“I Am Ever the Same”: Remembering Nayaswami Nakin

Nayaswami Nakin passed away peacefully about a month ago. While we weren't close friends, I always admired his deep, simple nature from afar. He grew up in an Italian family, much like I did, and he had that wonderful blend of toughness and sweetness. He reminded me of how Paramhansa Yogananda described his own guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar: “Softer than the flower where kindness is concerned, stronger than the thunder where principles are at stake.”

I remember seeing Nakin in the mailroom once. A friend from property services was asking him about an unpaid invoice and offered, “Maybe you need some help printing the invoice from your email.” Nakin didn’t mince words. He simply said, “Don’t give me that, just print off another invoice for me to pay in my box.” I truly admired his straightforward way. Like Sri Yukteswar, he personified both candor and courtesy.

I hadn't realized that Nakin was such a prolific poet and a gifted artist. You wouldn’t have guessed from his gruff exterior that he had such a soft-hearted center. Here is one of his poems:

The Sunlight of the Soul

Illuminations

of holy light

probe the darkness.

At the edge

of waking

the sky is born

emerging

from the grey

Shadow of sleep.

Like a bird escaping

the darkness of night

on the rising wing

of horizon’s light

To peace, to joy

do you now ascend

To silent entreaties

Awakening within

the sunlight of the soul.

	-Nakin

Perhaps it's not strange, but now, after his passing, I feel closer to Nakin. He is singing to me from beyond of our silent God. Like this one:

The Music of the Sea

At the periphery of this

wandering shore

the sweet solitudes

of the tide insist

on their timeless music

among the rocks and jettys

near the end of day.

Between the rise and fall

of an ocean wave

silence invites me

to be alone with Thee

at the calm, still, center

of awakening.

Timeless is the music

that breathes

from the lips of Thy

ebb and flow.

Thine is the voice that sings

the eternal song.

How sweet in Thy reverie

is the music of the sea

that echoes across this

vast horizon of restless waves

and sea and foam.

	-Nakin

Nakin has now returned to his home in God. His name literally means “one who dwells in heaven,” and in the silence of meditation, I feel he has become one of my partners on the journey to Self-realization. What a blessing it is to live in a community among such souls. Thank you, Nakin, for your life of dedication.

May we all be one in His light someday!

Joy & Blessings,

Nayaswami Narayan

P.S. At Nakin’s astral ascension service, there was a slideshow of his life. Though his body changed over the years, the light in his eyes remained constant. As I watched the slideshow, it was as if he was echoing Anandamayi Ma’s words: “Behold, now and always one with the Eternal, ‘I am ever the same.'”