...Guruji passed away on Monday, May 18 at 1430 Mysore time. Since I arrived in early April there's been rumours about his health - in hospital intensive care, out of hospital. Not taking food, only drinking milk...reciting death shloka...long time students coming to Mysore to pay maybe their last respects...Sharath coming back from a tour of the US... Manju coming to Mysore...
a new chanting course was scheduled to start at 1630, so Natalie and I went along to the Shala just before. There was a fire being built in the drive way and, when we went to go inside we got told something about "Guruji, not good..." then Natalie, Lee and I waited out the front to see what would happen. A local told Nat that this was a ritual performed for a death. We started to see visitors file into the shala...and in we went, after I'd asked Shiva what was going on. Rightly, he told me to take the jasmine off my scooter...in i went with Guruji's body in the middle of the marble floor of the Shala, surrounded by family, friends, students. This was the first time I'd seen Guruji in person. It seemed to me like I was intruding somehow, I'd never had a direct relationship with the man, moreso relationships with his teachings. So, I stayed for a short while and took in the atmosphere...and left to reflect a bit myself on what it all meant.
a group of us got together at 6th Main for dinner with a few rumours flying about what would happen as part of the funeral rites...what would happen at the shala...while this was going on a big rain storm was brewing, that lasted most of the night. Scooters and motor bikes cruised through a huge downpour, back to 6th, 7th and 8th where we all were staying... by the time we got back home after dinner, the first of the Pujas was going on in the basement of the Shala. The body was displayed while the mantras and rituals occurred...we were given dry rice to put somewhere on the body (a lot went in the mouth), I put mine near his heart...the body was moved to the back of a van then taken to the nearby crematorium...where, according to Pattabhi Jois Hindu caste, only men could be present at the final rituals before the body was burnt. From what I understand the body is burnt almost immediately as it is considered impure and the spirit, which has left the body must be encouraged to move on - a quote I just read says something about the astral body, or soul, or spirit, will linger as long as the physical body is visible - hence it is spiritually expeditious to burn the physical body...and so it was with Pattabhi Jois' body
last Sunday, the 31st of May, marked the end of the mourning period and associated rituals. White is the colour of mourning and the Shala and street outside were packed with Indians and foreigners paying their respects to Guruji's spirit. Inside the Shala, at the back of the room were a number of Brahmins chanting...again, I felt like a bit of an intruder...not being close with Guruji...but I'm beginning to appreciate that all manner of Indian ceremonies are attended by a wide group of people, sometimes with minimal association with the participants - weddings, house warmings, even funerals are attended by folks with very tenuous links...just like me. We were treated to a lunch served on banana leaves under the huge awning assembled out on the street in front of the Shala.
during the week leading up to the 31st there was a huge wave of visitors to attend the ceremony. that wave has subsided somewhat this week. The Shala's open for practise again next Monday, the 8th and, in an important way it will be different, but somewhat the same.
RIP Guruji
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