playedonthesitarbyRavi
Shankar or his daughter
Anoushka Shankar, the
melodious shehnai of
UstadBismillah Khan,or
therhythmicslowragasof
thesantoorplayedbyPan-
dit Shivkumar Sharma.
Equally great,andto many
evengreater,arethebeau-
tifully melodious, heart-
rendingqawwalis sungin
Urdu or Persian by the
Sufis—followers of the
mysticalSufistrainofIs-
lam.These qawwalis are
paeans of devotion and
lovetotheoldSufisaints,
to the Prophet Mo-
hammed,butabove allto
God,musicassuredlybeing
theonlywayto evoke him.
Listenerssway, clapand
losethemselvesintheec-
stasyof God.”
Musicis relatedtothe
spiritmore than to the
senses. Inoneof thefinest
passageshe has written,
theauthorsays:“I have of-
tenwonderedwhenlisten-
ingtogreatmusic,beit
WesternorIndian,what
doesit allmean,what is its
purpose, its significance?
Musicmakesme believe
thatthereis a worldbey-
ondtheworldweinhabit,
thatthe spirit, theself,
within us is birthless,
deathless, and infinite.
Musicallowsustocom-
mune with our inner
stream of consciousness
andwiththeSupreme Be-
ing.In doing so, music
gives meaning to life, a
transcendental blessing
that enriches, enhances
andennoblesthehuman
spirit.”
DEATHEXPERIENCE
Thechapterondeath is
rich with deep insights.
Humansdreaddeath.This
is where Dr Udwadia
bringstobearhisexperi-
enceas a physician.“In
overfiftyyearsofpractice
asa physician,I haveseen
so manypatients—young
and old—who have met
death with courage and
stoicism, withgrace and
equanimity, without a
trace of manifest fear.
Among other features I
shalltouch uponlater,it is
theempathy,compassion
and the doctor-patient
bondthathelpstocondi-
tiona dyingpatienttoac-
cept without unduefear
theinevitabilityofdeath.
Modernmedicineis hope-
lesslytieduponthewayof
complex machines and
sophisticated gadgetry.
Thephysicianof today,ex-
posedto theglitteringbril-
liance and capability of
modernmedicine, concen-
trates on treating organ
systems andignoresorre-
legates tothebackground
thepatientas a whole.I see
him stay away from a
deathbed,impatientto get
tothenextbedwherehe
feelshecould beofbetter
use.Afterall,whatcanthe
doctor dowhendeathsits
atthebedsidewaitingto
takeover?I rarelyseea
doctor holdingthehandof
a dyingpatient,sittingby
his side,talking to him,
consolinghim,listeningto
him,andfortifyinghimor
her gently for what lies
ahead. Theartandscience
involvingthecareofthe
dyingis unfortunatelynot
taught andislearnt and
practisedbyjusta few,yet
it is oneofthecorepur-
posesof medicine.”
Whatevertheadvance
in medicine, deathwilltri-
umph. It is a commonfail-
ingamong professionalsto
ignoreanythingthatlies
beyondthenarrowfieldof
theirdiscipline.Business-
menareworse. Whatup-
liftsDrUdwadiaandthis
work,perhapshisbest,ishisrepealedrecallof what
liesbeyond.Thephysician
mustnotonlyhealthepa-
tient’sailingbody;hemust
alsotendto thepainin his
heartandtheanxietiesin
hismind.Thiscanbedone
onlyif hehasgoodbedside
manners.
Now,readthis:“Asa
physician, I have noted
quitea few near-death ex-
periencesofpatientswho
survivedtorelatetheirex-
periences.Thecommonest
near-deathexperiencere-
countedby patientswho
havesurvived a cardiacar-
restis thatoftravellingat
speedthrougha verydark
tunnel andthenseeinga
lightat theveryendof the
tunnel. Thelightisfirstjust
a point,butit enlargesso
theyareultimatelytotally
envelopedwithinit. I have
heard it described as a
blinding light of great
beauty. Onepatient, I re-
member, mentioned that
during hispassagethrough
thetunnelhewitnesseda
reviewof hiswhole lifeand
lifeincidents. Theexperi-
encemaylastjusta few
minutesin realtimebutis
described as elaborative,
richanduplifting.Thenext
mostcommonexperience
recounted is the‘out-of-
bodyexperience’.”
The author citesthe
caseofoneMrD whore-
covered from an illness
thatbroughthimcloseto
death. “During the time
whenheverynearlydied,
hefeltthatoneMrD was
lyingonthebedandan-
otherMrDwasfloating
around closetotheupper
regionofa largewindow.
Henoticed thataftera time
his ‘double’begantoap-
proach himandultimately
mergedwithhisbodylying
in bed.It wasthenthathe
realised thathe had re-
covered.Thiswasmyfirstencounterwithanout-of-
body experience, and I
havehada fewsimilarex-
periencesreported tome
bycriticallyill patientswho
wereneardeathandwho
fortunately recovered.
Someexperienceaninner
feeling oftranquillityand
peace, devoid of bodysen-
sation,insensate,without
fearorpain, andsurroun-
dedbyunconditionallove.
Therewasoneindividual
whosawa worldof super-
natural beauty, beautiful
landscapes filled with
heavenlymusic. Hefeltre-
luctant to return to the
world from which he
seemedto haveescaped.
“There comes to my
mindonepatientwhore-
ported thathewasrunning
at fascinating speedovera
beautifulmeadowtowards
hisdeadgrandmotherto
whomhehadbeenveryat-
tached, and who was
standingimmobileinthe
far distance. When he
came close, the grand-
mother putherhandoutas
if askinghimto stop—asif
tosaynotnow,later.He
stoppeddeadinhistrack
andfoundhimselfgoing
backatlightningspeedto
returnto theworld.
“Doesthemindalways
relatetothebody when a
personis believedto bedy-
ing?Notnecessarilyso.At
times,a patientappearsto
bedying, andseemstobe
physicallysuffering great
agonyandtorment.Onre-
covery, hemayrelatethat
hedidnotfeelanyagony,
distress, or pain,only a
pleasantfloatingsensation
of peaceandtranquillity.”
Thisbookhelpsa lotin
preparingitsreaderto face
deathcalmlyevenasit in-
structs himsuperbly in the
historyof medicineandthe
joysofmusic. It is a peer-
lesswork. $