Recovering from severe illness

It wasn’t until I dug into my story deeply that I realized that there was a point in my life when I almost died. For a long time I had discounted and forgotten this event in my life as something I never wanted to experience again but within it was also a great realization. The realization that life is finite. It also reminded me of my connection with God when there was no other way.

I want to take you back to 1999. I had finished 7th grade and knew that we were destined to move to the US later that year. What was supposed to be a great summer break before embarking for this life altering move to the United States turned into a nightmare when I drank the wrong glass of water. I was infected with hepatitis which almost took my life and also changed me forever. 

For months I barely ate and became severely weak in both body and spirit. I looked and felt like a skeleton barely hanging onto life. When I went for a blood test on one occasion, I lost complete consciousness and collapsed on the floor. I woke up to find my mom crying and the doctors having raised my legs to help me regain consciousness. The disease  left me pale and my body itched to the point that I had scabs all over. It wasn’t pretty.

My parents found the most respected doctor in the field who actually removed all unnecessary medications and also emphasized the need for prayer. He knew that both basic medicine and prayer were necessary. There was very little the doctors could do.

My family prayed a lot, took me to Hindu & Jain Temples, Gurdwaras and Islamic fakirs to gain their blessings for my safe recovery. Being raised as a Hindu but going to an Islamic fakir for blessings was a big deal but they would do almost anything at this point for my health. On one of the nights, I remember not being able to sleep through the night while staring at the picture of an Indian goddess in the room, Ma Durga, while praying for better health. With the many blessings I received over months, what could have been only divine intervention, my health gradually recovered.

This was my very initial awakening to God. Shortly after I moved to the United States and forgot all about it.

Perhaps you too have faced something drastic in your life or know someone who has. I share this story because too often people don’t realize that their life is finite. They know this truth as a “concept” but haven’t fully internalized it. Often that internalization happens when a close loved one passes away. Only then we begin to wake up to the fact that perhaps our own life would come to an end one day too. And that we had better start living it!

I’m not saying this to be overly dramatic but it’s TRUE. Upon holding this thought initially you might feel some sadness. If you stay with that feeling, breathe through it and let it process through you, eventually what follows is a gradual awakening to live the LIFE you already have and the desire to live it in the best way possible. No longer on auto-pilot. Every bit of virtuous difficulty gives rise to a greater possibility. The same is true here.

So let me ask you this - 

• Are you AWAKE to your life? 

• Do you fully REALIZE that your life is finite? 

• Are you living it the way you really want or are you on autopilot? 

~ Nitin Garg