As my sleep got disturbed at 1 am on 17th April,2011 and my husband uttered the words that "i have got bad news" , i immediately knew that it was Koka . Somehow, i did not feel any grief but a sense of nostalgia as i stared across my empty studio. First thought of Aita losing her partner and then a sudden reflection that rest of us lost the sound of the word "Aashirbaad". While i consoled my sobbing cousin, my mind searched for a befitting tribute for Koka -- whose most ardent desire was Well-being of his dear-ones as well as many other people whose lives he touched. Prabodh Chandra Goswami (1914-2011) was a teacher by profession and by heart; i always wondered whether he chose the profession or he was born with it. To all of his grandchildren he was the Mentor communicating the right tricks to help us succeed. To this tutor, we owe our knowledge and thus writing back to him sharing our finest memories with him seemed the best show of our gratitude. And so Koka, as you rest in the ethereal world of tranquility, please accept our small tokens of love and realize that we would be forever the Torchbearers of your knowledge and ensure that it transcends across generations.
"One fine day during my school days, i had decided that every morning before i leave home for any life's mundanity i would touch Koka's feet. At that tender age, one is not so concerned about blessings nor does one understand the necessity for the same. A child simply wants hear a cheerful voice bade her a wonderful day through "Aashirwaad" and conferring an unknown sense of gaiety for the daylong challenges. But as years passed, it became a habit and an armor that would protect me from any grimness or tribulations waiting to engulf me. In the morning rush and through the drudgery of our fast lives, the resonance of the word Aashirwaad implied not only that someone was there praying for my well-being and my success, but that there was complete selflessness to that act. And for that Koka we will always be at loss cause no body could surpass you in altruism.
Our Koka was always looking out for us, ensuring that his blessings reach us in every corner of the world we stay . I have been away for home for a long time now, but on the phone or during my semiannual home visits, whenever we spoke, sometimes touching his feet in reverence or sometimes with just a plan Hi, he would always say Aashirbaad. The word was a medium to transfer to us his love, his protective instinct and his fervor and enthusiasm for life. Even if it was physically not possible for him, his emotional strength got delivered through the simple word Aashirbaad. Blessings! do pour into ones life in plenty and even if mostly all are genuine and heartfelt , very few of those emits a sense of security and warmth. Koka's blessings were like a safety harness which would not allow us to fall or any evil befell on us. For me and for many people whose lives he touched , this simple word meant that they were forever in someone's prayers and even through rough times there was a hope for a better tomorrow.
For more than 50 years of his life, Koka had been practicing 3 hour long daily yogic meditation. Infact his meditations had increased further as his eyesight failed him and took him away from his literary pursuits. As the modern world now slowly embraces Yoga and meditation as foremost tool in improving one’s life; Koka's family who grew up with an Yogic never learnt much. I think not any of us nor any of his children could exactly piece out what he did during that period. We know he chanted the Gayatri and some Gita etc., but beyond that i am sure no one ever asked him in detail. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali or the Upanishads gathered dust in the sanctum of his bookcases but no one really bothered to make an effort to read. Once when i had enquired, he poignantly informed that during meditation he carried forth a conversation with the Supreme Power and also that yoga allowed him to attain spiritual insights and tranquility. Well! now me being the perpetual debater with a rational approach to human life had raised many points to counteract the logic; but somewhere in the midst of all my arguments i had agreed to his view or had simply bowed down to the power of his Bhakti and GyanaYoga.
Koka's family strangely never tried to imbibe the spiritual education from him although firmly believing in the power of his Aashirbaad. Maybe we thought we would have him forever praying for us, raising our concerns to the Supreme Gods and cleansing our souls during those meditative bouts, while we carried forth on our materialistic pursuits. His benedictions made us feel safe and his uttering the word Aashirbaad meant all the positive denouements were hence transmitted into us. So profound was our belief on him, his agathism and his Aashirbaad that today also as his ashes disappear in the murky waters, we somehow still feel very secure. It’s like a Life Insurance that he invested for us and all of us were embodied into his piousness. While his yogic conversation or his religious doctrines could just be lost on us, we would always know that his Umbrella of blessings would protect us in all inclement weathers. "
