A Candle In The Wind

A Candle In The Wind

By Life Positive

April 2009

The Mount Abu-based reclusive spiritual thinker and activist, Vimla Thakar, highly regarded the world over for her profound insight into life, passed away on March 11, 2009.

Dedicated to balancing ‘inner’ spiritual development with ‘outer’ social development, Vimala Thakar was interested in spiritual matters from an early age. She pursued this interest with meditation and spiritual practices through her youth.

“The essence of religion is the personal discovery of the meaning of life, the meaning of truth. Religion is related to the unconditional, total freedom that truth confers on us. It is a revolution of the whole way of living. Religion moves us from the superficial layers of existence and encourages us to go deeper to the roots of life. It is an inward journey to the depths of our being.”

Later, she became active in the bhoodan movement of Shri Vinoba Bhave and also attended talks given by, and met with, the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurthy. This meeting was to change her life. She dedicated herself to teaching meditation and philosophy. For the next two decades, she travelled between India, the US and Europe, teaching and giving talks on spirituality. After 1979, she curtailed her travel outside India. She passed away on the day of Holi, the festival of colour in India.

“Nothing in life is trivial. Life is whole wherever and whenever we touch it, and one moment or event is not less sacred than another,” she had said. Let us, in this moment of grief, remember her message of equanimity and peace.