Anatha Pretha kainkaryam

Courtesy: Sri.Anand Vasudevan


Dear All

I received the Sage of Kanchi post on "Transformed by Deivathin Kural" from Sri SK Ramanathan.

I have also reproduce below the TOI article about Mr. Sridhar who has taken up a task which others cannot imagine. 

The Sage of Kanchi Post Link is given below the TOI article.

Koti Pranams to Sri Sreedhar for this Maha Kainkaryam.

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Friend of the unknown

Death can teach you a lot about life," says S Sreedhar, who has been performing last rites for unclaimed bodies in the city for more than 25 years.

In 1985, when Sreedhar visited the Kanchi Mutt, he happened to read the book 'Deivathin Kural' , which talked about people according respect to a dead body, depending on the religion of the deceased person. "It struck a chord in my soul. The same day I told the elders in the mutt that I wanted to do this service, and they gave me their blessings." says Sreedhar. He approached the chairperson of Vishranthi, a centre for destitute women in Palavakkam, and requested her to inform him whenever there was a death in the home.  

Sreedhar began by just helping with the last rites. Later, he started providing money for the ceremony and cremation . He performs the last rites for the deceased from old age homes such as Vishranthi, Nimmadhi and Sai Charan,and Premalaya, a home for the mentally challenged . "We don't know the name or religion of the dead person ,so we place flowers,rice and milk and pray," he says.

Sreedhar has performed the last rites for more than 350 bodies . From July, he has also begun conducting mass burials of unclaimed bodies through the Anatha Pretha Kainkarya Trust. "I wanted to conduct the last rites for unclaimed bodies in the general hospital and got permission from the government ," says Sreedhar. The State Bank of India recently donated a van to transport bodies to the burial ground.

"I feel blessed that I can perform this duty for people I have never met and whom I don't even know by name," he says.

The undertaker at the Besant Nagar crematorium knows Sreedhar very well. He even offers to immerse the ashes if Sreedhar has to leave before the cremation is over. "The undertakers are helpful and do everything to our satisfaction," says the 50-year-old , who works for a wealth management company. "Doing this work has made me mentally strong."

The relevant portion from Deivathin Kural (Volume 3) is available in the following link.

http://www.dharmaa.org/html/firstpage.htm


http://mahaperiyavaa.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/transformed-by-deivathin-kural-mr-sreedhar/