Fr.Dharmaraj Perianayagam
Born May 11, 1956
Died
NO REGRETS.
A timely letter from Fr.Cruz enabled me to pay a visit to my friend Dharmaraj at Vadodara on 28th November. Who knew that would turn out to be our last chat here on earth? On that day I spent an hour and a half with Dharmaraj in the midst of his beloved family members. I fondly recalled some of the earlier events during our formation. I told his parents that I had two novice masters during my novitiate training. One was Fr.Anthony Moonnu and the other was my companion Dharmaraj.
He found in me a faithful companion who would listen to everything that he wanted to tell about the lives of saints and the ideals of religious life. He loved reading and he found delight in reading the lives of saints. Often he liked to share them during our evening walks. I profited immensely from his sharings. In the novitiate he was full of zest and enthusiasm.
Talented
As years rolled by my love for Dharmaraj grew steadily and especially during these last three years as he was grappling with his deadly sickness, leukemia. In that fragile body of Dharmaraj god had showered immense talents. He was a man of music, a man of faith and a man for others. Faith, music and culture, were the precious gifts he received from his family.
The sickness was a mysterious gif of God who probably chose this broken cistern to reveal the depth of His love. No wonder Fr.Dharmaraj was fully alive in the mission in spite of his sickness. He reached out to the masses through music, to the children through catechism classes, to the old through Marian devotions and above all he reached out to many through his very life. The cross that he was carrying for the last three years became heavier day by day. Nevertheless, he took up his cross and followed Jesus patiently.
Resignation
On 28th November I found Fr.Dharmaraj at his best. He was humorous and happy. He was entertaining all those who came to visit him. He was very eager to know about my life in Radhanpur. He did not want to cause any inconvenience to me and he politely declined my service of shaving his over grown beard. I then got up to pick up some fallen hair from the pillow. Dharma remarked with a broad smile: “Now… What doest it matter if these hairs remain on my head or on my pillow… I have lost everything”. There was a deep regret. That regret did not last long. At once he overcame it and said: “Fr.Godfrey came with Lourdes’ holy water and prayed over me”. As he said these words I could sense a deep joy welling up from his heart. No more mood-swings took over Fr.Dharmaraj, rather Fr.Dharmaraj took over his mood-swings and he was gracefully handing over himself to the providence of God. In doing that he was experiencing immense joy and peace.
As I bid farewell to our beloved Dharmaraj and started my journey towards Radhanpur a ray of thoughts struck me from the moving spiritual journey of our former general Fr.Arrupe. “How I wish I were in a better condition for this meeting with you. More than ever, I find myself in the hands of God. This is what I have wanted all my life, from my youth. But now there is a difference: the initiative is entirely with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know oneself totally in His hands”.
“Dear Dharma, you were in time to celebrate the Feast of St.Francis Xavier in heaven. Probably you might have had a choir practice on the eve of your favorite saint. I do not know whether you missed there the tabla-walla, but we certainly missed here the peti-walla! Pray for us, dear Dharma!
