Johannes taught me Sanskrit and Indology; taught me never to take anything for granted, academic and religious traditions, which have so much in common, even less than the rest. A great master is leaving us, the author of an abundant, but also innovative and provocative body of work, which covered all areas of Indian studies, from Vyākaraṇa, his initial training, to Vedic and Buddhist studies, from Vaiśeṣika to Vedānta via Mīmāṃsā, Sāṅkhya, Jainism and Ājīvikism. His greatness lay in his erudition, and, almost as much, in his humility; I also remember a teacher always listening to his students, curious about their ideas, and laughing heartily with them. Johannes was also a man of convictions. The freedom to choose the time and circumstances of his death has always been one of these.
About a month ago, on the occasion of a meeting between colleagues and friends in Lausanne, Johannes took me aside and asked me to drive him home. On the way, he told me that he and his beloved Joy would soon be “leaving” to escape illness and debilitating age. We spent a beautiful and moving evening, a “last supper” so to speak. While my eyes were heavy, Johannes and Joy were perfectly serene, joking as if nothing were happening. We celebrated a cloudless friendship, without sadness, as if it were to last eternally. They still didn’t know the exact date of their “departure,” but it was imminent. And then, as if it were impossible for that meal to be our last, I asked him if he would lend himself to a last interview. A few days later, equipped with a camera, I asked Johannes about his life, his training, his career path, for almost two hours of a unique and privileged moment. I left with big eyes. It was imminent. It was today.
My sadness reflects my selfishness. Johannes and Joy entered death the same way they met and loved each other, and that alone is what counts, the very thing that makes me happy in spite of everything.
Johannes did not consider his life to be of any interest other than his work. He leaves us with it, and it has, he has everything to teach us.
Today he had Joy Manné’s son send a last message to his friends. I allow myself to quote its last paragraph: “Our sympathies are with those who are obliged to live through the sometimes long and often painful process of old age and dying.”
Vincent Eltschinger
Vincent Eltschinger, korrespondierendes Mitglied der OeAW
Directeur d'études
École Pratique des Hautes Études, Section des sciences religieuses
Patios Saint-Jacques, 4-14 rue Ferrus - 75014 Paris
vincent.eltschinger@ephe.sorbonne.fr0033 1 56 61 17 34 / 0033 7 85 86 84 05