Serve Humanity, Serve God
Health, education and availability of justice are everyone’s basic rights, yet these are largely unaffordable or unavailable for many in rural and tribal areas. There is lack of education and health facilities in the tribal belt of Uttarakhand, and as a result, villagers and tribals have developed superstitions which affect their overall health and wellbeing. To eradicate superstitions and to ignite a spirit of service among medical practitioners, Anuj Singhal, himself a doctor, along with a team of medical professionals, began providing medical services to the tribals in Uttarakhand after 15 years of social work in Kerala with the Swami Vivekananda Health Mission (SVHM).
With the help of the Mission, Singhal organised health services for people in remote areas with an overwhelming urge for service to humanity. “That is my religion and I thank God that he chose me to do this,” he says, smiling. He had always wanted to serve people, even during his college days; therefore, he started attending free health camps.
“If you feel the pain of others, then you can contribute anything for their welfare. It helps you to understand not only yourself better, but also your family in a more effective way. Everyone is not fortunate to be able to help others. Even the vedas say, ‘Nar seva, Narayan seva — service to man is service to God’. God lives in everyone’s hearts and if we are able to serve and help the needy, it’s like serving Him,” he elaborates.
Help Others
With emphasis on service, Singhal points to the Bhagwad Gita, chapter 17, shloka 20: “Service which is given without consideration of anything in return, at the right place and time to one that is qualified, with the feeling that it is one’s duty, is regarded as the nature of goodness.”
The group is constructing a charitable hospital in Dharmawala, 40 km away from Dehradun. “People are coming forward for help and they are contributing money to create funds to help us and that’s a big support to us to provide more facilities,” adds Singhal.
Along with medical services, the society also educates youth, provides employment to local people and organises self-help camps. SVHM also provides free multi-specialty medical care, medical camps and mobile medical vans in the area.
Om Namah Shivay
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