GURU Can Be Anyone

While scrolling on Linkedin, I came across this snippet from Dr. Subhash Munje’s book Behind The Mask, and it really hit me.  

I started my first job at a hospital in Alibaug.

One afternoon, an injured woman was brought in. She was pregnant after 11 years of marriage.

A bull roaming around the streets of Alibaug knocked her down & gored her stomach with its horn.

It was a scary sight, with part of the woman's stomach injured and a baby's hand peeping out of the crack of the uterine wall.

My mind was in a turmoil. The mother's life could be saved, her stomach wound was not serious. But to sew up the wall of the uterus was unthinkable, as it was impossible to put the child's hand back inside.

The family's mandate was clear, "Save the mother's life". But how would I ignore the call of that little hand which appeared to be asking for help!!!!

The operation theatre had a skeleton staff. Apart from me, there were two nurses, a compounder and a helper whose job was to sterilize tools.

He was middle aged and an alcoholic, but extremely sincere & efficient in his work for which the entire staff tolerated him.

In the OT, I observed that he was standing quietly & observing the proceedings. 

After healing the stomach wound, how do I get that little hand inside was beyond my bookish knowledge. The creator had made the Uterine wall so strong that it cannot be opened easily, no option came to my mind except to perform surgery.

At this point, the helper, who was silently watching, all of a sudden came up to me and whispered in my ear, "Sahib, there is a way that the hand will automatically move back in".

I stared at him. Time was precious. I didnt know why, but my inner conscience made me ask him what he had in mind. He said, "Heat the injection needle and touch the hand, it will immediately go back".

Having no other option, I agreed to his suggestion. I prayed to God in my heart and asked for a hundred apologies from that little one.

I gathered courage, warmed the needle and pricked the little hand lightly.

The miracle happened at once!! The baby's hand immediately withdrew back inside with a jerk.

The further work was easy. I put the strap on by dressing the uterine wall.

Two months later, the woman safely delivered the baby in the same hospital and that little baby was smiling right in my hands.

I consider that helper as one of my many gurus.

To my mind, I believe that when there is no cure by the books, God shows the path as a guru in any form, as the helper showed me that day. His tip will not be found in any medical book.

In the end I will say, "This is the Will of God"

We often pray with a very specific outcome in mind. And when things don’t show up exactly how we pictured, we assume the answer never came. But maybe it did we just didn’t recognize it.

I’m sure the doctor was hoping for some clear sign or spark of inspiration from within. But what he got instead was a quiet nudge that led him to listen. That’s how grace often works - softly, subtly, and through people we might overlook if we’re too caught up in our own ideas of what help should look like.

So maybe the lesson here is simple:

• Be open. 
• Let go of your assumptions. 
• Don’t tune out voices just because they don’t fit your expectations. 

The best way to let God guide us is to listen - with humility, with heart, and without judgment. You never know where the answer might come from.