Spiritual gift

For the sake of privacy the names of characters and place are changed } Parents who harbor a dream for their children’s destiny pass every hurdle to draw a beautiful canvas for them. It is like a gift from heaven for the children. Sometimes our children gift us with their innocent but remarkable ideas and thoughts which metamorphosises our life.

Here is a true story about a spiritual gift which a tiny little girl made an impact and changed doctor Anuja’s life.parents as well as teachers are the first role models of these young ones.They can gift them with good values and beliefs to make them a nice human.

This is a real story. Someone narrated this true story and as an inspiration I have decided to pen it down for my blog. I have changed the name places to maintain privacy. It happened to me on Jan 1st 2009, I was in Chandigarh. The incident really touched me. I hope it would touch your heart, as well. On New Year’s Day I was there with a cardiac surgeon in Chandigarh, Anuja Singh, a very famous heart specialist. One could not get an appointment with her for at least a month.

Once I went to see Anuja on the New Year eve and both of us were sitting in a hotel’s corridor for a dinner. She told me an incident happened that changed her. Believe me she is not an emotional person but she was in tears. She narrated me this story. “In last December a couple walked into her office with a small child, a six year old girl and the clinical file was given to the doctors. The junior doctors made a report and it was sent to Dr Anuja. Her heart had a problem. The moment Anuja looked into the file she made out that it was a bad case. Total clogging. Nothing could be done. She explained it to the parents and said, “Sir, the situation is quite bad. There is only a 30% chance of survival and that too if the operation is done immediately because it’s too late and if you are not going for operation the child may not survive for more than 3 months. These are the two options we have.” The parents cried their heart out and said, “Madam, we will take the chance.” Pray to God that the 30% will help us and bless us and the child would survive. The child was admitted to the hospital, and the date of the surgery was fixed. 6 days before the operation the child was admitted to the ward to prepare the child for various tests. The mother stayed with the child accompanying her.

Every day in the evening, the mother would say a prayer and make the child also pray. She would put bibhuti in her forehead and say to her “Pray to God! God will bless you! God is in your heart!” The day of the surgery came, all the doctors were there and Dr Anuja came in wearing her green sterilised coat, cap and gloves. She came inside the OT and everything was ready. She saw the 6 year old lying on operation table. Somewhere in her heart it pinched her. Though she was not emotional but she thought that the child is alive now but by the end of the operation she may not be there. The success rate was small, in fact very small. She came and just patted her on the back. “Don’t worry my child! You will be alright!” The child looked up and said, “I am not worried doctor aunty, but I have a question to ask.” Dr Anuja asked, “What question do you have,my child?” The child said that, “Doctor Aunty, everybody is telling me that I have to undergo open heart surgery. Are you going to open my heart, Aunty? Does it mean you will open my heart completely?” Dr Anuja was stunned and didn’t know how to respond.”Don’t worry child, you will never feel the pain. I will try my best. I will give medicine.” The child replied, “Aunty, I am not worrying. My question still remains, will you open my heart completely? Because my mother keeps telling me every time that God resides in the heart. When you open the heart, kindly see whether there is God inside my heart. If He is there, see him and when I am alright tell me how he looks like!” Dr Anuja was befuddled. She said”OK! Ok!” She didn’t know how to respond to the child.

The operation started. Forty five minutes into the operation, not even a drop of blood was coming into the heart. The pulse rate came down, the BP came down and Anuja felt that the child will not survive. The heart machine was on. The team was disappointed. Anuja told the junior doctor, “Come on, and stitch it up! It’s over. Nothing will happen. Switch off. Sorry we could not save the child.”

As she was saying this, suddenly, the child’s words started hitting her. The child had said when you open the heart please see if God is there. Dr Anuja ‘s hand were soaked in blood and suddenly the child’s word came to her mind. She folded her hands there and said God all my knowledge, all my experience skill has come to a naught now. This child and her mother believe that you are in the heart there. If you are there, please save the child. She turned around and told the nurse, “Come on take my spectacle. I can’t see anything.” Dr Anuja was crying. The nurse pulled out her spectacles. At that the doctor next to him elbowed her and said, “Blood is coming into the heart now!” Dr Anuja didn’t believe in miracles. Some physical phenomena must have happened. She immediately put her gloves and for another 4 and half hours she did the operation. “Put the machine on, don’t stop it, and just push it on.” The surgery was successful. The child’s heart was clean now. She can survive long, perhaps even 60 years. She was happy. Still she worried that when the child will be okay and she will ask me did you see the god. “How is he?” What would I tell her? But at least she said, “My Child! Don’t make n effort to see God. God is not seen, but God is experienced,feel him.Help others and this will make him happy and you will be more closer to him.”

This incident changed Dr Anuja. Now she had put a photograph of God in the operation theatre. Earlier she was so confident of her skills and knowledge, but now before operation, she stood in front of the photograph and say, I am a small person, whatever skills and experience I have tried but I need your blessings.

This is most important thing she learned in her career of 40 yrs and that too she learned it from a little girl that she may have opened thousand of hearts but this incident opened her own heart. She may give the credit of her success to all patients but this little girl taught her what’s important is that what one believes one can do.

At the age of 70, Dr Anuja said, “I became cultured now. And this child made me cultured. How the child got this idea that the God resides in her heart? Perhaps because her mother said so.”

Good parental support helps child to be positive, healthy and good life long learner. Children acquire skills at the very early stage of their life if the parents are responsive and understanding.

Major challenges for parents and facilitators are to nurture children’s learning and give them various experiences to face this challenging world. They mold the child to be a responsible and independent learner. Facilitator is the first person from whom child learns his social skills in school.They make children comfortable and guide them the early concepts and developmental skills of life. Open minded , well balanced and a planned facilitator has a great power to bring a positive change in the child’s development. As the child grows and develops mastery in different skills, facilitator becomes a real guide in nurturing child’s interest and learning to make them more independent.

So, as this girl of 6 yrs old changed Dr.Anuja life with her mother’s teachings and way of handling her there may be thousands of such children waiting for right path only we parents and facilitators can mould them into right path and guide their life.

Parents and facilitators are such a tremendous responsibility. Not just simply saying children going away from culture. Don’t stand like an umpire and say, “boys go out” but you should see that they do not get out. As facilitator and parents it’s our job to the cultured is followed in our actions. Money is not everything that we give to the child and forget but it’s our responsibility to cultivate culture and wisdom in child. They are clay and if moulded properly they will become our future citizen of our country. So, believe in child and believe in God, Let’s join our hand for better future.