As many of you may know, Swami Kriyananda, now 84, has had some recent physical setbacks, including a visit to the emergency room last Tuesday after a fall that injured his hip. He was scheduled to be at a tea in Los Angeles on Saturday, and was heartbroken to cancel for the first time in his life an appearance of such magnitude. He didn’t even know if he would be able to make it to his publicized talk on Sunday at the Ford Amphitheater. On Sunday morning we were overjoyed to hear the news that he was miraculously on his way, either by the Grace of God, a Herculean exertion of will power, or a combination of both. I wasn’t sure in what condition he would arrive after what must have been a painful trip. However, he entered the Ford Amphitheater with great energy, and was greeted with much joy by all who were already seated in the amphitheater (his path to the backstage area was visible to all). The pictures you see of his talk at the Ford Amphitheater mark his first ever appearance in a wheelchair.
Divine Mother gave him a grand entrance, coinciding perfectly with a musical climax halfway through our preshow performance of Life Is a Quest for Joy. The next 10 minutes of the piece were some of the most special I’ve ever played. It was as if his presence fueled a spark within me, granting me the boon of tangibly feeling God’s loving presence expanding from my heart.
Having been a performer for the past 25 years, I’ve been backstage with celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Collins, Julian Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Elton John, and have often seen inconsistencies with their public personas, ranging from peaceful to exuberant, dull to vulgar.
Choir performing “Come Gather Round”
As I walked backstage last Sunday after finishing our piece, I saw Swamiji ready to go. No trace of his recent ordeal showed on his face, as he radiated joy, enthusiasm, love, and a deep sense of peace. I was simply stunned – this was no facade, as there were just a handful of us in his presence, quietly waiting.
There comes a deep joy in life when you recognize someone not necessarily for their relationship to you (a wife, a friend, a son or daughter), but for what they have brought to your life. Unlike others, I have not been in the position to be close personally to Swami Kriyananda. In fact, one day years ago I decided to try to feel towards him as I would a dear personal loved one. An hour later I passed him in the Crystal Hermitage, and I silently reached out to him with that personal kind of energy. I was amazed at how completely limiting it felt, trying to relate to him only on a superficial (egoic) level. I realized finally that I needed to go much deeper, and since then have deepened my attunement with him not by any outward relationship, but by tuning into his vibration and inspiration, especially through music. Since then, numerous times I’ve been overwhelmed at how empty my life would be without his teaching, his attunement with Yogananda, his music, and his incredible example of living for God.
For those few moments before he went onstage, I saw him not for my personal friend, or a celebrity, or even the founder of Ananda. What was overwhelmingly evident to me was a disciple’s great joy and devotion in serving his Guru – it is all he lives for now. It shone through his eyes, his face, with a force that could be tangibly felt.
I went back onstage to conduct the choir, and as we ended our set with his song Dark Eyes, you may be wondering why I was hardly moving my arms. I could once again feel that same presence of the power of love, coming from our singing, and was trying to expand that bubble of inspiration to fill the amphitheater. Could any of you feel it, I wonder?
Choir performing “Brothers”
During his talk, I sat downstairs with the choir in the green room and listened. Over the PA system I could hear his heartfelt emotion as he spoke of the beginning of his journey to live for God alone. I continued to dive deep into his vibration, not noticing how well he was articulating his words, or where his talk may be going from one thought to another. I was simply overjoyed that he had made the trip, and was here to serve all those awaiting his presence.
At the end of the show, we came back onstage to sing Peace with him, and despite his evident fatigue, still chose to sing with us, with surprising vigor. As the audience sang the final “Amen” with us, the amphitheater was vibrantly resonating with a Divine Presence that could not but open wide that hardest of hearts.
After he was taken backstage, he remained in that uplifted bliss, radiating joy as he blessed Neale Donald Walsch and his wife and a few others before leaving for his new home in Los Angeles. I know in his heart of hearts he couldn’t help but feel Yogananda’s blessings from all the energy it took to make “The Miracle Show” (as Sean has been dubbing it) the great success that it was.
Thank you Swamiji, for your continued example of a life lived completely for God, no matter what the cost.
Sean, when introducing Swami Kriyananda to the audience of 1150 people called this event “The Miracle Show”.
Swamiji has been dealing with considerable fatigue and a fall (which happened the week after SRW) that resulted in an injured hip and all the pain and debility that can accompany something like that.
He had many very uncomfortable days which forced him to cancel two events in LA and until the last minute his attendance at the Ford Theater very questionable. However, not being one to give in to pain or hard times, Swamiji bravely rallied and on Sunday boarded a plane (preceded by a two drive to the airport) and arrived in LA at 4, just in time to make the 6:00 show at the Ford. Upon his arrival to the theater in a wheel chair, he was greeted with a standing ovation. The crowd appreciated Swami’s monumental effort to be part of this wonderful event at the Ford Theater, and his desire to share the love and teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda
The evening began with beautiful music from our Ananda choir, Brook and Sean introduced both Ananda LA and Swamiji with eloquence and heart. Brook also introduced Neale Donald Walsch, and shared a bit of Neale’s journey which was fascinating. He gave a thought provoking and lovely talk and then introduced Swamiji. It was an honor for me to be backstage to photograph them together and the see the high regard they held for one another.
Swami spoke from his heart about his life as a disciple. And the at the end the choir joined him and performed the song, Peace.
Catherine Kairavi also gave a presentation of the book, Two Souls, Four Lives. This is a newly released and fascinating book which presents a clear and compelling case for Yogananda’s statement that in a past life he was William the Conquerer. In addition, she makes the case that Swamiji was King Henry, William’s son. I highly recommend the book. It is the culmination of 13 years of research.
Ozro, Sean and Brook did an amazing job organizing this event.
They were assisted by scores of volunteers, who were cheerful and serviceful and helped create an event that will be remembered by many. I got to fold programs before the event with this fun group and had a great time.
The day before this big event there was a tea at a local hotel hosted by members of Ananda LA, it was a delightful gathering of people. We were treated to some delicious tea sandwiches and amazing little tarts and a selection of tea. Sean and Brook talked about the work happening in LA and introduced the team of teachers who will be coming to Southern California.
Asha gave a wonderful talk about Swami Kriyananda and this new phase of Ananda’s outreach. Very exciting!
There was music from the choir and the yet to be named quartet of singers who will be moving to Los Angeles to help with the work there. Ramesha, Peter, Bhagavati and Laurie will spread Master’s love through song. For being a newly formed group, they sound wonderful together.
Again, many people were involved in making this special day happen.
Many lovely people stayed and visited and I especially enjoyed connecting with friends from the LA area again.
There was lots of laughter!
I want to thank all the great souls in Southern California, especially Brook and Sean who hosted this great weekend. We felt supported and uplifted by your work and we are thrilled for you all and the next phase of the work there.
And especially, thank you to Swami Kriyananda, who has given his life to spreading the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. His has been a guiding light to so many.
And now that Swami Kriyananda is now in residence in LA and a small army of amazing teachers and singers are on their way to making LA their home the work of spreading Yogananda’s teachings is going to be very exciting indeed!
What an incredible week we had! Here are some recordings from our concert last Monday night:
Salute The Great Paper Flag (Swami’s one political song!)
Here is a beautiful instrumental, Love Is the Aspiration Toward Perfection played by Craig Roberts, Bhagavati, myself, Todd Billingsley, and Mukti Deranja.
And another, Friendship Is Acting In Freedom, featuring Dharmini Iyer and Bhagavati on flute, Cindy Gottfried on guitar.
Another highlight of the evening was the performance of the Life Is the Quest for Joy Suite, with solos by Paean Lee and Ben Skillman. Here is an excerpt of the last 5 minutes:
And finally, a beautiful performance of Life Is a Dream, featuring Ramesha Nani and Parkle Lee:
My heartfelt thanks to all the musicians and singers who made this wonderful evening possible, and of course, to dear Swamiji, without whom none of this would have been possible!
CDs of the concert are available upon request - music@ananda.org
Its hard to believe how quickly time has past. It is already Spiritual Renewal Week 2010, one of the highlights of the year at Ananda. The Village is bursting at the seams with guests, the hustle and bustle of event planning and the high energy that happens when spiritual friends from the world over gather together to recommit their lives to finding God. Some people will tune in via the internet, others are here in body, but all of us are together in spirit.
Swami Kriyananda spoke yesterday which is uploaded and should be on ananda.org very soon. I couldn’t help but to share this photo of Mukunda, the cat, on stage with Swamiji during his talk.
Swamiji sang three songs this evening, to open the concert, but wasn’t able to stay for the whole evening. However, I think everyone there was deeply grateful for his blissful presence.
He sang a humorous song accompanied by a group of talented singers, who made us laugh with their antics. He also sang Life Flows on Like a River, and Love is a Magician, both with deep feeling. The remainder of the concert was also blissful.
The youth orchestra played Life is the Quest for Joy.
It was absolutely beautiful. Such talent and devotion was channeled through them that I am sure everyone, like me, was in awe.
Thank you to all the singers, too.
Swamiji will also be speaking Friday and giving Sunday Service. While his body is often weak, his spirit is strong and it seems every time he speaks a great power moves through him. He will be attending some of our other favorite events: The Peace Treaty performance, and the Indian banquet. Lets all pray that his health allows him to participate fully, he has said on many occasions that he can feel the loving prayers we offer to him.
This week will be jammed packed with activities! And I will try to keep the photos coming! SRW began for some of us with either planning, hosting or cooking for the Crystal Clarity Publisher fundraiser dinner held at Crystal Hermitage.
I was there to record the event and was again so impressed with the creativity of my fellow gurubhais. The delicious and beautiful food, well-tended and well-loved gardens, the gorgeous table settings, the beautiful music, and the joyful helpers created an evening of enchantment to thank the generous supporters of Crystal Clarity. Swamiji spoke at two different points in the evening once sharing what it was like to live with Yogananda.
At the end of the evening he shared with delight, his new book, The Time Tunnel. Which is a charming, but deep and instructive book he wrote for children of all ages. I am sure we all will be hearing about it during this week.
This is the tent set up at the amphitheater for Spanish translation!
There is a lovely group of spanish speaking pilgrims visiting for the week. It is wonderful to visit with all our new and old friends and to share with all of you!
Bless you all! There will be more to come! Love, Barbara
Once we are sincerely seeking God, and the longing for truth becomes stronger than the call of the material world, God sends a guru. When we feel that we can give our life to the spiritual path and the guidance of the guru, we become a disciple. When we become a disciple, life may change in profound ways, but it doesn’t go away. Life is still there, in all its glorious complexities, and we still have to engage in it. The challenge of discipleship is not doing what the guru asks of us, it is doing what the guru asks, EVERY DAY. The challenge is living our discipleship.
Ananda Village offers a month-long course called Living Discipleship, and I had the extreme privilege of participating with eight remarkable souls from Portland and other Ananda communities. The program is required for those who plan to be residents and encouraged for all kriyaban disciples. We took the good – natured teasing about being live disciples and the inevitable comments about the alternative: dead disciples. But we all knew it was the verb we were there to focus on – living and applying discipleship to every part of life.
Meditation Retreat Temple
The course takes place (for now – things are always changing at Ananda) at the Ananda Meditation Retreat, away from the busier scene of Ananda Village. The setting is remote, quiet, beautiful, inspiring, and nurturing to the sensitive inner searching that the program is designed to encourage. (If you have an opportunity to visit the area, make the extra effort to see the Meditation Retreat, located about 6 miles from Ananda Village.)
The program is full – it is not a slow paced, quiet retreat from the world. You commit to being away from your “normal” outer life patterns, to enable a deep focus on the inner life patterns that are needed for discipleship. Much like turning off the car radio helps you focus on finding an unfamiliar address on a dark road; turning down the input from outer demands frees energy that is not usually available – so a larger commitment can be made to the work at hand.
Praying at the altar
The work we engaged in was to joyfully use the tools and techniques the guru has given us for Self-Realization. We had classes on the four techniques taught by Paramhansa Yogananda: Energization, Hong-Sau, Aum and Kriya, all taught by long-time devotees whose lives are examples of discipleship in the deepest form. Kriya is required for the course – we were all familiar with the techniques. But this was detailed review and group practice; a rare opportunity for busy disciples who are constantly engaged in the demands of life.
We also went deeply into various aspects of yoga we can use to awaken devotion, expand awareness, focus energy, and purify consciousness. All those things we know, as disciples, that we should be doing regularly but often barter away in the market of worldly demands. So we had long sessions of hatha yoga postures and discussions about attunement and renunciation. We studied the Festival of Light (a ceremony performed every week at Ananda Sunday Services), and we explored the attitudes that can get us into trouble or bring us closer to freedom on the spiritual path.
Retreat gardens
We chanted and did healing prayers with the great enthusiasm and joy that comes when you really commit time and energy to doing it. And we served; giving our energy into the infinite flow of divine energy that makes Ananda possible.
We had the opportunity to hear about the work Ananda does worldwide, the karmic lessons learned from 12 years of legal battle, and the financial workings of an ever expanding spiritual work. These classes were joyful and inspiring as well – far beyond what you might expect of “nuts and bolts” topics. But the question, “How does all this really work?” is a normal and expected one. Living discipleship means having a daily, practical understanding, not just an airy fairy hope that all will work out in the end.
Garden shrine… one of many!
And then (yes, there is more!) we had 4 ½ days of group seclusion. Due to the festivities of the Fourth of July weekend, our seclusion was shortened a bit. You may conclude that the seclusion was a reward, after a demanding, and somewhat exhausting, 2 weeks. I have to say it felt a bit like that to me, too. But seclusion is how we make the outward lessons become inner reality.
Majestic view from Retreat grounds
The true work of discipleship is inward – the outward struggles are really not all that important in the larger picture. The purpose of studying and learning the teachings of Self-Realization is to take that understanding within. As disciples, we have asked our guru to help us – not to understand and be able talk about everything in great detail, but to actually become Self-Realized and completely free from delusion.
So seclusion is a break from outward activity, but it isn’t a break from the work our guru has charged us to do. Our seclusion in the program included group meditations and group meals, but we had several hours during the day to use as we felt inspired. And we were in silence – blessed, sweet, grace-filled silence. Paramhansa Yogananda said, “The Lord comes not in outward noise, nor when the mind is agitated, but in inner silence. His very being is silence. In silence He speaks to the soul.”
When I’m asked if the Living Discipleship program was “fun”, I’m caught. I can’t say it was fun, like swimming in a cool river on a hot day is fun. The inner realities I struggle with, after almost 30 years of discipleship, are not minor battles – they are intense and messy. My spiritual muscles got a workout! But the memories of the time in the Living Discipleship program are also filled with laughter, friendship, joyful, intimate communion with my guru, and deep gratitude for the gifts we have been given on this path.
Entrance to the Meditation Retreat
I encourage you to look at the Living Discipleship program if you are a kriyaban and serious about moving forward in your spiritual growth. Mangala heroically coordinates the program and would be happy to answer your questions. Write to her at Mangala@expandinglight.org.
My apologies for the long post. Next time it will be short and sweet.
In divine friendship,
Lorna
The following is the second half of a two part interview with Dr. Aditya Gait, a resident medical doctor and member of Ananda’s Kriya Yoga Community in the countryside outside of Pune, India. Dr. Aditya is also a Brahmachari member of the Ananda Renunciate Order.
Aditya and a fellow monk with Swami Kriyananda
Jaya: There are good hospitals in both Pune and in Lavasa, but what sort of medical facilities are in the neighborhood of Ananda? Are there clinics nearby?
Aditya: There are small clinics in Pirangut, about 17 kilometers away, but they are quite expensive for the villagers and not at all up to the mark. Few doctors are available and they often give incomplete treatment. Two government dispensaries are in the area where we are staying but the villagers aren’t happy with their service and, again, the medicines are expensive.
I’m getting my medicines from a company in Gujarat that was started by a group who is consciously keeping prices low. Their medicines are at par with any drug company in the world but at only around one tenth the cost. I’m also trying to keep my consultation fees affordable for the villagers. They are twenty rupees only.
Jaya: What sort of medical problems do you typically see in Watunde? What is the greatest need, locally?
Aditya: What you see mostly are the basic seasonal illnesses, asthma, and injuries. 60-70% of the ladies are deficient in iron and have anemia which leads to fatigue and pregnancy complications. Alcoholism is a problem but it takes time to gain people’s trust before it can be addressed. Malnutrition is not so common in the village but the tribal people who stay on the hilltop, some of them are malnourished.
In the long run, what will help most is better health education and reinforcement of things they already know but lack the initiative to do, such as better ways to cook food and how to grow healthier crops. They grow sugarcane as a cash crop but don’t grow spinach or other leafy, green vegetables. All of the villagers have cows but they don’t drink that milk. They sell it. We need to teach better hygiene also. The villagers know these things but are not putting them into practice.
Jaya: Who typically comes to you now for medical attention?
Aditya: The people who now come are from the local villages (Watunde, Borde and Kharawade) and from the tribal village on the hilltop. The local village population is around thirteen hundred but only three to four hundred are staying at any one time. On any given day, eight to ten are ill. Last year I had medical camps in two nearby villages and got a very good response.
I’m sure if we build a real clinic with local people involved, I can reach maybe ten to fifteen villages in the vicinity. Almost all the villagers now have to go to Pirangut and that can be expensive for them.
Jaya: Because you didn’t finish your residency, is there a problem with you operating a clinic and practicing medicine?
Aditya: I can serve as a General Practitioner but not as a Surgeon, but even as that, there are many surgical procedures I can do, especially in a life threatening situation or when in remote areas. When there is no one else to help, you have to do it. I do need a license to run a clinic and since I will also be the lab technician, I need a license for that too and in India, a special license is needed to run a chemist shop. Doctors don’t usually run chemist shops so I will need to explain the situation to see if they can give me that license. Those three things I need before I can run this clinic.
Jaya: Because you are not from this area, have you been well received?
Aditya: Yes. I had that doubt too at first, but the villagers are happy. They see me as an outsider but when they also see that I am here to help them and my prices are very competitive, it immediately breaks that barrier. Being from an ashram also helps because they feel we are service oriented.
Watunde Village
You have to be absolutely selfless when serving in this way. There has to be no expectation that people should respect you because you are a doctor. In one of my rural clinics, someone came up to me and asked, “Where is your certificate? Where are you from? Why are you here? How much do you charge?” He was trying to intimidate me but in the end he shook my hand.
I was prepared for such things because I know that I am not from this part of the country. If you are absorbed in giving, you won’t have these problems. If you have expectations, things may go well for awhile but when something bad happens you will feel discouraged. You need patience. It takes time to build something and it takes time to build trust, but I could feel from day one that this is the right thing to do.
I’m learning to speak Marathi now which I only understood before but could not speak. Hopefully, by the time the clinic starts, I’ll at least be able to converse with the patients.
Jaya: What comes next? What is your plan?
Aditya: If we can provide basic care and provide for some emergencies, I think that is what is needed now. With the container now here, setting it up is the next thing. Maybe in a few months we can have a lab for basic investigations and a place where people can come for urine and blood tests. I’d like a small procedure room and at the very least, a supply of medicines. I already have a basic surgical kit. Also, once we have a space, maybe visiting doctors can come.
Soon, we’ll run an electric wire from the community to the clinic and we are expecting solar panels from the USA. As you can see, we have a lot of space and there are no trees around the container so we can put up those panels to provide electricity for when the regular power goes out. A water tank and a composting toilet are also in the plan. Already we are planting a small garden.
Jaya: That’s pretty ambitious. How are you able to fund it all?
Aditya: Up to now, it has been through donations, mostly from devotees in Pune. We have sent out mail seeking help in whatever form someone wants to offer it and have had a few replies. One devotee from America contributed a lot of surgical instruments, exactly the thing I needed.
I have kept prices very low, almost negligible, because I first must build a trust relationship with the local villagers. It isn’t my intention to make the clinic a profit-making business but I would like to see it grow and be financially stable to better serve people. Perhaps one day we can put it on enough of a healthy footing to attract more doctors and devotees who are in the healing professions.
In Maharasthra, we have the most health related NGO’s in rural areas in India, so a lot of doctors are service oriented in this part of the country. Many doctors want to serve but they find it difficult to take that initial step. I’ve also met doctors who are very keen on moving to our community but I can understand why, with families, they cannot abruptly leave everything to come here. I have to get things started first.
Jaya: At the moment, what is your biggest need?
Aditya: Honestly, for now, I need money to get set up and started, to buy the medicines, and to bring in electricity, waterlines and utilities. Today we have one container, but in time and with peoples’ help, we could have a permanent building where specialists could sit. I don’t see why people someday would not come from Pirangut or even Lavasa to get treatment here because it would be holistic and nice.
(Watunde Village is located at the base of the big hill in the background of the photo above. See the same hill in the previous village photo. The Ananda community is 50 meters behind the photographer.)
Jaya: What additional community projects are you working on, other than the clinic?
Aditya: A lot has happened in the last one and a half years. At the monastery right now, we are putting up solar panels so as to have electricity and, later on, for the clinic. Also, we are trying to get a solar pump ready to bring water up and are making a composting toilet and a shower house. We just finished our meditation space. Initially, I was working in the garden and was buying supplies in the city one day each week for the community kitchen but now others have taken over those tasks.
Jaya: What does your family think of all this?
Aditya: They would be very happy if I came back home because my father has a clinic and he would be interested in having me help. They think I am just serving the rural areas and say, “Why don’t you see patients in the rural area over here?” But my aim is to serve Master’s work more than anything else. To be a channel in whatever way I can is the reason I am at Ananda. My mom is happy as she knows I am doing something good but my poor father doesn’t understand it at all. I love them and pray for them. I know Master will take of our souls.
The famous blue container!
Jaya: What has been your greatest gain in this project?
Aditya: The immense satisfaction of serving: serving my guru, serving the local villagers, serving the ashram. Building a community and doing something for others to follow has brought me great satisfaction and contentment.
When Swamiji asked, “What do you think of a rural clinic?” I realized he didn’t want me to cut myself off from medicine. He was happy I had taken up this path but he also wanted me to serve. I’m happy to do so because I never disliked what I was doing before. It’s just that I like what I am doing now so much more. Swamiji asked me to do this thing and I know things will work out. This container seems so empty today but I have a strong belief that it is just the beginning for something much, much more.
Editor’s note: If you would like to contribute to the clinic project in Watunde Village, please write to us at our regular contact information. We can put you in touch with Dr. Aditya, explain his needs, and clarify the options available to you.
Aditya Gait is a member of Ananda Sangha helping to build a “Kriya Yoga Community” in the countryside outside of Pune, India.
He trained as a medical doctor before joining Ananda and is now beginning a medical clinic to serve the needs of local villagers and community members.
Aditya is a brahmachari member of the Ananda Renunciate Order and, in addition to his medical service, is actively engaged in the development of Ananda’s retreat and residential community.
The following is Part One of a two part interview conducted with Aditya in early July, 2010. He had recently purchased a shipping container from Mumbai and had placed it on a small parcel of land adjacent to our community with the intention of converting it into a small clinic.
In this first part of the interview, Aditya tells of his early interest in medicine and of his coming to Ananda. In the second part, he will speak of his plans for the clinic.
Jaya: For the past year, you have been working as a medical doctor with local villagers, traveling here and there to see patients. I see you have now bought a shipping container with plans to convert it into a small medical clinic. How is it going?
Aditya: Swamiji has asked me that exact same question, at least seven or eight times, since we first came to Pune. It’s practically his first question whenever he sees me.
I’ve been answering, “It’s going well,” but when he last came, I told him, “Swamiji, so many things are going on. I’m unable to focus all my attention on the clinic though I have been seeing patients.”
He said, “I understand, but it would be nice if you can do something with the clinic which at the same time does not take all your time.”
Jaya: Have you always wanted to be a doctor?
Aditya: Yes. I was always interested in general medicine but never in surgery.
After my internship, I applied for residency training at a hospital in New Delhi known for its program in community medicine. They told me, “Those seats are full, but we have one seat in rural surgery.”
It was a pilot program combining general surgery, orthopedics, obstetrics, and all of the surgical things needed by a rural doctor. I had never been particularly attracted to specializing in those subjects but when they put that tag “rural” in front of it, I was interested.
My sister is a psychiatrist and my father is a military physician and I thought, “I will be the surgeon,” and we could all serve together.
Jaya: What was it about rural medicine that attracted you?
Aditya: When in medical school in Pune, I was aiming to be an oncologist or a neurologist, but when I went for my internship in New Delhi, I saw that most of my patients had come from the rural areas. That made me ponder, “Why are so many people coming from the rural areas? Instead, we should be going there.”
When someone was ill, the whole family would have to come into the city, often causing major complications because of the delay. I soon realized what was required and decided to serve in the rural areas. That didn’t go down well with my family but I was very content inside because I knew that if I was to serve as a doctor, this was the way it had to be.
Jaya: Did you enjoy your service as a doctor as you had expected?
Aditya: Yes, but when I saw patients I would think, “Why is this happening to them?” I would see people with chronic illnesses which had no cure and I would ponder about why it was so. In pediatric surgery, I saw small babies being operated upon and wondered, “Why is this happening to them?” It was hard to understand. You know, such difficult things are equally bad news for a doctor as for a patient.
I thought about karma and why things happen, but I couldn’t explain this to my patients in a way that would help them. Very few were receptive and once they are physically well, patients don’t come back. I found that disappointing because I wanted to give them so much more. Some days I was happy and some days wasn’t when unable to save somebody. Things eventually came to a point where I couldn’t go on like that.
All the while, I was desperately asking God for help and I eventually came to realize I needed to learn higher things than what I was then studying. I believed in prayer but I just didn’t know how it worked. I believed also in miracles like we read about in the lives of saints and I thought it would be good to learn those things too. But, who do you learn it from?
It was then that I read Autobiography of a Yogi. It answered almost all my questions. I was very certain Yogananda had been with me before. When he spoke of reincarnation, I thought, “He has been my guru!” From then on, I was always questioning and asking, “What does he want from me?”
Jaya: Is that when you came to know about Ananda?
Aditya: I came to know of Ananda just before starting my residency, and wrote a letter to Swamiji, telling him I was a doctor, of my interest in serving people and that I wanted to learn Kriya Yoga. I asked him to please tell me what I can do. I left my phone number and email address but didn’t hear back. When his reply didn’t come, I thought, “Master wants me to continue in medicine.” I thought this because I got my residency seat at the hospital under very miraculous conditions, I must say.
My application was already five months late and the seat was available only because somebody else had become ill and had left it. I was told, “Be at the hospital at nine o’clock in the morning and the head of the department will interview you.”
The next day, on my way to the hospital, I was entering the Delhi Metro when a beggar called out to me. I had only ten minutes but I thought I could give him two, so I said, “What’s your problem?” I could see he had rashes all over his hands and he was blind. He said, “Can you please tell me where the President of India sits? I have to meet him.”
This was a surprising question but I could see he was completely stable and not insane. I said, “That’s a very unusual request. How are you going to meet him?”
The fellow said, “He told me I can come see him at any time,” and he pulled out of his pocket a picture. There was the President Mr. Kalam, with that beggar! He had met him in Lucknow and the President had told him to come see him if he had any problem.
I asked him what his problem was and he said he needed Rs.2500 because he had been ill and spent everything he had on the clinic and private hospitals. “I don’t have money. I have not eaten for two days and my family has not eaten, so today if he can give me some money, I can go back home.”
His request was so simple. He would ask the President to give him some money.
That was the ninth day of Ram Nomi, so everything was closed. I thought, “If I leave him like this he will definitely not reach anywhere. Because I’m educated and a doctor, maybe the guards would let me get near the President’s office.”
Only the day before I had been reading in Swamiji’s book, The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, the passage where Krishna says to Arjuna, “Oh Arjuna, as long as you think you can plan this and manage that, I will watch. But the day you offer your life completely to Me, I will take complete charge of it.”
I was so thrilled when I read that line, and I was thinking how nice it would be if God takes all charge. So, I said to God, “I’m taking this course for You and I want to help this man for You. Because You have put him in front of me, You must take care of my interview. I’m going with him.”
So I went with the beggar, and it was a very long day. At the President’s office we had problems and didn’t meet Mr. Kalam. Then I took him to an NGO but they could not help. I took him to a charitable person who also could not help. In the end, I had to pay him what money I had. He needed Rs.2500 and I had only Rs.1600, so I gave him that much.
It was 3:30 in the afternoon when I left him, and by then I was wondering about that hospital interview I’d missed. I thought, “Let me go and check.”
I reached the hospital and knocked at that surgeon’s office but nobody answered. I peeped in and his secretary was sitting there. “Mam, is Dr. Khanduri there?” “Please wait,” she said.
I was sitting outside and eventually saw him coming along the corridor. I thought he might scold me as I stood to meet him.
I said, “Sir, I am Aditya. You asked me to come for the interview today.” “Oh my God!” he said, “I’m so sorry. I made you wait so long!” He hadn’t come to the hospital the whole day!
I didn’t want to tell him the whole story so I just said, “It’s fine, sir.”
He said, “I had to interview you. Anyway, you know what? You are the only person.” He asked for my mobile and called someone, “This is the only guy and he wants the seat.” I was through.
So the seat at the hospital was a precious gift and I didn’t want to leave it. I thought, “I should become a doctor. Maybe it’s not my good karma to meditate in this life,” but finally, things came to a point where I knew I wanted to heal people, but not in that way.
Jaya: Eventually, you decided to come to Ananda.
Aditya: Yes, I finished one month short of two years in the residency program and then I came to the ashram. Obviously, my friends and family were not happy with me. They said, “It’s just one more year,” but I knew I had to come.
Swamiji met me and said, “Do you have any questions?” I said, “No.” And he said, “Are you sure?” and I said “Yes.” And he said “Sure?” I thought, “There must be something,” and said, “Swamiji, I had this question a few days back when I was doing my residency. Everything was good. My teachers were good. My college was good. I was happy but I just felt it was incomplete so I came to seek God.” And he said, “Man’s highest responsibility is to find God and I think you have done the right thing by coming here.”
Ananda Community near Pune
I was so relieved, but the very next thing he said to me was, “What do you think of a rural clinic?” I had given up my stethoscope, my books, everything, but I said, “OK.”
So this blue container is the result of all those things. I want to fill it back up with books and a stethoscope.
Again, many people were involved in making this special day happen.
