A few days ago I got an alert from BirthdayAlarm.com…reminding me of an old friend’s birthday. I stared at the screen for a few moments.
Joseph died 2 years ago. He ran a visa run to Phnom Penh from his home in Mysore, and instead of a new stamp in his passport, Pattabhi Jois’s one-time right-hand man got a visa for the next world. He had a fatal heart attack.
Yesterday, his Facebook page was full of birthday wishes, a memorial site for those of us left. In cyber space, do people really die? With all of the new technology in the past 2 decades, it seems I “talk” to my friends more and more over the computer; cyber relating is more frequent than face to face meeting. So in a way, Joseph is still with us.
It’s another odd twist to reality in the digital age.
Happy Birthday Josephji
Diary of a Pilgrim 
What a beautiful take on death and rebirth. I have had a few birthday reminders appear in my inbox of friends’ who have died and felt waves of grief and joy at the same time, wishing to honour the life that was and the reincarnation of that person I may never know again in this life.
A rich and wonderful memory of your friend. Happy Birthday Joseph!