Quant à son remplaçant, puisque tu ne le sais pas, on parle beaucoup de son fiston c'est vrai. Mais l'outsider qui risque de le coiffer au poteau, c'est Barghav, son petit-fils évidemment...
A plus mon dieu
Alexis
Master at eighty four, by AP Durai in Echoes of Oceania, july 2010
These are some subjective impressions-as one cannot be very definitive about what Master is! At 84, Master’s health is not what it used to be. He carefully conserves his energy, allowing time for rest in between tasks and allocates his time and energy according to priority without seeming to be under pressure. At the end of the day, there are no arrears of work and we marvel at the way he replies to our emails the same day whether it is administrative work or a distress call from an abhyasi.
Master cheerfully undergoes a variety of treatments and medications-sometimes, it seems, more to please those who treat him. He wears dark glasses against daylight as he cannot tolerate the glare. Br.Satbir or Bhargav, Master’s grandson, assist him in attending to emails and replying to them. Though his eyesight is affected, his inner senses seem to be at their peak as before. He senses the presence of individuals more than seeing them.
Master’s diet is sparse as many things are forbidden to him. But he sits for his meals like an emperor, always with a few abhyasis at his table. He eats in silence (may be working on those present) and sometimes there is a lively conversation, witticisms with a meaning and repartees if there is someone who can provoke him.
Master’s walks are occasional, but he exercises in his room with a walker. Whenever he is low in physical energy, Dr. Mohanaselvan is invited to perk it up with his wonder machine. Master also spends time with the dentist in Sahaj Medical centre now and then. But he never makes much of his health problems and is at his wittiest best when he is fighting his ailments.
Having presided over the exponential growth of the Mission, Master’s work and responsibility have increased many fold. He goes round in his golf cart and manages to meet, greet and interact with those craving to meet him. Abhyasis from different centres in India have been encouraged to come and spend a few days in Manapakkam, Tirappur or Kolkata when he is camping there. He is happy to be with large groups of abhyasis in our ashrams and likes to conduct satsanghs frequently.
Master’s creations like Omega school, Satkhol ashram, the CRESTs and Retreat centres demand his attention as much as important ashrams and centres all over India. He manages to find time to visit them although at considerable physical inconvenience. However, he has stopped visiting overseas countries as he cannot sit through long journeys by air. In India, he prefers to travel by road as much as possible.
Master gives particular attention to children whether they are students of Omega school or those who accompany their abhyasi parents. He stops to talk to them names little babies, jokes with the older ones, touching them on their heads with the tip of his walking stick. Already a new generation seems to be marching into view thanks to over two thousand Sahaj Marg weddings Master has conducted in the last twenty five years.
Master is lively, humorous and young in spirit and his memory is phenomenal as usual. He has grown a beard, but it is shorter than Babuji’s. In the beginning, some of us were put off by it, but now we find he looks as charming as before. Long back, Master told me that, when he was young, an aunt of his used to tell him, “you will have some aspects (amshas) of Lord Krishna. Even if you become ninety years old, you will still be charming.” Indeed, one is tempted to say, borrowing Shakespeare’s expression, “Age cannot wither, nor custom stale, Thy infinite variety”.
