This place looks like something from Disneyland, right?
It's actually a hospital in Puttaparthi, India, that provides specialty care free of charge to anyone and everyone. Their motto is "Love All. Serve All," which is a philosophy that I admire greatly. I met two retired doctors who have been involved in the project. The idea of volunteering with them appealed to me immediately, so when they invited me to lunch to talk more about it I jumped at the chance.
The lunch conversation was, in a word, unique. Rather than talking about hospital volunteer opportunities, it veered oddly toward spiritualism.
Two years ago, I went on a day-trip to visit the shrine of a controversial "Saint" in Guatemala (follow the link and scroll all the way down). In some ways, this lunch talk gave me similar feelings of admixed disbelief-awe-confusion-bemusement-fascination.
I'm skeptical of everything they said, but my lunch hosts believed in the stories so ardently that it was kind of riveting to listen to them talk about it. At the very least, it inspires a sense of wonder when a person expresses deep faith in something, even if that something is impossible for you to believe. So rein in your doubt and join me for a zesty ride while I relay the highlights!
1. The hospital was founded by Sathya Sai,
aka Baba Sai,
aka Swami,
aka Guru.
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| aka Baba Sound of Music |
2. According to my lunch hosts:
- He could conjure rings and other jewelry onto your fingers
- He could pick mangos from a tamarind tree
- After being inspired to build the hospital, he made the 9-year project take only 1 year.
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| Give Baba Sai a high five for building that Disney Castle Hospital in one year! |
3. They told me three stories about the Swami's magic.
- A wealthy old American couple came to visit him in India. While there, the husband died. Three days later, his grief-stricken wife went to Baba Sai. Baba told her the husband was not dead, and sent her back to the hospital. Down in the morgue, the dead man woke up and told everyone that Baba had brought him to life again.- A young couple got in a car accident. The man's legs were crushed, and the woman died. Baba Sai told the man that if someone would give the woman an injection (...of anything), Baba would use the injection to infuse the life energy back into her. One saline injection later and *poof* the woman came back to life. Meanwhile, all the shattered glass from the car accident appeared in their kitchen.
- An old guy was told he had lung cancer. He refused any treatment until he could go to India and ask Baba Sai's advice. Baba pointed to the guy's chest and said, "I cancel your cancer. No more cancer." The man eventually allowed doctors to take a biopsy while having open-heart surgery for something else 3 years later, and the biopsy showed only scar tissue.
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| Canceling cancer delights Baba Sai. |
So many questions about this...
- It's certainly different from my own beliefs, but different is not necessarily bad. I'm willing to think of him as someone who tried to help people, but reluctant to accept that he's some type of magic man. Am I wrong to doubt?
- It's unusual to meet highly-educated people with extreme beliefs, like these two doctors who believe in all the *poof* and reanimation stories. Can extremism in one domain (spirituality) be separated from all the other domains of life (profession)? Can you doubt someone in one domain while trusting them in another?
- They invited me to India to visit the hospital for a week, stay in an ashram, observe how the hospital runs, and lay the groundwork for returning to volunteer with them after residency. Given that I completely support their goal of providing quality free healthcare to the poor, but I think the Swami miracle stories are probably hooey, would I be a hypocrite if I volunteered there?
- Is it possible for something pure (like a good, honest, well-run charitable hospital) to be built on something dubious?
The real question is why Baba Sai needed a hospital full of doctors to heal people when it would appear all he really needed was a small building (with room enough for a large queue, no doubut)where he could just sit and cancel peoples' illnesses and occasionally inject them with saline.
ReplyDeleteI see you share my cynicism, Alison. I wondered the same thing, but then felt kind of like a jerk for wondering it. Maybe by letting the doctors play around with the little stuff (like insulin therapy and open heart surgery), it frees up Baba's time for the big stuff (like canceling death and picking mangos).
DeleteYour description sounds a lot like the guy in Brasil who goes by Joao de Deus, who I also find really fascinating:
http://www.johnofgod.com/
No matter how nonsensical or extreme their beliefs may be (they could worship tire irons or believe that Justin Bieber is a latter-day theophany), as long as you believe in what they do--what they accomplish--for people, it is not hypocrisy. As long as you don't start spreading the gospel of Baba Sai, of course. I believe the recent musical Book of Mormon dealt with this topic rather directly.
ReplyDeleteWhat?? You don't believe that The Bieber is a modern theophany?!? You heretic! No wonder you left this comment anonymously. ;)
DeleteIn seriousness, I do see your point that there is a distinction between supporting the mission of the hospital and supporting the man who founded it. Despite that, I'm still troubled by the idea that even though the distinction exists clearly in my mind, it might not appear as clearly in the eye of the beholder. While some see the hospital's work as a great humanitarian accomplishment, others see it as proof that Baba Sai was a god-man. Perhaps it doesn't matter what people see in it, as long as people who need care are getting care. Or does it?
Cooperation does not imply espousal. Your question is whether it would be inferred, though. Perhaps. However, the degree to which this religion or that is more or less extreme[ly silly] shouldn’t really factor in to the decision, assuming that you do not believe that religion to be morally reprehensible. What if the hospital were established by, and remained associated with, a religion that was widely considered mainstream but not of a faith you shared? Could or should a Hindu serve in a Catholic hospital? (For the sake of argument, let’s assume that 1. no one in this scenario is of the Baha’i faith, 2. proselytizing would not be part of the duties, and 3. that one does not have to openly adopt specific doctrine to work there.) The question then becomes simply: Are you comfortable cooperating with people or organization of a different faith than yours?
DeleteAs an aside, how would any of our religions’ beliefs fare under the lens of a critical, faithless evaluation? Would not many key points of doctrine strain credulity?
Thank you for the very carefully reasoned, thought-provoking comment. Your questions are, in essence, the same ones I've been asking myself. Your endpoint is strikingly close to mine (...including your implication that Justin Bieber isn't a deity. Alas, I'm sure his lawyer will be contacting you soon about that.) Thanks for joining the conversation.
DeleteStepping away from the Sathya Sai specifics and into general terms: I believe that service to those in need transcends the (often hazy, sometimes gerrymandered) boundaries of religious belief systems. However, human behavior doesn't always allow that transcendence to occur. During volunteer work in 10 countries on 3 continents, the only times I've ever felt uncomfortable have been when someone seemed to be forcing his or her faith onto others, regardless of what the faith happened to be.
*Having* differences makes for a more interesting, dynamic group. Being fascinated by or delighted by differences has made for the best conversations and experiences I've ever had. *Fixating* on those differences--especially if it involves an attempt to coerce people to one side or another--seems to be what drives the wedge that splinters a group apart.
In an ideal world, diversity could exist without an agenda, and service could be pure service.
Be careful if you get involved, Sarah. I thought I recognized Sathya Sai's distinctive hair from some distant memory of a newscast, so I did a little bit of searching and it turns out there have been major sex abuse allegations against him stretching all the way from the 1970's until his death in 2011. UNESCO actually withdrew funding because of it. For example:
ReplyDeleteGranted, the alleged acts were almost exclusively toward males (this does not excuse it in any way, but it does mean you're not the target demographic), Sathya Sai is now deceased, it doesn't seem to be an ongoing pervasive problem within the remaining ashram, it isn't formalized or excused by the teachings there, and no one disputes that the hospital provides great care for thousands of people.
So, what we're left with is a highly controversial man but a highly charitable hospital. Even as open-minded as you typically are about things, I can see why the sum of it leaves you with questions.
Sorry. There was a link there. Let me try that again...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba3.html