THE FRAGRANCE OF SANDALWOOD
“Sir,
I wish you knew, that you are equipping people with life-lessons. Please carry
on doing so. Seldom do people get out of their cocoon to realize it.”
A parent of one of my
students sent the above message to me, some days ago. This woman had lost her
husband a few days earlier after a prolonged battle with bone-marrow cancer.
Her world, which was already battered, now had collapsed around her. Yet, it
seemed she had prepared herself to face this eventuality, and, thus, here she
stood - looking straight into the eye of the storm… with amazing grace and
dignity. She had stepped out of her house and braced life that she had to face,
live and celebrate…
Having read some of my
blogs, this woman had sent the particular message…
I sent this reply:
“Ma’am, while what you
said makes me feel good about myself, I am also aware of that donkey who
carried sandalwood on his back and claimed the fragrance was his.”
Was I being humble, or
was I just joking?
Whose fragrance is it –
mine or of the sandalwood I am carrying?
Who has placed that ‘load
of sandalwood’ on my back? Yes, who is my Master?
I am serious… Not
joking!
Each
one of us has a Master… and he has placed a load of sandalwood on our back.
Maybe, we carry this load happily, and, along the way, we are able to provide
that lovely fragrance… But, the moment the donkey in us thinks ‘the fragrance
is mine’ – comes the danger!
“Mother Nature Bless.”
This is how our Tai Chi Sir, Mr. Rakesh Menon, greets us… Never with “I bless
you”, it’s always with “May Mother Nature bless you”!
Today morning, our Tai
Chi class was packed with students. Many of them were past students and almost
all of them had worn a white ‘T’ shirt. Sir had asked us (in our WhatsApp
group) to turn up in white without telling us why. I hadn’t seen that message,
but, by a sheer coincidence, had showed up in white. When the class started,
Sir stood before us and said in a dignified voice, “Many of you had the fortune
of attending the 3-day retreat conducted by my Master - Master Len - just a few
weeks ago. Many others had that fortune last year, too… He is no more!”
“What?”
There was a shock and
disbelief… “What?”
“Yes, he passed away,”
Sir repeated in a dignified voice, once again, “We shall dedicate this session
to Master Len.”
Sir moved on with the session…
It was a prayer in motion!
(Master Len)
(Master Len with his wife and Rakesh Sir on our extreme right)
Throughout the session,
I was longing to tell Rakesh Sir, what, days ago, that dignified woman had told
me:
“Sir, I wish you knew, that you are equipping
people with life-lessons. Please carry on doing so. Seldom do people get out of
their cocoon to realize it.”
And, certainly, our Sir
would have replied the same way as I did:
“Dear, while what you
said makes me feel good about myself, I am also aware of that donkey who
carried sandalwood on his back and claimed the fragrance was his.”
Who has placed the load
of sandalwood on our Master’s back? Whose fragrance are we blessed with?
And, who had placed the
load of sandalwood on Master Len’s back? Whose fragrance was that?
Life-lessons have no
patent rights. The donkey in us, at times, thinks the fragrance is his…
Mother Nature Bless...
I, now, understand its profound meaning!
Just
two days ago, my friend, Vivek, had sent me this message with a deep meaning:
“The strongest people
make time to help others, even though they’re struggling with their own
personal demons.”
After the Tai Chi
session, today, when I asked Rakesh Sir about the cause of Master Len’s
untimely death, he replied, with a great deal of poise:
“It’s not untimely. He was suffering from
cancer of pancreas. He had come to India (and he was travelling all over the
world) and held the retreat here, a few weeks ago, despite it.”
Time and tide wait for
no one… Life is short. And, Life, indeed, is an amazing gift… Grace… Blessing!
We bow our heads… to
Master Len… Yes, for the priceless fragrance of sandalwood!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.1: Nicole Gubin-O'Ryan
Pics 2 & 3: Mr. Rakesh
Menon
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