न त्वहं कामये राज्यं, न स्वर्गं ना पुनर्भवम्।
कामये दु:खतप्तानाम् प्राणिनामार्तिनाशनम्।
” Neither do I long for Kingdom, nor for heaven, nor do I desire to be free from rebirth,
I only wish to remove the sufferings of all beings afflicted by pain.”
Somaiya Ayurvihar was founded in the year 1991 by Padmabhushan (Late) Pujya Shri.Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya, an entrepreneur, philanthropist and a visionary par excellence who dedicated his life to the service of mankind. He was committed to the ideal of “What you receive from society, give back multifold”. The establishment of this institute was the manifestation of the guiding philosophy of his life.
His work in the Girivanvasi Pragati Mandal was a demonstration of that desire. Every year, for almost 10 years, he traveled to parts of tribal India and set up medical camps, dedicated to the service of those Indians, to whom no services, let alone health care reached. The best doctors from Mumbai, family members and bogey loads of students from Somaiya Vidyavihar as volunteers, would accompany him.
Somaiya Vidyavihar was his dream to create education opportunity, for students to enter kindergarten, and leave at various points, 10th 12th, with a variety of degrees. To create human beings. Competent, and great citizenship.
Medicine was his final project. He believed, that the Somaiya Trust should also promote medical education, to create great doctors, who healed patients and were great human beings. It was on this basis, that the K. J. Somaiya Medical College, the K. J. Somaiya Hospital, the K. J. Somaiya Nursing College, K. J. Somaiya College of Physiotherapy were started.
His aim and dream was to create an institution of service, of research, and of medical and health education. And he named it सोमैया आयुर्विहार !
सोमैया आयुर्विहार
A place of health, wellness, as we are used to hearing it.
A place of respect. A place of hope. A place of life, and a place for living.
And also a place for gentle and respectful dying.