— FRANZ SCHUBERT Guruji guided us with immense wisdom, strength of character and vision. He lived by example, in punctuality, routines and hard work. His dedication to his extended family of AVP and Ayurveda was unparalleled and he fought for everything he believed in. It was a honour knowing you and being with you sir. Pranamam ????????????

അനിയങ്കിൾ പോയി !!! Padmasri PR Krishnakumarji no more !!!! കൊറോണകാലത്തെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ നഷ്ടം, ഇതല്ലാതെ മറ്റെന്താണ് എന്ന് ചിന്തിക്കാൻ കഴിയുന്നില്ല. അൽപ സമയം മുന്നെ ആണ് ആ വാർത്ത അറിയുന്നത്... ആധുനിക ആയുർവേദചികിത്സ രംഗത്തെ പ്രോജ്വല വ്യക്തിത്വം, രാജ്യം പദ്മശ്രീ നൽകി ആദരിച്ച ഞങ്ങൾ അനിയങ്കിൾ എന്നു സ്നേഹത്തോടെയും ആദരവോടെയും വിളിക്കുന്ന സർവ്വശ്രീ PR കൃഷ്ണകുമാർ ഇഹലോകവാസം വെടിഞ്ഞു എന്ന്. ആര്യ വൈദ്യ ഫർമസി (കോയമ്പതൂർ) ലിമിറ്റഡ്, ഡയറക്ടറും, അവിനാശിലിംഗം സർവകലാശാലയുടെ വൈസ് ചാൻസിലർ ആയിരുന്നു. രാഷ്ട്രീയ കലാ സാംസ്കാരിക മേഖലകളിൽ സമാനതകളില്ലാത്ത വ്യക്തി ബന്ധങ്ങൾ കാത്തു സൂക്ഷിച്ച അനിയങ്കിളിന്റെ വേർപാട് എനിക്കും എന്റെ കുടുംബത്തിനും തീർത്താൽ തീരാത്ത നോവായി അവശേഷിക്കും. എന്റെ അച്ചച്ചൻ മുൻ മാതൃഭൂമി പാലക്കാട്‌ യൂണിറ്റ് മാനേജർ ശ്രീ സേതുമാധവൻ നായർ എഴുതി മാതൃഭൂമി ബുക്സ് പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിച്ച ആത്മകഥയായ "കനൽ വഴികൾ", പ്രകാശനം ചെയ്യാൻ എല്ലാ തിരക്കുകളും മാറ്റിവച്ചു അദ്ദേഹം എത്തിയത് ഓർക്കുന്നു. അച്ഛച്ഛന്റെ നിര്യാണത്തിൽ പങ്കെടുക്കാൻ കഴിയാത്തത്തിലുള്ള നിരാശ പിനീഡ് വീട്ടിൽ വന്നപ്പോൾ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ കണ്ണിൽ നിന്നും ഒഴുകിയത് കണ്ടപ്പോൾ മനസിലായി അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ സ്നേഹം, ഊഷ്മളത, ദയ, ബഹുമാനം എല്ലാം. കോയമ്പത്തൂരിൽ എന്തിനും ഏതിനും ഒരു രക്ഷിതാവിന്റെ കരുതലോടു കൂടി ഒരാൾ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു എന്നത് വലിയ ധൈര്യമായിരുന്നു. ഒടുവിൽ കണ്ടപ്പോളും കാലുതൊട്ട് അനുഗ്രഹം വാങ്ങിച്, പിന്നീട് വരുമ്പോൾ വിശദമായി സംസാരിക്കാം എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞാണ് ആര്യ വൈദ്യ ഫർമസിയിൽ നിന്നും ഇറങ്ങിയത്. ഇനി..... ഓർമ്മകൾ !!! ഓം ശാന്തി ???????????????? Rahul Mohan, Thottathil

I would call him Sirji and he would call me SS. Almost always, his conversations with me would be peppered with jokes about how I am a professional + an MBA degree holder and therefore limited in my understanding of the world. I agreed with him wholeheartedly- because I had the privilege of spending time with him. As hard as it is to come to grips with my Sirji being away from me - I will always carry his values in my heart.

Condolences on the sad demise Vaidya PR Krishnakumar (1951-2020), one of the foremost thought leaders of the #Ayush Sector. Through his leadership, Krishnakumar Ji ushered in new avenues for Ayurveda, like creating an awareness about #Ayurveda at the World Health Organization (WHO) and thereby making this ancient science to be known the world over. The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (AVP) of #Coimbatore acquired a culture of innovation under his stewardship, and also become known in India as well as abroad as a house of authentic #Ayurveda. He was instrumental in setting up the first Gurukula Ayurvedic College in the country which offered 100% free boarding, lodging, books, clothes and tuition. The first collaborative research project in any Indian Traditional medicine discipline with the World Health Organisation happened in the field of Ayurveda, thanks to his initiative. Vaidya PR Krishnakumar launched a popular journal of #Ayurveda in English in the 70’s, and through it took the ancient science of living to the masses. He established the #Ayurvedic Trust Hospital and Research Institute at #Coimbatore. He also had the vision to set up a number of centers and Joint Institutions in many parts of the country, and roped in partners like Hindustan Lever Ltd., Taj Group etc. into Ayurvedic projects. That modernization of production units were permitted within the traditional pharmacology norms was also thanks to his foresight. He had the confidence and ambition to take #Ayurveda to new lands by setting up centers in different parts of India and abroad. A Padma Shri awardee, he also served as the Chancellor of Avinashilingam Institute of Home Science and Higher Education for Women and was involved in resolving women’s issues with a spirit of positivism. PMO India Shripad Naik Press Information Bureau - PIB, Government of India NITI Aayog MyGov Corona Hub

പ്രണാമം കോയമ്പത്തൂർ ആര്യ വൈദ്യ ഫാർമസി പോലുള്ള മഹത്തായ ഒരു സ്ഥാപനം നടത്തുമ്പോഴും സ്വന്തം വിശ്വാസ പ്രമാണങ്ങളെ മൂടിവെക്കാത്ത വ്യക്തിത്വം ! ഹൈന്ദവ പ്രസ്ഥാനങ്ങളുടെ വളർച്ചയിലും തളർച്ചയിലും താങ്ങും തണലുമായി നിന്ന ബന്ധം ഹിന്ദു ഐക്യവേദിക്ക് ഒരു രക്ഷിതാവും വഴി കാട്ടിയും എല്ലാമായിരുന്നു അദ്ദേഹം പാലക്കാട് വെച്ച് നടത്താൻ നിശ്ചയിച്ചിരുന്ന ഞങ്ങളുടെ സംസ്ഥാന സമ്മേളനത്തിന്റെ ചെയർമാൻ സ്ഥാനം ഏറ്റെടുത്ത് അദ്ദേഹം പ്രകടിപ്പിച്ച ആത്മാർത്ഥത അന്യാദൃശമായിരുന്നു.. വാക്കുകൾക്കപ്പുറമാണ് അദ്ദേഹം. ജാഡകളില്ലാത്ത ആ പെരുമാറ്റം - ഹൃദയത്തിൽ നിന്നും വരുന്ന ആ ചിരി - ആ പ്രസന്ന ഭാവം മനസ്സിൽ നിന്നും മായില്ല - മറയില്ല പത്മശ്രീ കൃഷ്ണകുമാർജിയ്ക് ഹിന്ദു ഐക്യവേദിയുടെ പാദപ്രണാമം Sasikala Teacher Hindu Aikya Vedhi

I do not know where to begin. I do not have words, which is frightening for someone who always does. Kricshnakumarji (Padmasri P.R. Krishnakumar) was my mentor in more ways than I can name. I remember the day I visited his office in Coimbatore - disheartened, uncertain about my future in Ayurveda. My first thought was, strangely, that surely his chair must have been placed on some kind of step behind his desk - for even sitting, he was taller than me. It was only later that I realized that his chair was indeed placed on the floor, and that he was, in reality, a giant of a man. This larger than life image of Krishnakumarji was not restricted to his person alone, but also his presence. He awed. His presence commanded respect. He transformed any space he was in, and filled it with warmth - genuine, unsentimental, clean warmth. It is his presence, more than anything, that I will miss - a presence that nothing can replace. The day I met Krishnakumarji, he asked me, "Do you want a degree, or do you want knowledge?". I looked long at him, and finally answered, 'Knowledge". I had dropped out of the college I was studying in after a year, and was on the verge of quitting Ayurveda, depressed with the state of my current college education. My mother had taken me to meet Krishnakumarji as a last resort - believing that if anything could change my mind, it was him. I did not know on the day I met him, that my life was about to change forever. He told me that day, that if I wanted knowledge, there were over 70 Vaidyas in the institute (the Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Coimbatore), and that I could approach as many of them as I wanted. He opened every possible learning avenue at his disposal to me - the medicine preparation unit, rounds with doctors, consultation rooms, yoga, ongoing projects, the research centre... he created for me, in AVP, a modern day Gurukula. But he made one thing very clear - I was not to bother him with daily nitigrities. I was only to approach him for absolutely important things. Beyond having opened up this opportunity, there was nothing he could do for me. In front of me, he sent a mail to all his colleagues introducing me as a student of Ayurveda, who was there to learn. "If someone doesn't accept to teach you, it is not their fault, but you who is undeserving of it. Make yourself deserving of a Guru," he said. I did not believe he would really leave me so alone at the time, but very soon realized he actually meant every word. And there, a journey of extraordinary learning began. Over the span of one year, I learnt how to make medicines; I learnt to read, write and speak Malayalam; I studied the Ashtanga Hridaya almost completely under Vaidya Krishnan Nambiar and Vaidya Vasudevan Namboothiri; Dravyaguna with Rashmi ma'am; I studied the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika with Hari sir, and Sanskrit under Priya teacher; I got to observe and learn about Panchakarma, and interact with stalwart physicians like Vaidya KG Raveendran and even go on rounds with them occasionally. I served food everyday in the temple Annadanam hall, and occasionally even helped with cooking. My day began with Yoga. I do not say this to show off, but to describe what an extraordinary opportunity Krishnakumarji opened up for me. I found myself in the unique position of being friends with the sweepers, cooks, therapists, temple priests, junior doctors, senior doctors and Krishnakumarji. I learnt to survive. I learned to learn - with humility and tentativeness. My education in a Krishnamurti school had left me with a degree of entitlement in knowledge seeking - of course it would come to me, and I could decide what to do with it, and whether it was worth it or not. I am not decrying the value of my Krishnamurti education, but Krishnakumarji did something different - he put me in a space where I was the seeker of knowledge - I had to find the agency to learn, learn to deal with people's scorn and incredulity at my having left a college education for this, learn to go back and once again ask people to teach me, learn humility and resilience - I learnt the hard way, that in knowledge, there can be no entitlement. I learnt patience. I learnt, as Krishnakumarji would say, "in learning, you do not exist. Throw yourself out, and knowledge will come." Krishnakumarji was one of the most compassionate people I've met - he was compassionate enough to let me learn my lessons the hard way, but was always there for me in ways I cannot fathom - His pride when he heard about my college achievements, his presence in the Hridayamritam finals in 2015, his readings with me whenever he found the time - the Bhagavad Gita, Osho, Tagore, Shankaracharya ..., his constant reminder to me, even after college, that I must do something with all the knowledge I had gained, his unwavering support and questions about my career - driving me to find my calling, my path. Even if I did not see him, I always knew he was there. Krishnakumarji was always there for me. His loss means things I cannot begin to articulate. Even these many words I have written feel meaningless, for they cannot, do not capture, the man or what he meant to me. I feel as if I have lost an anchor, a foundation stone - and am engulfed in the deepest emptiness. How can you fathom something you can't see? Is it possible to feel sorrow so completely, that all words feel like faint imitations? Others will write what his many contributions to Ayurveda were, of the unparalleled visionary he was, and of his numerous achievements. But all I know is that I have lost a mentor, a guide, a friend, today, and it is a loss that can never be replaced. I pray with all my heart, that wherever he is, one of the greatest human beings I will every know, Krishnakumarji, is at peace, and that his blessings will show me the way in my darkest hours, as they always have. With the deepest love and Pranams Dr. Pushya A Gautama, PhD scholar, National institute of advance studies.