Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
Spiritual growth in sight
|
`Spiritual growth is more important in life than material benefits, and anyone can achieve it.' Practising what he preaches or writes about, this eye doctor helps people in self-improvement also, writes K. Satyamurty.
|
POSSESSIONS DO not bring happiness, but self-improvement does, says this highly successful eye surgeon who has carried out hundreds of cataract operations free of cost.
But then, Bhujang Shetty is different from other successful professionals found all over Bangalore. He never forgets his humble beginnings from a small Dakshina Kannada village or that he was one of the first in his family to go to college.
``It was my father's brother, Narayan Shetty, who sent me to school in Bangalore, and encouraged me to go to medical college,'' he remembers. Dr. Shetty's eye hospital close to the ISKCON Temple in Rajajinagar is named Narayana Nethralaya. His brother-in-law, Devi Shetty, started Narayana Hrudayalaya where the tradition of caring for indigent patients continues.
Dr. Bhujang Shetty believes in practising what he preaches or rather writes about. His book, Be The God You Are, is a steady seller in bookstores. He does not personally attend to more than 12 or so patients a day, and keeps himself free for his family and personal pursuits after 5.30 p.m..
The introduction to the book points out that "our main purpose on this Earth is to remember who we really are, and later help others remember the same." He elaborates on it further: "What the reader is to go through is a very easy and foolproof way changing our world within, so that the world without changes in our favour. It is foolproof because it has been tried and tested, and it is working for me... it is not the only way, it is not a better way, but it is just another way.''
Dr. Shetty goes back in memory to the days he had just completed his graduate studies in Bangalore Medical College and was contemplating his future. "I decided to start my own practice and began with a small clinic near the Devaiah Park in December 1982. The opportunities were more; not only to earn my daily bread, but also to serve others...I moved into what is today Narayana Nethralaya in 1993.''
The hospital is a super speciality centre for all eye disorders and specialises in cataract surgery with a team of 12 surgeons and all necessary equipment under a roof. Dr. Shetty says there are millions in our country, especially in villages, who lack eyesight only for want of cataract surgery. In many cases, it is for want of money.
``For many poor villagers, it is almost impossible to travel to the cities for eye surgery and treatment. So, we decided to take medical care to them; for several years we had a mobile clinic visiting villages. Now with newer equipment and techniques available, we find it easier to have base camps in local hospitals or health centres, and conduct surgeries there. It is all done free, and my fellow surgeons volunteer their time and skills,'' he says. Only when he is actually asked does he reveal that over the past three years more than 10,000 free eye surgeries have been done for needy patients who now enjoy the precious gift of eyesight.
How does Dr. Shetty find time for his writing and other activities, besides running the hospital and doing voluntary work? His day starts early, before dawn. He spends two hours meditating, reading, or "just having an inner dialogue.'' This is where his inspiration comes from. The working hours in the hospital begin at 9.30 a.m.. Leisure time is precious to him, and when not spent with wife and children, it is playing a game of golf or badminton, or reading a book.
The idea to put his thoughts and the attitudes he practised into a book came to Dr. Shetty two years ago. "You have to be positive by thinking good of others... your internal environment is as important as the external. These were the thoughts which kept me preoccupied for 10 years.''
He started writing one or two hours a day during April 2000, and finished the manuscript by the end of that month. He feels the book has helped the people who read it, and he has received positive feedback. He gives a free copy of the book to his patients and was pleasantly surprised to see it in the bookstore at Chennai airport during a recent visit.
``Spiritual growth is more important in life than material benefits and anyone can achieve it,'' he says in parting.
Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
|
