While science and religion may not always go hand in hand, a doctor in Rajasthan is trying to add a bit of spirituality along with medicines for patients who visit him in search of a cure.

Dr Dinesh Sharma, a doctor who runs a clinic in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district has become a centre of attention for the prescription he gives to his patients. As per reports in Hindustan Times, Sharma, who was earlier in the government service prescribes prayers and visits to temples along with medicines to patients coming to his private clinic.

The peculiar practice came to notice after a prescription slip issued by the doctor appeared on social media. The slip that was issued to a man named Shekhar on 13th October has five prescriptions in it. While the first four are medicines, it is the fifth prescription that has grabbed the attention. It suggests the patient who was suffering from stomach ache to read Hanuman Chalisa daily, visit temples and take part in aarti.

While there may be varying opinions about the method employed by him, Dr Sharma claims that the use of spirituality aids in the recovery of patients by giving them psychological satisfaction. “They have already taken medicines from quacks in rural areas. Some of them are ill due to stress. I advise them to visit the temple and read Hanuman Chalisa to relieve their stress, which makes them feel better,” Sharma was quoted saying in the report.

Sharma who had set his clinic in Ranjeet Nagar after his retirement in 1998 also claimed that spirituality was, in fact, making the recovery process of his patients much faster. According to him, his patients who mostly come from rural areas show better willpower once they are aided with spirituality, thus increasing the speed of recovery.