On the passing away of Lachen Rinpoche

KC PRADHAN
It is heart-wrenching to lose one of the finest souls from amongst us. Lachen Rinpoche was a real Guru not only for the Buddhists but also for many others who came in contact with him, and his passing away leaves a vacuum which will not be easy to fill.
In the early 1980’s, when I was Secretary Ecclesiastical Affairs, he was my Minister and used to give me many valuable tips on the religious aspects of Sikkim and it relevance to Buddhism. We used to have long discussions about the sacred places and old monasteries of Sikkim like Dubdi, Hongri and Sinon which I had already visited during my long sojourn in the Forest Department withnot actually realizing their significance. It was Rimpoche who put a soul in my memories of each of them which I treasured and kept uppermost in my mind as I glided along in the State administration. To me, he was more a friend than my boss.
I got to know him more once we – Him, Regent Gyaltsab Rinpoche and I - travelled together to Delhi to receive the mortal remains of HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. The Air India flight from Chicago reached Delhi at midnight. Lachen Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche were the first to touch, with all humility and prayers, the large casket draped in white as it rolled down from the escalator of the aircraft. The lifting hands of all present, including the Bhutanese Ambassador to India, ML Kampani, Additional Secretary, MHA supported by many others present from Sikkim House and the Bhutanese Embassy, laid the casket in the waiting van and brought it to Sikkim House where it was kept in the large lounge. While Lachen Rinpoche was there uttering his prayers all through the night, Kampani and myself were busy organizing the next day’s flight to Bagdogra. The Government of India provided a special plane to bring the mortal remains to Bagdogra and I put the entire crowd that intended to return home in the aircraft. Then, Kampani coordinated with the Defense Ministry for an Mi8 Helicopter to bring the mortal remains from Bagdogra to the Libing Helipad in Gangtok.
Once the entourage reached the Rumtek Monastery, Lachen Rinpoche took charge of co-ordinating the religious aspects with the Regents, and I, ably supported by Passang Namgyal and Nangzey Dorjee, organized the other aspects and co-ordination. I was naïve about religious affairs, but somehow got deeply involved in the rituals, well guided by the Rinpoche and my friend Passang Namgyal, an authority on Buddhism in his own right. HH the XVIth Karmapa was always very kind to me, and I had to meet him almost on a monthly basis whether it was for cardamom fields or beautification or cleanliness of the Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre and its surroundings. I met HH before he left for the US for treatment and I requested for his photograph. His assistant brought one with HH in full ceremonial robes but HH asked him to bring the whole lot. He chose one in black & white looking rather young, signed over it and handed it over to me with a gust of laughter. That was my last encounter, but HH is in my prayers every-day. To me He is the ultimate.
Throughout the religious rituals, till the final cremation on the roof-top of the Rumtek monastery, Lachen Rinpoche was there representing the State Government. I admired his sagacity and the manner in which he handled even the difficult affairs with ease and grace. After his stint in the Government as Minister, he returned to his Faith for which he was destined and every time I encountered him either at a funeral or a marriage ceremony in the houses of Sikkimese nobility sitting high up near the altar, he used to give me his gracious smile and I invariably went to seek his blessing. We met very rarely but the inner bond we had between us was immense.
Looking back, it was a happy augury that I, a Hindu handling the Buddhist affairs in the State, could come into contact with such a respected religious personality of Buddhism who imparted on me the religious flavor and how important Sikkim was from that standpoint. Sikkim is really an ashram or abode of Mahatmas and Saints as Nicholas Roerich had said, and Lachen Rinpoche was one and previous to that the French hermit Alexandra David Neel took the Rinpoche’s predecessor as her Guru and through him the resolve that sustained her for a good 25 years in disguise in Tibet. Let Lachen Rinpoche continue to bless this sacred land and guide the masses with his successive re-incarnations. Sikkim is poorer in his passing away.
[The writer is a former  Chief Secretary, Sikkim]