Laxmi, Saraswati, and doctors

Many doctors feel that society gives them a raw deal. They feel that they are treated very shabbily , and that in spite of slogging for so many years, the amount of money which they earn is a pittance as compared to lawyers, or businessmen for example.

We need to understand that life is unfair , and there's no point in complaining about this. Te reality will not change, and we will just end up making ourselves unhappier. We need to look for constructive solutions.

This is the perennial Laxmi versus Saraswati debate . For most doctors, our focus is on Saraswati. We've always been very good in our studies, and have spent many years cramming a lot of medical knowledge. We compete with each other to shine in exams, as a result of which, we take pride in our academic performance. Unfortunately , we don't learn to respect Laxmi , and this is why we're not very good at either earning money , or saving and investing it.  In fact , some doctors take a perverse pride in their austerity .

This financial ignorance comes back to haunt us when we get older.  When you're young , you can make do with little money. However, as you get older, you have lots of financial obligations to fulfill, and if you focus on Saraswati and ignore Laxmi, she will exact her vengeance later on !

Ironically, the more you respect Laxmi, the easier it will be for you to fulfill your duties to Saraswati as well. If you're not doing well financially, it's going to be very hard for you to be able to take good care of your patients , because you will always worry about how much money you can earn from them.

On the other hand, if you're financially comfortable, you can focus on providing them with the best quality medical care , without worrying about whether they're going to pay for your services , and how much money you can extract from them .

This means, the best way to worship Saraswati is to worship Laxmi, and this is something doctors need to understand. Both of them are equally important wheels in the bicycle of life - and you need to make sure both are well-greased and run smoothly !