The passing of a bodhisattva

With heavy heart and sorrow, I write these words about the passing of a close friend. He passed away a few days ago from a head trauma as a passenger of a boda in Uganda. His was an untimely and senseless death caused by a hit and run on a Friday night in Kampala. But I won't dwell upon his passing as it is his life that I want to celebrate and the inspirations and memories of joy that he brings to all the lives he had touched in his short time in this world.

Sujal Parikh is a bodhisattva in the truest sense of the word. Let me explain what I mean by this. In the world view of buddhism, the goal is to alleviate suffering through the understanding of the world for what it truly is and to live in the moment. Enlightenment is achieved when a person has achieved this understanding and lives in the moment. A bodhisattva is a person that seeks to achieve this enlightenment and pushes beyond and ease the suffering of others through making the world better or teaching. While I know that Suj has associated himself with the philosophies of buddhism, I cannot say or even know if he has achieved enlightenment. But from all the things he has done and the impact he has on others, he truly strives to do what every bodhisattva in the legends do: ease the suffering of the world. And I feel and believe that he pushes the boundaries of what it means to ease suffering in the conventional meaning. I say this because he does not simply want to ease suffering for each individual that he is near through compassion, care, or direct help. He actually wants to enact changes in the world that would end the pain and suffering that disease brings to people in Uganda, in Africa, and beyond; changes that rely on intelligence, political will, networks, modern day technology, ideas, medicine, evidence, and every arsenal at our disposal in today's world. I see Suj as a truly modern day super bodhisattva that pushes beyond what the legends say.

From all the words that I read in the past week about the lives he had touched, I cannot help but recognize that I had actually lived with a bodhisattva for two years and not had recognized it. Ultimately, it wasn't just the written words, but the emotional outpouring and pictures and memories that came rushing back while together with the close-knitted group of friends. It was not just this passion about human rights and global health and AIDS in Uganda and Subsaharan Africa and working with children with AIDS and his love for all sentient life. It was also his over the top drive for life, his partying, his taste for good whiskeys and martinis, as well as his humor and dorkiness amongst friends as well as his uncanny ability to play video games, too. It is with deep pain and tears that I acknowledge this great loss.

I mourn my own loss of a close friend, our mutual friends' loss of a joy and inspiration in our lives, our school's loss of a great student and scholar, and the world's loss of a real bodhisattva. The loss is especially difficult given how much more he would have accomplished, how many networks he would have established, how much political will he would have mustered, how many lives he would have improved, how much joy he would have brought, and how much suffering he would have eased.

It is all of the outpouring of thoughts about him being a great friend and awesome person, starting vigorous and incredibly well-thought-out debates when drunk, inspiring all that he has met, and bringing all the joy and happiness into all of our lives. All the remembrance and all the reminiscence. All of that passion and compassion. I cannot help but know that the bright light in the night had been extinguished.

But yet, tonight, I am comforted by a particular thought that he shared with me on one of the many walks home from a night of studying in downtown. It was this very idea that we all have told him that he would be the one that would create so much change in this world, he would do all of these great things that we ourselves could not do, and he would be the one that can make this world a better place. But he denies that this would be the case, he knows that everyone means well when they say these things, but it's not going to be him alone. He had expected us all to step up and do our parts and not leave it up to him to be the one that fixes it because we all need to fix this world and become the solution to ease and end suffering. It wasn't just going to be his work, because it was really going to be everyone's work. Suj did have this quality of being humble and inspirational.

Another thought on another night, I asked him about figuring out my own passion and doing the work that I would want to be good at and maybe I could do some good while I'm at it. He said to me what he had said to many others that have asked him before, he really told me to just try and venture out on a limb and that I wouldn't know until I have given it a shot. It didn't really matter that it wasn't going to be global health or AIDS policy or even health policy. It just mattered that I pushed the limits and boundaries of what can be done and what has been done. It mattered that I tried and gained a focus and became good at something that might benefit the world. It mattered that I become better so I could make a real difference. It just mattered.

Those thoughts resonated more tonight than ever before. We are to be the ones that will do the work that has been started. It is to this memory of this brilliant mind, compassionate soul, and amazing friend that we must continue our work as the ones that ease the pain and suffering of the world.