On 31st January, 2003, I had a sudden and severe attack of a rare disease called Myasthenia Gravis. I was admitted to the H.N. Hospital in Mumbai. In this disease, one’s muscles suddenly stop working. First, my throat muscles stopped working, my tongue curled up, and I couldn’t eat or drink anything. I couldn’t even swallow my saliva. In the next 10-12 hours, my eyes, neck, back, lungs, kidney, legs, and all the muscles stopped working. I was in the ICU and put on a ventilator. My condition was very critical.
Mumbai’s best neurologists were treating me, and my family had even contacted a senior specialist in London, who is known to be the ‘father of Myasthenia Gravis’. However, even after the best of treatments, my health only deteriorated with every passing day. A dialysis procedure was carried out 6 times, but to no effect. On 6th March, 2003, upon a well-wisher’s request, Param Gurudev himself came to the hospital. We had no acquaintance with him before this, but I could feel a deep aatmik bond in that very first darshan and his divine smile. Everybody in the family had lost hope, but our well-wisher pleaded with him to do something and help me recover. In a humble voice, Param Gurudev said, “I am a saint; what can I possibly do? With Parmatma’s grace, I can only chant Shree Uvasaggaharam Stotra and pray for her wellbeing.”
My family, the doctors, everybody was tensed. Param Gurudev began chanting the mantra, and deep resonance of his voice echoed in the entire hospital. By the third recitation of the mantra, I voluntarily lifted my hand for the first time after such a long period. It was an absolute surprise for whoever witnessed it, nobody could believe their eyes. Later, Param Gurudev sent a mala for me with my mother. He asked me to recite the mantra 9 times daily on that mala. I would listen to a recorded Uvasaggaharam Stotra in Param Gurudev’s voice every day. With the grace of this mantra and Param Gurudev’s sadhana energy, I eventually recovered from such a grave dise