Passing of Ram Rattan Singh

[Guest guest]

Dear Group,

 

I received this letter from Dharam Singh today. He may pass it on to the

group, but he may not be able to as he is also dealing with the passing of

his mother this week as well. You can write to Dharam Singh off list if you

wish to.

 

For those of you who knew Ram Rattan Singh and his wife Kartar Kaur from the

list you can write to her at

Kartar001

 

Silent prayers are always appropriate as is the chanting of

5 akaaaaaaaals

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Inhale, chant as long as your breath lasts ah kaaaaal and then repeat 5

times.

 

May we live in gratitude for the life we are given and gracefully surrender

to Divine will with the passing of each soul.

 

Sat Nam,

 

Gururattan Kaur

 

 

 

Sat Nam Family,

Please Chant Akal for Ram Rattan Singh of Portland, Maine. He passed

over on Monday morning at home having finally succumbed to lung cancer. His

sons, daughter and wife Kartar Kaur were with him. His sons had moved back

home (one of them from Arizona) to be with him.

 

Hari Kaur and myself went up on Sunday to simply be present and to

minister. He had requested a Sikh "funeral" and so his wife and family are

fulfilling this request. Later on Dev Atma Singh from Melrose arrived. I had

never been this close to someone knowing that their time was so close. I

know it made it big difference for him, his wife and family to have someone

from this community be there at this time. This you cannot know clearly

enough from just my words, and all in all it wasn't my words that made any

difference for him since I was relatively silent, overwhelmed and struck by

the situation. I am still "trying" to allow some words to come through.

Seeing him in his "helplessness" was challenging for me and I would have

needed to be around for more than a few hours to just begin to process this

through.

 

Upon arriving and going into the room he was in I sat next to him. Deep

sadness, mine and his came through and my tears flowed which probably helped

him let go of his sadness and move on to another place in the process.

Anything I had to contribute was simply in my being present as a human, a

friend and a fellow yogi. Hari Kaur, on the other hand, was steady and gave

that quality a strength to Ram Rattan through her grace as a Shakti. Her

words of encouragement really helped him through the pain and helped him let

go of the struggle gracefully.

 

Hari, Kartar and myself read Japji together after which he uttered

barely audibly, "what's next?". He enjoyed it and wanted to hear more. He

had beat all odds at surviving more than a few months by big changes in diet

and I using other approaches. He had a tenacity and stubbornness throughout

his illness that was evident even in these last hours in his expressions and

gestures (he couldn't really speak anymore due to lack of breath). He did

not want to go! ....and was frustrated by the inevitable. The prayers, Hari

Kaur's words and our presence made a tremendous difference for him, his

wife, and family. We continued with more chanting.

 

I hadn't truly realized how big a part of their lives this Dharma, Yogiji

and 3HO were. Yeah, you may have seen them in Millis for Sat Nam Rasayan,

Tantric or the Fall Festivals but outside of that you probably had no

contact. They taught Kundalini Yoga out of their home and I believe they

were our only representatives in the Portland area and maybe for the whole

state. Ram Rattan had a calm radiance, a kind nature and I never felt a

meanness from this person. While looking in his eyes this past Sunday, I saw

he had held onto his courage and youthfulness, also. His eyes told me a lot.

He knew how to "see" flow within the flow of life and am sure he brought

this to his teaching. His body had failed him but his Spirit and Soul were

in good shape. He never gave up.

 

We had talked about the Harimandir Sahib and going to Amritsar for

healing. The pollution was a concern, however, and he opted to not make the

trip. Shortly after that decision last fall he wrote these words while

counseling another regarding keeping up with one's practice while struggling

with illness.

 

"According to the MDs, I have an incurable terminal illness (cancer with

very low survival rate) that was diagnosed over 2 1/2 years ago. I also have

Environmental Illness that imposes a different set of restrictions. The docs

(MDs that is) are all amazed that I am still alive. I am a certified

Kundalini Yoga teacher and usually teach 2 classes a week at our home

studio. I haven't even told my students that I have cancer yet, since I

don't need to, even though I am functioning with vocal cords paralyzed on

one side and only one lung working.

 

I often have a lot of fatigue, but if I can pull myself together for class,

and tune in, I have it made. The energy is there- it comes through- it is

real. I sense Guru Ram Das whenever I put my awareness there, and the Golden

Chain of teachers. Whenever I do yoga (not as often as I would like) I feel

better. And I have hope. Yogi Bhajan told me in 1998 that my destiny was to

be a great teacher. I am doing my best to fulfill my destiny in these

challenging circumstances and have felt my teaching grow stronger and better

all the time. Each student is a lifeline to the infinite, liberating me as I

help elevate them. Life presents all of us with different challenges, and

the trick is to turn your circumstances to your advantage.

 

I know that I would not be able to deal with my situation with equanimity

and cheerfulness and hope if it were not for Yogi Bhajan and Kundalini Yoga.

I love the teachings, I love these people, I love the community, even though

I am not a member of Sikh Dharma (or Khalsa). So, should you do Kundalini

Yoga - of course, whenever you feel good enough to do even a spinal flex.

And as my friend Dharam points out- TUNE IN. Blessings to all-"

 

There will be a memorial service at the Quaker Meeting House, 1837 Forest

Ave. Portland at 2 PM on Sat. June 8

 

You can write the family at 255 West Concord Street, Portland, ME 04103

You can email his wife Kartar Kaur at <Kartar001

207-780-1354 or 207-761-1685 are the numbers that I have

 

In short it was my privilege to be able to be there with him and his family

in these last hours.

 

Ram Rattan, see you on the other side,

Sat Nam, Wahe Guru

Dharam

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Ah kaaaal

 

Ah kaaaal