Dear CTU core /supporters and ardent learners of the Bhagavad Gita and devotees of spiritual saints :
It is with great sadness that I would like to inform all of you that Mrs. Lalitha Ramamurthy, one of the ardent supporters and committed persons to CTU goals its values and aspirations has passed away this morning (1:00 AM) at the Loyola Medical Center. It was a tragic and unexpected death that Dr. Ramamurthy (our CTU’s front desk in charge) and his sons Santhosh and his wife, Lakshmy and the recently married second son Vasanth and his wife, Sowmya and more tragic still, Lalitha’s father (eighty plus) and Dr. Ramamurthy’s mother (in eighty plus) all have to swallow the shock of their lives.
Lailtha, herself a medical doctor was very devoted to Hindu scriptures, Sanskrit learning and teaching with proper pronunciation, and in the early stages she was active in CTU Sahasranamam group learning. As a FAMILY Ramamurthy’s have always committed to our traditions and values irrespective of who propagates those values. Many great Vedantic scholars and vedantic exponents like Uncle Mani, and Mr. Ganesan of Tiruvannamalai Ramanasram and so on visited Chinmaya Mission for a series of lectures and discourses, and for long stay this FAMILY took great care in terms of cooking and carrying lunch and dinner for them. For many years our CTU Mandapam was part of their Pooja room in their house.
Over the years Lalitha got greatly attached to Guru poojas, especially to Kanchi Paramacharyal. While doing the pooja in her family Pooja room with madisar and trying to light the kuthuvilakku with a candle apparently she got fire on her sari on the backside that she did not notice immediately and when she noticed it, it was too late with the complicated madisar of nine yards.
Whether it is CTU or the Temples or Chinmaya mission or Satsangs or Asrams there are only a small number of devout Hindus who as FAMILIES commit to our traditions and spiritual values and learning . Some years back the renowned Mathematician Prof. SRS Varadhan came to my house to collect donations for the Hindu Mission Hospital intiated by Kanchi Acharyals. Ramamurthy’s were one of the seven or eight families present for that occasion and they have never hesitated to donate the maximum for such occasions and for such causes.
As professional doctors, their commitment to our traditions is quite exceptional. I have rarely seen this level of commitment among such families. CTU’s main goal is not just to master or train our next generation into the music of Saint Tyagaraja but to inculcate in their minds also his deeper spiritual values. Many children have formally learnt the Bhagavad Geeta from Lalitha Ramamurthy.
While in CTU we strive to inculcate our traditions via the imparting of Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam, families like Ramamurthys and many organizations have been actively imparting the recitation of the Bhagavad Geetha.
In grief
TES Raghavan
Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam
CTU loses a devoted well-wisher and volunteer
January 6, 2009
Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam mourns the loss of Dr. Lalitha Ramamurthy who passed away at 1 am on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 at the Loyola Medical Center in Chicago.