Providing medical services to those in need has become the trademark of devotees of Sathya Sai Baba implementing His directive “Love All, Serve All.” All aspects of Sai Ideal healthcare are being exhibited by devotees throughout the globe including major tertiary hospitals in India, mobile clinics in remote areas, and medical and dental camps and clinics. There are also numerous worldwide blood donation drives and even veterinary medical camps to help animals. Furthermore, telemedicine services are also being used to facilitate teaching and augment delivery of medical care. These services provide an example of how healthcare can and should be provided with love, compassion, and the highest level of skill, at no cost to the patients in need. In this series of articles, physicians from around the world describe their motivation, philosophy, experiences and practice of Sathya Sai Ideal Healthcare, following the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba. We hope that these diverse articles will inspire many others to dedicate themselves to the service of others.
Global Healthcare Mission of Sathya Sai Baba
Dr. Narendranth Reddy, Chairman of the Prasanthi Council, SSIO, practices Internal Medicine and Endocrinology in Southern California. Inspired by Sathya Sai Baba, Dr. Reddy is the leader of the SSIO and has decades of experience in the numerous service and spiritual activities of the SSIO. He summarizes the principles of Sathya Sai Ideal Healthcare and the current state of the Global Healthcare Mission of the SSIO which provides ideal healthcare to millions in India and around the world.
Being A Doctor In Swami’s Divine Fold: A Lifetime Blessing
Dr. Hari Conjeevaram is a Gastroenterologist and Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan, USA. Dr. Conjeevaram has won many teaching awards and has been active in the SSIO Humanitarian Relief and International Medical Committees. He describes how his longing to serve others since his childhood has been fulfilled by his heart-to-heart communion with Sathya Sai Baba. Dr. Conjeevaram describes a few of his many spiritually uplifting experiences while serving in medical camps and disaster relief activities around the world.
My Experience With Sai Medicine
Dr. Hector Casteneda, Medical Director (Zone 2A) Central America of the SSIO, is a neurologist from El Salvador and a senior member of the SSIO. He describes the spiritually transformative influence of Sathya Sai Baba throughout his life. Swami inspires his medical and other humanitarian service activities. Dr. Casteneda also provides a riveting narration of the power of prayer (Gayathri Mantra) which saved his life and the lives of others.
Serving In Sathya Sai Global Health Mission: Perspective of A Neurosurgeon
Dr. K. Nadanachandran is a retired neurosurgeon (retired Clinical Associate Professor Australian National University) and a senior member of the SSIO. He summarizes how Sathya Sai Baba fulfilled his intense desire to use his medical skills to serve needy people by enabling him to establish a neurosurgical unit and medical camps in the vastly underserved island nation of Fiji. Inspired by the life and message of Swami, Dr. Nadanachandran describes that these important service activities are performed with love and compassion in coordination with Fijian governmental agencies.
Watching our Weight
Impact of being overweight or obese on health and disease
Healthcare with Compassion and Faith
Dr. Harini Reddy is a physician practicing Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Los Angeles area. She narrates the importance of her heart-to-heart relationship with Sathya Sai Baba and how He has guided her personal and professional life. She explains how faith in Swami and practice of His teachings allow her to practice medicine with love and compassion. Dr. Reddy also describes her experience with Schwartz Rounds, which improve the work environment and delivery of loving, compassionate care to patients.
Heart-to-Heart Spiritual Journey of A Heart Doctor
Dr. Juglans Alvarez is a cardiovascular surgeon at University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Alvarez grew up and practiced cardiac surgery in Brazil prior to moving to Canada. He describes his fascinating and mysterious spiritual journey from Brazil to India and finding his guru in Sathya Sai Baba. Dr. Alvarez also explains how Baba guided him to organize and execute a conference of Cardiovascular Disease.
Service in Sathya Sai Medical Mission
Dr. Kalpalatha Guntupalli is Endowed Professor of Pulmonary Diseases and Program Director, Critical Care Fellowship, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas USA. She describes her introduction to the Sathya Sai Medical Mission and tells us her experience of the beauty and uniqueness of Sathya Sai Baba’s healthcare philosophy including various collaborative initiatives and research opportunities to promote Sathya Sai Ideal Healthcare.
Orthopaedic Department, SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram - Genesis And Growth
Dr. R. Varadachari, is a retired Orthopedic surgeon residing in St. Louis, Missouri. He is former Chairman, Department of Orthopedics, SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram. Dr. Varadachari describes his journey of becoming a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba, becoming the first Chairman of the Orthopedic department and helping maintain a superb educational and clinical Orthopedic department at SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram. He shares a few of his personal interactions with Swami and also provides an account of the birth and growth of the Orthopedic department.
Sathya Sai Ideal Healthcare A Radiologist’s Perspective
Dr. Vijay Chundi is a neuroradiologist practicing in Florida, USA. Dr. Chundi has been actively involved in medical education (mainly web-based) for many years at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (SSSIHMS) and is also on the SSIO IT Content Team (content management of the website of the SSIO, www.sathyasai.org). He describes his path to medical service and how Sathya Sai Baba lovingly guided him to teach Radiology at SSSIHMS
From I Deal Healthcare To Ideal Healthcare - A Letter To Bhagavan
Dr. Venkatraman Sadanand is a Pediatric Neurosurgeon, who is on the SSIO International Medical Committee and chairman of the SSIO IT Committee. Dr. Sadanand shares how Sathya Sai Baba has guided his spiritual and professional paths. He also shares his vision of the glory and power of Sathya Sai Ideal Healthcare principles in transforming healthcare from a commercialized model to a patient-based, ideal model based on love and compassion. Dr. Sadanand also describes a few loving and transformative interactions with Swami.