Wisdom has no language barriers

 

I was seeing a new patient yesterday, a 90 year old man who was diagnosed with dementia. His wife had accompanied him to the visit. She was also in her late 80s. Having addressed his medical problems and whatever concerns they had I was about to take leave when I noticed one of the fingers of his right hand was partially amputated. I asked him gently about it. He narrated the story about how it got caught into some machinery when he was in his 20s and the surgeon did the best to salvage as much as he could. I laughed and said isn’t it amazing that God has given us plenty of fingers so we are still able to get by if one happens to go missing. They nodded in agreement. 

I don’t know why at that moment I was suddenly  reminded of Bahinabai’s poem Khopyaamandi khopaa. I have shared this in an earlier post. Not only was I reminded of the poem I went ahead and shared it with them. Told them about this gifted poetess from rural India who observed the weaver bird use its single beak to achieve every task from eating for itself, feeding its babies, carrying grass and twigs and using this raw material to skillfully weave a beautiful home for the family; and she pointed out in comparison how human beings who are endowed with 2 hands and 10 fingers ought to achieve so much more than this little bird! 

The old couple listened with interest and were very impressed with Bahinabai’s wisdom.  I left their room and returned to my office and chuckled to myself. What did I just do ? Discussed Bahinabai’s poetry with an American couple in a professional setting ? I must be nuts ! But that same moment it also dawned upon me that Bahinabai’s wisdom is so universal ! Her mind found inspiration in a rural Indian setting yet the fragrance of the soil entered and lingered in her words and could be experienced by a western mind with no difficulty at all. The wisdom and beauty in her thoughts had one more secret magical power, I realized! It had effortlessly created a bond between me and this couple who I was meeting for the first time. 

Saree is a cotton jamdani from West Bengal in a sandalwood paste color with motifs in wine color over pallu, body and borders.