(Minghui.org) As healthcare providers for the world’s most populous nation, India’s doctors have a heavy burden on their shoulders. Just 2.1 million physicians serve the nation’s population of over 1.4 billion people, which averages to about one doctor per 811 patients.

With such heavy patient loads, burnout is a constant worry for Indian doctors; in a 2025 study, 80% of doctors in India reported being mentally or emotionally fatigued.

However, when you speak to Dr. Nandini Karwade at Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, she doesn’t seem stressed or pressured. Even though she’s a junior doctor who’s just finished her MBBS, she exudes a steady calmness that almost feels out of place with the hustle and bustle around her.

Dr. Nandini Karwade

For Dr. Karwade, this calmness began years ago, in 2018, with a very special book.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Back when she was still a student, Dr. Karwade had an interest in the frontiers of human knowledge, both scientific and paranormal. She was obsessed with videos about the universe, the existence of extraterrestrial life, and mysterious natural phenomena that seemed beyond science.

Knowing that her daughter had these interests, Dr. Karwade’s mother gifted her the book Zhuan Falun—the main book of the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa. The book is written by the practice’s founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, and explains Falun Dafa’s moral teachings and metaphysical take on the world.

“My mother told me Zhuan Falun was a really interesting book,” Dr. Karwade said. “I found all those [supernormal] topics right there in the book. It initially satisfied my curiosity, so I read it every day.”

Although she initially read Zhuan Falun purely for new knowledge, Dr. Karwade found that she was taking in the spiritual and moral aspects of the book as well. She gradually realized that the spiritual teachings were guiding her in her everyday life, evolving into a moral compass—a “life-changer,” as she puts it.

“Whenever I felt overwhelmed, frustrated with life, or in physical pain, I turned to Zhuan Falun,” she explained. “Reading the book brought me this deep sense of peace. It helped me see the other side of things and I realized exactly where I was getting stuck.”

Learning to Love the Life She Lives

When she was in the fourth year of her undergraduate studies, Dr. Karwade decided to practice Falun Dafa. “Life was simpler then,” she said, recalling that time. She’d spend her commute home handing out Falun Dafa flyers at metro stations and bus stops, and her only real “worry” was her exams.

After completing her undergraduate degree, she felt a deeper calling to raise awareness of the persecution that her fellow practitioners were suffering in China. She started talking to people at the hospital about the organ harvesting of persecuted practitioners by the Chinese communist regime, and collected signatures on petitions calling for its end whenever she could.

But as time passed, life became more complicated. Dr. Karwade was frank about how her “diligence faded” for a while as she faced the cutthroat world of post-graduate entrance exams. She began to move away from Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and started to obsess over competing with friends and worrying about her future, just like other young students.

Fortunately, a conversation with a fellow Dafa practitioner helped her get back on track. Dr. Karwade realized that her stress and competitiveness weren’t just “preparation pressure,” they were “attachments” that she needed to face in her cultivation.

She quoted a teaching from Zhuan Falun that stuck with her through the years:

“As long as you have them, all of those attachments must be removed in different environments. You will be made to stumble, whereby you will become enlightened to the Tao.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)

At last, she came to terms with the fact that the hospital wasn’t stopping her from advancing on her cultivation path—the hospital was her cultivation environment.

Compassion Under Pressure

As a doctor interning at a hospital, Dr. Karwade was only too familiar with the daily grind. She spoke of patients losing their tempers, nurses who didn’t cooperate, and colleagues who dodge work, leaving her with extra duties. It’s the kind of environment that makes most people bitter, she said.

“It feels unfair when I want to study but can’t because of the workload,” she said. “But then I realize, it’s my responsibility to care for these patients. I shouldn’t run from it.”

Instead of snapping back at a frustrated patient or a lazy colleague, Dr. Karwade uses those moments to check her own internal state. She tries to stay calm and compassionate, no matter what is thrown at her. Even on the days she struggles to keep her head on straight, she goes back to the teachings of Falun Dafa at night to reflect and reset.

Dr. Karwade expressed a deep sense of gratitude for Falun Dafa. In the middle of the chaos of a Nagpur hospital, she’s found a way to stay steady.

“Thank you, Master,” she said, referring to Master Li Hongzhi, for giving her the teachings to overcome life’s difficulties.

Dr. Vincent Comes to Terms With the Past

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Dr. Maria Vincent has practiced dentistry for nine years. With the help of Falun Dafa’s teachings, she said she’s able to be more intentional with the way she responds to unexpected happenings in life.

Being raised in a deeply orthodox Catholic family gave her a deep appreciation for the spiritual side of life, and growing up, she attended Mass every day and went to confession every week. She always felt this deep longing to be rooted in something higher, a search for values that could actually guide her through the messiness of life.

That search eventually led her to Falun Dafa, introduced to her by her husband shortly after they married. She began reading Zhuan Falun every day, and soon discovered that it did something for her that years of routine hadn’t quite resolved—it helped her look at her own struggles from a completely different perspective.

Dr. Vincent was very open about her past. For years, she battled intense panic attacks whenever she faced difficult situations. “I felt exhausted fighting that part of myself,” she admitted. Through the teachings given in Zhuan Falun, she started learning how to take things lightly and, more importantly, how to let go.

One of the biggest things to let go of was closer to home. Dr. Vincent carried years of resentment toward her parents for their strict upbringing. She found it ironic and painful that she could show compassion to strangers but couldn’t extend that same grace to her own mother and father. By reading Zhuan Falun, however, she came to understand that the suffering that people meet with in life is often because of karmic debts from previous lifetimes. Guided by this understanding, Dr. Vincent was finally able to release that bitterness and replace it with genuine compassion towards her parents.

The Landlord Test: Calm in the Chaos

It’s easy to be kind when things are going well, but Dr. Vincent said that tests often happen along her spiritual path to see whether she is steadfast in her values. She described a situation she encountered in 2022 that would have sent almost anyone into a spiral. Her landlord suddenly hiked the rent and gave her family just one month to move out.

At the time, Dr. Vincent had an eight-month-old baby. Between her and her husband’s work schedules and the stress of infant care, finding a new home in 30 days seemed impossible. They tried pleading with the landlord, but his mind was made up, as another family was willing to pay the higher price.

Instead of reacting with the panic that used to define her, Dr. Vincent leaned into a core tenet she learned from Master Li through Zhuan Falun: nothing is accidental in a practitioner’s life. She chose to remain calm and not harbor resentment.

A Chain Reaction of Kindness

What happened next felt like a series of doors opening. Her brother mentioned a friend who lived about 10 kilometers away who had some room. When Dr. Vincent and her husband went to check the place out, they didn’t just find a house, they found a beautiful home in a great neighborhood. Within a short span of time, they secured a daycare, a park for the baby, and Dr. Vincent even landed a new job closer to the residence. They even found a local community of Falun Dafa practitioners.

Given this situation, most people in her shoes would have left the apartment in a huff. Instead, Dr. Vincent and her husband spent their final days getting the house cleaned and painted, because the landlord lived in another city. They helped the new tenants set up Wi-Fi, found them a domestic helper, and even introduced them to the neighbors.

“Our calm and cooperative approach deeply moved the landlord,” she said. By refusing to hold a grudge, she turned a stressful eviction into an act of grace.

Dr. Vincent expressed a profound sense of gratitude for Zhuan Falun and said the book has shaped her life beautifully. She isn’t just surviving in life anymore; she’s navigating it with a purpose and clarity she never thought possible.