Government aid was not forthcoming after he was diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer's and parkinson's diseases. For the last year of his life, all the received as sustenance was a paltry amount of money from his daughters. The man who put India on the swimming map of the world was so ill at the time of his death that he could hardly remember his name. None of his family members were at his bedside when he breathed his last.
That all of us are 'pilgrims' in this world is not an illusion, but a reality. In fact, the only thing we can be sure about is that death will one day overcome us. The problem with us is that we scarcely pay attension to this reality. We live in this world as if all that matters is what we achieve here below, and as if this 'here below' has no end! The glory if our achievements can so mesmerize us that we are prone to live lives steeped in material values alone! What happened to Mihir Sen is sad indeed, but there are scores of people who have done much for their country, their communities and their families, who are forgotten totally as years pass by. A walk in a cemetery, reading the epitaphs on the tombstones would be an ideal exercise to awaken us from our slumber.
Let us learn to be appreciative of people when they are alive. We must do this not only only for people who have done extraordinary good, but for people whom we very often take for granted. What about our mothers who slog day in and day out, and yet, are placed in the category of 'non working' people? If you have ever appeared for an interview, haven't you answered the questions, 'what does your father do?' by saying that he is an engineer, an accountant, etc? But when you were asked, 'what does your mother do ?' Your reply was, 'she does not work !' This is a very good indication of our indifferent and ungrateful behavioural patterns which we need to rectify.
"Bishop Percival Fernandez"
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