Tribute to a pure soul

My earliest memories of my uncle Shri Sadashivrao Tinaikar who merged with Universal Consciousness last Saturday (22nd May 2010) are of travelling with him in the Government Jeep as kids during his visits to the interior when he was in charge of the Transport department of the Government of Maharashtra. This was just after my father passed away in August 1973. My brother Paresh and I along with our cousins visited almost all of Shivaji’s forts in Maharashtra – those are very fond memories of a very kind gesture on his part to make us not feel the loss of our father and take us along with him.

He was an extremely simple person with very few needs, his example of how to lead life as a Public Servant needs to be followed by all bureaucrats if this country needs to become a better place to live in. A person who never accepted any gift from any person ever as a Public Servant, a person who helped the needy within the framework of the law – he was a person who was worshipped by almost all his subordinates and colleagues. My aunt also requires special mention as she too would ask people to take back gifts so as not to upset my uncle. An officer and a gentleman – upright and straightforward, not afraid to call a spade a spade and hence a bane to the Shiv Sena politicians as they were in power when he was the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai. He never ever entertained the contractors and hence became a round peg in a square hole, as the politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus got broken during his tenure. The gravy train stopped, as a result of which the Shiv Sena supremo at a public rally at Shivaji Park called him a kidney stone – he did not allow the corrupt nexus any leeway at all and it became impossible to milk the system during his tenure you see!

He was always a spiritual person with great knowledge and insight into spirituality –I have seen him in a “samadhist” state for hours at a stretch while meditating at home. During his stint as Under Secretary for Tribal Affairs he was able to meet a lot of spiritual souls, such as Navsari ke Baba, Swami Pranavananda of Chaalisgaon, Gagangiri Maharaj, Khopoli and we were all fortunate to have come in touch with these spiritual Gurus through him. His deep meditation, in my opinion, had led him to be a self realized person during his lifetime. In 1982 when he was on his way to meet Navsari ke baba, he had an heart attack on the railway station and collapsed on the platform – a stranger came and helped him up and into his compartment, placed a tablet on his tongue and left without saying who he was. My uncle recovered enough to comfortably complete his journey and return without any further problem – what more evidence do you need of the strength, love and power of a Guru towards his disciple.

My uncle was an amazing artist and could sketch anyone’s portrait in five minutes flat. All his paintings have amazing depth and quality – you realize that all his paintings are a labor of love and the depth and quality of his paintings come through his self realized spiritual status.

I have personally tried to emulate his high moral standards and live by his principles in my professional life – I have learnt a lot just by observing him and his life style – simple, tough, kind hearted, honest, straightforward and loving. A great soul - whom I am extremely proud of – like I said before an officer and a gentleman to the core. May his soul merge with Universal Consciousness and rest in peace for ever. God Bless.