08/12/2020
THE JOURNEY OF A VAIDYA: 1/2
...And the Journey has begun....
It was in a new year’s night of 2004, everyone was celebrating the new year so was I with my
parents! But instead of celebrating at home or somewhere in restaurant, we were in a train about to reach “Namma Bengaluru”! What we Bangaloreans call it fondly.... Me & parents, we’re received by Ramchandra Rao, whom we had met during admission.
Next day morning I was greeted by entirely new set of people of my age, whose language I would say to me was a “foreign language” then! Yes! I am talking about none other than the language of “God’s own country”- Malayalam! As the days passed slowly, I got used to their “ Mallu” accent of English & Malayalam also! A month rolled and it was time for our Induction ceremony “Shishyopanayana” as ours was the proud 1st batch & had started later comparatively.
Our Beloved Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji blessed us all by inducting us into this noble profession as students!Satsangs every evening would be blissful & mesmerising! All of us would eagerly wait for Gurudev! Oh! I forgot in the midst of the narration that we would stay in Vasuki - one of the prestigious buildings of old ashram!
I still remember vividly the Ashramite didis had suddenly arrived like unexpected guests at our
Vasuki room corridors! We were so excited to see them! But they had not come to welcome us, but rather to do ragging! Ragging was not the usual one which is the common scene at other college corridors. It was entirely the talent based one.
At times when our warden would complain that students are going to satsang daily & not studying & to whom? ! Non other than Gurudev himself! And since then Gurudev made us clear that henceforth satsangs would be only on Thursdays & Holidays for SSCASRH students!
And as the days passed, our 1st year BAMS exams approached, I remember vividly that for the Hall-ticket of Exam we required passport size photo, taking advantage of this urgent requirement for that we thought of superb plan! Guess what?..... Next day after Rudra Pooja,
Gurudev was coming all the way to Old Ashram, and was passing by with other few Ashramites from near our accommodation Kuteers-“Parashara”, hostilities ran immediately to seek his glimpse & Blessings.
He Blessed for the upcoming Exams & asked us whether we were going somewhere ? We immediately replied yes Gurudev! For clicking passport size photo graph to city. He asked why can’t we take from Ashram photographer then? We told him since Ashram photographer bhaiya doesn’t know how to click passport size photo we need to go to city! He smiled so lovingly & understood our mischief! He told us, “I know you people want to got to city & enjoy! This passport size photo is just an excuse!
That time meeting Gurudev was comparatively easy! Gurudev often would come walking in ashram, there used to be very minimum crowd. Every now & then anything we would buy, say
medical books, sthetoscope, BP apparatus, even most of us have got blessed our Pencil boxes including Pens, Pencils, scales etc! For exams!
Once after an enchanting satsang, as usual few of us would always look at some chance to run behind Gurudev escaping through great Heavy doors of Vishalakshi Mantap- the mediation hall.Me & my close friend Dr. Seethal just ran behind Gurudev! We were on cloud 9! Gurudev just turned around & asked by gesture what? And we didn’t know what to say! Because we bothwere in a state of Euphoria.
To be continued..
