Does your heart beat for yourself, or for others too?
Find out more about the Sadhana of chanting the ‘Maha Mrityunjaya mantra’ continuously for 85 hours. The event starts on the 19th August 2010 and concluding with Poornahuthi on the 22nd August 2010.
All the details about this are available on the Shri Sathya Sai Pragnam website.
The latest Heart Valve Bank newsletter is now available for download - Newsletter for October 2009, our Vijayadasmi Special Issue.
Articles in this issue include:
Read more about this articles by downloading the newsletter.
The latest edition of the Heart Valve Bank newsletter is now available for download. Please visit http://www.heartvalvebank.info/ and follow the link for the Newsletter section to download a high quality PDF.
The latest Heart Valve Bank newsletter is now available for download - Newsletter for October 2008.
Articles in this issue include:
Read about these articles and more by downloading the latest newsletter.
The latest edition of the Heart Valve Bank newsletter is now available for download. Please visit http://www.heartvalvebank.info/ and follow the link for the Newsletter section to download a high quality PDF.
The Heart Valve Bank website has been updated and re-launched. The site is now easier to navigate and contains all relevant information under clear and easy to follow section headings.
The website address remains www.heartvalvebank.info.
Details of all aspects of Heart Valve Bank’s activities as well as contact details of key HVB personnel can be found on the website. We hope you enjoy the new look.
Every year since the year 2000 (bar one year), the author has had the privilege of serving, as a volunteer visiting dentist, in Puttaparthi.
It began as a Dental Camp carried out as one of the service items on the agenda of a United Kingdom (UK) Group visiting Prashanti Nilayam, Puttaparthi. The author worked in the Dental Department at the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital, Puttaparthi when the hospital had a dental department, but no regular staff to man it. As a dentist trained and working in the UK, the author had a longstanding burning wish to participate in such an event abroad and finally the dream came true.
The patients varied from local villagers (who travelled miles on buses and / or on foot to the hospital) to V.I.P.s. The treatment was (and still is) free at the point of delivery. Such a variety of patients posed immense language barriers. This was overcome by selecting members from the UK Group in such a way that they were not only assisting us as dental nurses and receptionists but they also acted as our interpreters when required. Further assistance came from many people ranging from the patients themselves and Indian volunteers, who came from all over India to do service on a rota basis. However, the most important way this barrier was overcome was using the universal languages of a smile and love for fellow men.
Apart from carrying out such treatments as emergency/pain relief treatment (for example, extraction of teeth, bursting of abscesses and providing medication), scaling and fillings (both permanent and semi-permanent), there were also opportunities to give Oral Health Promotion advice and talks, both on a one-to-one basis with patients and / or carers and to a gathering of Baba’s students. One episode that stands out was a village lady who came from miles away in the heat stating that she could not close her mouth for a long time. On examination, it was found that she had dislocated her jaw joints resulting in this locked jaw position. How that had occurred was a mystery. Following simple manipulation, the jaw was put back into its correct position. She was most grateful.
Since then, the author has had the honour of participating in Dental Camps organised by the Heart Valve Bank (HVB), which took place at various sites around Puttaparthi. An International Dentist Rota was set up in 2003 (consisting of dentists from USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand) to support and complement the staff at the Dental Department at the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital, which has grown in strength and expanded over the years.
It was (and still is) an eye-opening and humbling experience. Dental treatment is expensive in India and at times, can be as much as what is charged in the UK’s government service (known as the National Health Service). This is beyond the means of a vast number of the indigenous population as the final cost could be more than their monthly income if other factors are also taken into consideration, such as travelling and loss of earnings.
There were numerous occasions when our team had to break the news to patients that they had mouth cancer, which is rife in India due to paan / betal nut chewing and smoking. These patients usually present themselves at the advanced stages of this disease. The nearest hospital to Puttaparthi that manages such cases is in Bangalore. Therefore, not only do these patients have to make their own arrangements to attend this hospital, but they then have to fund the cost of this treatment (for example, pain control, operation, accommodation for relatives, cost of food whilst an in-patient etc.).
Counselling and psychiatric support is a luxury of the western world; those in the west expect these to be part and parcel of their overall rehabilitation. There is no counselling support available to offer to the cancer patients (let alone their loved ones) to deal with this bombshell news given to them when they reach their respective homes. The indigenous population has therefore developed an inner peace of “what will be, will be” when all else fails within their means, and so cope with the future in a dignified manner through their faith in God.
There was one particular case that occurred during a dental camp held by the Heart Valve Bank - an elderly couple had attended for a check-up. The husband was using a makeshift, wooden walking stick and both were very thin and frail. The wife stated that she had pain from her mouth when eating. On examination, she had the advance stages of mouth cancer, which was so extensive that the tumour was bursting out of the skin overlying her lower jaw. She was terminally ill and the end was imminent. In the UK, a system would be triggered in the National Health System for palliative care and pain control and nurses visiting the patient’s home to manage this. Furthermore, both the patient and relatives would receive counselling and emotional support.
Our team was so affected at seeing this and at the frustration of not having a similar system in that region which we were used to in the UK, that some of us had tears in our eyes. The couple, on the other hand, were very calm and dignified at hearing our diagnosis. They duly went home. Arrangements were made by the HVB to purchase palliative care medication tailored for this lady’s needs and for one of our Group members to personally hand deliver it to her at their home, which was in a remote village some distance away from Puttaparthi.
This and other service opportunities gives the author the opportunity to serve and learn methods of implementing some of Baba’s teachings, such as “Love all, Serve all” and “Work is worship, duty is God” by observing people’s and one’s own actions and reactions. On returning to the UK and upon reflection, the priorities in life were revised. The author prays for such further opportunities in the future.
- Dr Geetha Krishnamoorthy
Baba has said on many occasions that, Health is an essential requisite for man, it is the very root of all endeavours in the four fields of human achievement - dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (desire) and moksha (liberation).
Even though the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health as a state of complete physical, mental and spiritual well being, we find that financial viability and institutionalisation have been rigid edicts that have stood at the entrance to centuries of social reform. In this setting, empathy, love and compassion seem to have taken a back seat and so have been grouped as pointless altruistic qualities. Empathy, love and compassion do not have to lead to a path of financial self destruction. On the contrary, they speed healing and result in immense patient and physician satisfaction, leading ultimately to corporate growth. More importantly, it puts the human before the science. This ideal, humane healthcare was experienced and seen by the author in the Sri Sathya Sai General and Super Specialty Hospitals.
In many countries the health care “industry” is built on a dichotomous relationship. The first point of contact for professionals like doctors, nurses, pharmacists and paramedics is, by and large, patients, while institutions, corporations and managers are bottom line driven. Modern medicine in developed countries is increasingly institution dependant. This has driven countries into a “healthcare crisis” in the form of funding and budget short falls or declining health indices or patient dissatisfaction. This raises the question of whether past ideals of patient care, with love and compassion, are compatible with corporate financial goals or, in short, do the workers in modern medicine have the time, accountability and financial resources to be loving and compassionate?
By taking the Sri Sathya Sai institutions as examples, the author has experienced and learnt that humane holistic health care is achievable, and is accomplished through several instruments namely the General hospitals, the Super Speciality hospitals, community care, medical camps, disaster relief, preventative health care, health maintenance and education.
More than any institution, the single most significant factor in the successful delivery of this vision of healthcare is Baba. His teachings and exemplary life have inspired thousands of individuals who/ deliver care for patients. Each health care professional in Baba’s system is suffused with a deep sense of love, empathy, compassion and commitment for every patient and works to his or her utmost abilities as if the patient were his own kith and kin. This inspired commitment produces excellent patient outcomes and is the essence of what is needed everywhere.
As individuals and youth how should we envisage and practice this ideal health care for all? Baba has said, “the units of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva organisation are engaged in enthusiastic service in the two areas of health and education. To maintain and improve the health of the people, continuous education on the principles and practices of hygiene and environmental cleanliness are essential. Education is the most effective safeguard against physical and mental ill health. So these two activities are closely interrelated.”
Thus, in essence, humane healthcare can be achieved by considering educare and medicare. Educare enables one to make a living and realise the truth of being a part of Sai’s creation. Hence it is essential to try to educate and practice ourselves before we can make recommendations to others, and hence live a life by example. Medicare has focused for over 30 years in Sai organisations on providing free medical camps and free clinics. Moreover, in countries such as Kenya, the organisation (under the Sainet project) works with the government to distribute insecticide treated mosquito nets to populations at risk of malaria.
With further examples such as tsunami relief, the water project and Sainet the combination of educare and medicare brings us back to the message that “prevention is better than cure”.
As a doctor and an individual trying to practice the teachings of Baba, the author thinks that it is our duty to ensure that we treat all with love and compassion and educate patients, and all fellow citizens with healthy living habits. If we are to do this, with God’s grace, we shall prevent illnesses and frequent visits to hospitals and hence reduce disease burdens and assist all to achieve the root of all endeavours on the path of life. To do this we have to realise that we don’t have to speak different languages or be medically qualified to practice “humane care”. We just have to use the language of the heart.
- Dr David Kaushaul
The latest edition of the Heart Valve Bank newsletter is now available for download. Please visit http://www.heartvalvebank.info/ and follow the link for the Newsletter section to download a high quality PDF.