Sundram

(6 July 1955 – 26 January 2022)

At peace with ‘who I am right in this moment’

by Marga, his partner of 40 years

Sundram’s path to Osho began with a rebirthing session; he suddenly found himself outside his body, in a space of peace and awareness. It was a sign for him to take sannyas (1981). He then immersed himself completely in the life of the German communes. His sannyas path was closely connected with ‘a deep longing to know who I am’.

In early 1982 we met at Schloss Wolfsbrunnen / Rajneeshstadt and fell in love. Since then we have always travelled together, been fellow travellers, been on a quest. The times spent in the Sneha ashram, the commune in Munich and Cologne, were followed by the big commune dreams of Oregon, then Pune.

In 1991 we met Swami Shantam Dheeraj and dived deep into Tibetan Pulsing Healing. Later we continued the inner journey with the Satori retreats with Ganga. Sundram was able to relax more and more into ‘just being at peace with who I am right in this moment’.

In 1987 we moved to Freiburg, where we are connected to a large community of sannyasins and friends. At first Sundram worked as an electrical expert for the TÜV [German Car Inspection], then as a manager in the sannyas team of the software company, Sidoun, until in 2002, he started his own business as an electrical expert.

His passion was singing and drumming in our bush orchestra. All his love and creativity flowed into the setting up and maintenance of the Freiburg Medicinal Plant Garden (www.heilpflanzengarten.net), which we had founded together with friends more than 17 years ago.

In early December 2021, Sundram fell seriously ill with corona. As the cough got worse, he was admitted to the intensive care unit at the University hospital. From there he wrote to a friend, “…but I am observing, I am breathing, I am. A special kind of retreat.”

His lungs were already very damaged, so he was put into a coma and intubated. After a few days he was brought back and I could finally visit him in hospital and could talk to him. He was aware that he was at a crossroads.

Many were deeply touched by Sundram’s path and lovingly accompanied him in the last weeks with singing, meditation, prayers and Osho quotes – from home, and for him via headphones, even during his coma.

In the early hours of 26 January, Sundram died of a pulmonary embolism, the night after his smile and humour had lit up once more.

His ashes will find their place in a ‘forest of rest’ near Freiburg on 13 May. Afterwards we will celebrate his departure in our herbal garden with singing, dancing and drumming, as he would wished for, and in the place where his traces can be found everywhere.

A rare being. I will always love you

by Shreyas

I met Sundram for the first time at the Sneha ashram and we became friends and companions immediately. He was a soft, calm, and honest man and it looked like he was not interested in power. When I left for Rajneeshpuram, I suggested he become the new Ashram leader, but the ‘Big Ones’ in Cologne decided otherwise.

When in 2002 we had a Sneha 20-years reunion, where people came from all over the world, we met again – and since then we saw each other almost every year. We went on a holiday together in Crete and I dropped by in Freiburg to see him. On a journey to France our friendship deepened even more.

He was a rare being, totally honest, reflecting over his own actions and thoughts. What interested him the most was meditation and inner growth. Our talks were never mundane; we always had reflective talks, searching for the inner and truth. We never had fights or were competitive. We listened to and shared with each other, always reflecting the differences in a very respectful way. His death is a big loss for me.

The last time we met was in September 2021 at a farewell party. He and his beloved, Marga, stayed in our home. It was the first time we had really strong arguments – about vaccination. Also afterwards, when we emailed each other, it was about vaccination and we got quite into a fight. At one point, he wrote to me: Shreyas, I am scared, I am losing your friendship. And I answered, ‘No matter what you do and what you think, I will always love you.’

It was such a shock when he died after a 7-week hospital stay. At first I was angry. It was terrible. But more and more, the love, the sadness and the compassion came back. As I know him, he must have accepted death; and I wish I will be going the same way he went – full of acceptance in facing life and death.