Ashish and I went to same engineering school in India (same graduating class of ‘99). We both came to the US for our Masters after undergrad. We kept meeting through 2000’s and our best 1:1 time was when I came to see him in LA. We watched the movie Elf together and he took me to this wonderful Hindu temple in Malibu (see attached pic). We stayed in touch and I was based in Germany when I learned about Ashish’s illness. Our last couple of conversations were less focused on his illness but more about reminiscing and talking a little about what vedas say about who we really are. He asked me to come see him last year and I had tickets booked for Dec 18th but had to cancel last minute due to Covid. Unfortunately, that cancellation is now a regret for a lifetime. His spirit and especially how he reinvented and lived through his illness has become an inspiration how to navigate in this body where pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. I believe Ashish felt the pain that his illness brought but he chose not to suffer. Om Tat Sat!