________________
A Tender Parting
Even after years of spiritual practice, no matter how well prepared someone is for the departure of a loved one, when the fact hits, it is a different thing. For as long as Gurudev could remember, there was one human being who had always been everything to him. That was his father. His father had been both mother and father to him. He had been his friend, guide, and spiritual brother. Together they had borne the loss of his little sister. They had lived through his mischievous days as a rebellious and sometimes too gullible child. They had gone on pilgrimages together. Thanks to his father, he had found the right Master to guide him. On the meaningful day when Gurudev had met Acharya Anand Sagarsuriji for the first time, his father had been with him. He was the only family member to have witnessed his initiation into the monkhood. After that, his father had found worldly life meaningless and, inspired by his son, had joined the monkhood himself. For seventeen years they had been inseparable soulmates, walking, learning, and teaching together. Because of this deep bond he felt with his father, he had consciously spent many meditations preparing himself for his father's departure.
Throughout the last few years, his father had been in good health. He was bony, and rather frail-looking, but he had remained strong enough to continue the miles and miles of daily walking which were part of their itinerant life. He was in his sixty-ninth year, and there was no reason to suspect that he was nearing his time of departure. But Muni Chandrakant Sagarji had had signs that morning. When he was meditating on a picture of Bhagwan Mahāvir, the eyes began to open and close. There was some hidden connection, some message that his own consciousness was giving which caused the eyes to blink. He knew, he felt, but he did not say.
It was July 26, 1959, the morning of his son's thirtyseventh birthday. To offer their love and greetings, many people had gathered at the new upasray in Navrangpura, a suburb of Ahmedabad, where Gurudev and his father were
208
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
