Wonder of hope

RAMANNA lay in the critical care unit (CCU). Maama — as those he had guided, inspired and taught as a teacher fondly called him — had suffered a stroke. His students were shocked, he had helped them through their problems but now Ramanna needed help. The best doctors had been attending on him for 20 days, but now they had told his family and friends to be prepared for the inevitable.

I had met Ramanna years ago, through a mutual friend, Kiran, and knew him to be a great scholar. What attracted me to Ramanna was his sense of responsibility and clarity of mind. He believed in action and not in mere words. Ramanna had known my father, T. Krishnamacharya, and hailed him as a great master. We shared a strong bond of mutual respect that had strengthened over the years.

When I heard of Ramanna's situation, I knew I had to see him. So I told Kiran to come with me. As he was in the critical care unit, visitors were not allowed and we had to wait for over a week. Then, one day, visitors were allowed. As I walked through the corridors of the hospital, I saw many of his students, family and friends waiting. The family knew my close connection and was keen to have my opinion of his condition, and so they took me in immediately.

I went in with my father's japamala in my pocket, as it is special to me. It represented a link with my father, a great healer in his time, and one for whom Maama had great respect. There I stood in front of this wise man who lay comatose. I stood by his side for 10 minutes with eyes closed, and thought of my father. Ramanna's relatives wanted me to take his pulse, feel his body and diagnose his situation. I only listened to his breathing.

Ten minutes later, I left the room and walked down the corridor to meet his wife and children. They told me in detail how he had come to such a state and what had been done so far. They were happy that I had visited. I told them: ``How can I not come? He is so important to me.'' I also added ``his breathing seems good.'' Their eyes lit up. Then I felt.

As we were waiting at a traffic junction on the way home, my friend's mobile phone rang. ``Maama looked at us'' shouted the voice at the other end. ``It must be Desikachar's visit,'' said Raju, Ramanna's son, ``It was because of his visit that Maama opened his eyes after so many days. Please thank him.'' Kiran conveyed this to me and we were happy. But my visit caused this change? I did not believe this.

The way I look at this situation is thus: Ramanna's people were in gloom when they heard of his situation and this energy resonated across the hospital; that and the way they handled the situation.

The moment I said that his breathing was fine, it changed their perception of the situation. Hope dawned and this was reflected in the way they began looking at, and behaving with, the old man. The new energy replaced the old one, and this made a big difference.

This is what I call the resource within us that can heal not only ourselves, but others too. The collective efforts of these individuals given hope worked this wonder. What the doctors with their tools could not do, the positive spirit of the people around achieved for Ramanna. He is still in hospital but is recovering.

T.K.V. DESIKACHAR

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