Promoting Literacy Among the Impoverished Children and Adults of India

Nina, a beautiful Jewish girl from the Bronx, and I, a Hindu boy from India had a fairy tale romance in New York and Hawaii. Both of us were in so much love that we rebelled against our cultural upbringing by marrying foreigners. We chose an adventurous marriage despite objections from our parents and initial threats of ostracismby the family. We devised honeymoon in Kauai and Maui, indulged in an excitingly rich life of travels, helped more than a dozen members of my Indian family by getting them education and jobs in the USA.
We felt exhilaration through bringing together our Indian and Jewish families and made some money through buying real estate. When we were at the peak of our success, during a regular yearly physical examination, we discovered that Nina had terminal cancer and had
only six months to live. Our lives that appeared rock solid till then were suddenly arrested, derailed and turned upside down.
Both Nina and I decided to fight this demon of cancer with all the spiritual, psychological, and physical armamentarium at our disposal. We experimented with macrobiotic diet, read books by the survivors of terminal illness, traveled to major cities, worked
intensely with positive thinking, yoga, meditation, and laughter, and lived each moment fully as if it were going to be the last one.
Both of us designed a ten point plan so that Nina could live for at least five years. We wrote down ten most important things that we would have liked to do if we lived with each other for thirty years.
We followed this ten point plan fully. She fought to the finish and died a dignified death at home while surrounded by members of her family and friends whom she loved and who loved her. Through her death, Nina taught her friends and relatives how to experience
intensity of love, which was the cement of human existence,wonderfully rich life as lived here and now, and death as a uniquely dignified event.
I was fully involved in saving Nina's life and living those moments with her fully, but when this tragedy occurred, I was totally devastated. Though she was Jewish, she wanted to be cremated and desired half of her ashes to be thrown in the river Ganges in India
and the other half in the Hudson River in New York. After throwing her ashes, as we were returning to Oneonta, New York, my younger son said: "Dad, our life without Mom will now be like eating an apple
without taste." I responded to him by saying: "The taste will return. Through love, we will work together to deal with this tragedy."
After dropping my two sons to their respective colleges, I returned to an empty home, which was unbearable.Nina had fought her cancer bravely for five years. A month before she died, she told me that since we had done all those 10 things, and if she lived any longer, she would be repeating them, she was ready to die. However, she felt that when she was dead, I would
forget her. In my emotional state of love, I told her: "Nina, you will never be forgotten. I cannot build you a Taj Mahal but will build schools in your name for the poorest children of India."
I felt devastated by this tragedy where I lost the love of my life, a beautiful companion and a caring human being. After teaching an evening class, as I was warming up my car and was moving the gear shift handle back and forth, I had an insight. The energy of
gasoline was neutral and when the gear was put in reverse the car went backwards and when put in the drive, it went forward. During that moment I learned that my emotional energy was neutral and if I
put it in reverse, I would be depressed and if I put it in drive I could do amazing things. So I decided that I would put my energy towards doing constructive works such as:
First, writing one philosophy book each year to cater to the needs of undergraduate students and lay public;
Two, starting a charitable organization called the Ninash Foundation combining the name "Nina" with the first three letters of my name "Ashok." This foundation was a genuine love-bond which would promote
literacy by helping to build elementary schools for the
underprivileged children of India;
Three, starting a Yoga and Meditation Center to offer weekly free lessons and monthly lectures to help relax the stressed out students, faculty and members of the local community;
Fourth, setting up "Seva" or "Compassionate Service" Awards for students and faculty at the University of Hawaii, East West Center awaii) and SUNY College at Oneonta. These awards were to be given o students and faculty who had not only been scholars but had
put their scholarly knowledge compassionately to work to help the down-trodden of the humanity.
Since the tragedy of Nina's death, I have used my
emotional/spiritual energy of love positively by publishing nine books on Indian, Chinese and Western philosophies and have three more manuscript ready to be published. I have also completed a novel on Nina and my romance, love, life and a dignified death for which I would be looking for a publisher and finally make the novel into a film. All the royalties go to the Ninash Founadtion.
Secondly, through the Ninash Foundation, we have built four Indo-International schools for more than 700 underprivileged children of India. We have helped build part of a village of Kuran, which was devastated by the earthquake that hit Gujarat in 2001.
Third, I started the Yoga and Meditation Center at SUNY Oneonta with the help of a grant from the Metanexus Institute as well as from the office of the SUNY Oneonta President. We have catered to more than 2000 people in our community by providing them with lectures and yoga sessions free of cost. We conducted a satellite conference on Contemplative Practice that reached more than 400,000 students and faculty in the 64 SUNY campuses.
Fourth, we have endowed four awards for faculty and students forscholarly and compassionate service to humanity and
Finally, I have fallen in love the second time and found my life's partner who is as compassionate as I am. She helped give away 40 milk producing goats to the poorest of poor people of the town of Dundlod where our first Indo-International School was established.
With this new love-team, we will be going ahead with building many more schools for the underprivileged children of India and rest of the world.
All this was and is due to the overflowing love for my beloved and for the poorest of poor neglected children of India and the world.
This is my way of transforming a misfortune into fortune through (SEVA) compassion in action.