The Light Of My Mother’s Soul

In our Hindu custom, you cannot keep a dead body for more than a day. In a few hours’ time, the body has to be burnt. My mother died around two o’clock. A few hours later, at about six o’clock, my mother’s body was taken to the family cremation ground and there it was burnt. All our relatives and dear ones were swimming in the sea of sorrow and grief.

I used to sleep with my mother until the age of six or seven. Then I stayed alone in my own room. The night after she passed away, it was pitch dark. We had no electricity; we didn’t use a lamp or candles. My brother Mantu was in another room, and my sisters were upstairs. I was inside a mosquito net.

All of a sudden, the room was flooded with light, and I saw my mother. My mother’s soul was all light. I did not know then what the soul was, but I saw clearly that my mother was blessing me and showing me utmost affection. She was telling me not to worry, saying that everything would be all right. From now on she would help me and bless me in a different way.