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When the Swan sings..

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, Sep 28, 2013.

  1. PushpavalliSrinivasan

    PushpavalliSrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Mr Cheeniya,
    The passing away of Vishwa's f-i-l and your daughter's colleague's father had brought out a thought provoking thread from you and it had drawn so many people here to post their views.

    My heart-felt condolences to both the bereaved families and prayer for the departed souls to rest in peace.

    Once we enter this world death is inevitable and God has kept the time of death a secret, even though some people try to determine the birth of their offspring according to their wish. Still I feel that also is determined by Him only.

    It is not possible to all of us to take sanyas like Sri Sanakara or take a steadfast stand like Andal to mingle with the Lord.

    The only choice left to most of us is to settle in Grihasthasrama and try to follow karma yoga, which is also easier said than done. The purpose of karma yoga is to awaken the dormant divine powers within us by performing desire-less actions.

    This difficult task needs to shed our ego and have faith in Lord and to realize that He is the doer and we are only the tool.

    I feel I have miles to go to achieve this mindset and yet I will keep trying till the last day.

    Thanks for starting this thread which had lead to soul searching.
    PS
     
  2. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Viji
    The desire to remain alive even in spite of extreme pain and near death situation is more marked in lesser beings than in the humans. One reason could be that the lesser beings have no choice but to undergo that suffering and if they have that choice, they would end their life. I have heard of an incident when Mahatma Gandhi, known for his compassion and commitment to ahimsa, ordered the killing of a suffering animal. A few months back, I was going for a Temple visit and on the way I saw the pathetic sight of a dog lying in a pool of blood but not dead yet. Some vehicle must have run over the rear part of the dog. It was alive but totally paralysed. I returned from the Temple an hour later and the dog was still in the same position. People just went about with their business and I had no option either but to drive on.

    Mere occurrence of many deaths in a family does not get us used to the idea of death. It is only through further contemplation on the subject that death ceases to be a threat. Death is not a blessing of God nor is it His curse. Dying is just a part of living. When we cannot foresee our future even in ordinary events of our life, how can we know about the arrival of death in advance? Your desire to die a peaceful death is everyone’s desire too but even that is not in our hands. That quotation from the Song of the Soul is a good one.
    Sri
     
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  3. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Sri sir,
    Srama mentioned about this thread.
    Thank you for this thread dedicating it to my father and Viswa sir's father-in-law.
    My first reaction was to tell my dad, "dad, look, an article dedicated to you.." i will come back and read the article again sir.
     
  4. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks to all for your kind and soothing words of reassurance. They are helping me tremendously during this difficult time.
     
  5. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Kamala
    I do hope you are slowly getting used to the idea of your life without your dad.
    Death is not a murky end to an eventful life. Death has a greater purpose than life. I recall verse X.14 of Rig Veda:
    "Meet Yama and the fathers in the highest heaven,
    Along with your offerings, and praiseworthy deeds,
    Rid of imperfection seek again your dwelling
    And assume a body bright with glory"

    May he find greater glory in the new sojourn he has found in the company of all his loved ones.
    Sri
     
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  6. Kamla

    Kamla IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Cheeniya sir,

    Missing out on IL for a week is like missing out on a big chunk of life!

    Yes, even though I am reading about death here, I cannot but help think of life which seems to roll by so fast that I am scared to blink for the fear of missing some significant aspect of it!

    I have been reading and reading since last evening to catch up with all the happening stuff in our IL. Add to it the things that needs attention in the home front and the desire to throw in the towel and go on another break is hugely tempting.....Perhaps, ....death is just that. Throwing in the towel. Especially when one has lived the full cycle of life and there is not much else to do and even brushing one's teeth becomes a chore, death will be very welcome I guess!

    Only, we cannot pick and choose the timing! Aaah! So when that's the case, common sense should tell us that we better sing an eternal swan song for we unlike swans do not know when the end is near.

    Anyways, as I do not have the luxury of time to dwell on such solemn matters in an intellectual and sensible way, I will leave it to death and others to discuss the matter to its end (death?!?) and carry on with my chores singing......just in case!

    L, Kamla
     
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  7. rajakumaruma

    rajakumaruma Senior IL'ite

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    Dear Cheeniya sir,
    Yet another irresistible topic from you. We or more correctly "I" (aham) doesn't die after death.Our "name" stays alive in the form of rituals done to us by our children every month or every year.
    My mother knows that she has a bad period in her horoscope(which we call 'ghattam'). I asked her how she felt about it. She said eventhough I know it,I will continue in the same manner I have done till now and still continues to learn new things,though sometimes she feels sad about her unfulfilled commitments.I tell her, just like a person leaves their property behind, leave your blessings to us so that we will be able to carry on our duties.Just think, a death brings about a life as well. While one will be mourning the death of their near ones, another joyous father may be distributing sweets for a birth. Our loss is another's gain. So we should all pray and bless our children before we go.
    with regards,
    uma
     
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  8. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Kamla
    You have breathed life into my rambling on 'Death'! Why should we let life roll so fast that we cannot even blink without missing some action? Is such a life worth it at all? To copy the style of my dear sister, it is more important to put life into our death than death into our life!

    The popular belief in IL is that if anyone trails Kamla, she is sure to end with a fabulous collection of towels! Towels are meant for drying our body after a work out or a luxurious bath and not for throwing in! Stick to your post, my buddy both at home and IL. Don't let exotic countries beckon you every fortnight!

    What is a 'full cycle of life'? Who determines it? Living up to a stage when even brushing the teeth becomes a heavy chore is not the full cycle. Let us live until we cease to be a joy for others. I continue to smile at my face in the mirror. That is my bench mark. When it threatens me as it did Dorian Grey, that would be the time to quit!

    Do you sing? When do you do that usually? Which chores are sing-worthy for you? For most of us in IL, it is the deluge falling on our heads from the shower in the bathroom!
    Sri
     
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  9. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Uma
    Highly evolved people like Adi Sankara say that neither death is a loss nor birth is a gain. Yet they talk highly of life because of the opportunity that it gives us to keep our Karmic account in good control. Blessing the people around creates a positive vibe. My mum used to say that we should never utter vicious or bad words because it was possible that any angel passing just by that moment might say 'So be it!'

    There is more joy in extending the circle of the recipients of our blessings from our nearest kith and kin. That makes us feel really good about our being good to all. I have the greatest love and affection for all the youngsters of IL who keep interacting with me which is what makes me spend so much of time here.
    Sri
     
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  10. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Cheeniya Sir,

    I am back in the US and I am ever grateful to you for dedicating this post of yours to the memory of Kamala's dad and my father in law. I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt condolences to Kamala through this response.

    Your post was very informative as I never knew that Swans sing a melodious song when they were getting ready to take an eternal journey. Your comparing this with the need for the human beings to lead an ideal and purposeful life as they reach the evening of life is superlative. You are really making us richer and richer by your priceless wisdom. You made my day when you said, "you think about death not to overcome the fear of it but to remind you of how much more to do". What a profound statement that was. Every day is a priceless possession and it elapses if we don't do exciting things.

    When I was sitting in front of my father in law's lifeless body, I was wondering what made him feel so peaceful at the time of his death as he looked very happy. Was it because of the presence of his only child holding his hands and chanting Vishnu Sahasranamam as he left? Was it because he felt relieved as he was going away quickly from a dreaded disease? Was it because he felt that all his desires were fulfilled before he left his mortal body?

    The answer I got was none of the above. As you rightly said there is a reason why the scriptures suggest to practice right living. He woke up at 5:30 a.m., had shower and left to participate in the elaborate Abhisegam and pooja that was performed every day to Shirdi Baba at Sundaram for the past 27 years. He chanted Rudram every day for the past 27 years. He became a volunteer to provide service, he received the shoes in hand from everyone who came to visit the temple, issued token and when they returned after Bhajans, he cleaned their shoes and gave it back to them. More than 500 people visited to pay respect to his lifeless body even before I landed in India.

    His last words to my wife was "I need to go and do service to the poor. These people are taking me away. Can you help me continue to serve the Lord?" Before that, he asked my wife what she was chanting and she explained that she was chanting Mooka Pancha Sati. He asked her to chant loudly and then told her to relax as it would hurt her throat if she continues to chant louder. He showered his love to countless number of people besides his family. He looked flawless in white and white when he performed Aarathi after Bhajans.

    Note to myself is, "it is not enough if I listen to the elders but it is also important to watch how they lead their illustrious life by keeping my eyes open. They say a few words but their life teaches us a lot".

    Lesson learned: "Lead an ideal and purposeful life despite huddles. Don't get carried away by happiness or tribulations. Death is the last chapter of life but if I like the climax to be exciting, I need to build the plot stronger in the earlier chapters."

    Viswa
     
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