The way to die.

Camp: Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, PA

At this camp, in the eigth chapter of the Bhagavadgita, death is discussed at length. I am pasting below one of my earlier posts and a mail I recieved from Ramu Uncle. I just spoke to Ramu uncle. This unique lady, an inspiration to me, died exactly the way it is being described in our scriptures. She went to the to local Guruvayurappan (Lord Krishna) temple, complained of some unease, chanted "Narayana" three times and just passed away. My humble pranams to her.

E mail from Ramu Uncle

"Satya who was to come with me has cancelled his trip as his mother passed away yesterday. You met her in Tirupathur. The old lady died of heart attack and even at 88, she never wanted to trouble anyone. love. ram uncle"


My earlier blog

A Life well spent.

Camp: Yelagiri, Tamilnadu

I was expecting to meet my friend, V. Satyanarayanan (Satya) , at Yelagiri on Thursday, August 4th, 2011 and spend a few days with him. In addition to seeing his mother in Tirupattur, about ten Kilometers away, he was to discuss our charitable work. Instead, he called from Chennai to tell us that he has postponed his trip by a day.
Satya came to Yelagiri on Friday August, 5th. The reason he did not come on Wednesday was that his mother, who is eighty five years old, told him that she was busy and can’t meet with him on the day suggested by Satya. The minute I heard that his eighty five year old mother was so busy that she could not meet with her son, I said to him I have to meet her. I like the fact that she has a life, a busy life at that. Not your typical, counting the days, mami.

So, on Friday we were off to see this eighty five year old lady. She is independent, lives by herself, has a very active political and social life. She wears a Kosaam Podavai, the typical south Indian Brahmin style traditional saree.

In the State of Tamilnadu, anti Brahmin rhetoric is the very basis of the rise of many a political party for over fifty years. The fact that a lady who has by her dress code made no secret of her caste and rose to become a city councillor, for twenty three years, is no small feat. When we reached her home, there were three people discussing their problems. I am sure they were seeking her help in navigating the bureaucracy.

She is well known to all the powers to be in the government machinery. In India, the maxim “who you know is more important than what you know” is very apt.

This sprightly lady has no problem putting her contacts to good use. She was immediately on the phone talking to people to help these folks. I am quite sure that only because she has a great track record of getting things done, people still keep coming to her. Politics and government offices are now dominated by non Brahmins or sometimes even Brahmin haters. It is her zeal to help those in need, regardless of the caste or creed of the person, that comes through. That is why a phone call, a push, a nudge, a plea from her works. Even a die hard anti Brahmin has to heed her call, knowing she has nothing to gain, personally. All she wants is to help her “friends”.

She is very clear what she wants to do with her life. She can teach all a thing or two about priorities. She is not one of those waiting for death. I am convinced that it is her interaction with so many people that keeps her young. She has no time for Alzheimer’s, Dementia and other old age related phenomena generally seen in people of her age.
She inspires me. May the Lord bless her with good health.