Faith is a simple word of five letters, yet very powerful when one has it. It is like how when the five fingers of each hand come together in prayer, the entire meaning of their existence changes.
I want to share a true story of faith and love, about my grandmother. She is not a divine being, just an ordinary person like you and I who, when confronted with adverse situations, either breaks down or turns towards the Supreme Being for strength.
When my aunt was doing her masters, she was suddenly stuck down by encephalitis. And before anyone could realise what had happened she took a turn for the worse, losing all control over her senses. She was taken to big hospitals where medicines were given to reduce the number of waking hours. My grandparents were devastated and did not know what to do, when my grandmother turned to God for solace.
With tears streaming down her eyes and a heavy heart, she visited each and every shrine, and performed all possible religious ceremonies. Then, suddenly, she took a bold decision to stop the sleep-inducing medicines given to my aunt, driven by a sudden feeling to perform the Shri Satyanarayan Puja on the upcoming full-moon day.
Though her family objected, she performed the ceremony with full devotion. Astonishingly the next morning my aunt got up from her bed, went up to my grandmother and asked why she had not been woken up. Everybody was too shocked to answer. She remembered everything before her illness but not her illness itself. Doctors, who had given up hope, could not believe that she was completely normal after such a prolonged illness.
{{/usCountry}}Though her family objected, she performed the ceremony with full devotion. Astonishingly the next morning my aunt got up from her bed, went up to my grandmother and asked why she had not been woken up. Everybody was too shocked to answer. She remembered everything before her illness but not her illness itself. Doctors, who had given up hope, could not believe that she was completely normal after such a prolonged illness.
{{/usCountry}}My grandmother’s sincere faith in God made her hope and she never gave up. Her prayers were not left unanswered, though non-believers might contend otherwise. Today, my aunt is happily married since thirty years and has also been blessed with an able child, which is a miracle in itself. Prayers can sometimes work even the most impossible things. What we need is faith.