The day Geeta-ji died
Interview with Monica Haar
By Suzi Carson
Geeta (Geeta-ji) Iyengar died on 16 December 2018, aged 74.
The cause of death was myocardial infarction, said family sources. Dr. Geeta S. Iyengar's sudden death came barely two days after the conclusion of the 100th centenary celebrations for her beloved father, Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, at Pune’s Balewadi Stadium in India. The celebrations concluded on 14 December, Mr Iyengar’s 100th birth anniversary. The following is an account of the day Geeta Iyengar died by Monica Haar, Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher, Aotearoa NZ.
“We had a final celebration on Friday, which was huge, a lot more people had arrived who had not been part of the course. There were lots of speeches, entertainments and at one part they had a 100 year old male student on the stage, standing on his head, very impressive. My partner Ka, had arrived in India for the first time. He came to Pune to keep me company, and be part of the celebration, so it was very special.
Geeta-ji had been teaching for 3 days out of the 6-7 days. Prashant and Geeta each taught half of it. She was teaching brilliantly, twice a day, with other things at nighttime.
On Friday was the final celebration; we were fed, it was just really beautiful. We all went home quite happy after that.
On Saturday we (the senior teachers) had a birthday dinner with Garth McLean at the Marriotts. We had a really good time. When we all went home, Garth went to the institute, sat down with Geeta-ji and told her it was his birthday and that he was very happy to be there. She congratulated him, said she was tired but really happy that she had been able to do this event for her father.
Sunday (16 December) was our day off, I woke up early, looked at my phone and there was a message from Pixie Lillias saying,
“ Geeta has passed away, you have to come to the institute.’
I quickly got my clothes on; I ran up to the institute, it was just 7am.
There were already quite a few people there, there were people at the door of their house.
I had no idea what to do, I had no idea what was going to happen.
Then I was called in.
I walked into their living room and there was Geeta-ji on the floor, wrapped in a white cloth, her eyes closed. Lois Steinberg and Patricia Walden were sitting quietly on the floor at her head side. Geeta-ji’s female family members were sitting on chairs around the room.
I was overwhelmed. I just fell to the floor, bowed my head, near her head, my whole body was shaking, I couldn't believe it, I had just seen her alive the day before.
I sat there for a while, then made room for someone else to come in.
I met up with my flat mate Lydie in the courtyard and was told that the family will now wash Geeta-ji and get her ready for her funeral. We were told to come back at 1pm.
We went home, sat down in a chair and couldn't talk, we were completely stunned. Ka fed us tea and biscuits, because we couldn't do anything. I could hardly lift my tea cup. I was completely paralyzed by the whole thing. So we just sat quietly waiting for the time to pass..
Close to 1pm we went back to the institute. Now there were many more people; outside in the courtyard. What we noticed was most people were dressed in white. But not Gulnaz Dashti and her family, they were dressed in black. Being of Muslim faith they have a different culture when someone dies.
A lot of chanting was going on in the house, and lots of incense.
All of a sudden the chanting increased and out from the door came Prashant-ji, Abhijata's dad, brother, brother in law, the male members of the family, dressed in Dhotis, carrying a stretcher made of bamboo that they had strung themselves. And on it was Geeta-ji wrapped up in a white cloth with orange flowers on her eyes. They walked past us, chanting all the time. The women in the household stayed back at this stage, cooking for the rest of the family.
We walked out after the men carrying Geeta-ji, onto Hare Krsna Mandir Rd; usually the road is empty on a Sunday, but today it was totally full of people. They took the stretcher with Geeta-ji on it to an ambulance waiting on the road. Pixie, Lydie and myself were just standing there, we had no idea how we were going to get to the crematorium. Then Vikram, our driver, waved above the crowd and offered us a ride in his taxi. He drove us to the place, (Vaikunth crematorium), where she was cremated. (1)
The crematorium was an incredible place: sheds with no walls, tin roofs with iron beds and cow dung and flies everywhere. (2) They carried her there and laid her down on one of these beds. They placed the cow dung underneath her, and some on top.
We were asked to stand on the side of the bed and not to take any photos.
Then Prashant Iyengar came forward, dressed in a Dhoti, carrying a clay pot on his shoulder. (3)
He carried the pot and walked around her bed for quite a long time while chanting, joined by other Indian people. At the end of the chant he smashed the pot then they lit the pyre.
After a while we were told to go home, as the burning phase would go on all night, the family would come back in the morning and collect the ashes and scatter them in the river below the crematorium. The ashes absolutely have to go into the river. (4)
We stayed for a while then went back to the institute. It was so weird to have lost her so soon after Guruji had died. They had been my teachers since the 80s, and now gone.
Everyone was at a loss, it was really sad. An even sadder thing was that so many people had already left straight after the celebration, very few westerners were still there at the time of her demise.
I found out later that Geeta had not been feeling well during the night to Sunday. Earlier on that Sunday morning her family had put her in their car, to take her to the hospital, laid her down with her head in her sister’s daughter in law's lap, but she died soon after. They turned around and drove back.
We went back to the institute a few days later. I wanted to show Ka the institute. He got to see it. I was so grateful that he was there giving all his support in such upsetting times.
Geeta-ji was so much in my heart, and still is.
Hindu burial rituals, or Antyeshti, generally involve cremation followed by rituals to honor the deceased and guide their soul. The rituals typically include washing and dressing the body, chanting mantras, and scattering ashes in a sacred body of water.
In India, cow dung is increasingly being used as an eco-friendly alternative to firewood for cremations, with the goal of reducing deforestation and environmental impact. Cow dung logs and cakes, made from a mixture of cow dung and other materials like wood shavings and bagasse, are being utilized to replace traditional wooden fuel in some areas.
In Hindu cremation rituals in India, a clay pot (matka) filled with water is used as part of the ceremony. It is broken by the eldest son or chief mourner, symbolizing the severance of earthly ties as the deceased is moved on to their next incarnation. This act often occurs before the pyre is lit, as the pot is carried around the body three times before being broken.
The day after a Hindu funeral, the ashes are scattered over a sacred body of water or a place of importance to the deceased.