In Memory of Dear Ayush

On 19/20 December 2023, we all at Emerald Court were shell-shocked to receive the most tragic news of Ayush Gupta – the elder son of Ekta and Piyush Gupta – having a fatal car accident in Canada, where he had gone just a few months earlier to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. Nothing can express the feeling of deep sadness and immense grief at the demise of a young life at the age of only 23 and more so when he was so affectionate, helpful and lovable.

We all cannot forget his smiling face and polite demeanour when he met us occasionally in the Society or came to our house. So many families in the Complex will remain indebted to him for his help and support during the difficult times of the Covid waves. Each and every family and staff of Emerald Court is overwhelmed with deep sorrow, and express their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

All the philosophy and wisdom of the soul being immortal and moving from one physical body to another in its Karmic Cycle, of destiny and karma, of past and future births, of God’s Will, of time being the best healer, of the dualities of life, of human life being mortal, impermanent and transient, etc. are known to us all. But all that seems irrelevant and insufficient to lessen the pain of the parents who tragically lost their young child. A normal happy life of a family is forever changed in the matter of seconds.

Whenever such a tragedy happens, we all go into the stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. We are blessed that we all are Spiritual and stay in a Community where everyone is like an extended family member. Our Spirituality will help us in maintaining our equipoise and equanimity, and not losing hope and faith. The “safety net” of the Community will help us in providing long-term emotional support to those who need it. The relatives will naturally need to continue with their lives and will leave for their homes, but we all will remain to provide support to dear Ekta and Piyush and together we will overcome this difficult time.

The realization of being insignificant, irrelevant and powerless in the twists and turns of destiny should make us more humble, compassionate and have a feeling of “Samarpan” to the Almighty.

In the end, I quote these lines of Qateel Shifai:

Dard se mera daman bhar de ya allah

Fir chaahe diwaana kar de ya allaah.

Ya dharati ke zakhmon par maraham rakh de

Ya mera dil patthar kar de ya allaah.