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Subarata –
An age ago I sat down one morning at my shrine and wrote the following poem about Subarata.

Early Days –
I first met Subarata in 1975 in the city of Hamilton in New Zealand. She had asked her parents for a one-way ticket to New Zealand as a 20th birthday present, and they had consented.

A Divine Ride –
Subarata always claimed she received her spiritual name before me just to provoke me a little and have some fun. Guru had both of our names on a piece of paper but the problem was, I was in New Zealand. So technically speaking, she was the first to receive her name that April when Guru bestowed this honour.

Of Teddy Bears and Friendship –
Subarata and I rarely argued but when we did it was dramatic – we refused to speak for days.

Chinmoy's Angels –
In 1983 Guru invited us to open a Centre in New Zealand. Guru said, "Don't worry about money, the Supreme will always enable you to come to New York once or twice a year for our festivities."

Runners are Smilers –
One of the great photos of Subarata was taken at our very first two mile race, called 'Runners are Smilers'. We had invited the local media to cover the inaugural race and arranged to meet a reporter in the park beforehand.

Teetotalers in the Family –
It was the English novelist Lawrence Durrell who once noted that, "Man is an extension of the spirit of place!" Fenced off by the Irish Sea and impassioned by recurrent wars and unwelcome invasions, Ireland’s spirit of place evolved largely in isolation and produced people of character and charm such as the Cunninghams, Subarata's family.

Smile of The Beyond –
Subarata loved her independence and also loved her family, often travelling home to Ireland.

A Mad Wheelchair Ride –
While teaching meditation classes together Subarata and I often told jokes about each other and we each had a repertoire of amusing stories.

An Illicit Meal –
Guru once gave a short talk about the necessity of personal honesty – the gist of it was, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesars – be honest!"

A Devoted Heart –
Subarata, my wife of 23 years, was born on February 2, 1955. If she were still among us we would be celebrating her birthday today in a lively manner and her friends would be giving her many simple gifts.

Subarata Goes Shopping –
In January, 2000, we were on vacation in Brazil, staying in a hotel flanked by a great expanse of parkland in the city of Brasilia. Subarata had been having pain in her stomach area and it was here that we came to learn of her illness. It was here too that we went on our last shopping trip together.

Soul Connections –
Subarata's father, popularly known as 'the Major' in recognition of his wartime exploits, in later life lost much of his memory – perhaps happily, and as old people sometimes do. On one of my Dublin stays, the last one when I would see him alive, each morning when we called in to visit he would look at me, or rather glare, and say, "Who's he?"