I could not believe my ears when a medical doctor at a Sikh Youth camp in USA told me, "There is one line in Sukhmani which is not correct." Before I could think of any response, he continued, “a human being cannot do anything. You know I treat sick persons and make them healthy.”(Page 281)
I already knew the doctor and his family. They were devoted Sikhs. The children were well behaved and recited Gurbani. Hence, his statement surprised me.
For this unusual question, I started with an unusual approach. I asked the doctor, "How can you make sick people healthy? I don’t think you can even walk to touch that tree which is only 9 to 10 feet away." It was the month of July and we were sitting under the shade of a grove and eating apples.
The doctor took a couple of steps, touched the tree and said, "See ! I have done it." What I was to say was already in my mind, "No. You were taken there by God. Did you not breathe air provided by God for you to remain alive and walk?" He did not expect that response from me. While sitting on the chair, he said, "This is nature. It is already here.' The tone of his words revealed that he understood my message. I continued, "We can do nothing. Everything is in the hands of God."
Later, what I explained to him can be stated as below:
Who are we? We were born from a speck. After being fed, first the milk of the mother and later food of many kinds, we became adults. All these things were provided to us by God. The apple and other fruit, we eat in dozens every week, are produced for us by God. No human being can create a single fruit or grain. Our body is, thus, a gift of God and it depends upon His blessings all the time. Our soul, you already believe, is a reflection of God because of which we are alive.
The physical, intellectual and other faculties are provided to us by God. You, as a doctor, know that human beings have their own individual nature and thinking. Who gives them this thinking and mental faculties? The best students join the medical profession but some of them fail to perform the hard work. Even though they wish it, they are not provided with the devotion, intellect or other characteristics necessary to complete the requirements of the medical degree. God is running this whole show. We are mere actors who have been assigned our separate roles to perform according to our capabilities.
Our dialogue ended abruptly when the doctor was called for some managerial decisions. I myself, sitting alone, went through all our discussions in my mind. I honestly felt that God is Kartar. He runs the whole show. I am not sure what conclusions the doctor drew from our discussions.
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