Faith

Our former driver Dubey used to work as a driver in the Middle East. During one of our many conversations, he relayed to me that on one occasion when he was playing football (soccer), he had the misfortune to fracture his leg. The doctors in the Middle East, according to him, did not do a good job and as a result he continued to have trouble with his leg and could not walk properly. Dubey had always been quite critical of allopathic medicine and expounded quite often, and at length, about the wonders of homeopathy. So I was not at all surprised by his harsh criticism of his treatment and would not have been surprised if he had ranted on about Indian physicians had his treatment been in India.

Dubey was a man of great ironies but admirably quite honest. He believed that no one in Mumbai knew how to drive and would readily tell the other drivers who he encountered just that. The reality is that he was the one who did not know how to drive. A driver who cannot drive well. Surely you see the irony in that. During yet another conversation, Dubey threw out, “Madam, you know that I am a doctor.” I did a double take partly because I was surprised and probably partly because we nearly hit a pedestrian. Turns out that he had attended a school of homeopathic medicine in Mumbai and completed the entire course. If I was considering a cold medicine for Nikhitita or Sandrine, he would rattle off the names of several homeo medicines that should be taken instead, in what combination, and their dosage instructions. I had to ask so I did, “Why are you still working as a driver?” He paused and then answered, “I did not pass the licensing exam.” Ironic. But as I said, honest to a fault.

Today Dubey is a 50 plus year old man with a receding hairline and whose remaining strands he colored in an effort to cover his gray. His hair shines maroon in the sunlight and I have often wondered if it is some homeopathic concoction that has left his strands such an unusual shade. He is thin but seems to be in a good health and he definitely doesn’t walk with a limp. “Hmmm,” I wondered to myself. “Was it homeopathy or allopathy that cured this man?” I was surprised to find that it was neither.

There is a Catholic church in Bandra, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount or Mount Mary’s Church as it is commonly referred to by the locals. Local lore has it that if you make an offering of a candle in the shape of the particular body part that is injured or needs healing, your plea is answered. People make their offerings at the foot of the altar or across the street at the foot of another statue of Mary. Even more amazing is that Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs as well as Christians flock to the Basilica with their ailments.

Apparently 10 or 15 or so years ago, after Dubey had returned to India with his limp he requested someone who was visiting the Mount Mary church to make an offering for his leg. As the story he told goes, the very next day as he was running to catch a bus he heard a cracking noise come from his afflicted leg. From that point on he has had absolutely no problem with his leg.

Today the roadway immediately outside the gate to Mount Mary church is littered on both sides with stalls that do brisk business selling wax moldings of arms, legs, and various other body parts. And the ornate interior warmly welcomes both the faithful and the curious. It is hard to believe that this church has such a long and fabled history. The Portugese built the Nossa Senhora de Monte chapel at this same location in 1640. It was destroyed by fire in 1738 and apparently six months later heavily ornamented wood statue of the Virgin Mary over 5 feet tall was recovered by a fisherman. The statue was stored in a nearby church until 1761 when the Mount Mary church was rebuilt and the statue assumed its current position at the head of the altar.

The results of a decade long research study on the power of prayer in healing illness was released at the end of March. This was the most scientific research done to date and involved following 1,800 patients for over a decade. Results showed that there was no difference in post-operative complication rates for patients who were prayed for and patients who weren’t. Other results showed that 59% of patients who knew they were being prayed for suffered complications compared to 51% of patients who didn’t know whether they were being prayed for. Researchers theorized that knowing that they were in the prayer group made these patients fearful that they were especially sick, which is why they were put in the prayer group.

80%, 12% and 2%. This is roughly the composition of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians respectively in India. The remaining 6% or so are composed of Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, etc. Regardless of the number of religions and their different fundamental tenets the foundation of every religion is faith. After all without faith in something or someone what else is there to explain what science cannot?