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Rev. Dada has been moved to the Physiotherapy Unit of the hospital for his rehabilitation. His daily programme consists of tremendous effort towards successfully participating in the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy being done on him. Considering the mountainous hurdles that Dada has overcome so far, he is, by God's grace, doing reasonably well. There is still, of course, a lot of pain. But though he is unable to move around much, Dada is not slothful or torpid, he is not disgusted or dejected. In fact, fully alert and aware, he pours in all his energy, will- power, patience and perseverance in attempting to physically return to normalcy as soon as possible.
Hence, when he is working with the therapists, he is extremely co-operative. In fact, on seeing Dada, they say, the Smiling One has come. It is truly awe-inspiring to see that since his fall, not even for a second, has Dada's smile left his face. The smile is not just put on for our benefit; it is truly genuine. This is evident from the fact that he is filled with gratitude, uttering the words, "Thank you God for giving me this beautiful gift. I, myself, have asked You for this gift of bestowing on me the pain of others, so that they may suffer less. Hence, I gladly accept all this pain."
This shows that Dada has been praying to free all of us from suffering and pain. This portrays the overwhelming extent and depth of his love for us. It far surpasses any earthly love, totally unselfish, sacrificial, noble and unconditional.
Several devotees have questioned Dada, if Karma binds a saint. To this, Dada clarified, Karma does not bind a saint, but a saint may willingly pay off the Karma of himself and of his devotees. Dada urged that from now on we should be very careful of what we sow. If there is any thought of ill-will or harm to another, it should be immediately replaced with a good thought, and thus get rid of any negativity. In this manner, bad karma will be replaced by good karma.
Dada said that just as a candle cannot be lit without fire, similarly man cannot exist without God. Also, just as the flame of a candle cannot survive without oxygen, so too, man cannot live without 'satsang'.
One day, a therapist told Dada, "You look like a young man." Dada smilingly corrected him," I am a young man."
A doctor named Dr. Harvey West came to check on Dada. On hearing his name Dada said, " You are from the West and I am from the East, and it is here that we have met. It is the need of the hour for the East and the West to come together for the beginning of a new civilization."
Once a therapist inquired from Dada if he was tired. Dada replied, " I never get tired as long as there are three things I can do--- pray without sleeping, smile all the while and serve as many as I can."
And so, Dada continues to keep up with his therapy. It is a long road, but he never complains. To further help him in his tireless endeavour let us together, for 10 minutes daily, do some positive visualising, seeing Dada up and about, walking at his usual brisk pace, talking to us, sitting in our midst, blessing us, guiding us, travelling energetically from one place to another and continuing to give his enriching and enlightening discourses.
UPDATE - MAY 21, 2010
By God's grace, on the 17th of May, Dada's second surgery on his right elbow, after his massive fall, went off without a hitch. It was a long and complicated procedure, which took more than three hours. Our hearts were in our mouths, but we were shored up with prayers and with the knowledge of the expertise of the surgeons. The doctors emerged from the operation theatre totally satisfied with the way the surgery had proceeded.
Prior to the surgery, the doctors had asked Dada if he was comfortable. Dada replied, “Comfort is made up of two words--'come' and 'fort'. A 'fort' is a place of refuge. So, if we 'come' and seek 'refuge' at the lotus feet of the Lord, we will always be comfortable."
Dada's reply had them speechless, but also assured them that this unusual patient of theirs was in 'comfort'.
Dada bestowed on all his beautiful smile before being wheeled in for the surgery. His countenance, at every stage, has only reflected calm and peace. Never a shadow of doubt, sorrow, frustration or despair has ever crossed his face. It is unbelievable how such a blow has befallen a body that is so delicate, tender and frail, The intensity of the pain suffered has been astronomical, far beyond the regular levels of suffering, and yet Dada continues to smile and ever thank God, the doctors, the nurses and all those who come in contact with him.
Every day, there is a different Mantra of gratitude. One day it is 'Thank you God'. On another it is 'Hare Ram'. Or then it is 'Sat Naam
Mushkul Aasaan', and so on. He holds on to these as to the Shepherd's Staff for support, never once complaining or expressing his pain. It makes one wonder at the mettle our Guru is made of! But it is also unbearable to watch him go through this fire of suffering.
Fortunately, Dada emerged from the recovery room, with a smile still visible on his face, providing us with much needed assurance.
After the success of the procedure done on Dada's right elbow on Monday, 17th May, we were all filled with relief and gratitude. But we did not have much time to sit back and feel complacent, for God's ways are mysterious and incomprehensible. He had us on our toes immediately with the information which the doctors passed on to us, that there seemed to be no movement on the left side of Dada's body.
This really alarmed the doctors and had us all in shock. Dada's left side would not respond to any touch or movement. After various tests and several discussions, the doctors diagnosed the problem as a mild stroke which had affected the left side. Word went round the globe and prayers and chants for Dada's recovery began immediately.
Between Monday evening and Sunday, the progress has been slow but encouraging. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy take place on Dada every day. Not only is Dada very co-operative at such times, but actually enjoys the process of therapy, and asks them for more. With Dada's ever-willing and upbeat attitude, the therapists said that today's therapy was a cheerleading session.
Finally, some movement has been visible on Dada's left side. With all these torrents of prayers, and the grace of Divine intervention, Dada is bound to recover completely. Let us all continue maintaining our hotline to God, unstintingly.
With hope ever-rising in our hearts, we all continue to plead with Him to make Dada healthy and whole again soon. God has enabled Dada to overcome the two major hurdles of the two surgeries. May He give him a boost, similarly, over the third obstacle of recovery. Just as Dada's fall occurred in the flash of a second, let us all pray, that in a flash of second Dada may come back to normal life again.
- We have a special request to everyone
out there in the world -
Rev. Dada JP Vaswani, Spiritual Head of Sadhu Vaswani Mission (with centers all over the world) has had a stroke on the left side of his body and has been operated for three fractures at Chicago, USA. The next twenty four hours are very important....as doctors say that the stroke is reversible so please send in all your prayers and prayers and more prayers.
The world needs him to come back soon and continue all his good work.
More information / updates available at http://twitter.com/dadajpvaswani and http://www.facebook.com/sadhuvaswani
Please do consider our humble request. We feel deeply grateful.
IMPORTANT NEWS UPDATE
The Sadhana Camp in Panama commenced on a high note, with great expectations and a mood of jubilation. All the participants eagerly looked forward to this special time with Dada. He greeted each one with a joyous and deep smile, welcoming everyone warmly to this beauteous time of closeness to the Divine, away from the fret and fury of daily life.
The theme that Dada presented was--
'Hujan gad hamesha,
Na dum be rahaan dhaar.'
Thus he entreated the Lord--- May I always be with You. Every thought, every act I perform must be in Thy presence. Whether I am eating, sleeping, walking or working, it should be in Your awareness. Whatever we have, we must share with others. O Lord, everything is for Thy sake!
Thus this whole day of the 7th of May passed in a mood of elevation and bliss. But at night, at around 10 p.m., Dada was on his way to participate in the Camp fire that had been organised. Outside the elevator he saw some children playing ping-pong. Dada’s , heart which is totally child-like, spontaneously responded to them. So, he joined them in their game and gleefully played a good volley. Unfortunately, while lobbing one of the shots, Dada stepped backwards, lost his balance, and fell with full force on the hard floor, damaging the right side of his body.
Naturally, he was in excruciating pain, and could not be moved from the floor till the ambulance arrived. Quickly, the devotees gathered around him, rushing to make appropriate arrangements. Dada registered their stressed stances, their faces reflecting fear and worry. In return, amazingly, Dada reflected the same serene smile with which he had initially greeted them, even though the severity of his pain was visible.
The move to the ambulance took its toll. Instead of groaning with pain, Dada would utter 'Hey Ram'. He should have been wincing, his face distorted with pain. Instead, that same steady smile was reflected from his face. The ambulance staff were wonder-struck by his attitude. Even in his interaction with the doctors and nurses, the quality of the smile may have varied, either very broad, or subtly present, but it never left his face, totally melting the hearts of all those who came in contact with him.
Later, Dada was airlifted in an air-ambulance, which, along with all the necessary instruments, was also equipped with a doctor and a nurse, to take care of Dada. He perpetually kept on thanking them, and they, not being used to such patients, were embarrassed, saying that they were just doing their job. But, despite his discomfort, Dada kept on enquiring about their comfort, showing concern for them. Thus, he landed safely in Chicago.
Dada had fractured the right hip—femur bone, the right shoulder—humerus bone and the right olecranon (elbow). As repairing all this required major surgery, Dada was first stabilised. The slightest movement caused intense pain, but Dada continued to be cheerful, ever smiling and relaxed.
On the 10th of May, the first surgery took place on Dada's hip and shoulder. As so many vital areas have been injured on the same side, the surgery had to be performed with extreme care, so as not to put any pressure on any of the injured areas.
A rod and two screws (intramedullary nail)were inserted into the femur bone.
A plate and multiple screws were inserted in the humerus bone.Naturally, the levels of pain were very high, but Dada, with his patience and perseverance, retained his encouraging and trade-mark smile.
By God's grace the operation went-off successfully, yet Dada could see all the strained and tense faces of his devotees around him. With a gentle smile he constantly recited the words --Gratitude to Thee, O Lord. Let me bear this for Thy sake. I accept this gift from You gladly, 'Tere Liye, Tere Liye'.
Even under these extreme conditions, our beloved Guru continues to be a living example for all that we should aspire to be.
KK EYE INSTITUTE PRESENTATION
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Dada is now on Twitter - Click below to see his tweets..
