By: Vidya Umakant Chowkimath
As we prepare to say goodbye to the year 2024, it may be instructive to peek at the many ways different cultures face the death of a loved one or thing. When Sai Maharaj attained Maha Samadhi on 15th October 1918 his devotees waited three days before they interned the body in the Booty Wada. In Western tradition, when a person dies, a ‘wake’ is held to watch over and to stand vigil over the lifeless body before it is taken away for burial or cremation. This is different from ‘church wakes,’ which is an all-night service of prayer and meditation in the church, referred to as vigilante when each parish kept the morrow of its vigil as a holiday. The ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ says the wake tradition in churches existed from the earliest days of Anglo-Saxon Christianity, and these wakes soon became fairs when people from neighboring parishes came over to join in the merrymaking, and what were holy get-together events degenerated into drunken revelry and scandal.
The custom of ‘holding a wake’ over a corpse, may have started as a Celtic tradition, pre-dating Christianity. Initially, the body was watched to deter it from being snatched away by evil spirits. Later, the wake became a time for group prayer and meditation, and those who participated were given food and liquor. Later, wakes were moved from residences to funeral homes where family and friends came to view the body and share their memories, as tribute to the deceased. As a social gathering, a wake helps ease the pain of loss and encourages sharing happy memories, and family members review and discuss the way forward. Indian scriptures depict life as ‘eternal’ and death as a ‘comma’ and not a ‘full stop’ of life.
We could hold a wake for the year 2024. Some may see this year as an extension of recent years that traumatized us with the Covid-19 pandemic, and a couple of transmittable diseases like Dengue, m-pox, etc., when considerable numbers of lives and livelihoods were lost. Many faced long-term disabilities. Hence, holding a wake for the year gone past would inspire us to review and reflect on all that has happened, and we may discover that while some bad stuff happened, some good things happened, too with Baba’s ‘Ashirvad’.
A social ‘wake’ watching over the ‘corpse’ of the year gone by, could be a novel way of paying tribute to the strengths we gained from whatever tragedies befell us, the friendships that endured, and the support we received despite being ill or having failed professionally or in relationships; we could celebrate the familial bonds and friendlier workplaces in a new era of work-from-home routines. The last interaction with 2024 could be cathartic, with balance being the overriding principle rather than extreme stands.
Sai Maharaj talked at great length to Noolkar’s children about the need to cultivate the ability to observe as a witness – Sakshi Bhav. So, let’s observe as witness, all that has happened, all that we experienced and felt, our vulnerabilities and weaknesses, our highs and lows, disappointments and so-called accomplishments. Because we live in a world of duality, every experience is valuable and every feeling of misery is also part of being human.
When Appa Kulkarni died of the plague, Sai Maharaj predicted that six more would follow him. The wake of Appa Kulkarni’s death highlighted the idea that his loss was felt by the whole community at Shirdi and honored the one who passed. We could do the same for 2024 and look forward to New Year 2025 which may bring new challenges and new reasons to be joyful and peaceful with Baba’s grace.
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