ASHLAND FREE MEDICAL CLINIC – PART 2

Ashland Free Medical Clinic – San Lorenzo CA

Part 2: Lessons of Loving Communication

The Ashland Free Medical Clinic (AFMC) is an example of how Sai Baba’s works and teachings have inspired many good people to use their talents and skills to help those in need. Sai Baba has said that we should use our education and skills to help others and give back to society. We owe everything to society, and the opportunity to use our knowledge and skills to help others and give back to society is something we should be grateful for.

Personal Transformation

How has all of this changed me or transformed the way I do my work as a physician? I have learned many spiritual truths and practical things from Sathya Sai Baba. In a nutshell, when doing any type of work, loving communication is the most important ingredient. In order to serve others with love, it is important for me to remember that service to my patient is service to God. One of my favorite teachings from Sai Baba is that we should give each patient the “capsule of love,” [1] which will help their healing and speed their progress. When I do this, I can see and feel the positive effects.

Connecting Heart-to-Heart

One of the main reasons I enjoy this work so much is that Sai Baba has taught me that God is present in each and every person. When I remember this teaching and when I actually experience this truth, I automatically make a heart-to-heart connection with the person I am serving, and this brings great joy to my work. It also brings up an abundance of love, peace, patience, reverence, compassion, and all required energy to do this work.

I find that reading about the teachings of Sai Baba on a daily basis helps keep me focused on what is really important in life, and it also brings great joy to my work, since his teachings are so practical and helpful in everything I do.

The following are the teachings of Sai Baba that I find very useful in my everyday life, including my work at the AFMC:

The Secret to Happiness

The secret to happiness is to always remember God and to be grateful for the blessings and good things in our life. Sai Baba has said, “Happiness is union with God.” We should always remember God, who is always with us, guiding us, and protecting us. He is also present in each and every person we meet. When we have this attitude and realize that we have the chance to spend each and every moment with God and we have the chance to serve God in everything we do – wow, it doesn’t get any better than that!

Sai Baba has also taught me that we need to be grateful for each and every opportunity we have to help others. Knowing this, I am very grateful for the chance to serve each and every patient who comes to the Ashland Free Medical Clinic, and I am also grateful for the many people I am given a chance to serve in all my daily activities.

There is a Chinese proverb, “If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” Sai Baba has said, ““Service is the best form of worship. [2]

Service is the highest of paths of devotion. [3]

The bliss that is derived from [service to the Divinity that is in each being] is incomparable. It is a spiritual experience.” [4]

The joy and satisfaction I have experienced while serving at the AFMC has proven that these teachings are 100% correct.

Youth Help Make It Happen

“It is only the youth who are capable of protecting this world. It is the youth and youth alone who can set this world right. No nation can stand without youth.Sometimes the elders underestimate the capabilities of the youth, thinking that they are inexperienced and young, but youth are endowed with immense power. If they take a firm resolve, they are capable of achieving anything.” —Sathya Sai Baba, 27 May 2006 [5]

I have experienced this first hand at the AFMC. Eighteen months before we actually started our free clinic, I decided to speak with some young men and women in a youth group of the Sathya Sai Organization. I knew all of them very well, since I was serving as the local adult advisor for this group.

The first person I spoke to was Pavan Jella, and when I asked him if he would be interested in helping to start a free medical clinic, his eyes lit up! His eyes actually looked like they became bigger and started to pop out of his eye sockets. I have never seen such enthusiasm and energy to help those in need. He followed through with his offer to help, as did many other youth in the Sathya Sai Organization. I felt that that the youth were going to be one of the main drivers of this service project, and that is exactly what has happened.

This free clinic started with youth as its backbone, and youth continue to serve and help at our clinic, as physicians, nurses, medical assistants, greeters, receptionists, phlebotomists, IT programmers for our electronic medical records, and clinic coordinators. We could not have started this free medical clinic without the help of the youth, and they continue to be an essential part of the ongoing operation of this clinic.

Their energy, their drive, their willingness to sacrifice and help others, is a joy to see, and with this kind of attitude, they are also a joy to work with. Their dedication to help others is also an inspiration to me.

Good Communication Is a Key Element in Everything We Do

“First understanding, then adjustment.” [6]When I am having a difficult interaction with someone and their viewpoint is much different than mine or they want something I cannot give them or something that I know would not be good for them, I try to practice this beautiful teaching of Sai Baba.

By listening carefully and with love and compassion, and doing my best to understand what a person wants or needs and why someone feels the way he or she does, it helps me figure out the best way I can respond or help.

“You cannot always oblige, but you can always speak obligingly.”[7] At times I cannot give patients what they are asking for; however, when I speak to them in a obliging way, when I speak to them with love and let them know that I want to do what is best for them, they are happy and can accept my recommendations for treatment. These two teachings are also helpful when we communicate with our family, friends, co-workers, and in every situation we encounter in life.

Speak the Truth and Take Great Care in the Way You Communicate the Truth

The scriptures say, “Speak the truth; speak the truth in a pleasing manner; avoid speaking the truth that is hurtful.” [8] Sai Baba has said many times that if you hurt someone physically and break one of his bones, it will heal with time; however, if you hurt someone with unkind words, the wound you cause in the other person may fester for a lifetime. So, never hurt someone with unkind words. [9] There is always a nice way to communicate with others, and we should always do our best to speak to others in a respectful and loving manner.

If I have a challenging interaction with a patient, the most important thing I can do is to treat this person with kindness, respect, and love, and remember that the person I am speaking with is God in human form. Speaking to someone with kindness, love, and respect, reaches God. Speaking to someone in an angry or disrespectful manner also reaches God.
“When you treat anyone harshly or speak rudely to anyone, you are treating me harshly. When you are insulting anyone, you are insulting me. . . . I desire that you should always conduct yourself in a loving, harmonious, and peaceful manner, at all times. Serve everyone gladly, as you would serve me. —Sathya Sai Baba, 24 Feb 1965 [10] These words of wisdom have helped me improve my communication with others.

Give Everyone a Smile; It Is Powerful Medicine!

Sai Baba has told doctors to greet their patients with a smile, which helps to instill them with courage. [11] During the Sathya Sai Organization World Youth Conference of 2007, Sai Baba also mentioned, “When you smile, love bubbles up in you.” So, when we greet our patients with a smile and love bubbles up in us, we can allay their fears and also give them the capsule of love.

I can tell you from personal experience, these teachings really work. When I remember that I am serving God in the form of my patient, I cannot help but smile, and the heart-to-heart connection happens automatically. A warm and genuine smile makes everyone feel better. When I am having a hard time at work and then walk into a room and my patient greets me with a warm smile, it cheers me up, brings a smile to my face, and the next thing I know, I am happy again. I try to be the one who smiles and cheers the other person up; however, I have to admit that sometimes it is my patient who cheers me up!

Stop Worrying, Enjoy the Present, and Be Happy!

Sai Baba has told us on a number of occasions to stop worrying about the past and the future and to live in the present. We should focus all our energy to do our best in the present moment: “Do not worry about the future. Live in the present. It is not ordinary present. It is omnipresent, meaning the results of the past and the seeds of the future are contained in it. So, when you make proper use of the present, you can rest assured that your future is safe and secure.” [12] Sai Baba has also pointed out that worry has never solved any problems and is a waste of time. Although I have done my share of worrying over the past 60 years, I cannot recall one instance where worrying has solved any problem or has been a good use of my time.

Another teaching from Sai Baba that helps me keep things in perspective is, “Accept whatever happens, whatever comes your way, as a gift of God, to be enjoyed with great satisfaction, regarding it as a gift of love, given for your own good.” [13] At times, things will happen that do not seem fair, or something will happen that shocks me or is very painful. Remembering that “everything that happens is a gift from God, to be enjoyed with great satisfaction,” gives me a whole different perspective, and I can actually go through a painful experience with gratitude, since it is a gift from God, and for the lessons it will teach me.

Sai Baba has explained on many occasions that life is filled with many opposites – joy and sorrow, success and failure, praise and criticism, and all the other ups and downs in life. Having faith in this teaching has given me equanimity during difficult times and has helped me to worry less, live in the present, and enjoy life more than ever before.

We should do our best with everything we do, even the simplest task.

“One should offer one's actions to God. . . . Whatever you do, let it be pleasing unto God.” [14] Being mindful of this teaching helps me do even simple, mundane, and repetitive tasks with greater care and attention to detail, so that all my acts will be pleasing to God.

“Service to man is service to God.”

This teaching helps us remember that when we are serving another person, we are actually serving God. If we enjoy serving God, this brings great joy to our work, and serving our fellow man is the ONLY way to serve God.

Be grateful for each and every chance to serve others.

Sai Baba has taught us that we are very fortunate to have this chance to be of service to others. He has told us that when patients thank us for helping them, we should be thanking them for giving us the opportunity to serve them, because we are actually being given a chance to serve God. What could better than that?

Sai Baba always taught by personal example. Years ago he was attending lunch with a group of people. Suddenly he got up and began serving food to the guests and even served food to the host. The host was embarrassed and said, “Swami, thank you for serving me, but I should be the one serving you.” Baba told him, “No. I am the one who should be thanking you for the opportunity to serve you!”

If we could all have this attitude, can you imagine what an impact this would have in the world? With that in mind, when patients thank me for serving them, I let them know that it is my pleasure and that I am happy for the opportunity to help them.

“Service is a lifetime program; it knows not rest or respite. This body has been given to you so that you may devote its strength and skill to the service of brother-man. Serve man until you see God in all men; then, what you do will be elevated to worship.” —Sathya Sai Baba, [15] —Dr. Joseph Phaneuf

Additional Info

Video 1 (2007): Please see the video https://vimeo.com/44915708

Video 2 (2013 update, including in-home education program for patients with diabetes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9OZphyeR3og

To learn more about or join this service project, you may go to: http://us.sathyasai.org/index.html and click on the state or city in which the Sai Center project takes place. Click on “Email us for information about these Centers.” A local contact will respond to your email.

For more information on Ashland Free Medical Clinic, see: http://www.afmconline.org/