Kookie Mishra

August 11, 1995 - April 20, 2009

Vaidya Mishra's little Kookie passed on at about 1:00 A.M. Monday morning April 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Kookie was a very special dog and we will all miss her very much. She has inspired Vaidya Mishra in innumerable ways over the years.

An Indian Vegetarian Sweetheart!

Kookie was born in India to a Brahmin vegetarian family on August 11, 1995. Neelima, Vaidya's daughter, was key in bringing her into the Mishra household. After seeing Kookie, a little white fur ball only 3 months old, Neelima falls in love with her. She pleads with her father, Vaidya Mishra, to see the little one, and Vaidya immediately loses his heart to her.

Back home, when the idea of adopting her is discussed, Mrs. Mishra is hesitant to add another family member knowing well she would be the one who would have to take care of her despite the childrens' promises! All four children and Vaidya Mishra decide to go on a hunger strike unless Kookie is brought home, Sumanji relents and Vaidya and the children head out in a rickshaw to bring her home. While Vaidya is away bringing Kookie home, an affluent client comes looking for him. Sumanji tells the client of Vaidya's whereabouts. Being a dog lover himself he rushes to the given address to give everybody a ride back home in his Mercedes Benz! Vaidya lovingly remembers how they all left in a little rickshaw to pick Kookie up and they were all driven back home in an imported car! It makes Vaidya wonder about this little dog...

Across continents...

After this little incident, Vaidya decides to have her jyotish chart read. He consults with a local astrologer and gives her birth data. The jyotishi is not told that the individual in question is a dog lest he be offended, so the jyotishi explains that Kookie is a lovely little girl, an enlightened soul who completed numerous yagyas in a previous life, but who has some karma left to burn. So even though she will have a satwic comfortable life, there will be some obstacles, particularly pertaining to her marriage and family life - she might not be able to have either! However, the jyotishi explains that she will bring great fortune to her father, is very good for the father, and that she will be traveling far and wide in the world. Vaidya wonders about that, since travel plans were not part of the immediate horizon for the Mishra family at that time.

Bathing in the Ganga

And in fact, shortly after Kookie has joined them, the family embarks upon visits to many "tirtha"-s or holy pilgrimage sites. Little Kookie is allowed into the holiest of the holy, carried in the arms or in a little bag. Her first stop is Haridwar, just before Rishikesh, where she behaves properly in all the temples, naturally. In Rishikesh, she is so excited to bathe in the Ganga, jumping around at the Ghat, that she arouses a bather's attention and ire. He comes up to Vaidya angrily, asking him to take her away, as she is a dog and being impure should not be allowed to taint the holy waters of the Ganga. Just as an argument is developing, a sadhu approches them, and quiets the angry bather saying: "Fool! Can you not see she is no ordinary soul? She deserves to be bathing in the Ganga, ever more than you!!!" and he gives her many blessings. After Rishikesh, Kookie is headed to Vaishnodevi and receives Durga Mata's blessings, Finally, through her great fortune, she is called by Kali to Calcutta, the city of the fierce yet most auspicious goddess, the only one capable of removing the darkness of one's karmic debts.

And this is just the beginning of many more trips to come, even across the oceans, for new opportunities present themselves, and Vaidya soon leaves his established clinic and practice, his weekly columns to many local papers, and travels first to Europe at Maharishi's bid, and then to the United States to bring healing knowledge of Ayurveda.

Jetsetting

Shortly thereafter, arrangements are made for the whole family to join him in the United States, and Kookie now flies to the US on Lufthansa air, where service and accommodations for pets are best renowned.

In the US, Colorado Springs, Colorado, becomes the new home of the Mishras. However, the traveling continues, and Kookie gets to travel far and wide again to Florida, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, before moving in to sunny California with Vaidya Mishra.

Some of her favorite things...

Kookie, Vaidya's little vegetarian dog maintains her brahmin satwic habits throughout her life. She consistently goes to bed at 8:00 P.M. to wake up at 4:00 A.M. with jolly barks. Playful and loving, she enjoys being around Vaidya Mishra's grandchildren, Akshae and Anika, who hand-feed her homemade organic meals. Kookie's favorites were organic oatmeal made with raw milk, fresh paneer, zuchhini squash cooked with some ghee and a dash of salt, sukhi or dry dahl cooked with Mum's Masala, and sweet yams baked to a crunch in the oven. She also loved to snack on carrots, red apples — peeled and sliced! On a couple of occasions she was mistakenly offered dog snacks that contained meat, which she obstinately refused to eat. Her all time-favorite, however, was Mrs. Shama Gandhi's loki and paneer dish — the last meal she has before passing on...

Kookie had the interesting habit of standing before her food for a few minutes before starting to ingest it. Vaidya would joke, saying she was giving her thanks to Annapurna Devi before eating her meal.

Kookie was very fond of Vaidya's puja room. In the beginning she would scratch at the door whenever Vaidya would start his prayers in order to be let in. However, with time, she knew better and she would just lie down in front of the door whenever Vaidya was inside. She would listen in, soaking up all the divine vibrations emanating from the room.

Kookie lived a long, healthy life, she was never sick, never developed any health problems. She had to be hospitalized twice due to injuries; once she injured her paw by stepping over broken glass; another time she got bit by a roaming coyote, which she thought she could ward off with her barks, but the hungry coyote bit her hind leg. Miraculously Kookie was able to escape its jaw and rushed back to Vaidya. She received some stitches and never messed with roaming coyotes again!

Kookie will always be in Vaidya's heart, and she will always be remembered by those she touched with her sweetness. She was a gift of joy and love.

We will always love you

On Sunday, May 3, 2009, Kookie completed the 13th day of her transition to the other world. When vedic rites are properly observed, they support the soul's disinvestment from earthly remnants so that the journey beyond can be made without lingering. This day also marks the completion of the mourning period for those left behind. As the final vedic ritual step, Kookie's ashes will be flown to Kashi (Benares) in India, and scattered over the Ganga. Thank you to all who said a prayer or thought of Kookie during her transition. May her memory brighten your days.