Śrī Krishna categorizes bhaktas into four types in the Bhagavad Gītā:
Caturvidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino’rjuna
Ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha Bhagavad Gītā 7.16
Bhaktas are of four categories—Ārta, Arthārthī, Jijñāsu, and Jñānī. Ārta bhakti is praying to Bhagavān when we face troubles—health issues, financial problems, emotional troubles, family disputes, etc. Arthārthī bhakti is when we ask Bhagavān to fulfill our desires, such as for wealth, a child, a spouse, a house, etc. A jijñāsu seeks knowledge, especially knowledge of God and of the Self, to attain mukti. And a Jñānī has gone beyond all wants—he has surrendered to the will of Bhagavān and has no desires.
Of course, we have to aspire for the Jñānī state where no disease, no wants, and no troubles bother us. Yet, now, when we are in distress or want something, who else do we go to other than Bhagavān? Our mahātmas show that surrendering to Bhagavān as an Ārta or Arthārthī helps us overcome not only that problem but also slowly nudges us to the Jijñāsu and then to the Jñānī state.
This is demonstrated by two great mahātmas who ask Muruga/Kārtikeya for relief from disease in Tiruchendur.
Balan Deva Rayan was a great Muruga bhakta of the 19th century. Legend goes that he was suffering from some serious ailment. He visits Tiruchendur—the seaside temple considered to be the place where Subrahmanya vanquished Surapadma—to pray for his cure. However, in the temple, he sees many people who have come with their own troubles including patients with diseases of every kind and those who have faced terrors such as kidnapping, fire, poisoning, snake/scorpion bites, robbery, etc.
His heart melts with compassion. He includes all of them in his prayers and composes a lilting stotram called Kanda Ṣaṣṭi Kavacham, which is still very popular across Tamil Nadu. In it, he asks Muruga to not only cure his own stomachache but also everybody else’s disease and troubles. He lists them all in detail:
tēḻum pāmpum seyyān pūrān
kaḍiviḍa viṣangaḷ kaḍiuya raṅgaṁ
ēṟiya viṣangaḷ eḻiduḍan iraṅga
oḻuppum cuḻukkum orutalai nōyum
vādam cayiyaṁ valippuppiaṁ (150)
cūlai cayaṅkuṉmaṁ cōkkuc ciṟaṅku
kuḍaiccal cilan kuḍal vippiri
pakkappiḻavai paḍartoḍai vāḻai’
kaḍuvan paḍuvan kaittāḻ cilanti
paṟkuttu araṇai paruvarai āppum (155)
ellāppiṇiyum eṉranaikkaṇḍāl
nillā dōḍa nīyenakkaruḻvāy!
Let wounds, sprains, one-sided headaches, arthritis, cold fever, fits and bile, piles, fistula, carbuncles, strains, diseases of intestines, itching of the skin, partial paralysis, ringworm, skin ailments, bites of cats, dogs, and spiders, toothaches, and all the diseases and attacks vanish and run away as soon as they see me. Lord Muruga, bless me always so that these do not tarry and run away from me. Why such detailed lists? Some may wonder.
Centuries earlier, the great Bhagavatpāda Ādi Śaṅkarācārya had stood in that same Tiruchendur asking Subrahmaṇya to cure his stomachache. And he also was not selfish—he prayed for diseases for all people to be cured in the brilliant, poetic Subrahmaṇya Bhujangam.
apasmārakuṣṭakṣayārśaḥprameha-
jvaronmādagulmādirōgā mahāntaḥ ।
piśācāśca sarve bhavatpatrabhūtiṁ
vilokyakṣaṇāttārakāre dravante ॥ 25 ॥
Epilepsy, leprosy, tuberculosis, consumption, diabetes, fever, madness, venereal diseases, which are great sicknesses, And the evil spirits that trouble one, run away within a second on seeing the leaf with your holy ash, O enemy of Tāraka.
Bāla Devarāya Svāmigaḷ was only following the tradition of another great mahātma.
Once one surrenders to Bhagavān, where is the question of being selective and asking only for jñāna and not for freedom from disease, poverty, etc.? Who else will we ask?