Dr Mangesh Nadkarni was a master of the English language and spoke brilliantly on Savitri, a 24,000-verse epic poem by Sri Aurobindo. The poem recounts the saga of human victory over ignorance and the conquest of death. Reading Savitri is itself considered a practice of integral yoga and a potent vehicle of aspiration. Dr Nadkarni inculcated Savitri as a mantra in his life. Had it not been destiny’s cruel blow which snatched away our beloved uncle from our midst, we were planning to celebrate, on a grand scale, the completion of 75 years on his birthday on 6 March 2008. But, fate willed otherwise, leaving me to write this article in his remembrance. He will be remembered for his vast knowledge, eloquence, sense of humour, melodious voice, smiling face and a magnetic, lovable personality. He was the personification of Sweetness and Light and carried an aura of Ananda with him. The soul incubates in the body as the bird in the egg; cracking the shell, the bird waddles away. Lament for the shell or rejoice for the baby bird? My prayers to the Divine Mother to take his soul in Her arms to its heavenly abode.
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