Sandhya

deepajyothi parabrahma deepa sarva tamopaha deepena saadhyate sarvam Sandhya deepo namosthuthe

I prostrate to the dawn / dusk lamp whose light is the knowledge principle (the Supreme Lord) which removes the darkness of ignorance and by which all can be achieved in life

Sandhya was sunshine personified. We have lost that sunshine

But we are not in the dark. We have fond and happy memories of Sandhya. Her name is a Sanskrit word that refers to twilight. The light between sunshine and darkness. The time when the mind is in a naturally calm state. The time that is best suited for meditation and contemplation.

In the Hindu tradition, we believe that the lifespan and amount of the happiness one receives during one's life is predetermined by the force of that soul's action in previous lives. Accordingly we believe that she was destined to spend a short time on this earth. We are just glad that she chose to spend it with us.

We wish it could have been longer.

She was full of life. She had a spirit that was always upbeat.

She loved to dance. All she needed was a beat and up went her hands. She was very tactile, preferring to snuggle in between her parents in the early dawn.

Above all, she loved going to school. She loved her teachers and the teachers loved her back. Our biggest threat to her was to hold her back from school.

In the end she appears to have succumbed to hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) - a rare condition in the immune system. Very little is known about this except it has a high mortality rate and complete cure has not yet been designed. Additional research in this area could deliver a genetic marker that we can use to screen this defect and spare another parent our agony.

Donations in memoriam may be made out to Casa Montessori or to the AFLAC Cancer center associated with Scottish Rite hospital.

Make a donation to Casa Montessori:

Website for donations to Scottish Rite/Children's Healthcare in the name of Sandhya Suresh: https://foundation.choa.org/donations/donate.asp