Amano Samarpan reports with photographs and videos from Rashid’s and Chinmaya’s farewell celebrations
A couple of friends passed within a month of each other; both were of a ripe age yet one expects people to live longer these days. Swami Deva Rashid was well into his 80s and still living life as was Swami Prem Chinmaya at the more tender three score years and ten. Rashid was known as a poet and artist while Chinmaya was a celebrated musician; you can learn more about their lives on Osho News. What follows here is an account of their passing beyond, the celebration of their lives rather than a retrospective detailing their mortal coil.
About a year ago, I received a few emails from Rashid; he was working on some paintings that he needed photographing. He sounded full of life and yet something did not sound right. By the time we next met, a couple or so months later, he had been spitting blood, later diagnosed as cancer. It was not easy working with him as painter and photographer clashed over artistic minutiae. But we managed to have all his paintings from that time photographed and prepared for printing in a catalogue for his exhibition that was held in London last autumn.
Chinmaya I had known from around the time his daughter Koyal was born. Carrying cameras, we used to bird together in the forests of Goa. Later he came to live in the UK and, like Rashid, settled in Devonshire. Occasionally, we would meet and I enjoyed videoing some of his performances, the last time being about a month before he passed away. I had learnt about his cancer months ago, a few days before a party I was arranging in which he was to be the star musician… His non-appearance was disappointing, his diagnosis devastating. In spite of the diagnosis, his death was unexpected.
Many will have their own memories of these two loving guys: mine can be best expressed in a “haiku” I felt moved to write:
Two trees have fallen
The forest can never be
Quiet the same
(“Shouldn’t that read QUITE! It’s a misspelling!” a friend remarked before apologising for being from the grammar police – poetry lives!)
A couple of friends, who knew Rashid well, stay over and we drive to the wake together. It is a gloriously sunny day, but there is a cold wind. In spite of navigation issues, we arrive in good time and are ready when the occasion starts.
Julian (formerly of the conceptual pop group collective The Flying Lizards) introduces the speakers, mostly family members sharing poetry and their loving memories of Rashid – as a father and grandfather – while there are also neighbours who share their love for him, as well as a beekeeper who invites everyone to a ceremony to say goodbye to Rashid’s bees. Of course, there are his sannyasin friends, such as Pankaja and Smita while, unplanned, I find myself at the lectern, reciting a short poem in his memory.
Most of these tributes make me want to applaud – but it is not that kind of occasion… There is a lot of humour, yet also a sense of sadness, so it is wonderful when friend and musician Nishok picks up his guitar and leads everyone in song…
After this we sit in silence for awhile, listening to the silence. After enjoying a range of vegetarian foodstuffs we indulge in a roar of chatter, as friends who have not seen each other for what feels like ages, embrace and try their best to catch up, often sharing experiences of hospital appointments…
Three days later, some of us are to meet up again, along with others, as we gather to celebrate the passing of beloved musician Prem Chinmaya, known worldwide for his sarod playing and fusion music, a blending of contemporary western and eastern styles. The great Beatle, Paul McCartney, at whose wedding Chinni played, has praised his work and stated that he wished he had written one of Chinni’s songs, Chance Encounter. As far as Beatles go, Chinmaya is more of a George Harrison figure…
We congregate in the evening outside a crematorium with weather that is overcast. The building purpose built for such occasions. We are ushered into a hall, at one end of which looms a large cross (fortunately with no figure impaled on it as is often the custom!) More prominent are two screens on which a photo of Chinmaya is glowing.
The master of ceremonies is again guitar-playing Nishok who brings a delightful air of irreverence to the occasion, as he taps the coffin saying goodbye to his friend. Other tributes follow – and again one wants to applaud. When Naveena, Chinni’s partner, finishes speaking, those gathered bring their hands together in a spontaneous silent moment.
A small group of musicians gather and we sing before filing up to the coffin. Then out of the small chapel into the gloom of an early, but cool spring evening – yet one warms by the effusiveness of those present. A chance to say hello to those one might not have seen for awhile. The drive home through the dark.
Two days later, a similar outing, though this time it is a farewell concert for Chinmaya. It’s in a café, The Hairy Barista, nestled in the narrow windy streets of Totnes. Although the place is full, it’s not overflowing and there is space enough to enjoy the music. Some of it written by Chinmaya, some of it are more well-known pieces among the sannyas community and beyond.
Before the concert gets underway, there is a bizarre argument between a few of those present over what exactly a popular newspaper has said about Beatle musician Paul McCartney’s love for Chinmaya’s music; since it’s one of those newspapers known to print inaccuracies… It is a hilarious discussion that soon evaporates into laughter as the music begins. The music is relaxed and meditative. At times, the audience joins in and dances.
Two birds have flown into the endless sky of the beyond.
Osho says, “Death arises out of disease, illness. And death is the last thing, the climax – where ego ends.” (The Supreme Understanding, Ch 12)
Videos by Samarpan
- “Into Your Hands I Lay My Spirit!” sung at the Wake for Deva Rashid at Winkleigh, Devon, UK, 18 March 2025: youtu.be
- “Deeper, into the Heart of Love, Letting go into the Mystery” sung at Prem Chinmaya’s Farewell, Torquay Crematorium, Devon, UK, 21 March 2025: youtu.be
- “From the Brightest Star” performed during the Concert remembering Prem Chinmaya at The Hairy Barista, Totnes, Devon, UK, 23 March 2025: youtu.be
Related
- Articles by and about Rashid Maxwell on Osho News
- Articles by and about Chinmaya Dunster on Osho News
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