Every person who has walked into the portals of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences has a unique story to share. Be it a patient, a nurse, a sevadal, a doctor or a student, there has been  a Force which has drawn each of them to this Temple of Healing. The journey to Prashanti Nilayam, for each one, has been a unique one. This Force in each of our lives has weaved a special story- His story.

His story in this Temple of Healing began way back in 1990, when in the Hill View Stadium, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba declared that He would be opening a Super Speciality Hospital in the rural hinterland of Puttaparthi  within a year to provide world class high end treatment free of cost to society. Devotees were awestruck, professionals of healthcare and economics were stunned and naysayers were in denial. But in the crowd, as a young 11 year old child studying in Bhagawan’s school, I just clapped my heart out. All I understood was that something big was going to happen! A year later, on the promised date, the hospital was opened and as Bhagawan announced the success of the first day’s surgery, my hands got busy again- clapping with joy.

As a young child I never imagined that the hands that clapped then would be blessed to serve in this very hospital. I completed my MBBS as directed by Bhagawan. The Force was at work again and without any prior planning, in the August of 2008, I found myself in SSSIHMS, Prashantigram to pursue my post graduation in Anaesthesiology. It was a stream I was barely aware of or interested in. But it wasn’t my story at play. It was His story. So I entered the stream He had selected for me. All that mattered to me was coming back to my mother’s home where I had spent 11 years of my early life basking in Bhagawan’s love.

The next 3 years were the most memorable years of my personal and professional life. I vividly recollect my first interaction with one of my seniors, Dr Rajan Anand (currently Head of Department, Anaesthesiology, SSSIHMS). I asked him about my choice of stream and he replied, “Anaesthesia is a very spiritual stream. Here you learn to give your best and expect nothing in return.” I was bowled over. Never in my 6 years as a medical student, had I had an interaction of this level. I slowly learnt that true spirituality in bringing perfection and dedication in our profession. The training in SSSIHMS was on par with the best institutes in the country. The dedication of the staff and my teachers was many notches higher. In a time when every profession runs on the laws of economics and the principle of give and take, here was a unique institution which ran on the law of love and the principle of selflessly giving and giving. Where in every hospital, the patient was looked upon as the beneficiary, here every doctor and nurse was getting the benefit of self satisfaction of having given the best without any constraints.

In this hospital, the true Guru Sishya culture is being followed. I recollect my teachers coming to take classes for us as early as 6:30 am so that we can all study together for an hour before we split to different operation theatres for the day. Dedication, discipline and professionalism weren’t taught to us on blackboards or through fancy courses. I learnt it from the lives of my great teachers. In the institution, set up by the Sadguru Himself, He had kept such inspiring Gurus for us. Then there was the unseen hand of Bhagawan moulding every student into a better doctor and a better human being.

Every student in the institute, apart from gaining professional experience, is also blessed with Divine experiences by Bhagawan. I was no exception. In my second month of post graduation, I was posted in the Cardiac surgery OT. I found the work very demanding and felt that I was not up to the mark. A few days passed by with this heaviness in my heart. One night, I had a beautiful dream. In the dream, Bhagawan was holding my hand and leading me somewhere. I soon realised that he had brought me to the cardiac surgery OT. He held  my hand firmly and said, “You will continue to work here. I am with you.”  I woke up with a startle and joyfully resumed my duties the next day. A few days later Bhagawan visited the Cardiac surgery ICU to see a patient. Only those working in Cardiac surgery during that time were blessed to have close darshan of Bhagawan in the ICU. In the few seconds that I got, I knelt down and told Him, “Swami, I was a student of your school. Now I am working here.” With a mischievous smile the Lord patted my back and replied, “I know, I know.” A few years later, I got an opportunity to do the first fellowship in Cardiac Anaesthesia in SSSIHMS. Again, that was without my planning. It was a part of His story!

As students, we were away from our homes. But Bhagawan, the Divine Mother, protected us as the eyelids protect the eyes. One of my colleagues, in his final year, met with an accident in the middle of the night. He was lying on a dark stretch of road. Out of nowhere, some Sevadals came and dropped him at the hospital. By Bhagawan’s grace, he didn’t sustain any major injury. But his shoulder was hurt and took time to recover. A few months later, he was a part of the team putting up a drama on the occasion of the hospital’s anniversary to be put up in front of Bhagawan. He was very excited for his first interaction with Bhagawan; or so he thought. As he approached Bhagawan with a flower in His hand, the Lord asked him softly, “How is your shoulder now?”  The memories of this boy flashed back to few months back. In the middle of a dark night, who were those sevadals who came in time to  rescue him? How is it that he suffered only minor injuries in such a bad accident? He realised that the Lord was taking care of him always. Of course this was not their first interaction!

This institution is a true example of Bhagawan’s message of unity, purity and divinity. When there is a patient to be treated, the entire system comes together in unity and synchrony to deliver the best medical care. The treatment given to every patient is in its purest form without any influence or constraints like the patient’s caste, creed, nationality or financial status.  Finally every surgery is offered to the Divine and His intervention is seen and felt every day. Oh! What a blessing indeed to be a part of such an institution!

Three years of post graduation flew by with every day carrying memories for a lifetime. In the 3 years, the Divine Master had transformed this cocoon into a butterfly and given it strong enough wings to soar into the sky. After 8 years in the Temples of Healing, when the time came to bid goodbye to the institution, I did so with a heavy heart. Little did I realise that my relation with SSSIHMS was far from over. 

As I settled down in my home state, the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Odisha had just started an initiative for follow up of cardiac patients operated in Sri Sathya Sai Institutes of Higher Medical Sciences. The Sri Sathya Sai Rehabilitation Programme (SRP) was already running in a few states of the country and I was given the chance to implement it in Odisha. The volunteers of the organisation took up the programme as a mark of gratitude to Bhagawan for the thousands of patients from the state who have been blessed with a new lease of life. As the mantle of execution of the programme was handed over to me, the second innings of His story unfolded. Someone had once told me, “Once you have worked in SSSIHMS, you carry a bit of SSSIHMS wherever you go.” And here in the first month of my arrival, Bhagawan gave me a direct opportunity to be associated with my alma mater. While in the 8 years in SSSIHMS, I was witness to the peak of professionalism, in the years to follow, I witnessed the surge of love and devotion.  When we visited the houses of the patients and told them that Sri Sathya Sai Baba had sent us to enquire about their well being, many of them were in tears. They never expected that even after so many years of their surgery, Baba and His hospital would remember them and follow them up. The sevadals of SSSSO, Odisha took up this follow up programme with missionary zeal. They prepared and went for these home visits as they would prepare to go and see Bhagawan. And the Lord too gave them many experiences during these visits. 

On one occasion, a sister SRP volunteer was searching for one patient whose address was incomplete. After searching a few villages, as it was late afternoon, she wanted to search in a nearby big village before it turned dark. But at the entrance of the village a band of monkeys blocked her way. In spite of waiting for 20 minutes they didn’t relent. Finally she had to change her decision and search in another nearby village. And to her utter surprise, the patient was found in that village. No doubt, the Lord Sai Rama had sent His Vanara Sena to guide His sevadal!

On another occasion a brother volunteer visited a patient’s house. The lady of the house welcomed him and said that she was expecting a visit. They were surprised as he hadn’t given any prior information of the visit. But the lady said that Bhagawan appeared in her dream that morning and told her that He would be visiting her house that day. Such incidents of the Lord’s benediction on His patients and the volunteers continue to leave me  stupefied every day.

30 years back as a small child, while every devotee in the Hill view stadium was left awestruck, I just clapped my heart away. Today while everyone claps on hearing these beautiful stories, I am left awestruck. Because never before in this history of medical science has such a phenomenon been witnessed. There is not a single hospital in this world that can render such quality of service without any cost to the patient. There is not a single hospital in the world which follows up a patient till their last breath. But this is not the story of a mere hospital. This is the story of the Temple of Healing; where every patient, doctor, nurse, sevadal comes to get healed; where everyone has a story to share. Where everyone is a part of His story.

Truly blessed are the students who have the opportunity to study in SSSIHMS. For, they are learning not just lessons of their profession and livelihood, but lessons for Life. They are being prepared to be ambassadors of SSSIHMS to the world- and ambassadors of love, ambassadors of hope, ambassadors of Sri Sathya Sai. They may walk out of the portals of SSSIHMS after 3 years of their course, but a part of SSSIHMS stays on with them forever spreading love and hope to hundreds and thousands of patients in need.

JAI SAI RAM