Here is a news item that appeared in Times of India.

Ahmedabad, Jun 8 (PTI) A principal of an industrial training institute, based in Vadgam of Mehsana, killed himself to "experience and understand" death, police said today.

"My act is not suicide, but an attempt to experience and understand death," said the suicide note left behind by Ramesh Devmani, principal of the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) based at Vadgam in Mehsana.

Devmani jumped into Narmada irrigation canal near Jhundal village in Gandhinagar district yesterday, police said adding that he ended his life following the intense urge he had to experience death.

"Whenever I happen to go to funeral of a relative or a loved one, I would develop a strong curiosity to know about death as it is an enigma, a puzzle unresolved by the human kind," Devmani wrote in his suicide note.

DEATH - is a dreaded subject, which no one likes to discuss about. The Principal at Ahmedabad must be a perverted psychic patient, who ended his life in a foolish manner. May his soul rest in peace.

However, since this is the ultimate destination for all living creatures, I would like to quote some eminent writers who made an attempt to define death, though they were unable to defy it.

P.B.Shelley wrote a poem on 'death' in 1820, which goes as follows:
"Death is here and death is there,
Death is busy everywhere,
All around, within, beneath,
Above is death - and we are death".

Mark Twain said: "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry".

"Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it.- Somerset Maugham

"Death is nature's way of telling you to slow down".

Undertaker is a person, whose business is to prepare the dead for the burial and to arrange and manage funerals.

Here is a tongue twister on undertaker: " An undertaker undertook to undertake an undertaking. The undertaking the undertaker undertook was the hardest undertaking the undertaker ever undertook to undertake".

I saw a sticker on a truck, which read: "If you're going to overtake me, the undertaker will undertake your case".

One thing is sure that, when the end is getting closer and nearer, all should have the courage to smile at it , welcome it and face it. That is the real NIRVANA.


Live happily as long as you live and leave happily before you leave - this is the essence of a well lived life.

After anybody's death they say - కీర్తిశేషులు but really most of them are - అప కీర్తిశేషులు only.

Let us go through a collection of famous quotes on death.

He can't read his tombstone when he is dead.

The fence around a cemetery is foolish, for those inside can't come out and those outside don't want to get in.

Once you are dead, you are made up of life.

Our body is like a rented house. Its key is with God. We don't know when he wants us to vacate it.

Death is the last enemy: once we've got past that, I think everything will be alright. - Alice Thomas Ellis

Death is the tyrant of imagination. - Barry Cornwall

Death most resembles a prophet who is without honor in his own land or a poet who is a stranger among his people. - Khalil Gibran

Death is no more than passing from one room to another. But there is a difference for me, you know. Because in that room I shall be able to see. - Helen Keller.

Death is always around the corner, but often our society gives it inordinate help. - Carter Burwell


హరి కృష్ణ

ART OF LIVING WITH DIGNITY

Life – a perceptive

If everybody is satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes.

(Mark Twain)

Every one of us can’t be heroes. There should be somebody on the foot-path to clap when the real heroes come. Let us clap.

After the game is over - both the king and pawn go into the same box.

In our lives, all most all of us, during a span of over sixty years, would have come across so many incidents, situations and instances. This article is an attempt to recall, recap and remember a few of such common truths and characteristics observed by me: I am sure that we would have come across these types of persons. It may be among your colleagues, relatives, friends, superiors, subordinates and even your customers.

Fear of rejection: Negative thinking always breeds negative results. If you think you can, you can. If you think that you can’t, you can’t. Either way you are correct. Be positive and proceed confidently, without any fear of failure or rejection.

Acceptance of our view: We feel that all others should concur with us. If they defer with us, we get annoyed. Give equal opportunities to others and allow them to express their views. This leads to better understanding and fruitful achievements. It is a good policy to acknowledge and appreciate others and their nature of work.

Management of people: More or less it is as good as accepting others’ view point. But it is always better to make the other person feel important. It doesn’t tantamount to ego boosting, but creates an amicable and congenial atmosphere. I know one friend, who used to insult, criticize and spit venom on the waiter or steward in any bar, hotel visited by him along with some friends. He used to snub them for no reason, causing embarrassment to other guests.

Selfish approach: Greed, avarice, selfishness and envy are the worst traits that should be avoided by us. One need not be very generous to give away all his belongings, but should not crave for things at the cost of others.

Talking about things which are important to us personally: I heard many people doting on their children, grand children, about their achievements, qualifications, wealth and many other things, unmindful of the fact that other people like them or not. This needs to be avoided.

People hear only things that they understand: Some people simply lend their ears to others, though the matter is beyond their comprehension. While talking about something, we should make sure that others are able to follow us, and they are not getting bored. It is better to stop talking when the listeners show any signs of discomfort and boredom.

Building trust: People trust us and form an indelible opinion, when once they start trusting us. Particularly, most of the executives have this trait. They carry on some sort of opinion good or bad on some of their subordinates and refuse to amend such opinions later.

We often do things which may look odd: We do certain things with explicit expectations and finally end up with implicit implications. Sometimes, we wonder why we’ve done like that and start repenting after some damage or adverse affect.

We behave in a petty, peevish and queer manner: I know a group of University Professors behaving in a petty and queer manner, when they were sponsored for a foreign trip by a MNC. They behaved in a very silly manner, unworthy of their status. They were craving for more drinks and snacks shouting at the air hostess. Finally when they attended a symposium hosted by the MNC, most of them were sleeping and snoring during that seminar. Imagine how awkward it looks for the other delegates and to the host who sponsored them.

We wear a social mask: Most of us are proud of our designation or rank. We refuse to come out of that mask even in informal meetings. They even behave in such an authoritative, over bearing and haughty manner, even after their retirement. Get rid of your status anxiety and come out of your social mask, mingle with people and try to mix with them at least now.

The above points are only a few, which define our lifestyle. All these points have been churned out of my real life experience, after observing a number of people.