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Healing with Love
Source:
Radio Sai E-Magazine,
January 15, 2004
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_02/02Jan15/02_Cover_story/Saving_lives/love.htm
HEALING WITH
LOVE
The Sri Sathya Sai Institute Of Higher
Medical Sciences, Bangalore
"Yada
yada hi dharmasya glaanir bhavati bhaarata/
Abhyudhaanam adharmasya tadaatmaanam srjaamyaham/
Paritraanaaya sadhuunaam vinashaaya cha dushkrutaam/
Dharma sansthapanaarthaaya sambhavaaami yuge yuge//"
"Whenever there is a
decay of dharma and rise of adharma, then I embody myself, O
Bharata. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of
the wicked and for the establishment of dharma I am born age after
age."
These are the words
of Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of kurukshetra ages
ago but today in the modern context, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
says:
" Love all Serve
all "
Apparently
the words may seem out of context when placed together but what is
apparent is not what is the intent. One has to See Always Inside
to understand the import. In the past wickedness was limited to a
few individuals and could be eliminated by eliminating them
physically which is what the Lord did in his earlier incarnations.
But man today has both good and evil within him and were the lord
to follow his earlier procedure he would be very lonely. It is for
this reason that Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, said that in the
present age the wicked would not be destroyed but would be
transformed. For affecting this transformation, he uses the most
powerful of all weapons
- LOVE.
Bhagawan Baba, in
his munificence has presented mankind with three gifts. Of
education, health and water. The first: to enable man to earn his
livelihood in this world, the second: to enable him not only to
earn his livelihood in this world but also sustain him for more
sacred work and the third: water, called the elixir of life, for
it is the most important of all elements to sustain life.
"Vaidyo
narayano harihi" (the doctor is Lord Narayana and Lord Hari)
is an aphorism from ancient Indian culture that places a doctor on
par with God. In the western system of medicine a man is
considered a doctor only after he has taken the "Hippocratic Oath"
named after the Greek Physician Hippocrates who is considered the
father of modern medicine. As part of this oath is the following
line:
"To hold him who has
taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in
regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and
to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - Without
Fee And Covenant"
Unfortunately
words do not transform themselves into action. Health care is one
of the most expensive fields both to learn and to practice. It is
a rare doctor who would diagnose an
ailment free of cost, let alone treat and cure a malady. As
torrents to douse the conflagration of professional prejudices and
economic considerations, in which laymen are charred, came the
blessing of the Lord in the form of two Temples of Healing. The
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of higher medical sciences, Prashantigram,
12 years ago in 1991 and the The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
higher medical sciences, Whitefield in the year 2001. They are the
manifestation of Bhagawan Baba's Will that free health care should
be provided to the poorest of the poor totally free of cost.
THE PHILOSOPHY:
"Paropakaaraartham idam shareeram"
This
is an ancient upanishadic tenet that says, "This body is meant for
the service of others". The SSSIHMS embodies this very spirit in
its entirety. The hospital is based on the service motive and this
alone is the inspiration and its sustenance. Medical care is an
issue of both compassion and finance. Two apparently diametrically
opposite ends of the circle of life, yet intricately interrelated
in the modern paradigm, one emotional and the other rational.
Though painted in a different color the past was in no way far
removed. "First do no harm" is the primary objective of every true
doctor and this is reflected in every moment of the existence of
SSSIHMS.
The
touch is said to be one of the most powerful ways of communication.
Add to this a smile and then an act of understanding?A smile, a
reassuring touch, an act of understanding, compassion? all these
are not exceptions but the norm in this Temple of healing.
Starting with the lowest orderly to the heads of departments,
harsh words are a rarity when it comes to serving the patient. It
is the opinion and experience of many that nothing can be earned
without first losing something. But when one enters the aegis of
SSSIHMS, all that one has to lose is oneself. At every step
everything is provided to the patient absolutely free of cost with
complete redress of all problems - minor or major. The smile of
satisfaction of the patient when he is discharged from the
hospital, the smile of trust of a child when entering the
operation theatres for surgery, the smile of reassurance of the
doctor when he treats a patient?and the list goes on.
The
undercurrent of the entire hospital, the source of its sustenance
is a simple yet powerful emotion - Love. It is the greatest of all
weapons and the solution to all maladies. It is the rope that
binds different minds to one goal. How else is it possible to run
such a mammoth institution - whose foundations are in God's love
for Humanity - but through love?
"Na
tapaamsi na teerthaanaam na saastraani japanicha/
Samsaara saagarodhaare sajjanam sevanam vina//
Not by penance nor
by pilgrimage nor by study of scriptures nor by chanting can one
cross the ocean of life. One can achieve it only by serving the
poor. This is the ultimate truth as evidenced by the lives of
great men. Not only in the field of medicine but in all other
walks of life.
THE EDIFICE:
The SSSIHMS in
whitefield, Bangalore was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of
India, Sri Atal Behari Vajpayee on the 19th of January 2001. This
tertiary care hospital incorporates some of the best technical
facilities and provides high quality free medical care and
surgical treatment. It is built on 52.26 acres of land donated by
the government of Karnataka .
The
work on the building commenced in September 1999 and was completed
in October 2000. The hospital was officially commissioned on the
19th of January 2001. The hospital was a turnkey project built by
the ECC (Larsen and toubro - construction division)with all the
latest hi-tech civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and
instrumentation works including aesthetic finishing. All the
electromechanical services that make the buildings "intelligent"
along with a gamut of systems including water, sanitary, HVAC,
elevator, fire protection, security and surveillance systems,
landscaping and horticultural works were included and executed
according to plan. The contractors coordinated with BNA agencies
for internal telecommunication facilities, Bhoruka medical gas
agencies, various medical equipment suppliers including
architecture and medical consultants.
The
hospital has two separate complexes. First, the Screening Block,
where the patients are screened initially, who after examination
and registration will proceed to the main hospital, next the main
block with the rest of the services. The hospital is shaped in the
form of the alphabet "K". The spine of the letter contains the
specialized diagnostics, laboratories and theaters on different
floors, while the arms contain the wards and Out Patient
Departments also on different floors. The elevation is of three
levels, the ground floor, first and second floors from the front
and has a basement in the rear, which makes it four levels in the
rear. The electricity and uninterrupted power supply systems are
located behind the hospital. The pressurized oxygen that needs to
be pumped all over the hospital is stored in a separate tank away
from the hospital building. The hospital has its own water
treatment plant and incinerator making it comprehensive in every
sense of the term.
Apart
from the functional aspects of the hospital, which are world
standards, the aesthetics of construction make it look really like
a vast temple rather than a hospital. The ambiance is so designed
as to create in the viewer a sense of awe, reverence and humility
and most of all, gratitude to the most Merciful Lord, Bhagawan
Baba, who is granting the world premium, tertiary health care free
of cost. The central dome is 23 mts in diameter and reaches more
than a 100 feet from ground level. It is an awe-inspiring sight
with the cupola supported by eight massive pillars. Stained glass
widows on the walls of the dome act as skylights throwing multi
hued designs on the polished granite floor and the sandstone walls.
The primary emotion that any one experiences on entering this area
is an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility. This is the
beginning of the cure?for one is in the precincts of the Temple of
Healing.
THE SPECIALTIES:
The
SSSIHMS Whitefield has two main specialties, cardiac sciences that
include cardiology and cardio thoracic and vascular surgery and
the neurosciences that include neurology and neurosurgery.
|
Cardiac
|
Neuro
|
Operation theatres |
8 |
4 |
Cath labs |
4 |
1 |
Intensive care units Pre and
Post op. |
2 |
2 |
Coronary Care Unit |
1 |
0 |
Total no of beds |
330 |
The hospital is
also has a full laboratory facility with the latest upgradeable
equipment which can be interfaced with other systems. The various
departments of the hospital are located as follows:
Level |
Departments
|
Basement |
Adminstration, staff canteen, medical records department,
the laundry, the Central sterile services department, the
central stores, the medical stores, the dietary department,
the bio- medical and engineering services department. |
|
Ground floor |
The
Cardiac out patient department (north wing), Neuro out
patient department (South wing), the emergency Room,
Physiotherapy, radiology including, CT, MRI, Nuclear
medicine, X-Ray, Gamma Camera, the neuro consulting rooms,
the laboratories including bio-chemistry, serology,
haematology, and microbiology and the blood bank. |
|
First floor |
The pre-
operative ward, The coronary care unit, the cardiac Cath
labs, the Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Surgery operation
theatres, Intensive care units, the post operative ward,
the Hospital information management system network and
server rooms. |
|
Second floor |
The pre-
operative ward, The neuro intensive care unit, the neuro
Cath lab, the neurosurgery operation theatres, Intensive
care units, the neuro post operative intensive care unit,
the neuro post operative ward and the office of the
nursing superintendent. |
|
Separate areas |
Electricity, UPS and air-conditioning, water treatment,
HVAC, sanitation, incinerator, generators, staff quarters. |
|
You
have just been taken on a tour of the hospital. You must have
appreciated the grand architecture and the great facilities?But
what sets apart this temple of healing is that feeling of
transformation that it has brought about and is still bringing
about in all those who are associated with it : the people
involved in the construction, the patients, their relavtives, the
doctors, the staff and the continuous stream of dignitaries who
come to see with their own eyes ,this wonderful Temple of Love??.
More in the next few pages..........
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