Public looking to medical people as worship-worthy says Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

Coimbatore: The medical and health personnel in the frontline of battle against the dreaded Coronavirus, and their families were in for high praise from Sadhguru, the founder of Isha Foundation, on Sunday.

Speaking at a webinar organised by Dr Reddy's, he said the country and the world is "extremely appreciative" of healthcare workers who placed the safety and wellbeing of their fellow citizens above their own as they battle the COVID-19 pandemic at the frontlines.

To a question from the President of Public Health Foundation of india, Prof (Dr) K Srinath, about the attacks on healthcare workers, Sadhguru acknowledged that they must be dealt with severely and told the fraternity not to "focus on this miniscule population that does these nasty things.

99% of the country is seeing you as worship-worthy; this is what you should focus on." Sadhguru said it was very important to ensure these personnel had all necessary protective gear to step out confidently to serve the community. He appealed to citizens to contribute to make this possible.

The Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, briefly joined the webinar and assured medical professionals that the central government was doing everything within its power to ensure that the fraternity can work in safe environments with adequate protective gear.

Apart from doctors and nurses, several trained professionals such as paramedics, ASHA workers and midwives had been deployed to cope with the outbreak, he informed.

The Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals Enterprises and President of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Sangita Reddy, wanted to know about making the right decisions in a complex and fluid scenario such as the present one.

Sadhguru said that we must keep aside the idea of a perfect decision when it comes to decision-making at the leadership level, adding that every decision will impact some people positively and others negatively. One must strive to ensure that the decision is in the larger good.

"This is the privilege, pain and the power of being a leader." When a nurse in a protective suit about the sense of helplessness that was making it difficult for healthcare workers to keep their spirits up, Sadhguru said, "Right now, anybody who is dressed like this, they've begun to see you God-like because they know you're standing up for their lives."

By the end of this pandemic, "the medical profession will sit on the pedestal that it deserves to sit." In response to a question on boosting immunity with traditional remedies, Sadhguru offered a simple recipe for a homemade drink of honey, turmeric, coriander or mint in warm water that can be taken every 3 hours as protection for the throat where viruses usually lodge before travelling into the respiratory system.

Isha recently released a new yogic practice, Simha Kriya, to boost immunity and as a test to check for respiratory trouble before it manifests in more serious symptoms.

Paying tribute to healthcare professionals, Sadhguru said Isha is offering the Inner Engineering Online program free of cost for medical professionals around the world and it can bring balance to thought and emotion.