THE WORLD TODAY IS DEPENDENT ON MONEY!!! SWAMI

February 3, 2009

THE WORLD TODAY...IS DEPENDENT ON MONEY!!! ------------------- After inaugurating the campus, Swami blessed the Hospital and surprised all the staff with His munificence by dining with them in the huge atrium of the main building. He then blessed all those present with His Divine message in which He highlighted man’s weakness for wealth and the loss of health in pursuit of the same. Here is an extract of that timeless discourse:

“The world today…is dependent on money. Whichever party or department you may see… it is all money, money, and money… For the sake of money, everything else is discarded. One destroys one's health for money. Health is very important. It is the greatest wealth. With good health one can achieve many things. Therefore, Hospitals are very much necessary to be healthy. Amongst you, some consider themselves doctors and others as students. No! In my opinion, all are students. Even doctors, need to study, learn and know many new things.

So, they too have to study throughout their lives. Doctors and everyone else too… should learn new techniques… And find treatment for new diseases. Giving medicine alone is not enough. More investigation has to be done to ascertain if the dosage is sufficient and know more about the nature of the disease. The personality of the patient as well as the cause of the malady has to be thoroughly understood; at times, the diseases are genetic, at other times, from friends and associations, or through unforeseen circumstances. Diseases come and go…The cure is not as important as preventing the infection. This is very important in youth. All powers are imbued in youth energy. God, the almighty, the All-knowing One, is in man. And in man, there are thoughts, mind, intellect, awareness…and ego. Diseases arise because of all these. Even the food we eat… gives rise to many diseases. Therefore, investigate the food you eat… is it Satwic, Rajasic or Tamasic? First and foremost, examine the food. Satwic (sublime) thoughts arise from Satwic food, and Satwic actions arise from Satwic thoughts. So, based on food… diseases progress. First, partake Satwic food. Alcohol and non-vegetarian diets bring with them many diseases. There is no medicine for these diseases. If we eat proper Satwic food…good health is assured. So, eat Satwic food… but in moderation. Excess eating leads to indigestion. Just because it is tasty, do not overeat. But children today do not think on these lines. They consume immediately whatever is offered. One has to investigate to know if the food is Satwic, Rajasic or Tamasic. Therefore, the mind is the cause for bondage or liberation. In fact, it is the cause of everything. Mind is the primary source of both health and happiness. If the mind is steady… one has good thoughts. Good thoughts lead to good action. And good action in turn gives rise to happiness and health. So, we have to be careful of what we eat. Without health, the body is of no use. It cannot do any work. So take care of your health. For children too, in whatever they may learn and play, everything should be in moderation (mitamu) and hitamu, that is, for goodness and good will. The world needs both of these.

Today in politics, there is no moderation. We find excesses in all forms. More importantly, there is no goodness or good will. With moderation and goodwill, one earns respect from society. To provide strength and support, and reform society… we must enter society, and give them appropriate advice. Not mere advice, but demonstrate to them through our actions. When we do so, society will reform. Therefore, if society has to improve, it is possible only through our efforts. If society and country have to progress, first you should evolve. When you transform for the better…you can then help society. Understand this concept. You consider the body very important… not the body, the sheaths covering the body are important. Mind, intellect, awareness and ego… are the four coats covering the body. First and foremost, the coat of buddhi (intellect) must be removed from the Atma. Why do you wear a coat? It is to protect from external environment. First, remove the coat of Tamas (dullness and inactivity). Abandon the vest of Rajas (unwarranted aggression and passion) and discard the shirt of ego. What remains is the body. This mind, intellect and awareness are meant to facilitate the function of the body. Without these, the body is an empty balloon. Once the body is empty, neither sin nor merit will touch it. Neither praise nor blame; or rewards nor ignominy will have any effect on it. The body is then liberated. Therefore, eat in moderation. Do not eat in excess and make your stomach look like a “question mark”. When you feed the the patients in the Hospital, speak to them peacefully. Have a cheerful “smiling face”. When we explain to them calmly, they will develop good feelings and follow the right path. Therefore, students too should be careful. In particular, if students are well, the Hospital will be fine. They must follow doctor’s advice, respect their words and learn from them.”

After this, Swami blessed the staff with group photographs and then left for Brindavan. The very next day He returned to Prasanthi Nilayam.

Bhagavan with some of the medical staff during His visit to SSSIHMS, Whitefield, on June 7, 2008

VI. The Inspiring Dimension:The Beacon of Blissful Healthcare for the Twenty-first Century and Beyond

“Hi Arvind, this is Lakshmikanth from Stockholm, remember me?” When one receives a call that begins like this at 10.30 in the night, it is a natural reaction to say ‘wrong number’, but when the caller has used your name you begin to think twice. Well, in this case, it turned out to be genuine. The call was from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Some of the alumni of the Sri Sathya Sai University are doing their academic research there, and Lakshmikanth was one of them. He and his co-researcher, Mr. Pettr Brodin, M.D., an immunologist, were working together on the same project and had been to Australia to attend a conference. They had to stop over in India, and when one is touched by God, one cannot but run to him at the first chance. Therefore both of them visited Prasanthi Nilayam and had Swami’s darshan. And after this, Bangalore being just a three hour drive away, they decided to see His Hospital.

Apparently, life is indeed a series of appointments. It is a matter of semantics whether we call these moments appointments or circumstances or coincidences or miracles. To paraphrase Albert Einstein, one can live life only in two ways, as though nothing is a miracle, or everything is a miracle. I must confess, I don’t believe in coincidences. As Swami says, everything happens for a reason. Pettr and Kanth, as they wanted themselves to be called, drove in from Prasanthi Nilayam in the afternoon just in time for lunch. Over lunch we swapped tales of our experiences working in Hospitals and I was surprised to find Pettr, a European, relishing proper Indian fare, down to eating without a spoon and fork. I asked him about this, and he grinned and gave a distinctive answer “Looks like the amino acids on my finger tips are adding a new taste to my lunch”. One can’t argue with such an answer. Anyway, after their lunch we set out on a tour of the Hospital. He Came, He Saw and Was Conquered We started with the main atrium that soared up 488 feet with its massive six layered crystal chandelier, surrounded by four acres of space . Though Pettr kept a straight face, one could see he was impressed. We went over to the wards, and Pettr whispered in the deafening silence of the preoperative cardiac ward, “Is this a ward?” It was enough to tell me that he was moved. Being a doctor, he had seen many hospitals. But he later confessed, “This is different. I’ve never been to a place like this before.” Then, with the permission of the Chairman of the Cardiac Sciences, the three of us entered the cardiac theatres. Again Pettr’s silence told me much more than words can assay. Not many can put into words their feelings when they see Operation Theatres, and Cath-labs half the size of shuttle courts, wards the length of football fields, with roofs soaring up to 25 feet, balconies larger than an average sized parking lot, and an atrium that fills them with awe and reverence.

A multi faceted overview of some of the visual highlights of the SSSIHMS Bangalore

It was when I took him over to the patient counselling area that his façade melted a bit. The patient counselling department at SSSIHMS was the brainchild of Mr. and Mrs. Umesh Rao, who are long time followers of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. In their recent visit overseas, they had been to Karolinska University, and had presented the concept of emotional counselling with the onus on psychosomatic relationship to some of the senior staff over there. Their response had been overwhelmingly in favour of the idea, and they agreed that what they were just beginning to accept with scientific validation was already being practiced at the SSSIHMS for the past 8 years, and the underlying concept had been expounded by Bhagawan Baba decades ago, “Treat the disease and not merely the patient”. Pettr was from the same Institution and was in the audience when the couple had made their presentation. He saw what was propounded in reality – if seeing is believing, he saw and believed. There are many more like Pettr who come with questions and return with none of them unanswered. For actions speak louder than words. Ask and you shall be given, knock and the door shall be opened is what the Bible says. We are taught again and yet again that we have to take the first step. But we rarely heed the words. Probably that was the reason for the great artist Michelangelo painting the magnificent fresco of God reaching down from the heaven every sinew of his arm stretched fingers pointed…reaching out to man…but man lies on the earth, his arm raised in limp response, his fingers lifeless and without spirit. God does not have to descend on earth to prove He exists. He exists in the good man who helps his fellowman. But when God does descend on earth and sets an example, He lights up fiery beacons that do not hide their glow, but speak through silent action, putting smiles on the faces of those stricken by sorrow and defeated by life. It is time to do what we have to do. The words of Robert Frost should always reverberate in our minds…