The Dear Departed….

Seven years to this day…seems like an eternity. Seven years since a beautiful soul, a highly principled man, our father, left this earth.

His was the life of a truly great man,
Who made his life so sublime,
And departing, left behind him
His foot prints on the sands of time.

To think that there was a human being so devoid of malice, jealousy, envy or hatred…who was so accepting of failings and shortcomings…who was grateful for whatever was put in front of him, without finding fault…who was so detached from the material…for whom wealth and money had little significance…what he had in his pocket, he would happily give to anyone and everyone…who even in death, gifted light and sight to someone living.
His powerful presence meant the world to us, his quiet, gentle ways gave us strength, his wisdom, his stories and his Urdu poetry, all ring in our ears, even today. His learning and insights of decades, came our way in a shorter span of time, and stay with us to this day…the only difference being, we as his children listened attentively, hanging on to each word he uttered, while the youth of today lose interest in a few minutes, if not seconds.
He gave us the gift of life, and loved in his undemonstrative ways, nourished and nurtured, and taught us how to live a life of integrity with the highest ideals and principles, how to be unflinchingly honest, rather than believe the lies we weave, and how to value what we have, and what we are blessed with. He taught us the value of humility over arrogance, mildness over aggression, how giving in, is often a bigger victory than taking a rigid stand. How walking away always scores over confrontation, and not getting provoked, our ultimate test.
We learnt about mindfulness long after he had gone, and then realized, that though an atheist, not given to spiritual teachings and sermons, did everything so mindfully…
The world is emptier without him, and we feel so alone, even as we try to walk on the path of goodness he put us on…holding our hands as we began our journey of life.