My maternal uncle and I were close throughout my childhood. My mama, who is a year older than my mom and the youngest of my mother’s three brothers, has three brothers.
When I was a year old and my mother would return from a vacation abroad, I would excitedly await his arrival and play with him until I fell asleep, according to my mother.
Several things changed as I grew up in my environment, but the relationship between my mom and uncle never wavered. I was naturally always close to him, but because my profession came first, I was constantly busy with other things and only saw him when he needed something.
Uncle, however, had to overcome a number of obstacles in life, including his divorce from his wife and his decision to give her custody of his children. He simultaneously lost his mother, the person he was closest to. That was a really difficult moment for him because his firm also suffered significant losses at the same time.
Being spiritual, he took comfort in Lord Shiva and was a fervent supporter of the Somnath temple.
As I got older, I gradually observed my uncle transform from a successful businessman who wore pricey perfumes and Bali shoes to a spiritual man who chose to only wear a basic khadi and Kurta and consume only millets for lunch and dinner!
They made fun of him.
But my uncle never responded to them and quietly kept living his life without bothering anyone. He had no material possessions but was spiritually a very powerful soul!
We lost him one fine afternoon to a heart attack. Post-mortem revealed he passed away in his sleep. Only after his death did we discover the number of followers my uncle has on Twitter and the number of youngsters he had mentored.
My mother and I were truly devastated after he passed but were happy his passing was peaceful. There was a serene calm on his face when he passed away as though he will soon be united with Lord Shiva!
My uncle taught the world a very valuable lesson to especially those who laughed at him! In the end, the whole of life is an act of letting go. But what truly matters in life is how humble you can be and how much you can help others. To this date, he is called a mahatma in Somnath village due to the number of his followers!
