“I love this place so
much. I want to spend my remaining days of life in this beautiful place after
retirement.” I declared to Memey gasping the beauty of Pharah.
“Why not now?” he
asked.
“I have many things
to do before retiring at this beautiful place, though I would love to but I can’t.”
I teased grandpa.
“Moreover, I don’t
have sons and daughters who promised to send a monthly ration and I don’t even
have a granddaughter who would visit during vacation to spend with me; listening
to my tales, washing my clothes, sharing the crazy jokes, cracking the hand
instead of the walnut.” I listed the reasons pretending to sympathize myself.
He smiled with the
distinct wrinkles and slowly he spoke “Tshering, remember one thing, you don’t
have to wait to get old to practice Dharma. Neither 3 years old boy is too
early to start nor 89 years old man is too late to practice Dharma.”
He continued “The earlier
you start the better for you. You see, an old man like me can’t even prostrate
properly due to back pain.” He laughed rubbing his back with left hand.
“Is it still paining
there?” I asked with the concern.
“Ahh! It is ok. ” he
shrugged off saying that it is part of life.
He continued ”Chant
Baza Guru whenever you can. You won’t kill it by crumbling if you chant while
sleeping. It won’t die getting under your feet if chant while walking.”
“Life is uncertain. You
are saying that you will live here after retirement. But have you ever questioned
yourself that exactly when will be your retirement time? Do you mean literally
after service retirement or retirement from the attachment of the materialistic
world? Are you certain that you will live long enough to see your
grandchildren? “
With the rapid fire
of questions, I was dumbstruck yet admiring the wisest and the real hero of my
life. The person with the profound knowledge of life than any book could teach. The person who has opted to isolate himself from the domestic life and detached himself from
the materialistic world for almost 8 years now. He wisely chose to spend the
rest of his life on this serene place along with other elderly people from
different villages. Pharah as I would describe as the epitome of peace and
serene beauty with the wisest people living in it.
