Pain Management
Dr. Rujuta Kushalkar
drrujutak@gmail.com
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy induced pain and side effects were taking a big toll on my health. As a last resort, I decided to try out ayurvedic panchakarma treatment at the ayurvedic hospital of Bharatiya Sanskriti Dashan Trust located at Wagholi, Pune, India. It is spread across 63 acres of grassland surrounded by hillocks away from the noisy city life. Its serene peace was quite tranquillizing. In the evening, I walked to the Samadhi of Revered Sardeshmukh Maharaj to watch the sunset. A western lady, dressed in Indian Punjabi outfit was already there meditating in vajrasan. “Must be a foreign disciple of Maharaj” I guessed. After completing her meditation, she sat next to me. Her curious gray-blue eyes were reading me. “Hi” I said. “Namaste”, She greeted me with folded hands in the authentic Indian style, “I am Claire from Australia”.
Claire was tall, slim with golden black hair and a happy face. “Claire means clear light” she explained. What would make such a fine lady travel ten thousand miles to come to Wagholi, I was wondering. Claire read the question mark on my face and said, “An accident caused me severe pain, I want to try Panchakarma for relief”. I felt instant bonding between us. I told her about my cancer and the painful treatment over past two years. I blurted out that it was a tough decision to undergo three week long Panchkarma treatment leaving my six year old son at home. Claire’s eyes turned misty. “You would come out of this decease” Clair said soothingly, “I was detected with cancer 35 years back when my son was young. I know how a mother’s heart bleeds…”. The faith in self and desire for life was radiating from Claire’s face. It struck me like a lightning in the dark. If she could make it possible, why can’t I? Sixty year old Claire and I developed an association …a deep bonding due to common sufferings & pain. We spent next three weeks at the center as if we were school friends.
Claire was born in 1948 in Australia to British mother and Australian father. She had a strict orthodox catholic upbringing. Since childhood she thought “something is missing…” Her quest for that missing thing continues till date. In 60’s the western countries witnessed an anti-establishment movement by young generations. The youth wanted a free world devoid of wars. Young Claire joined the brigade.
Claire was detected with early stage ovarian cancer in mid-twenties. It was operated but Claire refused chemotherapy. She firmly believed that her cancer was caused by defective lifestyle. She turned completely vegetarian and non-alcoholic. She adopted macrobiotic diet of Japanese style that was basically cooked vegetables and boiled rice. She tried to fight cancer with diet and lifestyle changes. This experience made her believe that there is something beyond what we sense. She started chasing that ultimate truth. She grabbed every chance to meet different gurus, Zen masters, Buddhist monks, and priests of different sects. She did not put blind faith anywhere. She accepted only what appealed to her wisdom. When disciples said, “That is the way our Guru told …”, Claire used to ask them, “But what do you think?” Meanwhile she got interested in India, Indian philosophy & Indian cuisine.
After her cancer episode, Claire was keen on good health of her family. She wondered how can one rather prevent illness. During 1978 while in Canada, she listened to a lecture on radio by Dr. Vasant Lad on Ayurveda. It was an ice-breaker for Clair. Incidentally, she met with Revered Vaidya Prabhakar Sardeshmukh Maharaj in Adelaide. Subsequently, Claire adopted ayurvedic therapy as advised by Maharaj. She continued referring to Dr. Sadanad Sardeshmukh, the son of Maharaj.
During 1984 to 2004, Claire operated a hundred seater vegetarian restaurant in Adelaide. It was a huge success in spite of being pure vegetarian. It received patronage from all sectors…students to millionaires, ballerinas to rock stars, common folks to Buddhist monks. Claire had many opportunities to serve nutritious vegetarian food to international celebrities, gurus of different sects and their disciples visiting Adelaide from all over the world.
The life was running smoothly but the destiny had planned more challenges for Claire. She met with a car accident in 1997 with severe injuries to her neck and back. Pain killer medicines, infra-red radiation, massage by physiotherapists etc. only aggravated her pain further. Painkillers induced nausea, stomachache and constipation. She had frequent sleepless nights. The body could not tolerate even a slightest touch. The aggravating body pain toppled her peace of mind. She referred to several doctors but in vain.
Over the time Claire got fade up with the medicines and their side effects. She decided to take charge of her life and find a way on her own. Instead of lamenting over her bad luck and destiny she chose to follow the preaching of Buddhist monks – ‘when you have a negative experience, glean wisdom. If you don’t, then you will get the opportunity to do it again, but this time with a harder experience’. She accepted her pain and tried to feel it with positive mind. She analyzed her pain. ‘When do I get pain? Why? How does it begin? What are the initial symptoms? How long does it last? What makes the pain subside?’ She started communicating with her body. Her body responded with signs, signals, and warnings. Her mind started noting even the minutest change in her body. She observed that drinking a lot of water helped relieve pain. She divided her daily work in smaller spells with intermittent breaks and relaxations. She practiced Shavasan and meditation to pacify her mind. Yognidra helped her reduce body pain. Her positive approach made her more tolerant, more loving.
Claire put her entire trust on Ayurveda for pain management. Dr. Sadanad Sardeshmukh chalked out a daily routine for her as per the ancient therapy. Claire followed the routine without any compromise. Her diet was pure vegetarian as prescribed in ayurveda consisting of plenty of vegetables cooked in very small amount of clarified butter but without spices. Gradually her stomachache and constipation subsided. The ayurvedic therapy smoothened her metabolism. She applied medicated oil (Shiropichu) before going to bed. An ayurvedic body massage by a trained therapist improved her agility. She followed her routine, diet and yoga without any compromise month after month and year after year. Not to mention that she managed this unbelievable tasks while attending her duties towards her husband, three children and home.
Claire knew that panchakarma would be the best therapy for her pain relief. She saved money over time and planned her India trip. Claire was treated with pre-panchakarma procedures e.g. shehan, swedhan and panchakarma procedures e.g. basti etc. She noticed a significant reduction in her pain. She slept for thirteen hrs at a stretch on the very first night when Shirodhara was applied. Claire had not had such a sound sleep in years. At the end of the treatment she showed me that her hands, neck and back do not get any pain even after pressing fingers on these parts. “Oh look, my body could not tolerate even a slightest touch prior to panchakarma!” she exclaimed. True happiness comes not from the material comforts but from the pain relief. Claire has decided to return to the center after a year for second round of panchakarma.
Today as I write, I remember Clair, her smiling face, her curious eyes shining like a young girl, collecting colorful pebbles from around the center. Eating vegetarian food with devotion, asking me Marathi names of every vegetable on her dish, learning a few Marathi sentences from me, trying her best to pronounce Sanskrit words. Greeting every one with “Namaste”, taking several notes from loads of books in her spare time at the center. Taking care of me like a mother…I miss you Claire !
My grandmother used to say, “Some persons are born to suffer”. Clair’s life is full of such sufferings. But she faced all those with great courage. She developed her own scientific methods to manage the pain. True to her name, she provided a clear light to sail through the darkness of body pain with a smiling face. I am sure that her story would motivate several patients like me to manage our pain.
© Dr. Rujuta Kushalkar
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