Don't stop loving; it's the only true emotion.

Love is the pith of the universe; love is the mother of all the pleasures. Love is the only real clout. Love enlightens the darkest of the creeks in convoluted layers of our existential realities. I am sure most of us have experienced love, in its purest form, at one or the other time in our lives. Can you close your eyes and let the gush of those memories fill in your veins again? You would feel touched, elated, at loss of words and abundance of bliss. Love is splendiferous in bearing colossal healing powers. The thought of love is said to indie release of positive hormones from the body’s  reserve; what else proof one would ask for in establishing seraphic nature of love?

Christians believe that to Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself are the two most important things in life.

In Hebrew, love is known to be the central force that drives universe. Ahava is the most commonly used term for both interpersonal love and love between God and God's creations.

In Islam Amongst the 99 names of God (Allah), there is the name Al-Wadud, or "the Loving One," which is found in Surah.

God in Sufism is referred to in three main terms, which are the Lover, Loved, and Beloved, with the last of these terms being often seen in Sufi poetry.

In Hinduism, attaining pure, unconditional and incessant love for Godhead is considered the primordial goal of life.

Its tormenting to see that old age parents are being neglected, and often abused; what happened to the concept of parental love? Are we too busy to reminisce the time when we were toddlers and our parents worked hard to keep our bellies and beds warm? It is indeed extremely sad to see the case of female infanticides; even animals don’t behave such brutally. Justification of honor killing frightens me to death; legislations are not enough to curb the menace of conditions that arise due to loss of love; we must fall in love more often. When love seeps in our thought process, it starts manifesting its metamorphosing abilities, and life becomes beautiful.

My Hospital. My Pride.

I have worked relentlessly to create a place where rich and poor can get the best of the healing worlds without any prejudice. I always had my thoughts about making a world class hospital Euclideanly clear, and that has saved me a lot of laconic obscurity that could have blurred the precision of final picture. My emotions are attached with every brick that was ever laid in the foundation of my hospital, for I did it because I was determined, and possibly destined, to do it. My hospital may not be having the sheen of newly built empires of MNCs foraying in the realms of healthcare, but nevertheless, I put smiles to ailing hearts, and that’s enough for me to hold my head high.

I pray to Almighty in atonement every day for giving me the mind, vision and support to spearhead the fight against illnesses that afflict people irrespective of their socio-economic status. Years of plain living and high thinking have given me an advantage of being able to exercise the power of bringing pleasant changes in people’s lives. I believe my birth, my rearing and education, had all pointed, not towards any other profession but health care sciences. I have always thought that my duty towards my countrymen had special claims upon me, such as could not be urged by other duties of life. I have never repented my inability to catch forty winks more than fifty hours at a stretch multiple times in my practice. Many a dreams develop their own wings and limbs and bring about a change in society; my dream followed the same trajectory and I am proud to have created a hospital where ‘care is a culture’.

'Star' of my hospital

I have learnt some of the biggest lessons in my life by being in the company of selfless people. One such name that has always rekindled hopes, even in the state of uncontrolled inner turbulence, in me is Sister Mercy Mathews. She is, without a second thought ever, matron of Khetarpal Hospital and one of the best persons that stepped in the realms of my life ever. I am yet to see a more disciplined individual than her. She has never turned a minute late for her duties in past 15 years.

Most of my old patients know her, and take pride in the fact of knowing her, for they believe to have been looked after by the most angelic personality ever. Sister Mercy remains imperturbable, and glowing even in the face of prevalent chaos and mounting work load. She, possibly, is alien to the concept of any other vocal tone except to that of utter compassion and care. Many a times, patients’ relatives, in a frenzied state, tend to speak harsh, but that hasn’t came across her way of displaying the most beatific and saintly spirits.

I have seen her fighting some of the callous battles of life alone with undeterred belief in the power of hope and belief; needless to say she has been able to overcome every possible atrocity that crossed her life. I make it a point to appoint the newly joined staff nurses under her supervision so that they may take a slice of life and attempt to reinvent themselves. I have never had a patient complaining directly about her, and the list of patients who genuinely express eloquent words for her selfless nature, compassionate attitude and kind gestures seem to be on a constant uphill. 

The Vogue of 'Doctor bashing'

In past few years, I must have read more than 100 times that a doctor has been beaten up by the public, citing reasons for medical negligence. The policy makers, however, remain in the state of acquired & selective immune state to the pity condition pertaining to security of doctors. Being in the medical profession actively, I have, myself, been in unpleasant states many times; I have been threatened, I have been bullied at, I have been shouted at.

Doctors, in the aftermath of such an incident, kick a strike or raise slogans against authorities, which leads to solutions with little shelf lives. Can a doctor work with free mind when the dangers of being maltreated loom high? Would a parliamentarian agree to consult a doctor for his own treatment minutes after the doctor had been at the receiving end of mass apathy stimulated by a mean rabble-rouser? A doctor spends golden years of his life in the company of volumes of books to get well equipped with the art of healing; but that doesn’t mean that every ailment is manageable. Things take their own course despite the best of treatment plans and outcomes might not be in direct proportion to the hopes and prayers of the patient’s relatives.

Sometimes, I feel nauseated by the phlegmatic gesture of the people who rule the country. If a doctor feels unsafe while serving the patients, there is something gross amiss in the policies and groundwork. No one likes to be humiliated by public bashing after unsuccessfully trying to save a life; not being able to possess divine powers is not akin to crime. 

Ever felt victim of 'Mass Narcissism'?

Be expansive. Be unrestrained. Learn to listen to your own self. Opt for your choices yourself, as that is the best way to learn and live. A human is a complex, yet orderly, array of different mechanisms and substances. We have affinities. We have tendencies. We are blessed with a machine, but onus of making the best use of this machine lies solely on us only. Education helps in unearthing the little known, but vital facts about life, its scope and its vastness. Independent thought process also helps in sharpening the skills required to see beyond what is visible to ordinary eyes and minds.

If you are meant to be a good violin player, chances are that you would have felt proximity to the instrument, and to the whole process of playing it and listening to it. Now why do you want to learn Java when it bores you to death? Why not master yourself in the art (or science) of your choice? Some kids are born leaders; sometimes they trespass the intellectual limits of their parents to which the parents don’t take a kind attitude. As a result, they are forced to think a definite way. Clearly, independence is taken away in the name of family norms. A life is something bigger. To produce changes in the society, we need to make leaders. And to make leaders, we need to allow the liberty of free thinking to our kids.

Swelled-headed attitude of parents results in mismatched choices that their progenies are burdened with. This leads to the birth of conflicts, often turning to the fine kettle of fish. Every one has 24 hours in a day, every one has the same sun and moon, then why isn’t everyone bestowed with the liberty to make opinions and defend them intellectually? Our thought process is our biggest armor in the vast cosmos; why every one wants to muddle with our biggest strength? Any one heard of mass narcissism? Why don’t we come out of the self-imposed circle of self-doubts? Why don’t we yearn to find the real meaning of happiness?

Where are the Game-Changers?

The other day I was watching a documentary on CNN which showed the queasiness of human life with a close perspective. Malnourished kids living in over crowded and unhygienic mud huts; lack of adequate drinking water and whatever was available, I believe, contained virulent strains of E Coli. This scene belonged to interiors of Bihar and I was, literally, taken aback at the apathy that the society bears to them. I include myself in the list of culprits. I took few resolutions to make a change in those precious lives which have been turned redundant by the sharp turn of fate.

How beautiful the world had been if before uncorking a packaged bottle of drinking water, we could have stopped for a millisecond and thought about those fragile females who have to walk for miles to fetch a bucket of water from the contaminated well.

How beautiful the world had been, if in spite of wasting hundreds of hours over watching mindless daily soaps, some of us would have determined to devote that amount of time doing social service.

How beautiful the world had been if we stopped for a millisecond before feeding the leftover to our kitchen bin, and thought about millions who had to sleep hungry last night.

Cricket and cinema make us go brouhaha; why don’t we face life? Why the suicide of a farmer doesn’t affect us deeply? Why don’t we get moved watching little kids glancing at the garbage to find out something to eat? Why should we spend on 5 star meals if some of our people are a rupee short of purchasing a paracetamol tablet? We pay income taxes to the government; why shouldn’t we be taken in confidence while making budgets and executing policies? Is the current system the best one? Where are the policy-formulators, the revolutionists, the game-changers?

A Handful of Sky

Charity must be a way of life. I strongly feel that a life is incomplete without making others feel your presence in a beautiful way. The sense of caring, the sense of belonging, and the sense of inclusiveness gives you that ripsnorting edge in life. Society expects a lot from the doctors. The policy makers, the leaders, the common man – all of them expect near-divine gestures from the doctors, all the time. Perfect! But it doesn’t mean that other people should get away from charity. Doctors are supposed to work in rural settings as per the law, but why this bias? I mean, it’s well enough that the doctors would work for the cause of underprivileged, but why not include other think-tanks also? Why not include engineers, social workers, teachers and professionals of other frontiers to display the same gesture? Everyone bears a responsibility for the country, and its people.

It must come to our own inner self to work for the people who are in need. Money and career are important, but not at the cost of humanity. One must indulge in charity regularly, and charity doesn’t always mean financial help. Offer free services in your best capabilities. India resides in villages; get a break and observe the reality closely. It’s important for our kids to get a brush with the realities of villages, realities of a common man. Life has a meaning; get in to the groove and emerge out as selfless and as noble as possible. Till proven otherwise, believe that you have been given human life to serve some purposes; and what better that to create a change in others’ lives?