhappiness bring us unhappiness in return.
Since donating an organ can save someone’s life, it seems that we should gain merits from it. This is not always the case though. Our spiritual research has shown that when we donate an organ, we generate a give-and-take account and share part of the sins and merits the person receiving the organ gains through their actions. This means that donating an organ to an evildoer may result in us accruing sin.
If we do have a desire to donate any of our organs out of altruism, it would also be important to understand that the merits we accrue through that act can entangle us in the cycle of birth and death. From the perspective of spiritual growth, there are limitations to accrual of merits. This is explained in more detail in our article on merits and sins.
Apart from this, in current times, 30% of society is possessed by negative energies, so there is a likelihood that we may donate an organ to someone who is possessed. In this case we may ourselves experience distress and become more susceptible to possession by ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.). It would be wise not to donate organs from this perspective. In this scenario our act of benevolence would also not really contribute towards making the world a spiritually better place.
3. Receiving organs from the deceased
Many times organs are received from those who are deceased.
Understanding what happens to us after death is key to understanding the spiritual implications of receiving organs from a deceased person. After we die, the attachment of the subtle-body to the physical body and possessions does not immediately reduce. Due to this, the subtle-body can hover around the gross body and its previous possessions, including donated organs for a year or more.
When the subtle-body comes near the organs two things can happen. The first is that it can be attacked by negative energies more easily due to not moving on in its onward journey after death. The second is that any black energy affecting the subtle-body can be transmitted to the person who has received the organs. This can increase the black covering around the person, which can lead to physical, psychological and spiritual problems.
In addition, the organs become charged with negative vibrations while one is dying since the death of an average person is primarily charged with spiritually negative vibrations. Receiving these negatively charged organs opens one up to imbibe their vibrations, and this also increases the black covering around us.
4. Example of incorrect organ donation law
The Ministry of Health of Singapore has created The Human Organ Transplant Act.
“The Human Organ Transplant Act allows for the kidneys, heart, liver and corneas to be removed in the event of death from any cause for the purpose of transplantation. From 1 November 2009, HOTA covers all Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents 21 years old and above, who are not mentally disordered , unless they have opted out. The upper age limit of 60 years has been removed.
Anyone who opts out of HOTA receives lower priority for receiving an organ on the national waiting list should he require an organ transplant in the future. This will be specific to the organs which he opted out of.
Organs that are recovered under HOTA are intended for donation to the common pool of patients on the respective organ transplant waiting lists. It is therefore neither possible to specify the recipients of organs recovered under HOTA, nor specifically exclude certain people from receiving organs. It is also not possible to release donor information to organ recipients.
HOTA applies only to deaths in the hospitals which fulfill specific conditions (see below).
Organs will be recovered only if the following conditions are fulfilled:
- Firstly, the donor must be above the age of 21 years, be of sound mind, and not be an objector.
- Secondly, the organs must be suitable for transplantation.
- Thirdly, there must be a suitable recipient (s) to benefit from the organ(s) recovered.
The above details are available at the link below in frequently asked questions related to HOTA.”
As per the Law of Righteousness as well as per the Law of Karma, it is incorrect to force people into organ donation in this manner and even penalize them for opting out of it. Sin is incurred through such behavior. The decision maker or decision makers of The Human Organ Transplant Act have incurred 50% sin (on a scale from 0% to 100% where 100% sin would be a murder of a person) as it affects so many people.
To be able to decide by taking into consideration the spiritual dimension, one needs to perform spiritual practice as per the 6 basic principles of Spirituality.
5. In summary – organ donation
In conclusion, we can see that the unwanted spiritual effects of organ donation outweigh the positive outcomes. In general, it is best for the average person to avoid organ donation. In some cases, such as with close family, one may be obligated by duty towards the family member. Otherwise, we can avoid the practice.
The spiritual dimension affects all aspects of our lives including organ donation. Taking it into account is the best way to ensure that we make correct decisions from a spiritual perspective and experience more lasting happiness or Bliss (Ānand). Doing appropriate spiritual practice awakens our own sixth sense, which helps us to internally understand what is spiritually beneficial and what is not.
