Medical science accepts now that most chronic diseases like high blood pressure, backaches, cardio-vascular diseases, arthritis, depression and acute illnesses like cancer and aids have stress as a contributing factor. Herbert Simon, president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute of USA's Harvard Medical School points out that "anywhere from 60 per cent to 90 per cent of visits to doctors are in the mind-body, stress-related realm.'

Citing controlled scientific studies, Anne Harrington, a science historian at Harvard, says "Non-physical treatments like meditation have proved effective for depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, cardiac pain, insomnia, diabetes, ulcers, cold, fever, asthma, arthritis and alcoholism.' In short, diseases having psychological components or those which can be helped by changes in heart rate, blood pressure or muscle tension have been found to respond to spiritual healing.

However, healers' opinions regarding effectiveness of spiritual healing in curing certain diseases like cancer differ. While Deepak Chopra, the