How belief, optimism, and prayer help families pull through severe health crises
The first time we met was at a barber’s shop. Technically, it was just four chairs fastened into the ground within a hole in a wall in the by-lanes of Hindu Colony, Dadar. He was the CEO of Eureka Forbes and I was an accomplished neurosurgeon. But, as Parsis, we were both loyal to our barber despite it seeming that the roof might crumble upon us anytime soon. For over a decade, we visited the same shop but our paths never crossed, until the day we found ourselves sitting next to each other and having a conversation through a slightly cracked mirror in front of us.
The barber knew I had trained at CMC – not the Chowpatty Medical Centre but the Christian Medical College, Vellore – and introduced us, as Marzin, sitting next to me, had gone there to get treatment for his leukaemia. “I was given three months to live. My bags were packed for the US, to enrol in a clinical trial there as a last resort, until someone told me about Vellore,” he narrated the story of how he eventually underwent a gruelling bone marrow transplant there. His wife and son stood solidly by his side all though his treatment.
“But what was even more challenging was that I had cancer in one kidney in addition to leukaemia, and the doctors mentioned that the kidney would have to be removed, which I didn’t want. So, I took it upon myself to leverage the power of the subconscious mind to cure myself,” he told me of his mantra to get better and not bitter. “I used the visualization technique along with lotus meditation and imagined the tumour shrinking every day,” he described, amidst the background noise of scissors snipping and water spraying. “The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. I believed I caused my own cancer, and I had full faith that I could cure it,” he affirmed. When the doctors did a sonography a few months later, they were shocked to note that the cancer had disappeared. It will be a decade of being disease free next year, and he continues to help people afflicted with the big C.
Modern medicine is fraught with stories where it doesn’t have an answer. People who have been given a finite time to live have often outlived their decree. People who have been told that nothing would happen to them have collapsed and died. Healing is multidisciplinary, and just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a holistic approach to well-being. It takes faith, it takes love. The food we eat, the water we drink, the words we speak, and the thoughts we think all have the ability to heal or harm, and hence, we must choose wisely. It is not without reason that Zarathustra professed good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.
Rajesh fell of a 40-meter crane while working on the coastal road project. He was rushed to the hospital paralyzed waist down. All of 25 years old, the scans showed a fractured spine completely transecting his spinal cord. We did an emergency surgery to fix the fracture, realign the spine, and decompress the spinal cord, but based on the damage I saw at surgery, I told his mother it would be unlikely he would ever walk again. “Not only that, he may also be on a lifelong urinary catheter with no bladder bowel or sexual function,” I had to give them an honest expectation. “You did your job, doctor; now, we will do ours,” she told me as she took him home on a wheelchair. They were from a poor fishing neighbourhood, but her conviction was well-to-do. When the duo returned one year later for a follow-up, I did not recognize them until they recounted the backstory. I was agog to see him stride in unaided. “Besides vigorous physiotherapy,” which I had insisted they continue, “what did you do?” I asked, staring in amazement. “I recited the Hanuman Chalisa 108 times every day for a year,” she told me with gusto, convinced without a doubt that this would cure her son. The best news was that not only did he regain strength in his legs, but his bowel and bladder were working well too, and his wife was pregnant with their first child. Even though Hanuman professed celibacy, the prayer had worked.
When I wash my hands carefully before every surgery, a term we call ‘scrubbing’, I always say a prayer to help my team, the patient, and the family have the best outcome. If I ever find myself faced with uncontrollable bleeding during an operation, I say the Ashem Vohu prayer– sometimes I need more than one – and I have always been able to salvage the situation. “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind,” Albert Einstein had rightly once said.
Two decades ago, my own mother was afflicted by a deadly virus that paralysed her neck down, requiring her to be on a ventilator for over a month in the ICU. Doctors were uncertain if she would come off it, but ambiguity was not something her then 85-year-old mother understood. She sat outside the ICU for 12 hours every day saying a silent prayer, sure that God would look after her daughter. When my mom walked out of the hospital, I asked my grandmother if she had been scared about losing her second daughter, the first having died in the Handloom House fire in 1982. She looked at me stoically with a kaleidoscope of faith, trust, hope, and optimism. “My God would never do that to me!” For only love — the tenacity of it, the belief in it, and the infinite shapes it can take — makes life more stubborn than death.
This article was published in in the recently released coffee table book Waternamah: 300 years of the Bhikha Behram Well
23 thoughts on “The Surgical Faith ”
So Timely Dr .
Faith Peace Love
From Saudi Arabia.
It was shared with me by my dear friend Dr Vaishali Divekar .Thankyou for sharing the power of prayer and healing.
Superb
Where medicine ends spiritual healing begins.
lad to see there are other doctors who believe that there is more healing and more to “science” than we currently know of…
Commendable to see a man of Science acknowledge the role that Faith plays in our lives…
Modern Allopathic medicine has no answers for these miracle cures.
Doctor treats but God Cures is an old aphorism.
Mazda has brought home these truths superbly
I’m sure all of us at some instance in life have learnt that Faith and Medicine go hand in hand. I do remember how all friends had prayed for your mother to recover.
Have Faith and trust that medicine WILL cure.
Thank you for the article doc
Beautiful narration highlighting the power of the human spirit and underscores that when conventional medicine reaches its limits, unwavering belief and prayer can facilitate remarkable recoveries.
I too believe v disease r selves with r own thoughts n have the innate power to heal r selves too!!
Been there ..done that!!
Amazing what positive thinking can do – excellent article.
I believe prayers can do a lot in your life weather illness or your daily life,
but you have all that in your scaple and YOUR prayers are always answered.
Who knew a cracked mirror and a barber’s chair would lead to this? Honored to be part of your incredible storytelling, Mazda. But let’s be honest, between your scalpel and our barber’s scissors, only one of them saves lives 🙃
By the way, next haircut’s on me
Parsis never fail to amaze me.
Marzin’s comments once again reinforce my opinions.
Today’s article transcends medicine not merely because it dwells on the power of prayer, but because it celebrates the indomitable human spirit.
Your articles always lift my spirits Maz.
So let’s lift the spirits to that!
Right after my ❤️….and om’s too.
He had so many stories of similar outcomes. Not to overlook his own prayers to ‘Shiva’ and ‘Bajrangbali’ before addressing a difficult medical condition of a patient.
I have myself witnessed so many miracles in my life….and that’s why it is so difficult to accept that we lost Om. I did believe he would make it, miraculously, till the end…..against all odds as predicted by the doctors.
Yes doctor I truly believe in my prayers. Time and again Ahura Mazda has heard my prayers and helped me through any difficult situation except one when he did not hear my plea when my husband passed on.
Makes me wonder even today……
Marvellous as usual dr Mazda.. Thanks for sharing…
This article brought back memories of my Mom teaching me Yatha ahur vairyo and me using it through all kinds of situations. This mantra helped me clear my exams with flying colours, heal me through any illness, helped me conquer fear of cockroaches (I would say it before dissecting one in the lab :)) and even played Cupid when I fell in love and hoped that the love of my life would reciprocate my feelings.
Thanks for reinforcing my belief that faith is the fuel one needs to power up the brain into manifesting.
Amazing right up Mazda…may GOD always bless our patients😇🙌
A very inspiring article. Science, faith, human spirit and a positive outlook in the face of adversity all play significant roles.
Dearest Dr Mazda sir ………
It was truly well written piece on belief, optimism & prayers by anyone who has lost hope from Medical science……..
Miracles do happen Mazda sir & more than me my wife believes strongly on chanting her Regular prayers without fail every single day which Hindu philosophy says 50 % benefits will be to me too 😎
I am fortunate to meet your mom’s mom personally & was overwhelmed by her kindness & Love she gave to me …….
Hanuman Chalisa or any other chanting would definitely work positively provided same is done with sincerity & belief as you rightly said sir ……
Congratulations also for inclusion of your Article in Waternamah :
God bless & Good Luck Mazda sir 🌹
Doc… I’m running short of words at this time !
You’re so talented, it simply amazes me, besides scalpel and all… writing, acting, sense of humour galore… I might be missing some, and others that I’m yet to find out !
Stay blessed, always 🤗
Excellent article. In this modern she. We should follow sn Integrative system of medicine. We should have faith and belief whatever system we will have to follow. Thank you 🙏
I’m blown away by this article that mean Religion our faith and science work hand in hand.Faith,love what we eat and drink our taught and what we speak HEAL OR HARM US . DR Mazda GOD alway bless you