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Magazine - Year 2018 - Version 2
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Language: ENGLISH
Language: ENGLISH
Akhand Jyoti’ Begins Its Journey – 4
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Akhand Jyoti’ Begins Its Journey – 4
Nursing and Study After coming to Mathura, Shriram’s time was consumed mostly in managing the publication of ‘Akhand Jyoti’ and meeting the visitors. There was hardly any time left for the family. There was heavy work load on wife, Saraswati Devi, too. She was a traditional housewife. She hardly went out of the house.
All the time, she was busy in her household chores and in arranging water, milk, lassi, etc for the visitors. She was getting tired with increased responsibilities and the unaccustomed ambience of the new place. Realizing her need for some rest in between daily chores, Shriram started sharing her work. In order to prevent Shriram from sharing her work, Saraswati Devi would continue working even when she needed rest.
In the meantime she got infected with the recurring bouts of cough. The cough was very severe. Shriram, realizing the need for her treatment, stopped everything and focused on her illness; he also kept a servant for house-hold chores. When the physician was consulted, it was diagnosed that her lungs were infected with tuberculosis. It was advised that she be admitted to hospital for treatment. At that time, there was no facility in Mathura for treatment of TB. But soon it was found that there was one good medical center in the nearby town of ‘Hathras’.
There were some relatives there, from whom some help could be expected. So in three-four days, Shriram made an arrangement to go to Hathras. Children were left with Taiji in Mathura. He himself took his wife to Hathras for treatment. The treatment continued for nearly two months. They had to stay in the hospital for fifteen days. For the rest of the time, they had to visit the hospital in Hathras frequently. For whatever period, she was admitted in the hospital, Shriram was with her for almost all the time. He would go early in the morning and would remain by the bedside of his wife till late night. There was no space for a second person to stay there at night. So, at night, he used to stay with one of his relatives. The daily routine was fixed right on the first day. The bedridden wife, even in the hospital, was hesitant to take the services of Shriram.
Shriram dispelled her hesitation by saying that the patient should follow the regimen prescribed by the doctor and the person who was attending to her. Ultimately she agreed. After that, Shriram would administer medicines himself, give her proper meals, change her clothes daily and get them washed. If some day washerman was not available, he would himself wash her clothes. In spite of devoting himself fully to the nursing of his wife, Shriram was left with plenty of time. What to do in the spare time? After inquiring, it was found that there were two good libraries in the Tehsil. As soon as he got free time, he went to the Panchayat’s library, became its member and got issued some books. He would sit by the bedside of his wife. She would sleep and he would read books. He would stop reading when she was awake or when there was time for giving her the dose of medicines.
When she was awake, he would talk to her. When she would get tired, he would again start reading. He also used to take notes while studying those books. In fifteen days, he read almost all important books of both the libraries. There were more than two thousand books in both the libraries. After fifteen days, Saraswati Devi was relieved from the hospital. She was given sufficient medicines and was told about the precautions to be taken. They went back home. Shriram took great care of her health till she was fully recovered.
It took about one year when she again took over the charge of her house-hold work. Strange Objection After sometime, Shriram hired another room in the same lane called ‘Ballabhram ki gali’. This room was like a shop. There were big doors opening towards the roadside. He was planning to start an Ayurvedic dispensary in that room. Long back he had done practice of herbal medicines in Aanwalkheda too. When the neighbors came to know about his plan, they started opposing him. The reason was that on the way from Holy Gate to Dwarkadhish temple, there were three Ayurvedic dispensaries. Out of them two Vaidyas (Ayurvedic experts / physicians) were staying in the nearby lanes. In fact the opposition to Shriram’s resolve started from these families. Later on, other people of the area also started opposing. Shriram told those people, “I am starting this dispensary for the service of the ailing people. This is not for earning money or for competing with other dispensaries.” This was also a fact. Indeed, neither Shriram had done any course / training in Ayurveda nor was there any one in the family who knew about health sciences. The idea was to heal minor ailments using herbs. When the neighbors resisted Shriram’s plan, he tried to convince every one but they remained adamant. A message came from the families of Vaidyas that they would cooperate with Shriram, if he did some other business; but he must not open a dispensary. Every time it was made clear that he only wanted to help the poor in curing minor ailments and did not want anything in return; and that he would not treat any serious diseases; and that such patients would obviously go to reputed hospitals. This clarification was also not readily acceptable to any one. Vaidyaji met Taiji One day Vaidya Bhagwandas came early in the morning to Shriram’s residence. At that time he was engaged in Upasana (worship). He waited in the sitting room till the Upasana was complete. Taiji asked about his wellbeing. He told the aim of his visit and said that she should prevent his son from opening up a dispensary. Otherwise he (Vaidyaji) would be in great trouble. Taiji said – “Vaidyaji why are you worrying? Shriram doesn’t know even how to feel the pulse of a patient. He gives medicines only for simple ailments like cold-cough, boils-sores, stomach ache, etc. In fact, he tries to cure the patients through home remedies. Therefore, your business will not be affected.” Bhagwandas said - “Behanji (sister)! You don’t know. I know that Shriram’s hands are miraculous. By virtue of the punya that he has earned by chanting mantras, even if he gives soil to the patient, he will be cured.” Taiji said – “Then what do you want? Should the patient not be cured?” Bhagwandas said – “Certainly, they should Behanji! Your son should give blessings to the people but should not attempt any medical treatment.” When this talk was going on Shriram also came in that room after completing his Upasana. He had heard a few sentences of Vaidyaji. As a reply to him, Shriram said –“Vaidyaji! There is no miracle in my hands. Even if they have a miraculous healing power, I will not use it to cure patients. Please don’t worry. Another thing; come what may, I am not going to change my decision. When I have resolved to serve the patients, I will abide by it. However, I promise that if I see the symptoms of some serious disease in any patient, I will send him to your dispensary. I will not allow him to sit idle without any medication.” Even this promise could not satisfy Bhagwandas; so looking at Taiji, Shriram said – “OK, we will change this place, but allow me to serve for three months. After that, due to the change of place your words will be kept and the people will also not get the opportunity to say that you didn’t allow a poor Brahman to stay here.” Saying this Shriram laughed. Bhagwandas too started laughing. It appeared as if in that laughter, the knots of his mind opened. After three months, as he promised to Vaidya Bhagwandas, Shriram left that house. He hired another house near Chauk. This house was about 500 meters from Ghiya Mandi (where these days the office of Akhand Jyoti is located). The house was near the bank of Yamuna. One could easily see the flow of the river from its rooftop. Taiji liked it. Yamunaji and the temple of her favorite deity Dwarkadhish were very near. But soon this house appeared to be small as the readers of Akhand Jyoti started visiting very often. ‘Gayatri Arogya Kendra’ was also expanded. Eight to ten patients suffering from cold, cough, fever, etc started coming daily. Saraswati Devi Passes Away In May 1942, the family was struck with a heavy blow. Saraswati Devi suddenly fell sick. After the treatment in Hathras, she was quite healthy. There was no complaint of any pain, etc. She used to share all the tasks, from crushing the herbs for yagya and medicines to making the packets of Akhand Jyoti and labeling them. That day also she did everything. In the afternoon, there was slight pain in the abdomen, but the condition was not serious. By nature, she believed in natural healing; so she didn’t discuss with anyone. After two days the pain increased. Even then she didn’t tell. But Shriram noticed it from the expression of her face and behaviour. At that time also she refused to take any medicines. In the afternoon her condition deteriorated. The children were silently observing their mother moaning with pain. When the condition didn’t improve, Shriram called Vaidya Dhaniram. He was expert in diagnosing the disease simply by feeling the pulse of the patient. People used to say that he could tell the condition of the patient even by feeling the pulse of a person who brought the message. Anyway, Dhaniramji came. He observed the pulse of Saraswati Devi and said – “There is ulcer in her stomach and it may burst any time. Now there is no remedy except praying to God. Start preparing for the final rites.” As soon as Shriram heard these words, he was almost paralyzed. He became speechless. Taiji too was numbed and the condition of the children could be easily guessed. Observing the silence of grief before death in the family, Dhaniramji too got depressed. Shriam held him. He came out of the flood of grief and started taking care of Vaidyaji. Shriram said – “Kavirajji! Please don’t get depressed like this. What will happen to us, if you grieve like this; and look at these children. It will tear their hearts. Please console them.” Saraswatiji got up in the night and said she wants to do pranam to Taiji. Immediately Taiji came in that room. She tried to get up to touch the feet of Taiji, but could not do so. Taiji came nearer. Saraswatiji timidly looked at Taiji and Shriram and said in low voice – “What can I advise you? But I wish to request humbly; please forgive me if there has been any unwitting misconduct on my part.” Saying this she was silent for a moment, as if she was trying to gather courage to say something. After a pause, she said – “The children should not be deprived of motherly love and care. They need it direly.” These were her last words.
Nursing and Study After coming to Mathura, Shriram’s time was consumed mostly in managing the publication of ‘Akhand Jyoti’ and meeting the visitors. There was hardly any time left for the family. There was heavy work load on wife, Saraswati Devi, too. She was a traditional housewife. She hardly went out of the house.
All the time, she was busy in her household chores and in arranging water, milk, lassi, etc for the visitors. She was getting tired with increased responsibilities and the unaccustomed ambience of the new place. Realizing her need for some rest in between daily chores, Shriram started sharing her work. In order to prevent Shriram from sharing her work, Saraswati Devi would continue working even when she needed rest.
In the meantime she got infected with the recurring bouts of cough. The cough was very severe. Shriram, realizing the need for her treatment, stopped everything and focused on her illness; he also kept a servant for house-hold chores. When the physician was consulted, it was diagnosed that her lungs were infected with tuberculosis. It was advised that she be admitted to hospital for treatment. At that time, there was no facility in Mathura for treatment of TB. But soon it was found that there was one good medical center in the nearby town of ‘Hathras’.
There were some relatives there, from whom some help could be expected. So in three-four days, Shriram made an arrangement to go to Hathras. Children were left with Taiji in Mathura. He himself took his wife to Hathras for treatment. The treatment continued for nearly two months. They had to stay in the hospital for fifteen days. For the rest of the time, they had to visit the hospital in Hathras frequently. For whatever period, she was admitted in the hospital, Shriram was with her for almost all the time. He would go early in the morning and would remain by the bedside of his wife till late night. There was no space for a second person to stay there at night. So, at night, he used to stay with one of his relatives. The daily routine was fixed right on the first day. The bedridden wife, even in the hospital, was hesitant to take the services of Shriram.
Shriram dispelled her hesitation by saying that the patient should follow the regimen prescribed by the doctor and the person who was attending to her. Ultimately she agreed. After that, Shriram would administer medicines himself, give her proper meals, change her clothes daily and get them washed. If some day washerman was not available, he would himself wash her clothes. In spite of devoting himself fully to the nursing of his wife, Shriram was left with plenty of time. What to do in the spare time? After inquiring, it was found that there were two good libraries in the Tehsil. As soon as he got free time, he went to the Panchayat’s library, became its member and got issued some books. He would sit by the bedside of his wife. She would sleep and he would read books. He would stop reading when she was awake or when there was time for giving her the dose of medicines.
When she was awake, he would talk to her. When she would get tired, he would again start reading. He also used to take notes while studying those books. In fifteen days, he read almost all important books of both the libraries. There were more than two thousand books in both the libraries. After fifteen days, Saraswati Devi was relieved from the hospital. She was given sufficient medicines and was told about the precautions to be taken. They went back home. Shriram took great care of her health till she was fully recovered.
It took about one year when she again took over the charge of her house-hold work. Strange Objection After sometime, Shriram hired another room in the same lane called ‘Ballabhram ki gali’. This room was like a shop. There were big doors opening towards the roadside. He was planning to start an Ayurvedic dispensary in that room. Long back he had done practice of herbal medicines in Aanwalkheda too. When the neighbors came to know about his plan, they started opposing him. The reason was that on the way from Holy Gate to Dwarkadhish temple, there were three Ayurvedic dispensaries. Out of them two Vaidyas (Ayurvedic experts / physicians) were staying in the nearby lanes. In fact the opposition to Shriram’s resolve started from these families. Later on, other people of the area also started opposing. Shriram told those people, “I am starting this dispensary for the service of the ailing people. This is not for earning money or for competing with other dispensaries.” This was also a fact. Indeed, neither Shriram had done any course / training in Ayurveda nor was there any one in the family who knew about health sciences. The idea was to heal minor ailments using herbs. When the neighbors resisted Shriram’s plan, he tried to convince every one but they remained adamant. A message came from the families of Vaidyas that they would cooperate with Shriram, if he did some other business; but he must not open a dispensary. Every time it was made clear that he only wanted to help the poor in curing minor ailments and did not want anything in return; and that he would not treat any serious diseases; and that such patients would obviously go to reputed hospitals. This clarification was also not readily acceptable to any one. Vaidyaji met Taiji One day Vaidya Bhagwandas came early in the morning to Shriram’s residence. At that time he was engaged in Upasana (worship). He waited in the sitting room till the Upasana was complete. Taiji asked about his wellbeing. He told the aim of his visit and said that she should prevent his son from opening up a dispensary. Otherwise he (Vaidyaji) would be in great trouble. Taiji said – “Vaidyaji why are you worrying? Shriram doesn’t know even how to feel the pulse of a patient. He gives medicines only for simple ailments like cold-cough, boils-sores, stomach ache, etc. In fact, he tries to cure the patients through home remedies. Therefore, your business will not be affected.” Bhagwandas said - “Behanji (sister)! You don’t know. I know that Shriram’s hands are miraculous. By virtue of the punya that he has earned by chanting mantras, even if he gives soil to the patient, he will be cured.” Taiji said – “Then what do you want? Should the patient not be cured?” Bhagwandas said – “Certainly, they should Behanji! Your son should give blessings to the people but should not attempt any medical treatment.” When this talk was going on Shriram also came in that room after completing his Upasana. He had heard a few sentences of Vaidyaji. As a reply to him, Shriram said –“Vaidyaji! There is no miracle in my hands. Even if they have a miraculous healing power, I will not use it to cure patients. Please don’t worry. Another thing; come what may, I am not going to change my decision. When I have resolved to serve the patients, I will abide by it. However, I promise that if I see the symptoms of some serious disease in any patient, I will send him to your dispensary. I will not allow him to sit idle without any medication.” Even this promise could not satisfy Bhagwandas; so looking at Taiji, Shriram said – “OK, we will change this place, but allow me to serve for three months. After that, due to the change of place your words will be kept and the people will also not get the opportunity to say that you didn’t allow a poor Brahman to stay here.” Saying this Shriram laughed. Bhagwandas too started laughing. It appeared as if in that laughter, the knots of his mind opened. After three months, as he promised to Vaidya Bhagwandas, Shriram left that house. He hired another house near Chauk. This house was about 500 meters from Ghiya Mandi (where these days the office of Akhand Jyoti is located). The house was near the bank of Yamuna. One could easily see the flow of the river from its rooftop. Taiji liked it. Yamunaji and the temple of her favorite deity Dwarkadhish were very near. But soon this house appeared to be small as the readers of Akhand Jyoti started visiting very often. ‘Gayatri Arogya Kendra’ was also expanded. Eight to ten patients suffering from cold, cough, fever, etc started coming daily. Saraswati Devi Passes Away In May 1942, the family was struck with a heavy blow. Saraswati Devi suddenly fell sick. After the treatment in Hathras, she was quite healthy. There was no complaint of any pain, etc. She used to share all the tasks, from crushing the herbs for yagya and medicines to making the packets of Akhand Jyoti and labeling them. That day also she did everything. In the afternoon, there was slight pain in the abdomen, but the condition was not serious. By nature, she believed in natural healing; so she didn’t discuss with anyone. After two days the pain increased. Even then she didn’t tell. But Shriram noticed it from the expression of her face and behaviour. At that time also she refused to take any medicines. In the afternoon her condition deteriorated. The children were silently observing their mother moaning with pain. When the condition didn’t improve, Shriram called Vaidya Dhaniram. He was expert in diagnosing the disease simply by feeling the pulse of the patient. People used to say that he could tell the condition of the patient even by feeling the pulse of a person who brought the message. Anyway, Dhaniramji came. He observed the pulse of Saraswati Devi and said – “There is ulcer in her stomach and it may burst any time. Now there is no remedy except praying to God. Start preparing for the final rites.” As soon as Shriram heard these words, he was almost paralyzed. He became speechless. Taiji too was numbed and the condition of the children could be easily guessed. Observing the silence of grief before death in the family, Dhaniramji too got depressed. Shriam held him. He came out of the flood of grief and started taking care of Vaidyaji. Shriram said – “Kavirajji! Please don’t get depressed like this. What will happen to us, if you grieve like this; and look at these children. It will tear their hearts. Please console them.” Saraswatiji got up in the night and said she wants to do pranam to Taiji. Immediately Taiji came in that room. She tried to get up to touch the feet of Taiji, but could not do so. Taiji came nearer. Saraswatiji timidly looked at Taiji and Shriram and said in low voice – “What can I advise you? But I wish to request humbly; please forgive me if there has been any unwitting misconduct on my part.” Saying this she was silent for a moment, as if she was trying to gather courage to say something. After a pause, she said – “The children should not be deprived of motherly love and care. They need it direly.” These were her last words.