From 1985 to 1993, Sidhbari was often blessed with Gurudev’s presence during this period. A total of 120 community nurses were trained in four batches from 1985 to 1992, with 30 nurses in each of the batches. Many of the girls who received this training had poignant stories of poverty, courage, and grit. They illustrated what Gurudev said in one of his letters: “Obstacles should not stop us from our goal.” One such story is Daya Devi’s.
Daya Devi’s father abandoned the family when she was only an infant. Battling with abject poverty, Daya learned to sustain her mother and herself from the tender age of seven by running small errands for the neighbors, laboring in the agricultural fields, and selling sugarcane pieces daily to the children of a small private school.
A hardworking student, she would attend a primary school run by the government and study under the light of a kerosene lamp, at other times her mother would light the kitchen fire with dry wood from the forest to provide some light for her to study by. She eventually scored the highest marks in the eighth grade.
When Daya and her mother could not afford the Rs. 200 fee of the government high school, her Hindi teacher came to her rescue and paid the fees. Her sister was soon married away after their mother passed on and the villagers began to plan her wedding. Daya was determined to continue her studies and earn her way by carrying out small chores in the community.
Two years later, she heard about the nursing course at Tapovan (CORD). When she came to the ashram she prayed to be selected. Out of 2,400 applicants, she was one of the thirty selected after the written test and interview!
Daya says: “That was more than twenty-two years ago when, with Gurudev’s blessings, my past traumas and sufferings disappeared, as if by magic, as soon as I began to train here in Sidhbari under his benevolent love and care. Not only did I receive professional training, but I also began to understand my spiritual dimensions and my inner wealth. Today, I am a happy wife and a mother with a good job as a nurse. “