Wouldn’t it be great..

Wouldn’t it be great to take this gift of “free medicine” to the poor to people in the U.S.? Isn’t everyone worthy of care?   Absolutely. Rich or poor all humans are the same in the heart and they deserve to be healthy. When everyone is seen as one in the same, there is a palpable feeling in the room that only the heart knows. Who’s giving the gift to whom I ask? To see the light and the gratitude in the people’s eyes who have finally got herbs for an open sore, a cough, cold, kidney stones, arthritis, diabetes, hormone issues, missed periods and the like; the same complaints we have only you hear from them when asked ” how long have you been feeling this”? and they say “five years” you see a strength unlike no other- of folks who just go on living. We in the United States need everything TODAY. These folks often walk ten to fifteen miles to see Dr Lad, to receive his love and compassion and to be treated for their ailments. So wouldn’t it be great to blend the two approaches?

Everyone is seen at the end of the day; no one is turned down. Everyone treated the same; everyone treated with respect and love. Seeing the open wounds , the bare feet parched from walking in the fields, their skin burnt to a crisp from the sun working outside; inspired a new appreciation in me for my life. Not the kind that is just comparing one to another but the kind that has moved my heart in ways I can only feel. What is “power” what is “ego” in the western world of fame and recognition often dilutes the authenticity of anything.

But here to witness a human being so dedicated to the teachings of ayurveda and sharing them with the world, to “mana- seva”- service to humanity, is a true example of a human life worth living.

After watching Dr. Lad in his farm clinic treating the poorest of poor people I have ever witnessed with free herbs, free consults, MARMA therapy.. my heart expands as we are actually the ones receiving the gifts. We have seen people over the few weeks who have come more than once or twice to get their herbs and Marma from Dr. Lad and visibly see how they are healing in such a short time.. again often from symptoms they have had for years. Dr. Lad would ask “how old are you” and they say” maybe fourty or fifty” I don’t know”.. or a child might say ” maybe fifteen or twenty, not sure”.  They don’t even have birth certificates. Their clothes are often filled with holes from the mice who eat them- that’s how poor they are. But their eyes filled with light tell me that we are all the same.. who’s watching who? who’s giving who the gift really?

photos by Gedalia and Siri Chand