One of the sure inevitables in this world is death. It is at times of these events that man is reminded of his littleness. All the rituals especially in the Christian Syrian Catholic one is designed in a way as to remind the living the inconspicuousness and momentary nature of human lives. It no longer matters to the dead but to the living it is a reminder and even a lesson.
My maternal grandmother expired on 8/05/2010 after nearly two months in the hospital. She had a cardiac problem aggravated by pneumonia on a body weakened by medicines and antibiotics. She died a meaningful life. She had 5 children AND 11 grandchildren and 3 great grand children all including me looked after well by her through their first days on this planet. Besides, she suffered the untimely death of her third daughter who left two children one three and another barely born. We cousins all chipped in with the little bit to look after the dying child whose birth left the mother our aunty dead.
She was contributive as the de facto head of the family as the grandfather was less of a leader. She was helpful to many around as a sort of a local doctor in those days who was sought after when someone was ill nearby. She even developed a small herbal garden in the fag end of her life. She had a kind word for everyone and hence the home was resting halt for the tobacco merchant, the recycler, the ‘karippetty’ (unrefined sweetener made of palm tree extracts) seller.
For her education she did more contribution in a direct way to many. Amidst such, the little follies are pardonable. I mean being at the juncture of the feudal order giving in to the wage agricultural and then the industrial it was a little tough on that generation to leave the old order yet embrace the new order of give and take and more and more of take in a manner profitable. Her generation saw too much too fast.
She was the eldest daughter of a semi feudal landlord who acted as a local judge in the very early part of the twentieth century. Naturally she had the remnants in her own psyche and perhaps played the compassionate side of the feudal lord. The downside came to her children. Being strictly reminiscent of such lineage the children either had to have the same command or be ready to take up other work. Unfortunately they did have neither. This left them sort of proud but incompetent. The one who may be had a good combination of the two died an early death. The next generation that is the one that includes me find it difficult to match the expectations of such pedigree of moral uprightness , compassion and effectiveness combined together especially in a world that values only the third at whatever cost on the other two.
Coming to the events down on earth, the sideshows of the living in a death situation are all the more attractive. I mean if one has a certain tendency to it. They turn out to be exhibition grounds for the folly or the semi consciousness of the living. No doubt the money aspect of the death like who spent more on the treatment of such a loved one and underwent all the other sacrifices is one of them. And depending on the commentators’ own life stage this can take a real interesting aside. I mean if one knows a little bit of the background of the commentator, then one can even say what makes him behave so.
For example one has retired and is now owning a business of one’s own. And the elder son is doing the final part of the professional education which one has not had the good fortune to have and one is generally comfortable financially then one may like to make comments on who did more and less.
On the seventh day of demise there is the custom of a ritual which is more for a psychological sense of closure for the living. There were eight candles on the grave. One of them got blown in the wind and the nun was quick to relight it. The nun’s occupation or profession gave her an exceptional proclivity to perceive the blown out candle. The nuns do most of the rituals in the belief that doing them adds to the book of recordings of merits and demerits which finally decides their going to heaven or hell. This is quite palpable in their behavior. It is nonetheless wonderful to have such a belief inculcated so deeply into them that the end result intentionally or not is that the dead are taken care of and respected.
It is true that only the nun saw / perceived the blown out candle. One might theorise that the framework was incomplete without that one candle and only the one trained did see the gap in the framework, which takes us to extrapolate onto others similarly trained in other professions. Does the academician see the incomplete framework of the theory? Does the teacher see the incomplete formation of the student? Does the nurse see the missing life support? Does the philosopher see the incomplete philosophy?
Does the student acknowledge therefore that the teacher knows better not everything but better in the sense that he sees what others have not seen? And so on with every profession. Does everyone gain the humility to acknowledge the others thus? It is the profession or the occupation that gave them a particular predilection to see some things that others have not seen. There may be others who are gifted and not necessarily trained. AND therefore everyone has some contribution to the seeing.
Would it not be enough if one does the duty and remains silent without blowing the trumpet and without making comments about others? Know and Do ones duty, be ready to chip in at others’ request or hint. Keep doing until one’s days are over. Is that not enough? I think to me these are more important. A little bit of altering the time scale would give a glimpse of our lives as little windows of time in the march of eternity. Is it not enough to have a philosophy that one leaves the place a little better than one found it. And leave the scene in silence?
My maternal grandmother expired on 8/05/2010 after nearly two months in the hospital. She had a cardiac problem aggravated by pneumonia on a body weakened by medicines and antibiotics. She died a meaningful life. She had 5 children AND 11 grandchildren and 3 great grand children all including me looked after well by her through their first days on this planet. Besides, she suffered the untimely death of her third daughter who left two children one three and another barely born. We cousins all chipped in with the little bit to look after the dying child whose birth left the mother our aunty dead.
She was contributive as the de facto head of the family as the grandfather was less of a leader. She was helpful to many around as a sort of a local doctor in those days who was sought after when someone was ill nearby. She even developed a small herbal garden in the fag end of her life. She had a kind word for everyone and hence the home was resting halt for the tobacco merchant, the recycler, the ‘karippetty’ (unrefined sweetener made of palm tree extracts) seller.
For her education she did more contribution in a direct way to many. Amidst such, the little follies are pardonable. I mean being at the juncture of the feudal order giving in to the wage agricultural and then the industrial it was a little tough on that generation to leave the old order yet embrace the new order of give and take and more and more of take in a manner profitable. Her generation saw too much too fast.
She was the eldest daughter of a semi feudal landlord who acted as a local judge in the very early part of the twentieth century. Naturally she had the remnants in her own psyche and perhaps played the compassionate side of the feudal lord. The downside came to her children. Being strictly reminiscent of such lineage the children either had to have the same command or be ready to take up other work. Unfortunately they did have neither. This left them sort of proud but incompetent. The one who may be had a good combination of the two died an early death. The next generation that is the one that includes me find it difficult to match the expectations of such pedigree of moral uprightness , compassion and effectiveness combined together especially in a world that values only the third at whatever cost on the other two.
Coming to the events down on earth, the sideshows of the living in a death situation are all the more attractive. I mean if one has a certain tendency to it. They turn out to be exhibition grounds for the folly or the semi consciousness of the living. No doubt the money aspect of the death like who spent more on the treatment of such a loved one and underwent all the other sacrifices is one of them. And depending on the commentators’ own life stage this can take a real interesting aside. I mean if one knows a little bit of the background of the commentator, then one can even say what makes him behave so.
For example one has retired and is now owning a business of one’s own. And the elder son is doing the final part of the professional education which one has not had the good fortune to have and one is generally comfortable financially then one may like to make comments on who did more and less.
On the seventh day of demise there is the custom of a ritual which is more for a psychological sense of closure for the living. There were eight candles on the grave. One of them got blown in the wind and the nun was quick to relight it. The nun’s occupation or profession gave her an exceptional proclivity to perceive the blown out candle. The nuns do most of the rituals in the belief that doing them adds to the book of recordings of merits and demerits which finally decides their going to heaven or hell. This is quite palpable in their behavior. It is nonetheless wonderful to have such a belief inculcated so deeply into them that the end result intentionally or not is that the dead are taken care of and respected.
It is true that only the nun saw / perceived the blown out candle. One might theorise that the framework was incomplete without that one candle and only the one trained did see the gap in the framework, which takes us to extrapolate onto others similarly trained in other professions. Does the academician see the incomplete framework of the theory? Does the teacher see the incomplete formation of the student? Does the nurse see the missing life support? Does the philosopher see the incomplete philosophy?
Does the student acknowledge therefore that the teacher knows better not everything but better in the sense that he sees what others have not seen? And so on with every profession. Does everyone gain the humility to acknowledge the others thus? It is the profession or the occupation that gave them a particular predilection to see some things that others have not seen. There may be others who are gifted and not necessarily trained. AND therefore everyone has some contribution to the seeing.
Would it not be enough if one does the duty and remains silent without blowing the trumpet and without making comments about others? Know and Do ones duty, be ready to chip in at others’ request or hint. Keep doing until one’s days are over. Is that not enough? I think to me these are more important. A little bit of altering the time scale would give a glimpse of our lives as little windows of time in the march of eternity. Is it not enough to have a philosophy that one leaves the place a little better than one found it. And leave the scene in silence?
No comments:
Post a Comment