Healer of the Rift of Grieving

Summary

Leona Smith Kremser’s poem “Healer of the Rift of Grieving” is a meditative reflection on death, grief and the healing power of Jain faith. The poem opens with the image of a “rift of grieving” when a soul leaves its earthly body. The mourner is plunged into a monsoon of tears and memories, clinging to the departing soul and lamenting the perceived finality of death. From the Jain perspective, however, the soul’s departure is evidence that worldly existence is a duality of soul and body, conjoined since beginningless time. The grief‑stricken mind fixates on the body’s absence and cannot perceive the underlying truth that the soul is eternal and merely shedding its material sheath. As the mourner reflects, a new understanding slowly emerges: grief stems from seeing only half of reality—the physical half. Faith carried over from past lives leads the mourner to a Jain shrine, where devotion, study and non‑violent dedication kindle insight. Through prayer and contemplation, the mourner glimpses “blissful infinity,” the pure viewpoint of soul identity. The poem contrasts the ignorance of identifying with the body—“body is bondage”—with the Jain teaching that the soul is free, individual and eternal. The righteous Jain religion, distilled from the essence of all spiritual wisdom, guides the soul back to its immaterial radiance by means of non‑violence, restraint and penance. Good karma bears fruit when grief is transformed into understanding. The mourner realises that life is not merely misery; rather, body bondage serves as a stepping stone to soul freedom. The poem concludes by praising the Jain faith for healing the rift of grieving: by recognising that death is a transition for the soul and embracing right faith, the mourner is liberated from sorrow and attains equanimity.