Rememberance

Namaskar!
17th December 2010, 9:15pm my grandfather passed away. He was the noblest soul I had ever come across. It was unforgettable experience to know how he left his body for the ultimate enlightenment. Restless he sat, trying to read the newspaper, trying to chant with that trembling hand and the way he looked at my late grandmother's photograph on the top shelf, were the clear signs that he was not alright. He was a scholar in Sanskrit, and an amazingly accurate astrologer. He had know about his death since long but he never mentioned it. After he turned 92 he declared that he would not live to see another year. He was not afraid but at peace when the moment came near. He sat composed all evening, but suddenly started to get up from his bed. All were worried, my mother, my father and my uncle. My uncle asked him if he needed anything and why did he want to get up. He demonstrated by the gesture of his hand that he was going outside. Everyone was shocked at this and compelled him to lie down. He had never slept or lied flat at his back but right then he did. For a while he kept calm. Again he started to get up and tried to get his breath completely out with his neck stretched and tightly tensed to get something out of his body. We later realized he was trying to get his soul out of his body . My father ran upstairs to get the holy water of Ganga to complete the ritual. Suddenly, my mother screamed in panic to call my father downstairs. The moment my father put that holy water in his mouth, he realized that was it. That evening my sister had planned a surprise for my mother's birthday on 18th. She had gone out for making some arrangements for the 12 am celebration. She never must have imagined that this would happen. Innocently she entered the house with a cake in her hand totally unaware of the situation. The most expected event had occurred and left us all devastated. She wished she could have spoken to him for the last time. But, the wish had no meaning any longer. My grandfather had already left.
May his soul rest in peace!