Absence of Presence

I was listening to a lecture given by my Master Shri.Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari in late 80's. A statement in his lecture was very thought provoking

"What Presence should create, Absence should leave permanently"

I am not sure how it comes across to you. But, I find it very insightful.

From my understanding, the statement means that what we create by our presence should not be dependent on us for its existence. We should be like a match stick. Match stick creates a spark. That spark can be used to light a candle or a lamp. Once the candle or lamp is lit, presence or absence of a match stick will not be felt. But the origin of the light is the spark produced by the match stick.

Our existence can be made purposeful, if we strive to create a spark and light the lamps in others lives so that even after we cease to exist, the lamp would burn longer and speak about the absence of our presence.