A lesson for the aged

A lesson for the aged
Seema Burman
June 27, 2007

Older people grumble that nobody pays attention to them. A mind that is not trained to be spiritual feels lonely in old age. But those who develop affinity with live souls, love to feed them and look after them. This gives us a happy connection with existence.

Those who build up their love for God or a guru establish a relationship with their favourite deity The satisfaction of such a relationship is soothing for the mind, body and spirit.

With changing times, rules too are changing. Children find elders a nuisance and neglect or abuse them. Gurus now advise the old not to relinquish their property to their children as long as they are alive.

In a true case, a retired man distributed his three floors to his three sons after his wife died and lived with the eldest son. One day the son complained that his brothers were not contributing to the father's food and an arrangement reached that each son's family would cook food by turn. The arrangement soon fell apart. The father started going to a nearby dhaba. His friends got together and hatched a plan. One day he gathered his sons and gave them tickets for a vacation. When they returned, a builder was waiting for them to take away their belongings as the house had been sold and their father had left without leaving behind any address.

The biggest mistake we all commit is of getting attached to people and possessions. When discarded by our loved ones, we are saddened. That is why saints ask us to devote more time to spiritual attainment.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa said that the best way to live life is like a caretaker A caretaker is not attached to possessions. When worldly things are snatched from him, the caretaker remains calm and unconcerned.