The Events That Will Never Fail Me To Forget.
The Events That Will Never Fail Me to Forget
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At my native place Saharsa my eldest brother died a fortnight ago.Courses of events prior to His death were such as if He had chosen to breath his last at his native place. As to why I am led to suppose this is because until a few hours ago He was with us at Patna. Notwithstanding some health issues he became subject to accidentally,His sudden demise was a thought I could not have imagined.
Upon hearing the news that he is no more I had to rush from Patna to Saharsa. I was fortunate enough to shoulder the mortal remains of "His" throughout the way to the place where it was to be consigned to flame.
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But the events after His death were no less interesting.
Rather I will call it Self-Instructing in the least if not enlightening.For no one is or can never be- A Buddha:An Enlightened One.
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Yes, one was the event of this death being mourned and causing the whole of His house to wear a look of grief; the other event was of a marriage being celebrated in the neighborhood situated just opposite my Brother's house: Both the campuses' gates faced vis-a-vis and only separated by a road in between.
Needless to say that one event was unplanned, unanticipated and unscheduled while the other was planned meticulously, scheduled a priori and longed for quite some time.
But my neighbour was sensitive enough not to forget to visit my place and sympathise with us while himself being hard pressed to take care of the arrangement of marriage scheduled to be held the same day in his house. We owe sincere gratitude to him for this act of kindness and compassion.
Perhaps as though "Bhaiyaji" had arranged these events for us to be looked at from close. He might have wanted us to be a witness to the truth wrapped in maya or the reality of this world for better understanding of not only life but death also- I suppose.
He might have wanted us to see from mind's eye what physical eyes fail to see.
We witnessed two processions- one of funerals and the other of marriage readying themselves to proceed in opposite directions leading to different destinations.
Incidentally both the processions had a musical band with them to lead.
The grooms(one dead and the other alive)were being groomed in diametrically opposite ways to reach their destinations.
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The occasion reminded me of a verse of the Bhagavad Gita wherein Lord says to His dearest Arjun-
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदु:खदा:।
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत।।
O Arjuna! Be brave enough to bear the impact or effect of a mixture of opposites in the form of heat & cold,pain & pleasure or for that matter suffering & celebration; for these visitations,though inevitable, are transitory. They're like waves that continue to rise and fall in a sea.
At that moment the state of my being remained engrossed in over-thinking despite knowing that it is mostly inconsequential save that you begin to feel that you too start to understand the reality in part if not in full.
R.R.Prabhakar.
01.05.2022.
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