I had just heard the word ‘Shapath’ while listening to Swami Rama’s lecture in hindi where he had said, ‘Even with the ones you have taken a vow to live together (shapath khaayi saath rahne ke liye), even there you need to talk, but to converse with the Lord, you just need to be silent. Most easy!’
And then comes the news of Charak Shapath which is being sought to be replaced by the Hippocratic Oath in the medical colleges in India. In a land where the origins of health and healing began in hoary past, where the modern and ancient converge, where yogis demonstrate the power they have over their own bodies and mind, transcending pain of not only oneself but of healing others too, what matters? Living by the oath or providing environment for all those entering various levels of the medical profession to be able to balance one’s one need with the ability to heal others in the most effective way?
At a Physicians conference in Chennai in 1993, as Keynote speaker Swamiji spoke of ‘Let Body be body’s cure’ quoting from the ancient texts of how medicine was practiced. At another time, speaking to scientists @Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, he taught the most basic practice ‘Diaphragmatic breathing’ (demonstrating to all how to start with breathing in the crocodile pose). Yet, the heart of all healing is in Meditation. Let me share from what he said to the interviewer of the Probe (1973) in US:
….”You must be convinced that meditation is very beneficial for you. You must train yourself to relax your muscle tensions. You must also learn to give rest to your heart and lung muscles which are not under your control. Then, slowly, you must train your brain, and finally your mind.
“There may be slightly different ways of meditating in the beginning, but there is definitely only one way of calming down your mind and allowing your subconscious mind to come forward and remain very conscious during this period. And, there is only one way of going beyond your subconscious mind and letting your intuitive mind come forward.”….
“When the mind flows without interruptions in one direction, the mind experiences enlightenment. And, in attaining the highest state of enlightenment, you will have attained universal consciousness i.e. meditation that transcends all activity of the conscious and subconscious mind.”
