The Power of Prayer

‘Shrits on Wheels’ was started with much fanfare when Shrits had set her wheels in motion on her first solo travel to Peru! She wanted to chronicle her travel and also life’s many journeys. The wheels were always in motion, but the chronicling did not take place since 2012! Today, Shrits on Wheels is ready to chronicle and share her recent journey on..The Power of Prayer!

In Peru, there is the tall mountain across the ruins of Machu Picchu called - Wayna Picchu. While planning for this trip and in my excitement to discover the Lost City, as an ‘add-on’ I signed up for the hike up Wayna Picchu. I thought I was really cool getting to Machu Picchu, doing the short hike on the Inca trail and then getting on the first bus to catch the mystical and captivating sunrise and lifting of the veil of clouds over the ruins.

 As if in a trance while discovering the beauty of the place I later made my way to the famous hike with my backpack trying to look or rather fake the part of a seasoned hiker! After I climbed and made my way to an elevation of a 1000 ft in one mile, I realized what I signed up as an ‘add-on’ might cost me my life! I began praying and asked for the protection of the Incan gods and as I reached the summit while looking down on Machu Picchu in a cliff hanger position, the thrill and the exhilaration was that of having climbed the Mt. Everest. The view was so spectacular and I was proud of myself for pushing myself and kept listening to my inner voice which was also huffing and puffing with me that “ You are gonna make it , Shrits”. The minute I got my hands on a computer back in Aguas Calientes, I googled 'Wayna Picchu' and was shocked but not surprised that it was also called the -“death hike”. I gulped, had some cocoa leaves and told myself never ever again on a death hike, boss!

Four years later, I was completely conscious while being wheeled into the operation room and saw the doctors and nurses surround me, as the anesthesia was slowly kicking in, the last image that flashed before my eyes before thinking I was on the sets of Grey's Anatomy was me standing very precariously on Wayna Picchu on a cliff hanger position and the voice that came back to me was “You are gonna make it, Shrits”.

What started off as a dull aching pain in my lower abdomen saw its culmination in Oakwood hospital in Michigan. Earlier this year I started experiencing pain and nausea and I was beginning to feel very sick very quickly. I normally have a rather casual approach to my health but this time I took all the signals by body was giving me very seriously. I have been practicing Nichiren Buddhism for two years now and the prime practice involves chanting- 'Nam Myoho Renge Kyo'. This essentially is the title of the Lotus Sutra or the Buddha’s highest teaching and in simple terms it means ‘I devote myself to the Mystic Law of Life’. Each time I chanted Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, there was an inner voice that became stronger to take care of my health. I found the wisdom and decided to take action ASAP.

 What followed was a series of doctor’s visits, bloodwork and tests. The doctors found pelvic mass on both my ovaries and asked me to do a bloodwork to test the possibility of it being benign or malignant before going into surgery. I was a bit shaken up but somewhere summoned up courage from within my life to go through this. I got the test results and was told at this point there is a red flag and the tumor marker was off and was referred to an OBGYN Oncologist. For the first time in many years I felt fear and then anger as to why my life is not as easy like other people. Many times we travel different segments of our lives with different people..our parents, siblings, best friends, spouses, kids but the journey ultimately is your own. There have been so many people in my life’s many segments that has helped shape my soul, but when I was faced with a predicament and a cliffhanger situation such this, I knew I had to summon up courage from the very depths of my being!

 I started chanting and praying but this time like a maniac and had to dig deep to unearth that strength that would sustain me through this journey. In a matter of an hour, the voice came back and told me “You are gonna make it Shrits”! Something within me opened up to an expansive life state, and I started working at full capacity in my job and at the same time did not miss a heartbeat to work for my practice of Buddhism and kosen rufu trying to take the smallest step in what seemed an uphill hike, because I knew the view of victory and the endless possibilities in life was marvelous! 

Some years ago, when I went through a very ugly divorce and hearbreak from my marriage I was convinced that prayers do not work and started weaning myself and losing conviction in prayers and would think of myself as Amitabh Bacchan from Nastik :)! In time, as the wounds began to heal I felt less like Amitabh Bacchan and used prayers as a tool to change poison into medicine. 

I was able to forgive and let go and started becoming truly happy from within. My practice of Buddhism and dancing to Bollywood songs with friends at Bollyfit in Michigan helped me find that peace...I started praying again and I started believing,… in the power of prayer and in the power of positivity! As the news of my illness started trickling out, I sensed a mini wave of prayers coming my way. My parents, my family, my friends in Michigan, all over the world, from India, from my city –Mumbai all started rallying up and praying for me. 

I started feeling so humble and saw invisible bridges of prayers being built across the world and from all forms of faith..from Hindu Gods, to Jesus Christ, to Allah, to Gurudwara to the absolute faith in the Gohonzon , to all the positive energy sent my way. This to me, was my vision of the world and was a microcosm of world peace!

The SGI (Soka Gakkai International - www.sgi.org), the lay Buddhist organization to which I belong exists for the reason of world peace, and SGI Michigan really came together and started forming a fortress of prayers for me. Friends started holding chanting sessions for me and with 100% conviction that I will overcome this health challenge and come out of my surgery with a clean chit. Seeing their conviction, helped me become stronger with each passing day and ‘You are gonna make it, Shrits’ became a roaring voice. My family stood by me like a rock and my mom and my uncle flew down days before my surgery and I knew my fortress was rock solid at this point.  Minutes before the surgery, I suddenly felt defeated and started turning white and at that point my SGI family who came to support, my mom and my uncle just sat and chanted ‘Nam Myoho Renge Kyo’ with me. I was now roaring to go.

The surgery went on for over 3 hours and the tension kept mounting, but prayers kept coming in from all corners of the world as the doctors worked through a very complicated surgery with multiple things going on. Going in the doctors had also warned me of the possibility of coming out with some missing parts! 

I opened my eyes very dramatically after all this and thought to myself “mein kahan hoon”!! but that Bollywood dialogue quickly turned into one question -"Do I have cancer”? The answer was “NO” and the next question was ‘what’s missing’..Answer was - "nothing”!! The doctors were excellent and told me I had a miraculous surgery and that I had "MADE IT". I wanted to break into a Bollywood number with all my tubes but paused and for the very first time in my life felt the true power of prayer that engulfed me. Tears trickled down my cheeks and I was so grateful for every prayer, for every daimoku!I knew I had climbed another death hike! The prayers pushed this hiker to the very top and I was not alone on this hike and on the peak of Wayna Picchu, everyone was with me and as promised the view of victory sure was marvelous! 

This is my story and my journey on wheels as I discovered the ‘Power of Prayer’. Our SGI President and mentor President Daisaku Ikeda says: “Prayer is the courage to persevere. It is the struggle to overcome our own weakness and lack of confidence in ourselves. It is the act of impressing in the very depths of our being the conviction that we can change the situation without fail. Prayers are invisible, but if we pray steadfastly they will definitely effect clear results in our lives and surroundings over time. This is the principle of the true entity of all phenomena. Faith means having confidence in this invisible realm”.