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Michael Dench

In March 2003, the devotee community lost a dear soul. Michael Dench, 74, a devotee for some 25 years and father of a devotee son, Ramanarasimha das, passed away after a heart attack. It ended a period of some months of sickness. Michael was well known by the devotees, and was a member of the congregation in London. To be in Michael's company was to become peaceful. With a gentle, ready smile and a generous nature, he was more interested in the well-being of others than his own; more eager to hear than to talk. Yet his tranquil demeanour gave no hint of the life of high adventure he had led.

Born in India in 1928 during the last years of the British Empire, Michael spent ten years as a child amid the sights, sounds, and smells of Hindu culture. His boarding school experiences fostered in him an intense desire for freedom, and after motorcycling around Spain at 21, he joined the Army, later joining the Royal Navy as a jet pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. Landing on a moving deck of an aircraft carrier was filled with danger; the pilot had to engage a hook at the rear of the plane on a wire stretched across the deck. After Michael saw a Catholic pilot crossing himself, he decided that he too should pray to God. He later explained, "I know that belief in God actually works."

He became the personal pilot of the Duke of Westminster, flying him up to his vast estates in Scotland. One of his old army friends eventually became the head of MI6, and his cousin Judy went on to become a famous actress. But Michael was never one to exploit his occupational or family connections for personal advantage. He bought a submarine and went, with friends, looking for sunken galleons, then became a park keeper! His love of poetry and what he called his 'paradise lost' - India - together with his constant desire to go beyond the boundaries imposed on him by others, led him to the Bhagavad-gita. It was to become a constant source of inspiration for him.

His son, Ramanrsimha dasa, became initiated, and both father and son were regularly seen at the London temple and the Manor enjoying the kirtans, classes, and the company of other devotees. Rama cared for his father for several years when his health deteriorated. At the end, devotees surrounding his hospital bed and with songs, readings, tulasi and flower garlands, Michael breathed his last. Almost a hundred packed the Hendon Crematorium for the final farewell to Michael. Christian hymns were sung, stories told by his children and former army colleaugues, and at the end Nrsimhadeva prayers sung as each member of the congregation came up to place a flower on the coffin.

With the chanting of the last two verses of the Ishopanishad, 'Lord, remember all I have done for you' the coffin, bestrewn with flowers, disappeared from view. Devotees and family members retired to Bhaktivedanta Manor in the Hertfordshire countryside for dinner. Michael will live on in our memories as a true British gentleman who discovered Krishna and allowed himself the freedom of heart to be a true devotee.