||Senior Citizen Prescription||

 

Becoming a senior citizen sounds like a significant milestone. It signifies that you have become the eldest, reaching the final stage of your life. You might need to be more responsible, and physically you might become slower, but mentally, you need to be more responsible and emotionally strong. Your cognitive abilities should be so refined that you understand everyone, whether it's children, young people, or all your family members. It's often said that you grow old when you have a few grey hairs; you've paid the price for all the wisdom you've gained throughout your life. In my professional work, I've met many senior citizens and encountered numerous stories, leading me to ponder what being a senior really means. Is it just age, or is it the culmination of life experiences that reflect at this stage? Is it about returning to childhood in some way, or is it a significant achievement to reach this stage of life? Or is it about people reaching a physical age while still remaining mentally young, relishing the best that life, given by God, has to offer? Some at this stage of old age are unable to identify the purpose of their life in this universe, grappling with questions about what was and what is.

In reality, the prescription for being a senior citizen is that youth is a gift from nature bestowed upon us by God, while age is a work of art. The better you craft your life's artwork during your youth, the more colorful and artistically rich it will appear in old age – that is, being a senior citizen. In this scientific era, I was reading about how industrial robots work. They have programs similar to a computer, which direct their actions: one to precisely determine the necessary movements to complete a task and create a program for the control computer, and the other to teach the robot a job, such as painting, by guiding its arm through the movements needed to complete the task. The robot is programmed to remember what it has been taught and repeats the movements exactly.

We've created robots, yet have we truly programmed ourselves first? Unlike robots, we, as human beings, possess additional features such as emotions and feelings, which we learn from our childhood. Furthermore, we possess one of the most substantial powers – our spirituality, our faith. An exemplary story is that of Mata Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas from the epic Mahabharata. It's said that Mata Kunti lost her husband at a very early age. Despite this, she single-handedly raised and educated her five sons, the Pandavas, teaching them essential values and guiding them through the harsh realities of life. Later, when her sons had become successful and grown, they had to go into hiding in the forest. After the great Mahabharata war concluded and the Pandavas reclaimed their kingdom, Mata Kunti, in her old age, could have enjoyed a peaceful time. Yet, she made a request to Lord Krishna. She asked for more challenging times and difficulties. This tale illustrates the resilience and strength of human beings, how they pass on wisdom through generations, and how even in old age, some seek challenges to further enhance their growth.

 

 

Lord Krishna was surprised by her request. Her reply was that throughout this difficult time, Lord Krishna, you were always with me. Now, if I have all the luxuries of life, will you be around me? I know that whatever you do for us is for our good fortune, so I would rather surrender to you, God, than be rich. Throughout her life, Kunti Mata had tough times, but she had so much faith in her God that she surpassed all difficult situations and taught the real and right path to her kids, called Pandavas. In today's generation, mothers often panic, have less patience, lack confidence in themselves, and possess such limited scientific thinking that even for small occurrences in our lives, we rush to doctors and take help from medicines.

 

 

Senior citizenship is built upon how we construct or work during our younger years. If we organize or utilize our youth in an artistic manner, then our old age becomes significant and beautiful. Recently, I attended a garba competition where I was assigned to judge who performed the best garba. I observed that many seniors were enjoying the garba more and were dancing more gracefully compared to the younger players. They seemed lost in the rhythm of the dance. I had to differentiate between two groups of people: those aged between 35 to 55, and those above 55, and it was difficult to determine their age. These senior members were relishing the best times they had. During that function, I met a lady who had been working with special kids for 20 years. She offered her help if I needed assistance with special kids, and then, as our conversation progressed, I mentioned that I have been practicing for the past 32 years. She was shocked to hear that, as for her, I was a young girl who may have been practicing for only a few years. It made me feel good and made me realize that I have worked well to keep myself youthful despite aging.

 

 

I feel that in this rat race, we carry many unnecessary mindsets in our lives. We work so hard for our kids, and when the time comes for them to take care of us and cherish our parenthood, we think too much about how they will handle us or why they might give us unnecessary troubles. Many more such questions arise. Observing the Western world, we are moving from having many family members living together to nuclear families. We are also losing the importance of family values. We work so hard in our young age to compare with our peers, caught up in the rat race of earning money, that we neglect our mental and physical health. This neglect can have adverse effects when we reach the stage of being senior citizens. Today's youngsters are so focused on their careers and earning name and fame that I don't know what they will do when they reach the stage of being senior citizens.

 

In many senior citizens I have recently encountered, I met a lady whom I had guided a few years back to consider getting good digital hearing aids. Her brain processing was slow, and although she could hear sounds, she had difficulty interpreting them. I urged both her son and her to invest in good hearing aids, but her son was reluctant to spend, and the mother questioned why to spend money at this stage. Unfortunately, she has now reached a stage of dementia. She frequently forgets what she said just a few minutes ago, and the family is finding it difficult to communicate with her. Throughout our lives, communication is key, and hearing plays a crucial role. Taking care of hearing health is immensely necessary, yet only a few truly grasp its importance.

 

Listening to others, as if God is always with you, is the key to a successful life and a fulfilling senior citizenship. Understanding your own potential and limitations, and utilizing those skills to the best during our younger years, is another beneficial remedy for a rewarding life in later stages. Reaching a level where your children become your friends, understand you, and help fulfill your desires even as you reach a responsible age is the ideal outcome, providing immense pleasure in your senior years. Understanding your physical, mental health, and your soul provides the best results during your senior years. I have worked, I'm working, and I will continue to work with a positive attitude so that I can have the best 'senior citizen life.' What about all of you?