My thoughts and emotions towards doctors hold a fair bit of anger, disappointment, resentment and much frustration. The Allopathy doctors – the most common ones, with the whole medical infrastructure of testing and clinics and pharmacies all over the place.

A few conversations with friends or not-so-much-friends who sneered at any alternative medicines. And claim allopathy to be the all superior holy grail of health. Also come to mind along with this negativity.

Anyway, this is a story that has very old roots and too many experiences that go with it. What I want to share here is one of two highly pleasant and acceptable experiences I had with doctors in the recent past.

Sant Sangati

Nowadays, I frequent ashram spaces quite a lot. Isha ashram or the Dada Bhagwan one in Ahmedabad. Tiruvannamalai is also always in my mind, but I haven’t been there much.

Amba hospital in Dada Bhagwan Ashram

Earlier in the year I spent some 15 or so days at the Dada Bhagwan ashram in Adalaj, outskirts of Amdavad. They have an Amba hospital as part of the ashram.

I went there for my routine dental check up. I generally get it done in Mumbai, where I have a fairly decent dentist. But this time I was planning to skip Mumbai as much as possible.

So I went for my routine dental check up and as it happened I needed a “small” cavity done (fairly frequent).

My experience with the check up was good.. and then I chatted with my friends in the ashram and they said the Amba docs are pretty great. AND they are all volunteers. Not paid professionals.

So I decided to go and get the cavity done here itself.

Must say, I was amazed with the effort and dedication with which they have done the work. Both the dentist and the helper were volunteers. And the total charge was very less. But the way they did the work was the best.

Really touched by it. And later I found out that part of the Dada Bhagwan teaching is to consider the body as a temple. So the doctors and hospital staff are asked to remember this and do their work like they are working in a temple.

And the best part was that I also got a feeling of that…. even though I hadn’t heard or read it before. Nor did I articulate that thought in my mind. But somewhere deep down I felt like I was in a temple, when I was on that dentist chair.

I am usually tempered in my praises. But I am really happy with this hospital. And as I discussed with my friends there in Adalaj, they also shared other stories that made me feel really good about it.

And again I felt happy that in this life I have found varied levels of “Sant Sangati”.