The Doctor's Word by R. K. Narayan

Welcome Readers!

It is believed that mind is a master and body is servant. The thoughts we perceive, ideas we share and the words we speak, mark their positive and/or negative impact on the body regardless of the intensity of the thought. Imagine a situation where a doctor is trying to save life of a patient and outside the OT, relatives are waiting for some positive response. What should a doctor do? Is s/he there to tell lies about patient's health? What if s/he says some soothing words to the relatives and then the patient dies?

Well, we find several real life examples around us in which a person unknowingly takes too much pressure and gets panic about the pain and attracts more suffering. In many cases doctors tell positive lies to patients and relatives and if its a life and death situations. When a doctor says it's alright and you will get better, they find some relief. Can't it be happen that a patient itself become it's own curer? 

Yes, its a month of June and it is known that 21st June is celebrated as International Yoga Day.  Here are some small but worth reading paragraphs cited from the short story "The Doctor's Word" by R. K. Narayan.

(image downloaded from Amazon)

... he was not a mere doctor expressing an opinion but a judge pronouncing a verdict. The patient's life hung on his words. This never unduly worried Dr. Raman. He never believed that agreeable words ever saved lives. He did not think it was any of his business to provide comforting lies when as a matter of course nature would tell them the truth in a few hours. (Narayan, 19-20)

Today, standing over a bed, the doctor felt that he himself needed someone to tell him soothing lies. He mopped his brow with his kerchief and sat down in the chair bedside the bed. On the bed lay his dearest friend in the world: Gopal. They had known each other for forty years now, starting with their kindergarten days. They could not, of course, meet as much as they wanted, each being wrapped in his own family and profession. Occasionally, on a Sunday, Gopal would walk into the consulting room and wait patiently in a corner till the doctor was free. And then they would dine together, see a picture and talk of each others life and activities. It was a classic friendship, which endured untouched by changing times, circumstances and activities. (Narayan, 20)

Dr. Raman, here, is a rational thinker. Faithfully doing his duty, he has never gave his opinions excessively to any patients. But in the situation of the story, Dr. Raman breaks his rule. His dearest friend Gopal is ill and perhaps because of the bond of friendship, he needs something convincing to tell him.

Dr. Raman says to his friend that he'll live. But the doctor somehow knew that it won't happen. He asks his fellow assistants to arrange something more for Gopal.

But the next day Gopal's recovery made him surprised. He couldn't believe that words also play their role in healing the health. At the end of story his assistant asks him:

"... the assistant sitting beside him in the car asked, "Is he going to live, sir?"

"I will bet on it. He will live to be ninety. He has turned the corner. How he has survived this attack will be a puzzle to me all my life," replied the doctor. (Narayan, 26)"

શબ્દો જ જીવાડે, શબ્દો જ મારે. આ એવું સત્ય છે જેમાં ગળ્યો અને કડવો બંને સ્વાદ આવે છે. ખરું ને?

Thanks !

Work Cited

Narayan, R. K. Malgudi Days. Indian Thought Publications, 2006.