Today is Doctors’ Day and on this occasion, I take
this opportunity to revisit the role of a doctor.
Chapter 10, shloka 21 of the Bhagawad Gita gives
the definition of God, when Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna by saying, “Adityanam
ahaṁ viṣhṇur jyotiṣhaṁ ravir
anśhuman, marichir marutam asmi nakṣhatraṇam ahaṁ śhaśhi”, which
translates as “Of the twelve Adityas, I am Vishnu, of all luminaries, the
radiant sun, of the seven Maruts, I am Marichi and of the constellations, I am
the moon.” All these phenomena are the manifestations of Krishna.
All the forms that Krishna used to define himself,
give something. Moon gives peace of mind, sun gives light etc. Devta is someone
who gives. Anybody who gives can be said to be like a devta. But this giving
has to be unconditional and loving.
A common man’s perspective of God is of a force
that can do and undo anything, for whom nothing is impossible, who is the final
decision maker, whose decision cannot be challenged, who can give an
instantaneous relief, who can punish and reward and he who overcomes miseries.
He can also answer the unknown as he is supposed to know everything.
In Bhagawad Gita and other Vedic texts, God is
equated to consciousness, a network of energized information, a force which
cannot be burnt by fire, wet by water, dried by air or cut by weapon; a force
which is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient and still ever-pervading.
A trained qualified medical doctor who has his
understanding based on the mind, body and soul has nearly similar
characteristics. He overcome miseries as soon as he touches the patient, gives
immediate relief which starts at the time he gives a healing touch to the
patient.
God resides in each one of us. In his book ‘How to
Know God’, Deepak Chopra has explained different levels of God. According to
him a God is a person from amongst the society with one step higher level of
consciousness. He describes, as per the Vedic text, seven different levels of
consciousness that a person can possess.
1. Flight &
fight
2. Reactive
consciousness
3. Restful
alertness consciousness
4. Intuitive
consciousness
5. Creative
consciousness
6. Sacred
consciousness
7.
Visionary consciousness
A person who has achieved sainthood, who sees the
same consciousness in everybody, treats individuals without caste, creed and
religion and who overcome miseries of people irrespective of their age, status
or paying capacity is God. Doctors fulfil these criteria as they have a duty to
heal the sick irrespective of their caste, creed, race or financial status.
Even the MCI Code of Ethics has said, “The prime object of the medical
profession is to render service to humanity; reward or financial gain is a
subordinate consideration (1.1.2).” The MCI Declaration, which a doctor
is required to sign at the time of registration, also says “I will not permit
considerations of religion, nationality, race, party politics or social
standing to intervene between my duty and my patient (d).”
Today with evidence-based medicine being the norm,
mental and spiritual health has taken a backseat.
This may be one reason why
doctors are losing the status of God, which they were accorded since Vedic
times.
But, we should remember that doctors are messengers
of God to remove miseries of the sick individuals and so should always act in
the best interests of the patient. “Doctors treat, but God heals” is a
well-known saying.
My best wishes to you on this Doctor’s Day …
Dr KK Aggarwal
National President IMA & HCFI
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