I am bringing this story to everyone in hope of inspiring some of you to push through the tough times. This story comes from Colonel Ravindra Dixit a man who faced many setbacks but has worked hard to overcome. I was introduced to him through a comment he posted on my blog and found him to be very interesting from the moment I read his first post.
I am honored to have him share his inspiring story.
This story shows you can overcome adversity and become an inspiration to many.
Stay tuned for further updates on the exact methods Colonel Ravindra Dixit used to overcome the worst days of his life.
Here is his story:
Life in the Army as a young officer was fun all the way; it was hard, hard training, hard unit routine, hard games, hard drinking, hard smoking and hard socializing. But all this changed in 1975, when my parents asked me to accompany them to Prasanthi Nilayam in Village Puttparthy, the ashram of Shri Satya Sai Baba, which is located approx 120 Kms from Bangalore, in Southern India. This visit had a profound effect on me; I was strongly attracted towards Baba and became his devotee. I was then posted in an artillery regiment, in Himachal Pradesh, a province in Northern India.
When I returned to my unit after the visit, I was confronted by my friends and well wishers who dissuaded me from following Baba, as He was said to be a notorious miracle man and not the God-man and saint he proclaimed to be. To dispel my doubts I studied the works of Swami Vivekananda, a renowned Indian saint of the late 19th century. After my studies not only did my faith in Shri Satya Sai Baba increase but I was also introduced to all the forms of yoga and the need to abstain from consuming meat, tobacco and alcohol. Life for me took a turn; I commenced the practice of yoga, daily worship and meditations and this gave me a sense of discipline and purpose. Soon I started seeing things and events in a different light, my relationship with them underwent a subtle change. It was like an affair, I was surely in love, with what, I did not know, for what, I never cared, towards what end, I had no clue. Yet it was bliss.
I was a novice on the path of spirituality, without ever making an effort to decipher the purpose of my being, I blundered along unknown tracks. Though I was deep in the study of yoga, I failed to realize a simple truth, that without Divine intent not a blade of grass could grow nor can a leaf be moved by the breeze. If all is ordained by God, then my service as a soldier, served just as divine a purpose, as the holy chanting by a temple priest. I had failed to understand that the crux of life is to live it in the moment, that if a task comes one’s way in the natural course of things, then it has been allotted by divine dispensation, therefore the work at hand is the most important thing for a person and he must give it his singular undivided attention. Understanding such a fundamental spiritual fact had eluded me, and in my ignorance I was studying spirituality at the cost of my professional duties, which was not correct.
The two years after my visit to Puttaparthi went as if in a dream. I was now posted at the School of Artillery, Devlali in the Indian state of Maharashtra for an important professional course. Near Devlali there is Shirdi which has a temple of Sai Baba (the Sai Baba of Shirdi is different from the Sai Baba of Puttaparthi). This is a very famous shrine and Shirdi Sai Baba has a very large following amongst people of all nationalities. The devotees of Satya Sai Baba believe that Satya Sai Baba is an incarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, so we the devotees of Satya Sai Baba, take them as one. So, after being posted to Devlali I was making frequent trips to Shirdi, which of course was at the expense of my studies at the School. In November we had a months vacations, I intended to visit Shirdi prior to proceeding on leave. At this juncture it is important to appreciate that I was torn between conflicting priorities, my professional demands, my yogic pursuits and an impending marriage in November that year.
One day I had a dream in which I saw myself walking on a mountain path and I entered a dilapidated building. Inside on a rock was sitting an old man with his back towards me, when I entered the building the old man turned towards me and I saw that he was the Sai Baba of Shirdi. I prostrated myself and touched his feet, after which he offered me food. After having the food I started crying and told Sai Baba that now I was not performing at the School, as well as I had always done, Sai Baba gave me a stern look and told me in a sterner voice ‘why do you come to Shirdi and waste your time, don’t come to Shirdi.’
It was a dream and unfortunately I treated it as such. Little did I know of the designs of the Divine, surely I lacked the faith required of a true devotee, for this dream called for introspection, I should have meditated over its import but I never gave it a second thought. On November 5th, 1977, I went to Shirdi on my scooter. I visited the Shrine and the next day I kicked my scooter and started driving back towards Devlali. Six Kms from Shirdi I had a massive accident, after which I was evacuated to the Military Hospital at Pune, Maharashtra.
I have no memory of the accident or the detail of events which immediately followed, what I am now relating is what was told to me by my father, brothers and doctors. In this accident, I sustained multiple fractures in all major bones of both lower limbs, which meant that my legs in all likelihood were to be amputated. Statistics suggest that if anyone suffered even some of the injuries that I had sustained, walking on one’s own legs could have been questionable.
As often happens after sustaining such severe injuries, I underwent fat embolism, which means movement of fat from the fractured bones to the lungs which obstructs breathing and causes choking and death, to further complicate things, my heart stopped working or in medical terms, I underwent a cardiac arrest. It was pure destiny or Divine intervention that I was being wheeled in for surgery when my heart had stopped and the necessary assistance was available, immediately when I required it. Though I was revived, I went into shock and was placed on a ventilator. The doctors had little hope of me recovering. Six days after I had been unconscious, the doctors asked my father, then a serving Brigadier in the Army for permission to remove the life support systems, as there was no reason to prolong my suffering. My father a devout believer in God, asked the doctors for 24 hours grace. He then sent a telegram to Satya Sai Baba “Son serious, bless him,” to everyone’s surprise next morning I woke up. Gone was the embolism and the cardiac ischemia and in return for my life, I was granted the privilege of a struggle, which only some have the good fortune to face.
I stayed two years in hospital, the fractures healed in 10 months, but I had to undergo a pedicle graft on my left leg, this took longer than I could ever have imagined.
At the very beginning of my hospital stay, I knew that I shall be long in bed. My extended stay in the hospital would be a very long and painful journey where I would be totally immobilized, for an athletic young man this was the worst punishment. I was fully aware that I was likely to leave the hospital as a severely handicapped person; it was providence that God granted me great fortitude and extreme resilience, that for not a day during my stay in the hospital did I lose my sense of humor or wit.
With an intense desire to fight the adversities I was placed in, I decided that I had to maintain whatever was OK in my body, so I ordered a set of 15 pound dumbbells. With both legs in traction, and dumbbells in hand, I was indeed a funny sight. One day when I was trying out a little dumbbell wisdom, a nurse walked up to me asked what I was up to, so I told her that once you medicos are done with me, I am going to run out of this hospital. The lady gave me a very sad look and said, ‘ Ravi, we would have done our job if we could only help you walk out on a pair of crutches.’ How correct her words were, is something I lived with for many years after wishing the medical staff goodbye.
What I have related may sound fantastic, let me assure you it is as near the truth as I recall. I am no believer in miracles, but for an average man running 100 meters in less than 9.7 seconds may appear miraculous, granting life to a person may sound like a miracle to a layman, but for a great Yogi it is all part of a day’s work. If someone does not believe what I have said it is fine, for each one has his experiences and our personalities are their sum total.
I have no intention of discussing miracles or the occult. For, I know nothing about miracles and far less of the occult. I have given this backdrop only for drawing some important deductions. Every moment of our lives we are at the crossroads, and are in a fix which direction to adopt. Whether the choice is between a hamburger or a salad, a jog or a movie, whether to sleep or study or have the first cigarette or which school to send the child to, are very important decisions which all of us face every day but which may well decide the course of our lives. For every decision we make there are two voices advising us, one is the voice of the environment and the other is a faint voice from within ourselves. The individual is under pressure to listen to the environment whereas the voice from within appears easy to neglect. The teenager under peer pressure may have the cigarette, but the faint voice from within tells him not to touch it, for it is poison. Which voice he listens to is entirely a matter of choice; the voice of the environment gives immediate gratification but could also lead to an addiction, whereas the voice from within would surely help the youngster resist pressure, develop character and just might give him a leadership role over the boys he hangs out with. Hamburgers and movies are yum, jogging and salads definitely Yuk. But, between the choice of yum and Yuk lie important decisions which could make a difference to our lives.
Before I close there is one more dream which needs to be told. One night in the hospital I dreamt that Shirdi Sai Baba is standing at the foot of my bed. On seeing him, I started crying again and said ‘Baba why have you ruined my legs in my youth’, – I suppose I am the prodigal son who is forever spoken sternly to – Baba once again gave me a stern look and said ‘what has happened has happened, now stop crying like a girl.’ I wonder if any father has ever given his son better advice.
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Tags: bodyweight exercises, convalescence, courage, determination, faith, hospitalization, inspirational story, patience, perseverance, recovering from injuries, Sai Baba, will, yoga
Its is encouraging to go through your story of life’s strucggle. I have gone through a similar experience and have fought back to stay up.
God bless you.
SaiRam
Oh! What an experience!There are many lessons to be learnt from narration of what you have gone through.I am also a staunch devotee of Satya Sai Baba