A Journey of Faith & Resilience
In the third episode, Dr. Preeti Sharma talks to a very inspirational woman, Ms. Priti Chauhan about her life, positive persona, Buddhism, and the chant “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo”.
When asked, “Who is Priti Chauhan?”, she simply replies, “Priti is love and friendship”. Priti is from Rajasthan and recalls growing up in a big family of 9 children, where her parents never discriminated among the siblings. In those days in Rajasthan, women and men were not treated the same, so this was forward-thinking.
She experienced a loving, fun-filled childhood but also saw a complete emphasis on family values and education. Her parents taught each of them to be emphatic, independent, and caring, and to never give up in the face of challenges. Priti’s father wanted all his daughters to be as educated as they desired, setting up an example of women empowerment in India in those days.
Priti was born and spent her childhood years in Ujjain, the land of Mahakal. She also speaks of her love for Shiva which resonates deeply with our host, Dr. Preeti, who is an ardent Shiv Bhakt herself.
While pursuing a Masters degree, Priti was encouraged by her family to consider marriage. When she met her husband, Mohan, she liked him because of his nature and their similar interests. They got married and Priti moved to Bangalore.
This was an important turning point in Priti’s life because her husband was a follower of Buddhism and introduced her to the Lotus Sutra chant “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo”. Both of them approached each other’s faith with a positive mindset, something that Priti sums up beautifully by saying, “All roads lead to the same God.”
Priti tells the host how she was determined to focus on achieving dreams beyond just marriage. Encouraged by her husband, she looked for jobs and eventually found her dream job, in the public relations and admin department of an architectural firm, where she spent 16 fulfilling years.
The host asks Priti about one of her most life-defining decisions – the eventual inclination towards Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra teaching “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo”. Priti tells us how it all started slowly, from accompanying her husband to the weekly meetings of the Buddhist organisation to spending two days with him and other members in Chennai, chanting and praying like a big family. That is when something shifted in her, and slowly, “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo” became a way of life.
Talking about one of the most difficult periods of her life, Priti recalls wanting to start a family, going through multiple miscarriages, and not understanding why life was so unkind. Eventually, Priti and Mohan made their peace with this aspect of their lives and decided not to try anymore to have children.
Even this hardship could not break Priti’s resilience and determination. She still believes that every negative point in an individual’s life leads to something better – they just can’t see it yet. Exactly how “a human being cannot see its own eyebrows, which are so close but can see the stars”.
Taking a breather from this serious conversation, Dr Preeti engages Priti in a Bollywood Rapid Fire Round which she aces like a true filmy fan. We also get to hear Priti hum a lovely song.
When she speaks again, we get to know how Priti was not done overcoming challenges. She recalls how in 2002, she suffered from Pemphigus vulgaris, a rare autoimmune disorder that caused blisters on her skin. Endless visits to skin specialists yielded no official diagnosis. Nobody knew what the condition was so the doctors would change the medication every day. She endured it for a year and took advice from her seniors who told her that “what cannot be cured medically can be cured karmically with the sword of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo”.
So, despite her pain and discomfort, she continued to chant and pray – a prayer for the right doctor, the right diagnosis, and the right treatment. Eventually, they were referred to a skin specialist who immediately diagnosed her condition as Pemphigus vulgaris. He was also confident that although there was no cure for the condition, it could be managed with medication.
Within a week, the doctor was able to bring her condition under control with steroidal medication. However, she was warned about the strong side effects of the medicine as well as the need to take the medicine life long. Priti credits family support as being her biggest strength during this tough time. Armed with self-belief and positive thinking, she continued to pray and believed that every cell in her body was chanting “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo”.
The doctor gradually reduced Priti’s dosage of steroids and in 2005, she was told that she could stop the medication and lead a normal life. This experience taught Priti the importance of valuing every moment and living without regrets. Her experiences made her realise that practicing “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo” not just for herself but for others was her mission in life.
In 2006, Priti was invited to Japan by their organisation to share her story of overcoming Pemphigus vulgaris through her practice. She spoke in front of 500 people, and her experience was also broadcast nationwide. This experience motivated her to share her story with more people and help remove suffering from their lives. She became a leader in her Buddhist organisation, working with children, youth, and adults.
Presently, Priti spends her days travelling, interacting with people, listening to inspiring stories, and imparting the message of Buddhism. She wants to remind people who are suffering that “winter never fails to turn into spring” and “darker the night brighter is the dawn”.
Dr Preeti ends this amazingly motivational interview with a brief discussion of Priti’s composting initiatives and a final statement on what “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” is. Priti says it means “ I believe in the law of cause and effect”, which is the law of life, the law of the universe.