Volume 8 - Issue 01
JANUARY 2010
Other Articles

OUR ILLS AND THE DIVINE WILL

In a small village there once lived a man to whom God had bestowed a special talent — even when he had still been a child he could heal anyone who came to him for help.

In his boyhood itself he was interested in medicine and medical herbs, and he studied much literature especially those belonging to ancient times to enhance his knowledge about the treatment of physical as well as spiritual ailments. He asked God to help him in this endeavour as well as in his service. God loved him dearly and completely supported his noble work.

As days passed by, the number of people who came to him to regain health only increased. The young doctor’s fame spread throughout the region, and soon there came a time when people waited for days together, without a murmur of complain, to receive his advice and medicines. Spending days and nights under the open sky in the doctor's yard did not bother them, for they knew that God had blessed this man and the Lord indeed was working through him.

 

The kind doctor patiently and dutifully saw his patients, day after day. Each time he didn't know how to help a patient, he asked God for advice, and he was guided by Him to learn new methods of healing. He saw all - children, adults and the elderly, men and women, religious or an atheist. As his wish to heal everyone who came to him grew stronger so did his despair too, for, the more he healed, the more joined the ever growing queues.

The good man really wanted to help everyone who came, but his house was small, and the day held only 24 hours. “Something must change to enable me to serve all these needy people”, he said to himself, and one day turned to God with a request:

“Dear God! Thank You for Your help, Your Love and blessing! Thank You for the skills and the knowledge You have given me. But dear Lord, so many people in this world are suffering from pain, illness and misfortune. They are indeed too many, and I am only one. I need a hospital where I can accommodate all these patients in comfort. Please help me build it!”

God loved the noble desire of the doctor very much, and He promised He would help him and directed him to start the construction right away. Early in the morning the doctor started to prepare everything he needed for the building works.

In this world, for every thing there is a time and place; one only has to be patient in their waiting and decisive when the time for action finally comes.

He devoted the first half of the day to the construction and the other part to healing people. He slept only a few hours a night, because he wanted to see as many patients he could till he was completely tired everyday.

And so, both construction and the healing service progressed but slowly. The doctor now once again turned to God for help:

“Dear God! Thank You for the knowledge and the skills You have given me! Thank You for Your love! But everyday I have such an important job to do — to heal the sick — that I don’t have the time for building the hospital. You are almighty; everything is in Your power. Please take mercy on me and on all the people in the yard waiting for me to help them, and by an instance of your Divine will just create the hospital building tonight!”

God was silent for a moment, and then He said in a soft but emphatic tone:

“Dear one, I love you very much. Your heart is pure and your intentions are noble, therefore I will fulfil your request. But before that I want you to know that at the moment there are hundred men heading here from different places to help you build the hospital.

“Twenty of them, on having completed this noble task, would get a chance to become fathers once they return to their families — something they had wanted for many years but which had been impossible because of their karma.

“Twenty more would regain their belief in friendship, co-operation and trust among men, which they could not experience because of their inappropriate actions in previous births, and were therefore often deceived, beaten and humiliated.

“Another twenty men would meet their future wives they had been looking for so long, but which they could not find because for many lives they had not honoured and appreciated family values and had therefore accumulated a heavy karmic load.

“Twenty more of the helpers would be miraculously cured from different illnesses that had made their physical body suffer for the most part of their current lives, because for many lives they had led a libertine lifestyle. 

Bhagavan Baba says the best way to be happy is to always believe sincerely that whatever happens is for our own good. Every pain has an expiry date and so it is with pleasure too. But when we surrender every moment of our life to Him and accept every event of our life as His gift as He knows best, there would never be a moment of despair or anxiety. Everyday we would start witnessing miracles in our life, some simple and sweet and others magnificent and mind-boggling. Let us give the reins of our life to the Supreme One!

“Another twenty of the men come to help you would regain the knowledge they had acquired over many lives about man’s physical body and soul, they would gain skills similar to yours and would stay with you as trusted helpers.

“But dear one, I love you very much, so you only have to say ‘God, let there be a building!’ and I will create it - but in doing so these 100 men which are on their way to you and thousands more that are connected to them — families, friends, patients — would be robbed of the opportunity to be relieved from the weight of their karma.

“You only have to say out loud: ‘Let there be a building! That is all!”

The man sat for a moment with his head bent low. And then he looked od in the eye and said:

 

“Thank You God for loving me so much and for letting me choose! Also, I am ever grateful to you for this lesson. Now I know healing is not about building a hospital, it is this whole process that heals.

“Dear Lord, I will now leave as I grasp Your supreme wisdom. I have lots of things to do! I have to duly prepare everything for the arrival of those 100 men that You are sending me.”

God now smiled and seemed very satisfied. For, His dear instrument had realised that for everything in this world there is a time and place; one only has to be patient in their waiting and decisive when the time for action finally comes.

Bhagavan Baba says the best way to be happy is to always believe sincerely that whatever happens is for our own good. Every pain has an expiry date and so it is with pleasure too. But when we surrender every moment of our life to Him and accept every event of our life as His gift as He knows best, there would never be a moment of despair or anxiety. Everyday we would start witnessing miracles in our life, some simple and sweet and others magnificent and mind-boggling. Let us give the reins of our life to the Supreme One!

Courtesy: Rita Ivanova, Latvia

Illustration: Mrs. Lyn, New Zealand

Dear Reader, did this article inspire you in any way? Do you have a similar story to share? Please tell us your reflections about this article by writing to h2h@radiosai.org mentioning your name and country. Thank you for your time.

    - Heart2Heart Team  

Go to Radio Sai
Go to Publications Division Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust
Go to Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust
counter for wordpress