Life and Death

Last weekend, we visited one of Dad's friends' place. His wife had passed away just three days back and Dad wanted to meet him and talk to him and his family. When we reached their house, there were already around 20 to 25 people in their living room. I assume they were family,relatives and neighbours. As we started talking, we came to know that she was in good health, had her breakfast in the morning, did all housework and suddenly started complaining about stomach ache.They called for Doctor to their house and the Doctor suggested to take her to the hospital. And on the way to the Hospital she passed away. This all happened in the span of twenty minutes. The relatives were all describing how nice a woman she was, who always had a smiling face and never got in to an argument with anyone and things like that. Dad listened to everything carefully and I know it is difficult to say anything during these times. But somehow Dad wanted to make him understand few things. When My Dad started speaking, the whole room feel silent and everyone listened attentively. These are some of the things he said that day:


1. You should be happy because she did not go through lot of pain. There are people who go bedridden for months and years. It becomes so difficult for them as well as people around them to endure that pain.
2. People who have done "Punya"(good deeds) get a death like this which is so painless.
3. And death is something which is unavoidable. That is the ultimate truth and all of us are in the queue waiting for our turn. We just don't know when will that be.
4. It is easy to say all these things, but in reality difficult to cope with the loss of a loved one. You can visit temples or ashramas or any spiritual meets that happen participate in these and try to forget your pain.


When my Dad was saying these things, I could see that he was saying them from his heart. I could sense the pain in his heart and everyone present over there. I also felt that Dad's friend was a little bit convinced. And me, who has never met his wife and seeing her family for the first time had a lump in my throat and was fighting back my tears.

Family

Last weekend I went to my hometown. Spent two beautiful days with my parents and sister. When I was coming back, due to some reason I was going through emotional crisis. The auto was about to arrive to take me to the bus station and here I am, heartbroken and in tears. I was not sure what I should do next. I was not able to do anything, suddenly life seemed meaningless and I just wanted to kill myself. My parents who are unaware of this situation were all happy and talkative. Mom was asking so many questions about what will I be eating , what should she pack for me to eat once I reach Bangalore. Dad was asking me about the new spectacles I got. I was feeling so nervous inside I could not even speak and then, I broke down. I told my dad things and people who are bothering me. I started crying, then mom came and asked. I told her the same thing. I was so embarrassed to tell my problems to them. I thought they will think less of me, because both my siblings seem to have a steady life and I have always been the one with problems. So i kept things to myself assuming that my parents may think I am a cry baby. But this one time  I just could not hold back my tears. When I explained the situation, Both of them were so cool and supportive. They explained to me, how I should ignore these silly things. Mom told so many nice qualities in me and a girl like me deserves to be happy. I really did not expect that. It felt so good to hear her say those things and this was special for me because my Mom is not very good at expressing her feelings even if it is her own daughter. And I always talk more with my Dad and very less with Mom. That is why I felt so nice hearing those things from her. Even Dad was so calm and patient as always, imparting wisdom. I think my Dad will never run out of things to teach me.


I am a very stubborn person and very sensitive. I feel I should come with a warning sign "Handle with Care!!!" :)Till now, no one has been able to handle me other than my family.  If you are a person who seem tough from outside and not ready to take cr_p from people, people think that you have got an attitude, they decide that you have problems. But no one seems to understand how kind, sensitive and loving you could be. Only your parents know that. I feel lucky that God has blessed me with a wonderful family who are never judgemental. They love me despite my idiosyncrasies, my flaws  and my insecurities. They are the only ones who know that I am capable of love, much more than anyone could ever know. All of us are in a particular family for a reason. Love your family. You should be lucky to have them. There are many people out there who seem nice at first, but they can only take so much of you. Your family is the one thing that loves you through all ups and downs of life. People in your life come and go. Your career, your work keeps changing. But what remains still and steady is your family. Love your family and feel loved:)
Cheers to a loving and close knit family!!!

Make the Best Out of it!!

Today, I was reading about this one Princess of Jaipur HH Maharani Gayatri Devi. She was born in a Royal Family in 1919, then was married to the Prince of Jaipur in 1940. She was known for her exquisite beauty. She was very beautiful and also she was the fashion icon during her younger days. She was once included in Vogue magazine's 10 most beautiful women list. And also she was talented and was strong and influential enough to run for the parliament and win. If you look at her life as a third person, any one would become jealous. Beauty, wealth, intelligence, anything a woman would want. She had everything and she lived a full life. She passed away at the age of 90 in 2009. Now, my question is what will happen now? If you are a believer in reincarnation, her soul will take birth again. There is a very low chance that she will take birth in a Royal family. We have no idea where will she be born, Could be in Africa, America or India or any other remote country or a remote village. She may not look the way she used to look in her previous birth, she won't be born with a silver spoon. There could be lot of possibilities. It kind of breaks my heart a little to think about that.

Now forget about the Royal Family, forget about beauty. Think about yourself. Hasn't God given us enough? we have a loving family, a good job, a good place to live and a good enough status in the society. We have no idea, what will we be in our next birth. The truth is, we don't know what will we be next year or may be a decade from now. If things turn out to be better than today, God's grace. But there are other possibilities too. Isn't it better if we value what we have today, appreciate it, be grateful for what we have. Be nice to people in your life, Take care of yourself, that way you can take care of your loved ones. Say I Love You to people who matter to you, even if they don't take it seriously. Call your parents everyday. Talk to your siblings. Let your friends know that you are there. Give your 100% at work. Love what you do. Most of all, do not have regrets at any point. This is one chance which is given to us and we are sure of. This is one life which we have more control than we think. Make the best out of it!!