What do you pray for?

*This contest entry won me a Lakshmi Pooja Pack*

Over the years, my definition and method of praying has changed quite a lot. 

As a child, morning and evening prayers were a quintessential part of my life. After returning from school in the evening in Dubai, we would bath, pray for half an hour and only then sit down for dinner. That formula stayed put throughout most of my high school years in India as well. 

Kudroli temple, Mangalore

Perhaps the first modification occurred when I joined the medical profession as a MBBS student. Now, between waking up and rushing for the morning class and the exhausted trudge back to the hostel, the pattern changed. 

Now, the visits to God's abode in a town 14 kms away from the medical college were restricted to once a week with the old roommates. Every Sunday, we would catch the morning bus to town, go and visit two of Mangalore's most popular temples, the gorgeously pristine Kudroli temple and the famous Kadri temple. This was of course followed by a trip to another popular haunt, the restaurant Janata Deluxe where we would feast like kings on dosas, puris and yes, even ice creams at 9am in the morning as we leisurely read the paper there! Believe it or not, we did this ritual for over four years and even undertook this 30km journey on the precious Sunday in between two university theory exams. More often than not, he was by my side in those studying days. 

A lot of events have passed from that day to now. My equation with God is a lot less clearly defined and reverential than it used to be. Frankly, I don't really pray for myself any longer. Every time I did pray for something for myself in the years after MBBS till date, destiny conspired to work against me in some truly unique ways. 

But that does not imply that I have stopped praying. I do pray even today. You see, the crazy thing I realized is that while he may conspire against my own self-centered wishes, he does listen when I pray for others. I have prayed for friends who've had miscarriages, friends whose parents took a turn for the worse, friends who struck out in love - and all of them did get make it through the worst moments of their lives and are happier today. But that selective hearing really helps me as well, considering I work in literally a life-or-death profession, managing intensive care units and surgical operations. 

I pray for every patient individually before I begin a case. I pray that the surgery goes well and they recover without any adverse complications or suffering. And in praying, I run through a whole list starting with the Holy Trinity, their respective spouses, their equally gifted kids and even a nod to certain local Gods of my land before skipping across the religious border and directing my prayer to Gods of other religions as well. You see, I don't want my patients to suffer just because of a spiritual technicality on my part. 

And I can honestly say, it has worked so far. From tiny infants weighing less than a kilogram in weight to ninety year geriatrics with multiple health issues, God has obliged me there for which I am grateful. There have been nights when I've lost sleep, fretting over how I would manage the complicated case the next morning, worried if the breath I took away from the patient with my medications would be their last. But against all odds, even the most complicated of cases have run smoothly and the patients are now up and walking around, lost in the crowds of various cities across India.  

So this Diwali, my reason to use a Lakshmi Pooja Pack should be pretty obvious: an all-encompassing wish - irrespective of age, religion and gender - that every patient who comes to see me ends up having a complication-free operation and leaves the hospital with a smile on their face. 

Lakshmi Pooja Pack

Considering that I'm very rusty in my shlokas, the audio CD provided is a true blessing while the attached booklet allows me to pray alongside as well. The set itself has everything I would need in one package -  agarbathies, camphor, kumkumam, aabharanam, gandha tablets, rangoli powders and stencils, deepam and sambrani among 20 essential ingredients for the puja. They even have Gangajal and idols of Lord Ganesha and Lakshmi Devi. Now that is one well-thought of compilation.


I'm not being totally selfless, of course. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that by watching all their happy smiles and words of gratitude, the reverse works in my favour too - that God will reconsider his earlier decree to veto all the things I've noted down for my personal wish-list!

Happy Diwali everyone. Wishing you all love and happiness.

Author's note: This post is part of a contest by Cycle Pure Agarbathies.