Dreaming a Smile-Part III--GRATITUDE

  

Embodiments of Love!

Though I have given gratitude as the last point in the first episode of this title subject, I am going to address GRATITUDE, a rare commodity on Earth!

Flashback 1:

An incident that happened long back (in my first company):

I was in Quality control that time;

Was performing sterility test of Gentamycin injection vials;

During the exercise, a vial broke and pierced my index finger of the left hand;

Due to negligent medical care, my left hand index finger cannot bend internally;

My father used to indicate this deficiency and always was concerned about the physical deformity.

Remember this episode; I will connect this with a present episode.

As personal experience may inspire a few of you, I am sharing few glimpses of my real life;

I love my father who is no more;

He has been guiding me unseen!

Flashback 2:

before the death of my eldest brother ( he expired on 20 th Aug 2015, Thursday due to heart attack resulting from the expulsion of water logging from his lungs; within 24 hours of admitting, he expired), I had a dream I think by around 10 th Aug.

Early morning!

My departed father and departed eldest sister are seen on the banks of a river;

I am swimming alone;

All of a sudden a fearful feeling strikes me;

I see a palanquin used for the final journey of a dead person as per our custom;

Just behind that palanquin, I see a statue of LORD Nataraja, a form of my Lord Siva;

I turn to my father if I should bring the idol of Nataraja; he commands yes;

I just swim across and bring the statue and hand it over to him; he leaves;

After that a bell used in temples floats; I again swim and bring it;

Dream ends!

I did not interpret this intuitive dream that time;

Bur after 10 days I could see the meaning of my dream!

You may ask why I am talking irrelevant;

Have patience (this is another tenet we should learn as human beings);

I will bring the relevance in the climax!

My wife has been suffering from stomach issues;

She could not breathe properly;

Could not lie down on the ground normally or get up normally from the ground;

Though operation was thought of in Sep, demise of my brother added a speed-breaker;

Nevertheless, we went ahead and fixed it with a schedule on 9 th Sep;

I left Ahmedabad on 8 th night and reached Mumbai on 9 th;

Had a bath, did minimal prayer and took her to hospital;

She got admitted;

It was a critical operation;

Operation went off well;

My second sister came on that day and next day;

Her husband was not well, hence could not support physically much;

As I was the only person on my wife’s side, I needed to take care of her food, tablets, procurement of medicine;

So I used to get up early in the morning reach home by auto;

Morning ablutions;

Coffee;

Cooking;

Washing of cloths;

Tiffin box making;

Transfer of coffer into the thermos flask;

Rush out to hospital in just 2 hours as she would be starving from morning!

In between I had my mother and father’s death ceremonies which normally we observe in the formal way by creating a fire (Homam) and offering food to Brahmins;

We could not do as wife was in the hospital;

There was a new moon day (Amavasya) when I normally perform ceremonies with the dry grass (Dharpam);

Since wife was in the hospital, I did not perform that also this time;

Now I am coming to the point—GRATITUDE!

From this day 29 th Sep we have the period called PITRU PAKSHA, the period of the departed elders, when normally I perform ceremonial rites very devotedly;

Day before yesterday I wanted to skip that also!

On 26 th night I was in the train;

Very tired;

At 1.30, night it was very cold;

I wanted to pull down the shutter half way

Thinking the latch would get into the groove automatically, I removed my hand…..not fully

It LANDED on my right hand…again INDEX Finger….

For 30 minutes I wished to die because of the pain.

I tried to see a connection;

My father;

My left hand index finger already damaged;

Father was always aware, which I also was aware that he was concerned;

Now this right hand… may be he is guiding me to perform the rites of pitru paksha as usual…

Yes I have performed for the first day;

Will continue;

PITRUPAKSHA is a sign of showing our gratitude to the departed;

I have been GRATEFUL;

I was reminded by the shutter falling on my hand, to continue to be grateful;

Will be GRATEFUL!

You also be GRATEFUL!

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

28.09.2015