29/07/2023
A few weeks back, I was conducting a workshop at the Institute of Chartered Accountants when a 90-year-old man walked in.
My first thought was, "𝐈𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬?" I was shocked when he answered with all seriousness that he was a student pursuing CA. And when a 90-year-old is your student and has the curiosity and inquisitiveness of a 20-year-old, then the number gets an iconic value.
He sat through the entire session with utmost focus and asked a lot of questions. In his eyes, he saw me as his teacher, gave me the utmost attention and respect, and addressed me as "𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐫." He would rattle off poetry from John Keats and philosophy from Socrates.
To lighten the moment, I was encouraging the students to come over to the dais and sing a song, but none of the young crowd came forward. This 90-year-old young student then walked up and mesmerized everyone with his flawless rendition of a Telugu classical song, leaving everyone in tears.
After the class, I inquired about his family. His answer stunned me. "𝐌𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐂𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦." That would be 5 years from now, and he would be 95 years old. Amazing heights of optimism.
I couldn’t let him go without understanding his zeal for life. "𝐌𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐳𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲?" This was his golden rule for a happy and long life.
👉 Be a lifelong learner.
👉 Make sure to get 8 hours of sleep every night.
👉 Walk for at least 20 minutes every day.
👉 Be a vegetarian.
👉 Let go. Peace of mind is more important than the victory of your ego.
As he was leaving, he held my hand and said, "𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐫; 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮."
Yes. Age is a number. You are as old as you think you are. The way Mr. Mohan lived his life, every single day he must have thought, "𝐈’𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝."
A famous saying popped up in my mind: "𝐀𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞." This young, old man was the finest bottle of wine, bottled with zest, wisdom, and humility.
I felt energized and much younger than the age I was. I went back home with a heartfelt gratitude to this 90-year-old soul for teaching me the finest lessons of my life.
