It is with deep admiration and a sense of loss that we remember Shri Mahesh Mehta. No one has been more influential in the VHPA journey and in the life of the Hindu community in the USA than Mahesh Bhai. This issue of Hindu Vishwa is dedicated to his memory and tribute to his untiring effort for the social, cultural, and organizational upliftment of the Hindu community and dharma in the USA and around the world. There are many personal anecdotes and amazing qualities of Mahesh Bhai that have been shared in this issue by people who were fortunate to have met and work with Mahesh Bhai in his life journey.
While his physical presence has gone from our midst, his words, and the examples he set will continue to inspire the generations. The best tribute would be to emulate if we could, part of what he exhorted us to do. In his book “Hindu Philosophy in Action” Chapter 6 he wrote about three things:
Faith (Shraddha):
“We have to keep the ideal of Yogeshwar Krishna in our mind. He is constantly active yet he is detached from all the bonds. We have a message to be actively involved but do the work dispassionately. You have to have faith… that allows you to see that you cannot see with physical eyes only…The work is extraordinary. The challenge is great but we need indomitable faith and feelings in our hearts. We need the faith to continue, the faith to walk on the path, not turning back to look if someone follows or not.”
Constancy (Satatya):
“We are moving ahead with that message of Krunvanto Vishwam Arya. For doing that, we will need another quality in us that is constancy, “Satatya”. Any type of Sadhana requires constancy. We have to go on doing continuously. It is not a matter from one weekend to the next weekend. It is a matter of breathing every moment. Along with our breathing we are going to work. That spirit of constancy allows the work to grow. It is not just the speed; sometimes we may walk faster; sometimes you may walk slower, but we will walk all the same.”
Skills (Kaushalya):
“We may have faith and constancy but we may be without skills. We may be calling a spade a spade. We may be short tempered. We may like to talk with other people. We may say, “I am a gentleman. I do not care for others.” We may have all these attitudes. These attitudes will come in our way of achieving the goal. We all will have to develop a skill, a sense in us to work with people and how to work with our own mind.”
We mourn the loss of Maheshbhai and rededicate ourselves to his vision for a vibrant Hindu dharma.
निश्चित्वा यः प्रक्रमते नान्तर्वसति कर्मणः ।
अवन्ध्यकालो वश्यात्मा स वै पण्डित उच्यते ॥
niścitvā yaḥ prakramate nāntarvasati karmaṇaḥ ।
avandhyakālo vaśyātmā sa vai paṇḍita ucyate ॥ Source: Vidur Niti 1.29
Meaning: Whose endeavors are preceded by a firm commitment, who does not take long rests before the task is accomplished, who does not waste time and who has control over his/her mind is wise.
