Jane Goodall

 

 

Early morning yesterday while I was at work I saw a notification on my phone. Breaking news: Jane Goodall dies at 91!

A known public figure passing at 91 is certainly not a shock. And she passing of natural causes while leading a quite active life was actually a good thing if you look at it that way. So I really didn’t get the kind of emotional jerk that I might have in other circumstances. Nevertheless it was sad news. No doubt about that. 

As the news spread across the world, tributes began to pour in. Not a single controversy. There was only admiration, love and a sense of awe for the lady. I don’t usually react to the passing of too many public figures and certainly don’t express my reaction on social media. But yesterday I did. It just felt like I should. I hadn’t thought earlier about how I felt for Jane yet there it was. A silent admiration that was there ever since I had known about her life’s work. Her passing just made me aware of how strong that admiration was.

I will be honest that reading all the tributes that began flooding the social media platforms yesterday made me aware of so many of her famous quotes and convictions for the first time. And there were/ are so many that it will take a long time to reflect on each of them and let them sink into my being. 

Incidentally, perhaps one of her most important arguments, if not “the” most important one, was around the term “being”. She looked at animals as having a personality, an individuality like humans and therefore fought all her life to gain recognition for them as “beings” just like human beings. Speaking up for those that can’t speak ! This was the basis of her life. Whether it was the animals, the people or the planet. She connected with the universe like no other person does. 

Today I came across a post on social media in which someone had posted a photo of Jane seated in an airplane. The author of the post was a fellow traveler with her just 2 weeks back. He greeted her and she returned it with “ the kindest smile “. Seeing this post brought a pang in me. How I wish I had been as lucky as this guy to meet Jane in person !! Alas. It wasn’t meant to be.

This feeling was not new to me. The one public figure I remember for whom I felt such deep regret about not meeting while they were alive was noted Carnatic classical vocalist MS Subbulakshmi, or simply MS! When she passed away in 2004 I had felt acutely sad that I never got to meet her. For my young mind she was an idol of devotion, purity, humility and divine talent. I would be ever hungry to devour every single song that was recorded in her voice. The dream to meet her in person some day was nurtured in the heart for years. And then she was just gone ! Just like Jane left yesterday!

But now it is a bit different with how I look at things. Yes, there comes a desire to meet certain people whose work, ethics, values mean a great deal and inspire me. Yet that desire is overpowered now by the understanding that precisely all these things that matter to me are eternally carved into this universe. The person can, will and must leave the mortal world. But no one can erase the work they shared in their lifetime, the values they lived with and the message they had for us. This is more than a consolation. Really THIS is their real self. Physical body was just flesh and bones like any other human being. Everything they had, they gave it to us. It is going to be with us. To cherish. To grow with. 

The wealth of wisdom that Jane shared throughout the nine decades of her time on Earth cannot in any way be summarized in a single day. It is going to nourish many of us for as many decades and many more. It wasn’t textbook wisdom. It was partly instinct and largely earned through self experience. There was the raw originality about her that made her message so appealing. She was a scientist who questioned science that lacked empathy. She was a humanitarian, environmentalist, and philosopher who fulfilled all criteria of a saint without overtly talking about religion or God. It was like having the eyes and mind of God and therefore not feeling the need to talk about oneself. Like a billionaire doesn’t need to say I am a billionaire. It’s just redundant. 

In my social media post I wrote RIP Jane Goodall. There is no doubt that Jane shall be at peace. She always was at peace with herself. Rest, however, is not something I can imagine her doing. That’s the uniqueness about her energy. Peace and restlessness found harmony in the same space. 

This defining quality of her persona stands as a shining example for rest of us that seemingly opposite views and attitudes can live and allow each other to live in the same world.