KAUAI, HAWAII, June 28, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Lavina Melwani): When a child is born, there is so much joy and celebration—as if royalty has arrived at the home, with music, dance and sweets. Yet what happens when people get old? There is no celebration of aging bodies, grey hair, fading eyesight and memory loss. There is almost a sense that the elderly are dispensable, just waiting for death. These seniors are often abandoned by their own families and made to feel unwanted and unnecessary.

Meet a woman who is a champion for the forgotten and the disposable. Krishna Kash­yap has not only founded a retirement home for elderly people but also a retirement home for old, abandoned cows who can no longer give milk and whom no one wants. Kashyap, lovingly known as Mataji, runs Punya Dham Ashram in Pune. “Service to God through Service to Humanity” is its mission, and it is operated by The Vishwa Jagriti Trust, Pune. The ashram, which initially consisted of just the widow’s own modest home and personal assets, has through donations been transformed into a sprawling home for everyone, “retired Gods, humans and cows,” as Ma Kashyap jokingly puts it, and she couldn’t be happier. Prayers are held in a large satsang hall or in the three temples on the land, and the presence of the Almighty is everywhere.

Read more at source.
https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/april-may-june-2024/celebrating-the-circle-of-life/

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