Q about Sunil?

Dear Nayak, when I came into the Path in 1978, Sunil was my Centre
leader. What I remember about him is that, first of all, he was
always very kind, and he always had a moment for me when I needed
him. This was very important to me, for I knew nobody, and was often
feeling lost about things. I used to buy one of Sri Chinmoy's books
every week, and that helped a lot, but being able to talk to Sunil
when I needed some orientation was crucial. My gratitude to him, for
his oneness-heart.

Joy to all!- Kamalakanta

Hi Meghabhuti ... JOY it is to see your heart on this page!

I did not know Sunil well by any means, but he was one of Sri
Chinmoy's students that was like a pillar and a rock. He was like
one of the foundation stones of our path from the early days of Sri
Chinmoy's mission and he was, at least for me, one of those guys
that when you saw him upon arriving in New York for celebrations,
you could take a deep breath and feel that all was right in the
world.

One other funny little thing about Sunil was that he was the only
member of our spiritual family that I could talk to about one of my
favourite historical figures - General George S. Patton. It seems
that he had studied the General at some stage in his life, as have
I, and we would chat about the General's life, poetry and
accomplishments sometimes. I guess we shared some kind of fondness
for the enigmatic Patton.

You don't come across too many like Sunil ... a rare breed of
seeker.

See you in the Big Apple, brother ... Shardul.

Shardul,

I loved and loved and loved your excellent book so very much. A
delightful combination of great humor, and deep philosophy. I
can't wait for your next book. I had never seen many of the quotes
from Sri Chinmoy about medicine and I will treasure them.

Meghabhuti

Hi Meghabhuti,

Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments. I am glad you
enjoyed the book, but I hope I'm not asked do another - especially
if, in order to find more material, I am required to undergo five
more heart surgeries! If that is the prerequisite - my writing
career is over baby. Mind you, five more could be quite purifying.
Hmmm...

The following stories are from my little book called "My Hospital-
Life Experiences," and are offered in honour of Meghabhuti gracing
the list.

The events in these two stories took place during a Christmas trip
with Sri Chinmoy and a large international group of his students. I
had just been admitted to the Mandalay Hospital with what seemed
like an infection to one of my heart-valves; a problem that has
occured a few times throughout my life, and as a result, I have had
five open-heart operations.

25. My Caring Family

To me Sri Chinmoy's love and concern for us are like waves that are
constantly breaking over our lives. Waves that bring something new
each time they wash over us in accordance with our needs. In
Mandalay, Meghabhuti's compassionate nature was of tremendous
comfort and I am sure he often missed functions to come and check on
me. I would play my flute for him and he would say that I was "much
better than James Galway." Meghabhuti has such a genius for
understatement!!!

Jogyata also spent a lot of time at the hospital and would stay
every night in my room; sleeping on an impossibly narrow and short
bench seat with nothing but a blanket! He seemed to me to be just
like the locals in the hospital staying with their ill family
members. My love and respect for him increased like anything.
Jogyata could easily have been a native, he is so much at home in
this Asian nation.

And I never felt far from Sri Chinmoy and the activities of the
function room, thanks to concern and affection of my brothers and
sisters. It is always this way.

26. My Own Very Own Guard

Apart from Jogyata and Meghabhuti, I had one other virtually
permanent visitor. An attendant was posted fulltime to my room by
the governemnt administration.

No reason was given for this and neither was one needed; for there
was never a feeling of anything untoward about the posting. We often
had attendants posted to our group for the early morning runs or
when we went places in a group together, and these guys were really
sweet and helpful.

The guy in my room was like a sweet little boy. He had a big walky-
talky which he rarely used, and as he spoke precious little English,
there was not much to say. We all just smiled a lot, which is first
nature here. He and Jogyata got along famously, shared Jogyata's
food and looked like twin brothers together. At one stage the guard
disappeared for almost a day. He hadn't slept much for three nights
and when he returned he made us understand that he had gone home for
some food and sleep, after which he went to a movie. When we asked
him what movie, he just giggled, so we assumed that it was a comedy.

Thanks Meghabhuti.

Love to all ... Shardul.

Shardul, I think many are waiting for your next book, but I am sure
it will not contain any story about any hospitals anymore. By the
way, you made me study proper English (I am German). Thank you. Who
said English is easy to learn?

Doris

In Sri_Chinmoy_Inspiration@yahoogroups.com, meghabhutijoy
wrote:
> Shardul,
>
>
> I loved and loved and loved your excellent book so very much. A
> delightful combination of great humor, and deep philosophy. I
> can't wait for your next book. I had never seen many of the quotes
> from Sri Chinmoy about medicine and I will treasure them.
>
>
> Meghabhuti
>
>
> --- In Sri_Chinmoy_Inspiration@yahoogroups.com, shardul_nz
> wrote:
> > Hi Meghabhuti ... JOY it is to see your heart on this page!
> >
> > I did not know Sunil well by any means, but he was one of Sri
> > Chinmoy's students that was like a pillar and a rock. He was like
> > one of the foundation stones of our path from the early days of
> > Sri Chinmoy's mission and he was, at least for me, one of those
> > guys that when you saw him upon arriving in New York for
> > celebrations, you could take a deep breath and feel that all was
> > right in the world.
> >
> > One other funny little thing about Sunil was that he was the only
> > member of our spiritual family that I could talk to about one of
> > my favourite historical figures - General George S. Patton. It
> > seems that he had studied the General at some stage in his life,
> > as have I, and we would chat about the General's life, poetry and
> > accomplishments sometimes. I guess we shared some kind of fondness
> > for the enigmatic Patton.
> >
> > You don't come across too many like Sunil ... a rare breed of
> > seeker.
> >
> > See you in the Big Apple, brother ... Shardul.
> >
> > --- In Sri_Chinmoy_Inspiration@yahoogroups.com, meghabhutijoy
> > wrote:
> > > I knew him for only a few years. I always found him to be very
> > > gentle and sweet and good-natured. He was in a special singing
> > > group for non-singers, and worked very hard to learn to sing
> > > even though he didn't have the faintest idea of how to proceed
> > > at his age still... And yet he kept trying and trying to learn
> > > the songs- what perseverance he had!!!
> > >
> > > Meghabhuti
> > >
> > > --- In Sri_Chinmoy_Inspiration@yahoogroups.com,
> > > maria_latinova wrote:
> > > > Once I read a very beautiful poem for Sunil.
> > > > Can someone tell me who he was?

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