"Our Dear Sunil
Rare, rare, very rare, a perfect gentleman.
Our dear Sunil belongs to God's Proudest Clan.
Rare, rare, very rare, a perfect gentleman.
His heart of sleepless God-love fulfils
God's Cosmic Plan."
=========================================================================================================>From In Memoriam - SUNIL WILLIAM DAVIDSON
16 September 1947 10 March 2002
Henry Labouisse Hall, UNICEF House
Tuesday, 9 April 2002, 11:00 a.m., New York, New York
"Sunil's friends in the Meditation Group are deeply grateful to have
the opportunity to share with all of you today our joy in having
known Sunil. I am standing next to Sunil's closest friend, Shraddha.
We all swam together when training for the English Channel a number
of years ago. Once when swimming to celebrate a U.N. anniversary, we
posed for photographs. I remember noting we naturally gravitated to
either side of Sunil. There were jokes at the time about our
different personalities, our different sizes we invariably put
Sunil in the middle time after time. A perfect gentleman, he was a
bridge even amongst close friends. He was that link between many of
us, a symbolic bridge that brought diverse peoples together.
"He exemplified the essence of a true international server of
humanity. He came to UNICEF to manifest his vision of unity and the
dignity of the human spirit. He was a deeply spiritual man who
applied his spirituality in a practical way; we all have memories of
how poised and calm he was under all circumstances. He strongly
believed in the goals of UNICEF and chose to spend his career here,
striving daily in his interaction with each of us to reach those
goals.
"We often looked to Sunil for inspiration. He listened to his own
inner calling and became a champion athlete. As his brother Gary has
told us, it didn't come naturally. He worked hard for it, overcoming
many obstacles. He ran the NYC marathon in 3 hours, 8 minutes; he
swam the English Channel in 13 hours, 49 minutes. Ever striving for
perfection, for new challenges, in recent years he focused on
mountain climbing. He climbed some of the highest mountains in the
world, including Mt. Aconcagua at 22,000 feet on the border of Chile
and Argentina. He had been planning to climb Mt. Everest, often
considered the ultimate pinnacle for a climber.
"What we see today, by looking around the room, is what a perfect
bridge he still is. We are a diverse group of family, friends and
colleagues. He stood among us and brought us all together. Today he
unites us once more. We believe Sunil would be pleased to see this
room full of those he truly cared for, sharing our common bond: our
mutual affection for a remarkable man.
"His name, Sunil, means a superlative of the colour blue; blue
connotes infinity. He inspired us with his pursuit of his own blue
sky of infinite transcendence, and in his own quiet, serene way,
encouraged each of us to do the same. I cannot think of a finer
tribute than to continue to feel this inspiration as we say farewell
to our dear brother-friend, Sunil. Alas, in the outer world he is no
more. But in the inner world, he is more, ever more in our hearts
with his soul's blue vastness-sky."
There is the song music, photos and comments on Sunil at:
http://www.adhiratha.net/www/friends/sunil-related.htm
The words to Sri Chinmoy's song are:
"Our Dear Sunil
Rare, rare, very rare, a perfect gentleman.
Our dear Sunil belongs to God's Proudest Clan.
Rare, rare, very rare, a perfect gentleman.
His heart of sleepless God-love fulfils
God's Cosmic Plan."
=========================================================================================================>From In Memoriam - SUNIL WILLIAM DAVIDSON
16 September 1947 10 March 2002
Henry Labouisse Hall, UNICEF House
Tuesday, 9 April 2002, 11:00 a.m., New York, New York
"Sunil's friends in the Meditation Group are deeply grateful to have
the opportunity to share with all of you today our joy in having
known Sunil. I am standing next to Sunil's closest friend, Shraddha.
We all swam together when training for the English Channel a number
of years ago. Once when swimming to celebrate a U.N. anniversary, we
posed for photographs. I remember noting we naturally gravitated to
either side of Sunil. There were jokes at the time about our
different personalities, our different sizes we invariably put
Sunil in the middle time after time. A perfect gentleman, he was a
bridge even amongst close friends. He was that link between many of
us, a symbolic bridge that brought diverse peoples together.
"He exemplified the essence of a true international server of
humanity. He came to UNICEF to manifest his vision of unity and the
dignity of the human spirit. He was a deeply spiritual man who
applied his spirituality in a practical way; we all have memories of
how poised and calm he was under all circumstances. He strongly
believed in the goals of UNICEF and chose to spend his career here,
striving daily in his interaction with each of us to reach those
goals.
"We often looked to Sunil for inspiration. He listened to his own
inner calling and became a champion athlete. As his brother Gary has
told us, it didn't come naturally. He worked hard for it, overcoming
many obstacles. He ran the NYC marathon in 3 hours, 8 minutes; he
swam the English Channel in 13 hours, 49 minutes. Ever striving for
perfection, for new challenges, in recent years he focused on
mountain climbing. He climbed some of the highest mountains in the
world, including Mt. Aconcagua at 22,000 feet on the border of Chile
and Argentina. He had been planning to climb Mt. Everest, often
considered the ultimate pinnacle for a climber.
"What we see today, by looking around the room, is what a perfect
bridge he still is. We are a diverse group of family, friends and
colleagues. He stood among us and brought us all together. Today he
unites us once more. We believe Sunil would be pleased to see this
room full of those he truly cared for, sharing our common bond: our
mutual affection for a remarkable man.
"His name, Sunil, means a superlative of the colour blue; blue
connotes infinity. He inspired us with his pursuit of his own blue
sky of infinite transcendence, and in his own quiet, serene way,
encouraged each of us to do the same. I cannot think of a finer
tribute than to continue to feel this inspiration as we say farewell
to our dear brother-friend, Sunil. Alas, in the outer world he is no
more. But in the inner world, he is more, ever more in our hearts
with his soul's blue vastness-sky."
On behalf of the Meditation Group
- Adhiratha