The Sacred Book That Saved Life

"Hi, friends! I am Santosh. When I was young and energetic, I aspired to enter the field of literature. However, my parents wanted me to pursue CA (Chartered Accountancy). In CA, if you fail in one subject, you have to retake all the exams. I managed to handle the other subjects, but one subject always troubled me and made me cry: indirect taxation.

Whenever I opened the indirect taxation book, I understood nothing. The book made me yawn and quickly fall asleep. I tried different techniques to stay awake while reading the book. As suggested by my mother, I drank coffee whenever I studied indirect tax. However, within 15 minutes of reading, I would fall asleep. Then my father came up with an innovative idea - to keep my feet in a bucket of water while studying. The logic was that since sleep begins from the feet if my feet were kept cold, I would not fall asleep. It worked for me for 30 minutes, and I thought I had found a solution. However, after 30 minutes, I fell asleep at my study table for 12 hours straight. I only woke up when my father shook me awake. I was so deeply asleep that it shocked me. The idea had failed.

I had a friend who was a rank holder and had cleared his CA exams. I told him about my problem, and he suggested I wash my face whenever I felt sleepy. I prayed to God that this idea would work and tried it. While reading the book again, every fifteen minutes, I would wash my face. This allowed me to survive without falling asleep for only an hour, and then I would inevitably doze off.

Finally, after failing the indirect tax exam nine times, I lost all hope of clearing CA. My parents also gave up, and I decided to appear for the banking clerical exam. Fortunately, I was able to clear it. The day I cleared the banking exam and received a job offer was the happiest day of my life. Not just because I got a job, but also because it meant I would never have to touch that frustrating indirect tax book again. What a beautiful day it was! I celebrated with my friends the entire night on our flat terrace, shouting at the sky, 'No more indirect tax torture!' I threw the indirect tax book into the storeroom.

Soon, I joined the banking job, got married, and had two beautiful kids. However, my health gradually declined due to constant transfers and work tension. I was diagnosed with insomnia, and my blood pressure and diabetes were always high. The doctor advised me to get proper sleep, but I couldn't sleep for even an hour. During the daytime, I felt tired and low. The lack of sleep caused severe pain in the left side of my chest, and I visited the doctor again. He informed me that I had suffered a mild heart attack and that the consequences could be deadly if I didn't get enough sleep. I tearfully explained that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sleep. I even tried taking a bit of whisky, which helped me sleep for only 30 minutes before I would be awake all night.

The doctor suggested sleeping pills, and I took them that night. I fell into a deep sleep for an hour, but then I was awake for the rest of the night. I went back to the doctor, who warned against increasing the dosage of sleeping pills as it could be harmful. I felt as though my life was coming to an end, and I lost hope for the future. I went to a lawyer and made my will, and wanting to visit my hometown before my time ran out.

I took a long leave from my work and went to my hometown with my wife and kids. My parents, in their late 80s, looked very healthy, while I, at only 40 years old, felt as though I were in my nineties. Gradually, I lost interest in everything because I was convinced that sooner or later, insomnia would take my life.

My parents began giving me different tips to help me fall asleep. My father suggested going for a long walk, while my mother recommended listening to keertanas (devotional songs). I went for a long walk of nearly 5 kilometres, but it only caused pain in my legs during the night, and I couldn't sleep for even a minute.

So, it was time to try my mother's suggestion. I took my mobile phone and started listening to keertanas. I chanted and listened for two hours, desperately hoping to find some restful sleep. However, even after all that time, sleep eluded me. I lost all hope and prayed to God, saying, "I have been your devotee for years, faithfully following you. Now, I am asking for something. Please grant me the gift of good sleep. You can take everything away from me – my money, my status – but please grant me the ability to sleep."

After praying, I tried lying on my bed for 30 minutes, hoping to sleep, but I failed. Frustrated, I got up and went for a short walk inside the house. Suddenly, I noticed something shining in the storeroom, hitting my eyes with intensity. Intrigued, I decided to investigate. I switched on the light and searched through the storeroom until I found the indirect tax book, gleaming with a strange aura. Memories of my old days flooded back, and for the first time in a long while, I smiled, remembering the torture I had gone through while studying that subject. I thought to myself, "If this fucking subject wasn't there in CA Syllabus, I would have cleared CA, avoided working in a bank, and the constant transfers that deteriorated my health."

I took the book and returned to the living room and looked at the clock it was 2 am Midnight then I sat on a chair and flipped through a few pages of the book. I recalled those days when I would fall asleep every 15 minutes while reading it, and my father would wake me by shouting, "Santosh, wake up! Wake up, Santosh!" Suddenly, I heard the same voice again: "Wake up, Santosh! Wake up!" I opened my eyes, and there was my father. I could also see my mother and wife standing beside him. My father said, "Why are you sleeping in the living room? Go have breakfast and then sleep in your bedroom." I replied, "Breakfast? It's only 2 am, Appa." He looked shocked and said, "No, you idiot! It's 8 am. Go and have your breakfast." I looked at the clock, and indeed, it was 8 am. I had slept for 6 hours straight, which was unbelievable to me.

I had my breakfast and my energy level on that day was awesome again that night I thought of going early to bed early so I had my dinner at 8 pm and I took my indirect tax book and read few pages the next day again my wife shouted to wake up Santosh, wake up I open my eyes the indirect tax book was lying in my chest I looked at the clock it was 8 am I was again shocked that I fell asleep for 12 hrs straight I hugged the indirect tax book tightly and cried out loud. Everyone in my home gathered around and asked why I was hugging the book and crying. I told them they would not understand. A month later, I underwent a complete medical check-up. My blood pressure, diabetes, and heart condition had all normalized. The heart disease that had troubled me before was now reversed.

That book became a sacred object to me. I took it with me wherever I went. Once, while travelling on a plane to America from Mumbai, I sat next to a gentleman who introduced himself as a CA. He noticed me reading an indirect tax book and asked why I was reading about the tax regime of the 1990s. He explained that the current tax regime had changed, and I should read the 2023 indirect taxation for the latest updates. I simply smiled and replied, "I love the tax regime of the 1990s." The gentleman looked confused, unable to comprehend my sentiment.

The subject which I hated the most I hoped that subject would have never existed and thought it plundered my life finally gave me a new life.

So the moral of my story, my friends, is that books can be your best friends. No subject is boring, and sooner or later, they can help you in unexpected ways. So, please read books and cherish the knowledge and sometimes it could even save your life.