My Friend Krishna
Krishna was a nice old Indian man. He was always in a good mood and very pleasant to be around. He was very nice.
He sat next to me at work for two years and he talked to me every single day.
I think a lot of the time we don't really think of the people we work with as having a big part in our lives.
I'm not sure it's right to call us close or even friends, really. But he passed away and I am feeling the loss. Now that desk to my left at work is empty.
I remember the first time we talked. Two years ago he asked me if I was a Buddhist. Everyone knows that I am. I'm as "out of the meditation closet" as you can be. I have Buddhist tattoos. Everyone knows I'm a Buddhist and that it's a big part of my life.
I told him that I am a Buddhist. He asked if I have a temple that I go to and I told him about the Rime Center. He told me that he attends the Hindu temple in Shawnee, which I had actually visited that same year.
He told me he was Hindu. He had been raised in Hinduism and he was really interested in talking about spirituality with me. He didn't know much about Buddhism, but he really like discussing where our beliefs intersected.
There was one other thing.
He asked me about the Dalai Lama's health. Really he asked if the Dalai Lama's health was a big concern, something people were worried about.
I said, "Well, I know he's been having health problems for years now. I don't know if he will die soon, but he is in his late 70s...so, you know..." (the Dalai Lama is 81 at the time of this writing. )
Krishna just laughed and said, "I'm in my late 70s. What do you mean?"
So, that was embarrassing. But, luckily he was such a positive thinking person that he didn't get offended at all.
I was clueless. I have trouble realizing how old people are sometimes.
It was a rude thing to say anyway, but I believe in being completely open and honest here. I hope the Dalai Lama lives for many more years.
Anyway, I sat by Krishna for 2 years. We talked about spirituality a lot.
Some of you reading this may not be aware that Hinduism and Buddhism have the same roots and they have a lot of similarities. He thought talking to me was interesting.
Earlier this year he asked me to tell him how to meditate. This was surreal. He had been raised as a Hindu. He had been practicing Hinduism for much longer than I had even been alive. And Hinduism is a meditative religion, just like Buddhism is.
There something we don't always realize here in the west. There are plenty of people who were raised in Hinduism and Buddhism that don't meditate, that don't even know how.
That sounds weird, until we think about how many people raised in Christianity don't pray or study the Bible. Plenty of them, right?
Anyway, I taught him how to practice breathing meditation. I guess at the temple he went to there was a lot of chanting and bowing, but not all that much meditation instruction.
Last week he told me he wanted to learn more about Buddhism. He asked me to bring a book in, something he could read and get through pretty fast, something simple. A lot of people ask me to recommend books. This is not a big deal.
I did bring in a book for him. I brought it in last week. But I never had the opportunity to give it to him. He never came to work again. And he passed away over the weekend.
He lived a full life and he died surrounded by his loved ones. His death was not a big surprise. He had been struggling with his health for a while.
It occurred to me that if my own father hadn't passed away 21 years ago, he'd be the same age as Krishna.
Krishna was a wonderful man and my heart is with his family today.