Tribute to Mary Helen – Skye (Diane)

 

Yesterday morning early when the phone rang and the sobbing voice identified itself as Chali,  I knew what had happened even as I ran across the yard to comfort her.  It is only now, sitting down to write this, just having seen Chali off to her mother's funeral, that my own grief assails me.

 

Mary Helen was my first true friend in the Yoga.  We got to know each other travelling across the States to a symposium on Auroville held in New York when Chali was a baby.  Through all these years and numerous interruptions in our communication, she has remained one of my dearest loved sisters.  We often spoke of how, after not hearing from one another for a time, our friendship always picked right up again as though it had been only hours since we were last together.  Narad's beautiful eulogy cannot be improved upon, but I want to share with all of you a little of what Mary Helen means to me.

 

Mary was so much like the flowers she loved.  An elegant white blossom of exquisite beauty and delicate fragrance with the ability to uplift and inspire; pure, sattwic and gentle.  I always felt a bit like a weed next to a lovely white rose, but she was also as down-to-earth and practical as they come. Her acceptance and love for me made me feel very special.

 

Auroville, in those early days especially, was in many ways, very hard on such a refined being, but she was committed to the dream, and she and Narad both gave of themselves in uncountable ways.  What they created in the Matrimandir  nursery was a haven of peace and loveliness in a barren and often harsh land.  She endured the hardship, as we all did, but with more grace than most of us could manage, and she never became harsh herself.

 

Mary was an embodiment of the goodwill Mother asked us to have for one another.  She was an example to me of the integrity and sincerity I aspire for.  She was, and always will be, an unconditionally loving friend and sister who will live on in my heart forever, and until this mystery unfolds in some new episode and we meet again to laugh and love.

 

Skye