Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I Principles of Life
Dr. Dennis Breo has published a book entitled, Extraordinary Care, based on interviews with medical specialists who attended on various famous personalities. Many and strange are the revelations he has to make.
He writes that celebrities often prove to be ‘impossible patients.’ Hitler, for instance, suffered from a skin disease, but considered it beneath his dignity to undress before a doctor. As a result, he could never be given the correct treatment.
The famous American millionaire, Howard Hughes, had a dental ailment, but rather than open his mouth to a doctor, he killed his pain with alcohol.
The most extreme example is that of the Shah of Iran who suffered from leukaemia but refused to have it treated because he felt that it would weaken him politically. (The Times of India, March 19, 1987, p.7)
What ultimately brought his power to an end was not this disease of the blood, but the chronic political malaise of his regime. Ignoring the greater danger, he gave all his attention to saving himself from the smaller problems. In consequence, his empire came to an end at the very time when he had done everything in his power to save it.
The cause of man’s failure often lies in his failure to recognize major threats and his determination to concentrate all his efforts on minor dangers. This is as true of the great as it is of obscure and ordinary individuals.