Dr Inder Mohan Bhatia was born into a well-to-do business family of Punjab. His father, elected Mayor of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation a record number of times, had a passion for serving the downtrodden, which his son inherited. It influenced his decision to study medicine and he successfully graduated from the Government Medical College in Amritsar in 1962. Four years later, a lad of 30 years, he had done his Master of Surgery from AIIMS. His specialty was in dealing with ocular trauma and he rose to head the study of that discipline in AIIMS.
The doctor naturally imbibed a strong scientific background and an utter faith in the existence of its immutable laws. Then in year 2002 something happened to affect a sea change.
He went to see Guruji along with his daughter-in-law. He recounts the experience in his own words:
"We were total strangers. Tea was served to all. I accepted the same, but she [the daughter-in-law] refused. Guruji saw this and immediately said this is not tea, but your medicine. You will be blessed with a son and that's why you have come to me. She had been married for the last four years and the best specialists had already told us that it would be very difficult if not impossible for her to conceive. This upset her. Here, we were taken aback as nobody knew about her problem. And - lo! - after one month she conceived and was blessed with a beautiful son. He is now four years old. All my doctor friends who knew about her problem told me that it was indeed a miracle."
The doctor's faith in the hitherto fixed laws of science was shaken. He says it was very hard for him to accept and rationalize phenomenon, which he happened to witness in the presence of Guruji. His doubts evaporated into thin air as he saw miracle after miracle.
He was recovering from an overdose of scientific rationalism when another instance of Guruji's divine intercession occurred. His daughter-in-law's grandmother, a 70-year-old lady who was severely diabetic, developed an acute backache and her lower legs started getting paralysed! She could not move about easily.
She was examined by the cream of AIIMS's neurologists. They took a battery of tests, including an MRI, and advised immediate surgery to save her from complete paralysis.
"The date of the surgery had been fixed when I brought her to Guruji," the doctor recounts. "Before leaving, I asked Guruji to bless her so that the surgery would be successful. He looked at me and said very bluntly, "
What sort of surgery?" He pointed out that she had already taken
prasad and that she would be okay now. So, we postponed surgery and she started recovering. In a few weeks, she was perfectly normal."
Dr Bhatia says that over the years he has seen many more amazing cures. Severe cardiac problems as well proven malignancies have been cured due to Guruji's grace. Miracles start happening even without bringing problems to His notice.
But Dr Bhatia believes that for Guruji to help anyone, one must have complete faith, patience and the capacity to surrender to Him. Guruji's greatest gift to him has been a total transformation of his personality. "My life has become full of peace and tranquility," notes Dr Bhatia. "He has provided me with an anchor and an unflinching belief in the existence of a divine order."
Dr Inder Mohan Bhatia, MBBS, DOMS, MS (AIIMS)
July 2007