May 1, 2011

Leslie hugs Doctor Raja at Mooji fundraiser.

 


May 1, 2011 - Unedited - Straight from the Heart

Dear Ones ... An Ode to Dr. Rajasekar and Vishwa

There are so many things I want to say about our beloved Shelter ... About Dr.Raja, our senior vet ... About Vishwa, our general manager ... About our staff ... They come to mind in flashes ... In some kind of associative chain ... I get flickers of what Raja ... and Vishwa do ... Just a glimmer of their devoted activities ... I'm not in the Shelter most of the time ... My activities during this period relate mostly to the computer ... Dealing with outside forces to protect us ... FCRA ... Preparing for the future ... And so on. ... one day I'm in the clinic early morning ... Standing alongside Raja, a woman, and a young puppy he's treating ... Puppy is getting an i.v. .... I ask Raja what for ... "Poisoning" ... "Do you think she'll make it? ... "Yes" ... "But Raja, what if it worsens?" ... "It won't" ... "What do you mean, 'It won't ... How do you know? " ... '"It's over the crisis ... I saw her 1:30, last night ... She's past the crisis" ... So just by chance I find out about his middle night emergency ... .It happens regularly ... About a cow emergency treated one day at 8:30pm ... On another day, a dog hit by a rickshaw that he saved at 11pm ... And that's only a faint glimmer of what he's doing ....

It's the same with Vishwa ... Sitting down next to him on the veranda ... "Vishwa, you look awful" ... "Yes sir" ... "Anything I can help with" ... "No sir" ... "What's wrong" ... "Nothing sir" ... "Vishwa, what do you mean nothing" ... "I was here last night sir ... There was a problem with one of our patients ... I stayed up with him ... And didn't sleep" ... "Vishwa, go home and get some sleep" ... "Yes sir ... Later sir" ..... Or finding out, by chance, that he was out on a rescue in the middle of the night...Or a four hour round trip at some ungodly hour to replenish our stock of "bonesetter herbs" ... And so on ... This is only a tiny tip of his activities ...

My beloved Dr.Raja, and Vishwa ... They were sent to me by Providence ... One doesn't get humans like this just by chance ... A precious gift ... And so closely I've worked with them for over four years ... Explaining ... Cajoling ... Loving. .. Raging ...Teaching.. .At times it was so intense ... At times so, so difficult...It was a close, close Heart connection ... How beautifully they've unfolded as they've connected with their own inner strength ... As they unfolded, growing in directions that were not predictable ... How unbelievably hard they worked and struggled ... How beautiful it was to see their own Hearts opening further, and further ... What a blessing for them ... What a blessing for the vulnerable animals they protect ... And now, these two precious human beings ... These blessings to the Planet ... Don't do my bidding ... They are "walking on their own legs" ... With their own unique strengths ... With their Hearts fully open ... And I have to stand further and further back to give them room as they move... It's so touching ... So humbling...

Thank you God ... For this chance in the last stretch of my life ... To be involved in something like this ... To have a chance in participating in lifting so much suffering from these helpless creatures we serve ... To be able to work with and teach such incredible human beings ... To open my Heart like you have ... Thank you ... Thank you...

I wish that all of you could spend a few hours in the Shelter ... Towards evening when it slows down a little ... It's so harmonious ... So quietly alive ... I was sitting next to Dr.Raja one evening ... He was on my right ... I looked at him and said, "Do you feel that quietness, Raja" ... "That peacefulness" ... "That's Grace" ... "It's pure love" ... "And all this before us is unfolding in that space" ...

The Shelter evolves...All of us evolve with it ... We're no longer just a Shelter...A sanctuary ... A hospital ... A hospice ... A rescue center ... An adoption facility ... We're all of those things ... They are our very roots ... But beyond that ... Above that..In its simplest terms ... We have become a Center for Healing ...

Again ... Thank you God ...