I was at the Ashram on the 2nd of June 2019  with my wife and daughter, when my father called from Mumbai to convey that he was not well and was getting admitted in a hospital and he inquired if I could come to Mumbai to see him, i was posted in Delhi for the last 4 years. He rarely made such requests.

We took off immediately by road and managed to reach Delhi by late night to take the next day morning flight to Mumbai and went straight to meet him in the hospital. He was too happy to see us all. He left his body 10 days later in the hospital, i had spent the last days with him.

As said by Kahlil Gibran, he never sought to make us, his children like him. He became the stable Bow, of the Divine Archer,  from which he let the arrows fly.

This June , i had planned to arrange a get to-together on the first anniversary with family and his friends but the pandemic and the lock down kept us all in our homes as we paid homage to him, not being able to perform the rituals  (varsha-shradhha) in a temple. I donated 15 days salary for the government fund for the pandemic and the affected migrant laborers, in his memory.

Last Monday was another day of ritual (Bharani Nakshtra day) to pay homage and express gratitude to him but the continued pandemic conditions prevented any outdoor functions and gatherings again. We donated 6 ‘Happiness Kits’ to children through an NGO under the Mid-day meal scheme, the kit includes nutrition, immunity, hygiene and education/ art materials for the less privileged children.

Its the divine blessings of Swami ji that have shown me the path of  Compassion and Happiness for in truth it is life that gives unto life – while we, who deem ourselves as givers, are but a witness !!

My Gratitude to Him !!