A Sadhu at Ganga Prem Hospice in Rishikesh

The notion ‘hospice’ contains a humanitarian assignment and is attached neither to a special culture nor to a special region. During my nine months’ journey around the world in 2013 and 2014 I wanted to learn more about how the idea of hospice is realized outside the borders of Europe. So, among other things, my route led me to India. In November 2013 I visited Rishikesh, a town with about 70.000 inhabitants in the north of the country. This famous place of pilgrimage, situated on the river Ganges, had then already an offer of hospice care but no in-patient hospice yet. Being then in the stage of planning it has now been open since March 2017. Situated between Rishikesh and the old holy town of Haridwar, it has 15 beds at the time being. A multi-professional team cares for the patients suffering from cancer. Both allopathic and non-allopathic therapies are part of the curative concept. The offer of complementary therapeutic methods, for example, contains massages, aromatherapy, and yoga. An own temple at the hospice is visible expression of how important spirituality is to the institution.

Ganga Prem Hospice has an excellent website which gives a lively overall view of the hospice’s offers and activities. All who are interested can in addition subscribe to a monthly published newsletter. In the December edition 2020, the touching story of Sadhu Babaji, who lived on the banks of the river Ganga, is told in a video. After a phone call saying that he needed palliative care, the team of Ganga Prem Hospice went out on a search for him. They provided food and medication for him and took him to a hospital for an urgent operation. Afterwards he was admitted to the in-patient hospice where he got palliative care.

Sadhus are people of Hindu religiousness who live as ascetics. Sadhus are by virtue of their spirituality often highly respected personalities who have turned their back on the world. You can watch the video on Ganga Prem Hospice’s website: www.gangapremhospice.org.

 

Photographs: The Ganges at Rishikesh; Bharat Mandir in Rishikesh