An
Indian Experience
By Radhika
Kapoor
(Posted
with permission)
[This is the
experience of Radhika and Shivan Goel, circulated by Puja from Chennai,
India]
"As
long as there people suffering, as long as there are people who are miserable,
the Buddha continues to fight. Members of the SGI cast aside fatigue, day
in and day out, exerting themselves for the sake of one person after another.
"
I saw these sentiments
of President Ikeda come alive these last two months.
I knew a woman
who desperately needed to start chanting. Her name is Bindya Goel. Mystically,
she attended her first SGI meeting only three days before her life was
thrown upside down.
An SGI member,
Anchal Kashyap, was at Bindya’s house to help her learn to chant, when
a loud scream came from the other room. Bindya’s son Shiven was on the
floor of the kitchen, with a pencil that had pierced his brain. Bindya
became completely hysterical and with Anchal’s help, they rushed the child
to the hospital. The hospital scan showed that it was a new fully-sharpened
pencil that had pierced this five-year-old boy’s brain from one end to
the other. Shiven was having trouble breathing and was put on a ventilator.
He was then rushed to Apollo Hospital.
The doctors
at Apollo were stunned. They knew they needed to operate at once, but never
before had they seen, heard, or performed a surgery like this. It was the
largest foreign object they had ever seen inside the human brain. The surgery
would be extremely life threatening – when they took the pencil out, there
would most certainly be bleeding which could cause loss of life or huge
damage to the brain.
All the members
of my chapter of SGI were immediately informed. We needed to chant non-stop
throughout the night for the success of the surgery and for Shiven to survive.
Nichiren Daishonin says: “When Bodhisattva Jogyo emerged from the earth,
he leapt forth joyfully.” True to these words, members all over Delhi put
aside everything they were doing and started chanting with ferocity for
the life of Shiven Goel. Almost all of these members had never seen, heard,
or met Shiven or his mother in their lives.
I was in touch
with Bindya every minute of that night. I kept telling her: “Chant, Bindya,
chant!! Chant throughout the night! Your child’s life depends on how much
you exert in faith now. This is not the time to be weak. You have to be
like a demon armed with an iron staff – the staff of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.
Wield it to protect your son. Demand the protection of the Buddhist Gods
– challenge the Gohonzon! Ask to see actual proof here and now.”
I soon saw the
Buddhist Gods swing into action even as the ferocity of our chanting increased.
The superintendent of the hospital, whom I knew because my father-in-law
had spent a year in the same hospital, kept calling me throughout the surgery
from the operation theater itself, reporting how the operation was progressing.
We all were chanting accordingly.
Late into the
night we were informed that Shiven had survived the surgery. There was
no bleeding! The doctors had pulled off a seemingly impossible operation.
However, they had no idea if the brain had been poisoned by the lead or
what might be the extent of the damage. Since Shiven was right-handed and
the pencil had entered from the left side of the brain it was highly possible
that the center for his speech, comprehension, and coordination could be
damaged permanently. The doctors could not say whether he would get out
of the coma, and if he did, what would be the damage.
One thing was
certain: our fight was far from over. Shiven became the focus of everyone’s
prayers. Members got together and prayed and chanted throughout the following
days for Shiven to get out of the coma.
Mrs. Asano,
SGI’s WD Chief, who happened to be in Delhi at the time asked to meet with
Bindya. We were scheduled to spend only fifteen minutes, but Mrs. Asano
spent one full hour explaining the power of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and the
power of a mother’s prayer. Her 100% conviction in the power of the Gohonzon
was completely overwhelming. Mrs. Asano ended by saying when Shiven gets
well (not if but WHEN), he has to come to Japan and report complete victory
to Sensei. Bindya’s tears soon stopped and the lamp of hope lit in her
heart.
We started giving
ourselves daily targets for prayers for Shiven’s progress. It was a collective
prayer of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. How could it be ignored?
We chanted for
Shiven to start moving –in two days, he did.
We chanted that
he get off the ventilator – he did it in his first attempt.
We chanted that
he open his eyes – he did open them, a tiny bit at first.
We chanted that
he respond – he did by moving his hand on command.
We chanted that
he become fully conscious – he did only to cry uncontrollably due to pain.
We chanted that
the pain would go away and he started smiling a little.
We chanted that
he be able to walk – and he ran!
But he did not
start speaking for a long time. We were all convinced that Shiven had to
chant along with us all one day – soon – very soon ...
Miraculously,
within 16 days Shiven was allowed to go home, where for the first time
he said the word “mama.” He then graduated from words to phrases. I am
happy to report that, on Tuesday last, our chapter met to chant daimoku
of appreciation. When all the members had left, Shiven came up to me and
said “Radhika Masi – Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!” Bindya and I had tears rolling
down our faces. The Gosho says: The Lotus Sutra is a great physician who
can turn poison into medicine; because it can cure what is thought to be
incurable, it is called myo or wonderful.
Shiven has already
lived up to his mission in life. He has given us all a chance to reflect
on, challenge, and refresh our faith. He has shown us that there is no
such thing as “impossible” in front of the Gohonzon. Through the fighting
spirit of all the SGI members and his mother, Shiven has shown what it
is to be a Bodhisattva of the Earth.
As for the SGI
members of New Dehli – they have shown that we common mortals are actually
Buddhas, who can find within our lives the compassion to share others’
suffering. We have the courage to pray and to change another’s suffering
into great immeasurable happiness – for that person and as an example to
all humanity.
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