There are many ways!..An important message. Take care while flying frequently

Those who read my blogs will know about Surya and Neema. Recently we have been attending a series of Neema's lectures at their apartment on Bhagwad Gita. Last Thursday we were seeking a topic for a lecture they would be giving to the members of National Museum Volunteers, Bangkok and felt that a talk on 'Karma' appeared right for the group! This choice reminded me of a quote on Karma: 'God does not make one suffer for no reason nor does He make one happy for no reason. God is very fair and gives you exactly what you deserve.' (Wikipedia)

While I had no issues with this quote, I turned to Surya and asked: 'I have heard that two angels (I think I said spies!) keep a watch and maintain a register of all our actions. But my question really is about the process of handling this enormous amount of data, collecting and processing billions of inputs by millions of us humans and administering the right reward or punishment. How is this achieved?’ It was difficult to for me to imagine how this could be done during Vedic times, but we can now talk of a super-duper computer doing this work! Anyway, my tone implied: 'I cannot really believe that this is possible'.

Surya said: 'Yes it is a belief and the scribes are Chitra and Gupta' and Neema added: 'I think it is possible, think of the universe which is billions of years old still working to some order, why think of the creation within this earth itself or just our own birth process, I am sure it is possible'. She calls them non-verifiable beliefs. I let it go at this as we were on our way to a friends' place and had reached our destination.

I had no inkling then that what Neema terms as my skepticism, was going to be overhauled within a few days.

Well here is my story. We had arranged our farewell party last Friday, May the 1st. The Party went very well and we came home happy and spoke to our children whom we had sorely missed. Our daughter Nandini had just returned from a short trip to Hyderabad and was getting back to her routines. Actually, we first spoke to Rohini in Vancouver and as we spoke she mentioned that Nandini while talking about her trip complained of pain in her leg. This jogged Rohini's memory; she had read about travel induced blood clots and urged Nandini to go to ER immediately and get herself checked.

Soon after we spoke to Nandini in Bellevue, she said that she had already been to the ER and yes, there was a clot and she had been given medicine and also an injection and now she was fine. We were relieved and went to bed tired after a very hectic but a wonderful evening of partying!

I do not sleep all through the night and as I woke up, my mind went clicking and I soon realized that the clot must dissolve completely for her to be safe and fervently wished it would be so. I also hoped that there would be no break away clots. True to my nature I did not involve God in any manner at that time. Frankly my understanding about her present ailment was very vague.

Next morning Tara called Nandini to check how she was doing and Nandini said she would call back. But she did not call and we were not too worried as we thought she was just busy. We went out for lunch to Gayathri's place and were happy talking about the last evening’s program, how well it went and how everyone had a good time! While we were at the lunch table Mukund received a call and said 'Just a minute' and handed over the phone to me. That created a little flutter in my heart. We had not carried our phone and some one trying to reach us this way was a bit worrying.

It was Raxit and he spoke very calmly and said that he was speaking from the hospital and that Nandini was fine. He then spoke about how Nandini had some discomfort in the evening and that they rushed to the hospital and she was admitted and that on a scan the doctors found a few clots lodged in her lungs; luckily they were not threatening. She was immediately put on IV medication and that doctors were now happy with her progress but were keeping her in the hospital for a few days to ensure no further complications arose, especially due to the unpredictability of her condition.

He explained to me a little more about DVT and said he would keep in touch. It was lucky for us that we were with Gayathri, Mukund and Vasantha and they were able to calm our minds. Vasantha spoke about divine intervention through Rohini and that Nandini went on time to doctors both the times.

It is only when we returned from lunch and I had a look at the web, I realized the seriousness of what had transpired. Tara had gone totally quiet, I am sure she was offering silent prayers while my mind went into overdrive. I saw more websites on Deep Vein Thrombosis and it was very worrying to learn more about this ailment. I was also greatly relieved that in Nandini's case the break away clots did not cause serious complications.

It was around 9 pm when Tara said let us go to the Erawan (Brahma) shrine and offer prayers. I went along with her and sat contemplating while she did her thing of offering prayers. That is the time I realized that I was hoping and praying. I was in fact wishing that there were no more errant clots breaking loose and even if they did I was mentally urging them to travel and reach safer areas of her lungs. I was also praying that the medicines administered would do their job.

This is what Nandini told me when I spoke to her later. She said 'I just have to wait: for the medicines to do their job and my body to do its job'. I am very happy to say that they are doing their jobs and she is sounding much better now. Nandini and Raxit received and are receiving tremondous support from Ram and Shakku (Tara's sister) and many friends they have made in Seattle. We know that God has always been kind to us but more so now!

As we spoke to friends and relatives, I realized how important it was to talk to them. Vasantha saw the divine intervention in all this and offered prayers on our behalf. So did all of those we had spoken to, they all said that they would include us in their prayers. They gave us enormous support and we were able to compose ourselves and become more objective.

Later I spoke to Rikhi about all this and said I still do not know how to pray, I do not remember any mantras to chant and so on. He said you can talk to God if you do not know how to pray, he will listen! I suppose that is the message I want to pass on.

I also want to urge people to take this advice about moving your limbs often and keeping our body hydrated while on a flight very seriously. I remember EVA airlines screen this advice periodically and show us a set of exercises we should do be doing on board. I am sure all airlines do this. Please watch it and do exactly what it says. I know we hardly watch what they say about our safety while we are on a flight!

It is also worthwhile looking at the websites like the one below.
http://www.preventdvt.org/