By Arvind Ananthan, India
The wake-up call at 3 am Â
It was around 2:30 am on Feb 21, 2024, 2 days prior to the Mohanji’s 59th birthday celebrations near Ganeshpuri. I was at the Sea’ n Rock Hotel along with my parents for a retreat that concluded the Divine Trails of Datta tour organized by Gurulight. We had arrived there just two days prior, after a whirlwind tour of prominent pilgrimage spots deeply connected to Dattatreya and his incarnations. The previous stop before the retreat was Shirdi – another powerhouse of one of Datta’s incarnations as Shirdi Sai Baba.
We were all buzzing with energies and undergoing our own inner transformations – some visible but mostly deeply hidden from our usual waking state consciousness that’s cluttered. My parents had had a great time till now, especially my father, who had wanted to visit Shirdi a few months ago. It was very uncharacteristic of him to want to visit any temple, barring a couple of deeply connected ones in his life – as he’s not the type to hop on a tour around all the prominent temples.
I was getting ready to wake up at 2:45 am for my morning sadhana when I noticed that my elderly 80-year-old dad was already up, using the washroom. He seemed to be in minor discomfort, exhibiting breathlessness. While such breathlessness isn’t unusual for his 80-year-old body with a pacemaker, the timing presented some worries. I asked him if he wanted to go to a hospital, to which he replied, ‘Yes.’ I knew something was up, as he’s usually eager to avoid going to any hospital if he can help it. Clearly, he couldn’t in this case, judging from how laborious his breathing was becoming every minute.
Rush to find an Emergency Room in an unknown city
I promptly booked an Uber while looking for hospitals in the area that could be open at that hour and have decent emergency facilities. Being far away from our home base in Hyderabad, I had no idea about hospitals in the area and had to make a guess. I also didn’t want to wake anyone else up. It took us 10 mins to reach the nearest one, but that one was closed, and clearly Google Maps entry was incorrect.
So, I immediately picked another one nearby, but this time, I called them to check if they had night staff available and could take in an emergency patient. We rushed to that one, and by the time we reached there, my father’s state had visibly deteriorated; he was gasping for air and sweating profusely. I knew it wasn’t a heart attack as he was recently cleared of any blockages, and his annual pacemaker check-up had come up negative for any issues as well.
He was admitted to St. Ann, where our arrival woke up the sleepy staff, including the on-duty physician. They promptly checked his vitals and started giving him oxygen as his spO2 level was rapidly dropping and was less than 60 when he was taken in. On conducting a blood test for arterial blood gases (ABG test), his CO2 level came up very high (54 instead of less than 35), and O2 level very low (around 35 instead of at least 90), and his blood was turning acidic from the CO2 (pH of 7.1).
I’m giving these numbers as they’d play a role in this story later. We would find out later that he was having pulmonary edema, fluid in the lungs, caused by heart failure (weakened heart muscles not being able to sufficiently pump blood and hence creating a backflow of fluids into the lungs that can be fatal if not attended to immediately).
Despite the intervention, my father was gasping for air, and his condition was now deteriorating gradually rather than rapidly. The staff had managed to slow down but not halt the worsening situation, and the duty physician decided to transfer him to an ICU facility nearby as this hospital didn’t have the needed facilities to handle such a case. So, an ambulance with an emergency physician arrives to transfer him to the Cordis Criticare ICU facility nearby after being intubated on the spot, given his worsening situation.
Deep cleansing by Divine Trails of Datta?
This whole episode till now was not only a blur, moving rapidly, but also a mix of perplexing emotions and releases rising from deep within in a way that cannot be processed intellectually. While dealing with my parents’ health issues, including emergency situations, wasn’t new to me, this time, it felt very different.
The previous 10 days were spent visiting major energy spots of Dattatreya at a hectic pace that was beautiful and memorable in a cosmic timeless sense. While I can’t really put a finger on what may have transpired within me, it certainly felt like there were some deep shifts that were taking place, which culminated with us ending up in the ICU. The deep cleanse was happening not just for me but for my entire lineage as well. Only Mohanji and the Masters of the Tradition will know for sure.Â
The primary driver of this trip for me was to fulfill my dad’s desire to visit Shirdi – something he’d never done before in his life and had expressed a desire to do so only a few months prior. And after the visits, my dad was clearly pleased with the past few days. He even had a great time at the satsang the previous evening, his first one with Mohanji, where he also met my Guruji for the first time in his present life.Â
I felt the profound satisfaction and contentment from this trip may have triggered his deeper self to decide that it was time to depart, perhaps. At least that was my presumption – and I felt that my dad couldn’t have picked a better timing or place – after this pilgrimage to Shirdi and in the presence of my Guru Mohanji. Little did I know at that time that Mohanji and my dad had other plans.
P.S. : My mom just loved Gurulight paraphernalia! All product placements in the photos are purely coincidental!
Day 1 in the ICU
By 6:00 am, he’d been admitted to this ICU facility – and was being taken care of. There’s not much we could do at this point other than wait. And I knew nothing about the hospital in terms of their quality of care or the caliber of the physicians there. Great moment to practice acceptance, I suppose.
I rushed back to the hotel to take a quick shower, pushed some chow in me so my body wouldn’t complain, and headed back to the ICU. By now, I had warned my Mother and sister (who live in Australia) to expect the worst. I also notified Madhu, who graciously offered his car for our use with a driver that whole day. I also pinged Mohanji via chat to let him know what was happening.
After a quick shower, I go down to grab breakfast, where I coincidentally run into Mohanji (nothing is really coincidental with him!). He asks me how my father was doing and, in his inimitable tone, says – “I’m with him. I’ll do what I can, but it’s up to him (as in my father’s free will how this will turn out)! I knew at that point that I had the best Dr in the world taking care of my dad – as long as my dad wanted to be taken care of. Masters never interfere in free will or karma. While I had presumed and accepted that it was time for my dad to move on from this lifetime, Mohanji indirectly hinted that it may not yet be his time.
The rapid recovery
When I get back to the ICU later, at around 9:30 am, I run into a Pulmonologist – who finds me to give me an update. Usually, the patient’s family must chase the right physician in these situations to get an update, but here’s another example of divine forces at play: I run into him looking for me just as I’m entering the facility.
He sounded confident, saying my father was responding quite well to the treatment, and if age and other co-morbidities weren’t a factor, he’d have discharged my dad in the evening! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing but took it with a huge grain of salt to wait and see how all of this would turn out. I was immediately reminded of what Mohanji always says: “I do my job!”
By the end of day 1, my dad was still intubated, but they had reduced the oxygen level to the same amount as that in the atmosphere. By the next day morning, the pressure was reduced to half, so my father’s own lungs were starting to take over the breathing. By the end of the second day, he’s off the breathing tubes! I was told by my dad and the staff later that my dad had gestured them to get him off the tubes within a few hours of being admitted, which was surprising to the staff – as they have never encountered such a case of rapid improvement of such as serious respiratory and heart failure patient.
The ABG numbers on the second day morning showed all the parameters within the normal range. This is 24 hours after he was admitted in a serious condition! By the end of the third day, he was out of the ICU, and after another a day of observation, he was discharged. The attending physician in the non-ICU section commented that 99% of the patients in his condition at his age don’t come out of the ventilator – let alone move around independently to walk to the washroom while complaining about the food quality at the hospital!
On the second day, when my father was still intubated, he communicated with me and the staff by writing on a notepad. I had jokingly asked him – if he was planning to leave – and he responded by writing, saying he’s still got work to do! He’s my partner and a director at my startup – and without him, I’d be lost on so many elements of the organizational operations. I joked that he’s not getting paid to chill in an ICU bed and asked him to get his behind out of there and get back to work asap!
Grace of Mohanji & Tradition
From being on the doorsteps of death, intubated on a ventilator, to nearly a full recovery in 3 days – for a patient in his 80s with various other co-morbidities – is nothing short of a miracle. This is a miracle that can only be attributed to a higher power that operates in ways and for reasons that our puny minds can’t fathom. It feels like certain lineage karma was accelerated for our family thanks to the divine grace of my Guru, Parabrahma Mohanji!
Nothing but deep gratitude for Mohanji and the Tradition that takes care of followers unconditionally. During this trip, even before this personal episode, I truly saw how Mohanji operates – unconditionally, unceasingly, and in a purely selfless manner for the betterment of humanity and all those in his fold. I and our family got a personal taste of his kindness, compassion, and unconditional love. For that, I’m eternally grateful.
Commentary from the horse’s mouth – by Ananthan Parthasarathy
I wish to share my experience in this episode. From the time I realized the gravity of the situation, I found myself on the morning of 21/2/24 and held on to my will to tide me over, but by the time we reached St Ann’s hospital, I was tottering, and for the first time in my life, I had to physically hang on to my son Arvind. He supported me till I reached the bed and lay down and immediately lost consciousness, though the doctors said I was in a semi-conscious state. Curiously, I never felt any panic but a little bit of sadness that I was giving my son a hard time.
When I came to my senses, it was in the afternoon. Amazingly, it was like waking up from an absolutely calm and deep sleep to full alertness. My hands were tied up to the sides of the bed, and my mouth was sealed with tape over a mouthpiece. I was wearing a copper ring fashioned like a coiled snake.
With that ring, I tapped on the railing of the bed to get the attention of the ICU staff. They were startled to hear a tapping noise on the bed from an intubated patient in ‘critical condition’ and rushed to my side. I glared at them to show my anger for tying me up. All by eye signal. They said it was a precaution to prevent patients from meddling with the mouthpiece tape. I signaled that I wouldn’t do that as a promise. They released my hands.
Surprisingly, I was back in my element. As an incorrigible optimist and realist, I consider life’s journey an adventure, and every task, however trivial it may be, must be attended to sincerely and with utmost care. I may be playing the role of a parent to my kids or a thatha (grandfather) to my granddaughters; I always considered them as fellow souls who have joined me in my journey.
At this juncture, I recall something that happened on Feb 20 when I was going to Sai darshan with the Mohanji group. Midway, I was breathless, and Sri Narendra Rohmetraji (fondly called Mamuji by fellow devotees) came close to me and started praying. I was wondering why this gentleman was so scared. After coming out of the perilous situation, I realized he distinctly felt my predicament and started his prayers.
The bonus for me is a sort of confluence of souls connected with Mohanji, and I could feel every one of them. I bow my head in reverence to all those souls. Whatever little distance remained between me and my son also vanished, and we came very close.
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 28th March 2024
Disclaimer:
The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.
We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.
Mohanji Testimonials team