My Thousand Sons
| Author | Rajesh Bhola |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | |
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Short Stories, Spiritual, Self Help |
| Publisher | Cinnamon Teal Publishing Dogears Print Media Private Limited |
Publication date | December 20, 2014 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) and PDF, MOBI, EPUB |
| Pages | 312 pp (first edition, paperback cover) |
| ISBN | 978-93-84129-69-9 Search this book on  . |
My Thousand Sons is a 2015 book written by Rajesh Bhola. While working as President of Spastic Society of Gurgaon he made contribution in giving meaning to the lives of thousands of disabled persons for last thirty years. He has worked with one thousand cerebral palsy children and developed a great bond of love and attachment with them. In a way, he adopted them, looked after them became their guardian, father and caretaker. Rajesh Bhola is associated with disability since 1984 and "heard so many stories from these children about the trauma they undergo, the difficulties, and the discrimination in social life." This motivated him to write short stories which center on disability leading to spiritual awareness. The book is a collection of his autobiographical experiences spanning over a period of thirty years, from 1984 to 2014. Rajesh Bhola has remarked that as regards the book it contains the stories which focus on array of themes – mysteries of nature, extending relationships for meaningful life and spiritual handling of the mundane issues with aim of self realization. Each of the one hundred and nine motivational stories with its diverse theme and flavor tries to paint a realistic portrait of life and is in a narrative form describing his first hand conversation with the disabled, the infirm and those who are in need of psychopathic help. The stories seek to empower and embolden; propel one towards discovery and appreciation of one’s true self. The book brings in a condensed form the joy of score of books in one. All the stories form an eclectic blend and are a treat for the adventurer who wants to explore new horizons of inner self.[1]
Creation[edit]
Title[edit]
In an interview Rajesh Bhola remarked that the title of the book has been inspired by and comes from the lives of one thousand cerebral palsy-afflicted children Rajesh Bhola worked with and grew deeply attached to during the process of their rehabilitation. The book is dedicated to such children with whom the developed special bond of love during his last three decades companionship with them. Few of them talk. Very few of them walk. Many even do not hold neck. Some are sharp brains caged into disobedient bodies. But all of them are blessed with purity of heart.
Inspiration[edit]
When asked about the inspiration which made him write on the subject he divulged that as he was associated with the lives of the disabled for last thirty years he went through some heartbreaking experiences life with them. Rajesh Bhola was born in India in 1958 and comes from a family of academicians, spending his early years in various parts of India. He took his Post Graduation in English Literature from Punjab University and completed his doctorate in English Literature while performing his duties as a professional banker. He is a renowned spiritual columnist and contributes regular articles to Friday Gurgaon for their spiritual column and also to The Hindustan Times for their ‘Inner Voice’ column. He also contributes to The Times of India and also writes blogs to The Times of India for their ‘The Speaking Tree.’ He has been a prolific and compulsive writer. At an early age he tried his writing skills in books on money matters. He has been associated for more than three decades with rehabilitation of the disabled and has been extending psychotherapeutic assistance to the disabled and their guardians. He has been associated with translation of “Administrative Reforms Commission Report on State Administration” by Sh. K. Hanumanthia; Aristotle’s “Politics”; Prof. Irfan Habib’s “Agrarian Reforms under Moguls” and Prof. Mohd. Yasin’s “Social History of India.” He is President of Spastic Society of Gurgaon and works for welfare and rehabilitation of children afflicted with mental and neuromuscular difficulties. These children provided him inspiration for writing chronicles on their inner landscape. The body and mind can by no means be separated. It is distressing to see young children who are disabled. They feel pain and inconvenience. I sit with them and try to understand their minds. Many spastic children have a deep sense that they should not have had to face this disability; being ‘different’ causes them great unease. But they feel ashamed to ask for help. Many of them sit alone soberly for hours, hooked to a toy, a calculator or television.
Writing[edit]
Rajesh Bhola disclosed that each story in the book provides delight to the readers. The book takes the reader on a higher plane of existence to see life from various viewpoints and enables him to see the very heaven on this planet once he starts responding to the affliction and pain which is spread all around us. Rajesh Bhola touches on various emotional, psychiatric, psychological psychotherapy and spiritual issues related to our very existence on this planet. The final aim of the book is to provide relief to the stressed humanity. The reader identifies himself and connects himself with the incidents, anecdotes given in the book.[1]
Summary[edit]
The book centers on the thought that we put on a front for the world, and cover up our infirmities – because we are ashamed. Spiritualism however, teaches that it is better to live in the human world than in heaven. Imperfection, suffering, pain, hardship and grief happen to everyone; it is real, and we do not need to be ashamed of it. A noble person is one who accepts the reality of adversity. The salvation of humankind will be found in the practice of a noble response to existential reality. That is enlightenment. When we see a person who accepts trouble or affliction, and goes on living in a positive way, we cannot but help being inspired. People should volunteer for helping others in their own interest because people closely associated with spastic, severely disabled or needy persons are more spiritually inclined as their level of consciousness gets heightened and prayer and meditation comes naturally to them. They get closer to the inner core of their being. It is also observed that the persons connected with such children develop more emotional control and better understanding of human problems, shun trivia and focus on more useful issues facing society. It unfolds further dimensions of their heart and mind.[1]
Confronting Truth[edit]
Rajesh Bhola further tells that “while handling such children, the parents undergo a radical change – in how they live their life, and see the world. This radical change is in a way called enlightenment. It enables these parents to become socially helpful to others who are in pain. Such parents are, as destiny wants them to be, in the seat of the trouble – where the pain is the strongest, the doubt most disturbing, and the way forward most opaque. Blessedly, this is also the place where enlightenment breaks through. Even in this age of globalization there is extreme poverty, and millions die every year due to malnutrition and poor living conditions. Yes, this world is still full of suffering. The majority of the inhabitants are pre-occupied with self. Even the most elevated spiritual practices seem just ways of getting something – tainted with greed, in the hope of salvation. Only actions free of ego, greed and hate are the weapons with which we can combat the afflictions of the world. If you abandon self, and have faith in the Almighty, you will discover that there is nothing that the human spirit cannot surmount. We put on a front for the world, and cover up our infirmities – because we are ashamed. Imperfection, suffering, pain, hardship and grief happen to everyone; it is real, and we do not need to be ashamed of it.”
Spiritual Lesson[edit]
Rajesh Bhola discloses that in some way we get a lesson from the book that spiritualism does not offer an escape into a metaphysical paradise. It offers the opportunity to become the master of the fire (of enlightenment), and the doer of the chosen acts and deeds. There are many hills and valleys in the landscape of life. People are not fundamentally motivated by pleasure alone. They are not made happy by an endless supply of pleasures. Many people are still in the waiting room. They are yet to start living fully, wherever they are. Birth implies death, Health implies disease. Youth implies ageing, Pleasure implies pain. Success implies failure. Meeting implies parting. You cannot have one without the other. Each half has as much dignity as the other. Night is as dignified as day. When we see a person who accepts trouble or affliction, and goes on living in a positive way, we cannot but help being inspired.[2]
Self Help[edit]
Rajesh Bhola further informs that the book on the subject that people should volunteer for helping others in their own interest because people closely associated with spastic, severely disabled or needy persons are more spiritually inclined as their level of consciousness gets heightened and prayer and meditation comes naturally to them. They get closer to the inner core of their being. It is also observed that the persons connected with such children develop more emotional control and better understanding of human problems, shun trivia and focus on more useful issues facing society. It unfolds further dimensions of their heart and mind. Let us experience this outer bliss, stay blessed by helping others, and enjoy the resultant peace in our heart. Let us create sensitive lives that are awake to this collective responsibility. [3]
Characters[edit]
- SN Vashisht is the unfortunate father, in one of the stories, who lost his young son in a road accident. The family had already fixed his marriage, which was going to take place just a few weeks later. For this colleague of the author the whole world has now turned upside down; and the adjustment he has to make is a great challenge to his spirit. The loss is a pain that cannot be undone. The father cannot bring his son back. When we suffer the loss of any one near and dear to us, we experience such pain. The father has devoted his whole life to imparting free education to thousands of children; and runs two schools for poor children. Even the most spiritual and enlightened people come across such moments of loss in their lives. The dear son of the author’s colleague was cremated at the main cremation ground of Gurgaon. At the entrance of that cremation ground, it is engraved on a stone that this is the Last Destination.
- Manju talked to the author about her life. In the past twenty five years, she has been detected with cancer three times – about once every eight years. Each time she has lost the affected part of her body; it had to be amputated. During her last tryst, she had a premonition that something wrong was again going to happen to her. She was right. Destiny had kept its time. While attending a marriage reception, Manju reported breathlessness, and was rushed to the nearby hospital. This time she was detected with a serious heart ailment that necessitated immediate surgery. Physically she has gone weak; her bones are sticking out, and the physical strength has gone. At the time of her first surgery she was a young woman. She now has lost her hair and looks a wreck. She has endured twenty five years of psychological and physical trauma. The most difficult affliction to bear has been psychological and social, rather than physical.
- Sonu is the protagonist of another story and the writer never forgets the moments he used to spend with a child known as Sonu. He would throw a ball, but could not pick it up off the floor. At this point we both used to smile. We both recognized the so-human quality of this situation. We both knew how difficult it was to accept disability, and how the embarrassment of the condition was harder to cope with than the problems of the condition itself. Sonu was abandoned one morning by his parents. The child was a spastic and could not speak, could not express anything. His parents never came back – and he was left all alone. However, even in his aloneness we found him in communion with all of us. He was rehabilitated in a shelter home. Sonu went to his heavenly abode two years ago. The author was greatly pained – and wrote his obituary which is full of passion. Social arrangements also shape what is considered a disability. A lack of social support encourages the perception that people with severe disabilities are burdens, incapable of having rewarding relationships. Resultantly, many such disabled persons live and die unnoticed – like Sonu.
- Raghu, a man living in the neighboring town of Sohna tells the writer of the terrible burdens he was laboring under. His wife had died ten years earlier, leaving behind Vijay, a child who was spastic. Not only that, his second child, Jyoti, developed a degenerative physical disease – leaving her confined to a wheel chair for the remaining part of her life. Fate cannot be bargained with. He felt exhausted. He had given up his business, to dedicate himself to his children. In consequence he was now impoverished, to a level that this year he was unable even to deposit Rupees five hundred, for the renewal of the annual health insurance of his children. This man was at his wit’s end. His afflictions were real enough. Though, objectively, the situation had been just as bad for many years after the death of his wife, he had never felt so helpless. He had been hopeful that the children would get better and lead normal lives. He had held on to the belief that ‘the situation’ would change at a certain date – and he would then be ‘free’. Now it was becoming rapidly obvious that fate was not going to keep its side of the bargain. A similar kind of thinking often occurs in the minds of parents of such special children.
- Amit it is one of the children who have cerebral palsy. This disability restricts his movement, and makes his everyday tasks difficult. Everyday, he has some pain. Things that most people take for granted—like reaching out to take something from a cupboard—are very hard and sometimes impossible for him. Living with recurring pain is not pleasant. It is very tiring. It means that Amit has to think of how best to do things; and to assess how much is reasonable to expect from his body. He has the inevitable suffering of pain and restriction; and then he has the additional anguish of embarrassment – which seems to twist inside him. To say that such embarrassment is psychological is our conventional way of assessing this; in fact, this embarrassment and shame is felt in a very physical way. Gradually, Amit has started attending his vocational and special education classes; started living with the realities of life, and enjoying some pleasures that are available to him. As he has reached a greater acceptance of his physical condition, he has become happier – like a flower opening in the sunshine, after the storm clouds have passed.
- Tisha, who visits the rehab centre everyday, is suffering from a kind of cerebral palsy, which causes her body to shake. The best of medical care has failed to control the shaking. She has this disease since birth. Her condition is a fact about which she can do little. Occupational therapy and sensory integration exercises help, but they do not eliminate the trouble. At times she becomes full of anger about her situation. She then blames herself, and everybody who has a role in her life including those who assist her. Blaming herself and others makes her tenser; and then she shakes more, sometimes exhausting herself fully. Tisha has a good deal to feel angry about, but the disease is only aggravated by the anger she feels. What she needs is an understanding from others and acceptance from herself. The disease is not going to go away.
- Simran, another girl who suffers from mild mental retardation, also visits our centre. One day Simran collapsed, due to a seizure. Tisha took charge of the situation, and rang up the attending team doctor, with efficiency and calm. Even though Tisha spends much time brooding on her own failings and lack of confidence, when action was required she proved quite capable.
- Rekha is another character in another story. Her whole life she has worked very hard to make both ends meet, and spent a significant part of the money earned by her on educating her single child. She has also been supporting her husband, who has all through been an addict. He never worked. Her son completed his engineering and joined a company in Gurgaon. Financially she is now slightly comfortable. After a long period of darkness she expected some light now. She had been searching for a suitable match for her son. But destiny had something different in store for him. One unfortunate evening, while returning home, he met with a serious accident at IFFCO Chowk. He was rushed to a nearby hospital – he had already bled profusely. The doctors tried their best but soon declared that he was no more. Some say there is nothing as painful as losing a child. While describing her experience, she wept inconsolably. Three months have passed since that tragic day. The grief is still very fresh in her heart. She still longs for the return of her son. She expresses that “there is deep feeling of sadness and loss, and a yearning to see him. Sometimes there is anxiety, a sense of despair – and loneliness. I dearly want to see him again, but I cannot – not in this life time.”
Themes[edit]
Karmas to Moksha[edit]
Rajesh Bhola has explored diverse subjects related to spiritualism. He remarks that “Living on this planet as a human being is a very diverse and intense experience. When we live a human life, we experience many sensations, thoughts and feelings. As per Hindu philosophy, this experience is in great contrast to what we experience at the astral plane – where we enter after we die, and where we remain in between our various lives. Souls love to be incarnated in the human form, to gain this special and rare experience of realness on Earth. There is a deeper meaning behind our travels. At the astral plane there is no lag between the thinking of something and the realization of it. But on planet Earth, dreams do not always come true. There is sometimes a huge gap, an unbridgeable distance, between what we imagine and what we achieve. It is a great struggle to make our ideas take shape into realities. We face challenges, obstructions and contradictory impulses and emotions, which blur our view on what is right and wrong. We often get desperate by the non-compliant nature of our reality; reality does not always answer our wishes and hopes. Our creative intentions seem to end up in pain and disillusion.”[1]
Learning to Forgive[edit]
In one of the stories, tells Rajesh Bhola there were two brothers who were the very picture of brotherhood. However, soon after they were both married, certain differences surfaced between their wives. For more than thirty years the brothers remained estranged; even their family members didn’t talk to each other. Both are grandfathers today. Fortunately, very recently, wisdom dawned on both the families. They finally reconciled. The wife of one of the brothers has already left for her heavenly abode. The grand children of both the families now feel that their grand parents should have lived more responsibly, and should not have created artificial walls between the families. They should have forgiven each other long ago. The brothers and their families could have shared the journey of life in a more constructive, loving and fruitful way. We all carry burdens – resentments, acrimony, childhood difficulties, anger, fear – and sometimes for a lifetime too! Forgiveness allows us to let go of our burdens, which can weigh us down, and even lead to heart attacks and other physiological and mental ailments. [1]
Critical reception[edit]
Deepti Umashankar, Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi writes in her Foreword on the book that My Thousand Sons provides delight to the readers. The book takes the reader on a higher plane of existence to see life from various viewpoints and enable him to see the very heaven on this planet once he starts responding to the affliction and pain which is spread all around us. The book deals with various emotional, psychiatric, psychological psychotherapy and spiritual issues related to our very existence on this planet. The final aim of the book is to provide relief to the stressed humanity. The reader will identify himself and connect himself with the incidents, anecdotes given in the book. The book is a guidebook for the young generation on how to live life meaningfully. The book has cathartic effect on the reader and will help in cleansing of inner self and helping revival. The book aims at taking the reader afloat on another plane which he must have not explored till now. The whole narrative is very engrossing as Rajesh Bhola is skilled at story telling. The book has great flow and the reader is swept away into stream of emotions.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Frriday Gurgaon Book Review". Friday Gurgaon. June 5, 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ↑ My Thousand Sons by Dr Rajesh Bhola – CinnamonTeal Publishing
- ↑ Google Books Information Page
External links[edit]
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