A Doctor Without Borders

The world is a harsh place.  People can be nasty, conniving, merciless and shrewd.  At times one can feel like a sea otter caught in the jaws of a great white shark, thrashing about in the water, limb separated from limb.  The pain of facing life when the odds are stacked against you, of facing people who wish nothing but the worst for you can really take a toll on one’s emotional and physical health.  The strain of waking up after repeated nights of disturbed sleep can have one reaching for substances to help ease the pain. As the medicines taken with the intention of cure cease to work, work inadequately, or create further problems, hopes begin to falter and emotional upheavals lead to further distress.  As stress piles upon the state of distress, the body starts to deteriorate and disease sets up camp, for an extended stay. 

At this point, the first course of action is usually to try to get the best treatment possible, to nip it in the bud by contacting the “top” doctors at the “top” hospitals, receive state-of-the-art cutting edge therapies that drain one’s savings account faster than one can say, “iatrogenesis.” If the treatments are not successful, out of desperation, one may finally look towards “alternative” therapies since all conventional methods have been exhausted.  In Bangalore, this quest generally leads a person to the humble and quietly famous, Dr. Nagarathna.  

Dr. R. Nagarathna, MD, MRCP, FRCP (Edinburgh), FICA, a pioneer in the field of yoga therapy and the chief consultant of Arogyadhama at S-VYASA University has over 250 publications in internationally reputed journals citing the effects of yoga on psychosomatic disorders.  Apart from her ground-breaking research and accomplishments in academia, Dr. Nagarathna is well-known for her integrated approach using allopathy combined with yoga, ayurveda and traditional systems of medicine to treat non-communicable diseases with promising results.

In 1978, after completing her FRCP, Dr. Nagarathna returned to Bangalore and set up Suhruda Clinic and Diagnostic Laboratory in her ancestral home.  The name, “Su-hruda,” meaning, “good hearted” was the brainchild of her younger brother, Dr. Venkataram.  Suhruda Clinic was home to a number of like-minded, good-hearted physicians, nurses and health-care workers.  The place looked non-descript, simple, no flashy interiors, had railway station benches as seating, but was equipped with the latest technology.  The diagnostic laboratory offered standardized testing at a very low cost, consultation fees were kept at a bare minimum and quite often patients from economically poor backgrounds were treated free of charge. The consulting physicians were not charged rent and everyone went home with their earnings at the end of the day.  

Satsangs and yoga were a daily part of the functioning at Suhruda, enriching the lives of all those involved.

Hundreds of thousands of people have benefitted from the treatment and care of Dr. Nagarathna and her team of doctors.  Apart from expert diagnoses and treatment, it seems like there is nothing she cannot cure (when told this, she will always say this is an unscientific statement, but miracles have taken place for all those under her care and till date, no patient has gone back without having had their lives changed).  She always spends ample time taking the patient’s history following which she will have understood their condition in depth and will offer a holistic treatment package that includes allopathic medication combined with yoga and sustainable, easy-to-adopt lifestyle changes.  In most cases, Dr. Nagarathna’s treatment regimen reduces a patient’s dependence on medication and furthers their physical and emotional well-being with nature-cure.

Generally, people come to Dr. Nagarathna as a last resort and are usually in very bad shape.  Their transformation is always drastic and nothing short of a miracle.

Those who do not know her but have heard of her prowess in dealing with complex disorders, are likely to be taken aback by the figure representing the persona.  This is the great Dr. Nagarathna?  She’s barely four feet tall!  Her voice is faint, she wears only white saris with white blouses.  What? She stitches the blouses herself?  No car, no fancy house, an FRCP…how can this be?  

The most unique part of Dr. Nagarathna’s treatment is the simplicity and cost-effectiveness.  “Thatte thumba tarkaari,” she will often say, meaning, “a plate full of vegetables.”  A plate full of locally available vegetables prepared fresh and with love.  Love is the need of the hour.  Love without expectation of anything in return.  And this is what separates Dr. Nagarathna from other doctors.  She loves her profession and she loves each and everyone who comes to her as a mother loves her child.  Being with her, one feels the overwhelming presence of Mother and the special care she takes to relieve the suffering, not just of disease but of an individual’s inner conflicts, blurs the line between physician and saint.  She single-handedly uplifts a person with her love while expertly guiding them to better health and a better life.  

With a soft voice, slow movements, extraordinary intelligence and fine-tuned intuition, Dr. Nagarathna is a powerhouse packed into a small frame.  Her tireless efforts in treating patients, educating students, publishing paper upon paper proving the efficacy of yoga, spreading love and healing has changed the lives of countless individuals across the globe, has garnered respect for Indian traditional systems of knowledge in the scientific world and has won her many accolades.

July 25, 2021 saw the end of an era as Suhruda Clinic, home to over 20 doctors, 18 staff and 43 years of service, closed down.  It was an emotional gathering of close associates of Suhruda, meeting together for the first time after the lockdowns, recollecting fond memories, sharing hearty laughs and tears of joy.  The event started with a Dhanvantari homa conducted by Sri Aravind Bhatt and team, followed by a sumptuous meal and then an afternoon of sharing led by the famous gynecologist Dr. Latha Venkataram, primary student and sister-in-law of Dr. Nagarathna.   

Suhruda may be closed, Dr. Nagarathna may be retiring, but her contribution to the world of medicine, to the world of yoga and to the personal lives of so many people can never be forgotten.  She belongs to the rare group of people who value service over profit, who give of themselves without reservation, who work without knowing fatigue and want nothing in return.  She is a simple person, with a simple life and a colossal, unparalleled contribution.  

I often tell her that she needs to live forever.  It is not a selfish ask, rather a prayer.  In a world without a Dr. Nagarathna, life would be nasty, brutish and short.  In a dark place full of negativity, she shines her beacon of love, lighting up all crevices with the brilliance of her intellect and the beauty of her Motherly soul.  I pray for her immortality so that we can continue to be cured and blessed by her for generations to come.