Aarun Naik, HVP UK’s chairperson and close friend of the Shrestha family shares his memories in his personal tribute to the late Dr. B.L. Shrestha
When I look back, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know Dr. Shrestha very well and to have been able to spend considerable time with him and his family. For me it began, like many others, when as a wide-eyed, innocent teenager I arrived in Nepal. I had opted to take a year’s break between school and university so that I could work as a volunteer teacher in Nepal and experience living with a Nepali family. I could have been sent to any school in Nepal but somehow I was sent to Hindu Vidyapeeth. I could have been a guest of any household but somehow I was entrusted to the care of Dr. Shrestha and his family. Dr. Shrestha used to talk a lot about the idea of pre-destination. I can only assume it was fate that led me there as Dr. Shrestha, his vision and example was to become, still is and I’m sure always will be a very powerful force in my life.
These days, many of those involved in the MSS/HVP movement in Nepal like to comment with a mixture of pride and wonder of how ‘ a small seed has now grown into a large tree’. When I first came into contact with HVP, that seed had recently been planted and was perhaps struggling to grow. Though one could feel and see the extraordinary visionary potential, the idea of HVP becoming a truly global, multidimensional and all-inclusive movement was simply a dream. I was privileged to be part of the HVP set-up in those early days. My volunteer colleague, Matthew, and myself lived in the Shrestha household in their family home in the quiet Kathmandu suburb of Jawalakhel. Those days the capital felt a much a quieter place, very much the sense of the city in the valley. This was before the roads became completely choked with smog from the chaotic traffic, before rubbish piles and concrete replaced green and fertile paddy. Against this backdrop the Shrestha homestead was a kind of ‘open house’, constantly full of life and welcoming to all.
With his quiet sense of dignity and confident authority, Dr. Shrestha gave a sense of somebody of great importance. If he wasn’t at the hospital, he was hard at work in the simple clinic he ran from home. The house effectively served as the headquarters for the MSS. There seemed to be a never-ending stream of people coming and going, endless meetings and activity. In the moments he had chance to relax, I always have happy memories of Dr. Shrestha in tranquil mode strolling on the balcony absorbed in intense concentration as he tended to his beloved collection of colourful potted flowers. His calm wisdom was the perfect contrast to CM Yogi’s hyper-kinetic, infectious energy. These were special, perhaps less hectic times when the ever-present missionary zeal that now sustains HVP had not been fully unleashed. In fact I feel I was very much present at the dreaming stage. Night after night, following long and lively dinners, we would all sit around the table and talk into the early hours of the morning. Sometimes discussion would go deeper and deeper till we were almost lost in philosophy. At times we would be vehemently arguing, other times simply dreaming, exploring what then seemed like impossible ideas. Yogi in particular was embarking on his journey, exploring his own philosophy and ideas for the future. It was as though the rough map for the future of HVP was being sketched out. For me, it opened up a whole world of ideas and new perspectives on life. Though now a decade ago, to me those memories still seem as fresh as yesterday. Dr. Shrestha and his wife, Nirmala, took us into their family showing us the most amazing warmth and hospitality that I felt I could never repay or forget. I left Nepal vowing to return.
When I returned to Nepal two years later, things had dramatically changed. A sad foreboding atmosphere now hung over all proceedings. Dr. Shrestha he had just returned from medical tests in Bombay with the diagnosis that he would likely need a liver transplant. And so it was, much to the heartache of everybody in Nepal that for the sake of his health, he felt forced to return to England. It was over these last six years of his life in England that my personal relationship with Dr. Shrestha really developed. After a third and lengthy visit to Nepal I had returned home to find the culture shock quite hard to take and discovering myself to be increasingly disillusioned with the way of life in England. His small flat in Hemel Hempstead became a sort of sanctuary for me – a mini Nepal secretly tucked away in modern, non-descript British suburbia. With the familiar Nepali decorations around the home, the traditional music he was so fond of listening to, the distinctive aromas of Nepali cooking and Dr. Shrestha’s love for philosophical discussion, I would feel almost momentarily transported back to those happy days. Each time I would visit, these stimuli would reawaken those special peaceful feelings that I so associated with Nepal. My interactions with Dr. Shrestha, Nirmala and family would serve to remind and reinforce that energy and inspiration I had felt from my involvement with the MSS/HVP mission.
Dr. Shrestha’s presence in England acted as a powerful catalyst. Suddenly there was a force capable of drawing together many of the young people whose lives had somehow been touched by Nepal and the work of HVP. His living room became the scene of many special gatherings. HVP volunteers crammed into sofas, chairs and onto the floor as we met to discuss ways of collectively supporting HVP’s work in Nepal from our position in England. Over the course of Dr. Shrestha’s first few years in England there were several meetings like this. Nirmala would serve us an awsome Nepali banquet – momos, Dhal Bhatt, chiyya – the lot. The place would be full of warmth and one could almost feel the spirit of HVP in the happiness and smiles of all those present. This was Dr. Shrestha’s way of spreading the word of HVP and inspiring those volunteers not to forget any of those special moments they had felt in Nepal. Dr. Shrestha’s overall vision when he established the MSS movement in Nepal was to encourage the development and training of young individuals who, in a selfless spirit of service, would give their time to help bring peace and prosperity to society. Fittingly, out of these informal and ad hoc gatherings, the committee and core of the HVP UK support group developed. We hope HVP UK will go on to play its part in realising this vision.
Dr. Shrestha showed great mental and spiritual strength to deal with the situation he found himself confronted with in England. He often felt alone and at times slightly lost in what must have in some ways felt an alien society to him. He used to talk of the importance of non-attachment. He showed by his example throughout his life how it was possible to live amidst and engage with the material world without ever being attached to it, happy to live his life in relative simplicity with his family. Faced with the gradual decline of his health and the cloud of uncertainty about his future constantly hanging over him, he always remained positive. He used the time to read, reflect and meditate on many things and continue to be a source of inspiration to all those back in Nepal who depended upon his guidance. Though far away, he continued to motivate and guide through letters and email. The work of MSS and HVP was what sustained his energy and enthusiasm even though it was clearly heart wrenching for him to be separated from the country and the work he believed in so much. As he many times confessed, none of this would have been possible without having been grounded in the training of the Sangh and without the devoted care of his wife, Nirmala, who must be one of the most incredible women I have known. Throughout the difficult time of his transplant operation and the subsequent complications, he faced it all with great will power and humility. Believing in the eternal nature of the soul, he met death with peace and serenity. I was struck by how peaceful, how at rest he seemed when I gazed upon his face for the last time, before he was returned to Nepal to be forever reunited with the ‘motherland’ he loved so much. His presence lives on within Nirmala and his sons, Bimal and Himal. His legacy remains in the success of the MSS and Hindu Vidapeeth Institutions in Nepal, in the HVP support networks that have grown across the world and through all those whose lives have been inspired and somehow transformed by his work and vision.