A GREAT MAN

“A GREAT MAN”

We often hear the above being echoed usually upon the demise of a person. But how do you measure the greatness of a person? Would it be based on the volume of accolades the person receives? Then again how much of these are sincere appreciation, or could it be a mere politically correct gesture?

Just last week, a political champion passed away in Malaysia. Mr Karpal Singh known as the “Tiger of Jelutong” (Jelutong was the constituency he represented in the Malaysian Parliament), was also a lawyer by profession, who took on many cases pro bono. From a humble beginning Karpal Singh rose to be an eminent lawyer and a statesman. In his rise there was one commonality observed, he was humble, down to earth, a man who lived by his principles and more importantly he was always a people’s person.

Therefore I was not surprised that at his funeral, thousands of people from all walks of life paid their last respects to this great man. Never before, had Malaysia witnessed, such an outpouring of grief of this magnitude. The Chief Minister of Penang State, Mr Lim Guan Eng, summed it up very aptly in the obituary, “Your greatest legacy is not the honours bestowed by leaders or tributes by famous personalities overseas or locally, but what moved us are the tears shed by the many ordinary Malaysians who do not know you and whom you never met but yet were touched by the sacrifices you have made.”

So how would a person’s legacy remembered?

When JF Kennedy’s body was lying in state, thousands lined up in near-freezing temperatures, some reportedly waited for 10 hours just to pay their respects. Many people apparently arrived from different states of the US just to pay their respects to this man. People openly displayed emotions when the carriage bearing the casket passed by.

When M.G. Ramachandran (better known as MGR, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, India), died in 1984,  more than a million people were estimated to have been involved in the funeral procession. Further 30 people were reported to have committed suicide upon hearing of his death. People from all walks of life openly wailed while the funeral procession was in progress.

When Princess Diana passed away in 1997 it was reported that 2 billion people all over the world were glued to their television watching the state funeral broadcasted live, reportedly one of the most watched events in history. More than one million people lined the streets of London, and flowers rained down onto the cortege from bystanders. Many were seen openly crying, hugging on to each other. During the four weeks following her funeral, the suicide rate in England and Wales rose by 17% and cases of deliberate self-harm by 44.3% compared with the average for that period in the four previous years. Researchers suggest that this was caused by the "identification" effect.”

All the four individuals  mentioned above had one commonality, all of them had at one time or another touched the hearts of ordinary people.

 

The greatest legacy a person can leave behind is to be remembered for his/her humanity, all other achievements would pale in comparison. The three pillars of humanity are love, kindness and social intelligence. That reminded me of Swami Vivekananda’s words,

These individual I have mentioned above may not be Mahatmas (Great Souls), but their actions have made their existence on Earth meaningful.

Perhaps if more of us strive to be  better humans, the world would be a better place to live.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller.

Mr Karpal Singh, Fare thee well.  Gone but will forever be remembered.

Asathoma Sat Gamaya

Tamasoma Jothir Gamaya

Mirthyoma Amirtham Gamaya

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti…………

Translation of the above Sanskrit manthra from the Upanishad:

Lead us from Unreality (of Transitory Existence) to the Reality (of the Eternal Self),

Lead us from the Darkness (of Ignorance) to the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge),

Lead us from the Fear of Death to the Knowledge of Immortality.

Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

ravivarmman@22042014