The brutal interruption of a precious life impacts upon all of us. It seems a cruel severance of the contact, a denial of the opportunity for the continuity of our love, of our friendship. We are left with the warmth of our memories and our gratitude for the opportunity for the time shared.
We miss Nadamo dearly. His sudden collapse at his home last Friday in Sollingen, Germany, probably from pulmonary embolism (a blood clot), at the age of 55, came as a shock to us all.
Named Rolf Münter, we all knew him as Nadamo with his single colour clothes – mostly red and orange. Nadamo represented a new kind of spirituality – simple living, a monk like presence while knowing the deep value of his intimate relationship with Dagmar, his partner for more than eight years. He was truly the Big Man with the Big Heart.
I knew Nadamo for more than 25 years. I had the joy of seeing Nadamo on my retreats in Germany and India as well as DFP programmes in Germany on numerous occasions over the years. He gave Dharma service to centres and attended satsang with various spiritual teachers such as Mooji and Gaya.
Co-teacher Tineke and I saw Nadamo at our three day retreat that finished at the Pauenhof Dharma Centre, near Dusseldorf, on Sunday, just a few days before his passing. He was his usual warm being and off to work all Sunday night at the reception desk at a hotel near his home.
Throughout his adult life, Nadamo dedicated himself to spiritual values, to meditation, to wisdom and the understanding of freedom of being.
I have spoken on retreats about four primary postures for sitting meditation.
- Cross legged,
- chair,
- kneeling with the stool or cushions
- the Nadamo posture.
The Nadamo posture is meditating with a straight back using the wall or pillar for support and both legs straight out. Through his glasses, Nadamo would give me a warm smile when I mentioned the Nadamo posture.
Nadamo and Dagmar joined the annual French Yatra in late July. They were very warm together with lots of hugs and giggles, clearly shared a deep and loving relationship, and both knew that relationship was a practice within a big love.
He took enormous care to the countless details in running my audio website in recent years, learnt film editing skills for the DVDs of talks, as well as being the international co-ordinator for the Mindfulness Training Course, produced and distributed CDs of the teachings and guided meditation worldwide, posted teachings on YouTube and much more. It was a huge service. He gave countless hours to ensuring the distribution of the Dharma. He had a small sitting group where he lived and did much voluntary work for Amnesty International.
Truly, a very precious human being.
There is a real sense of loss of such a precious and kindly person. My deep condolences go to his mother, family and Dagmar. Please know that many people around the world love Nadamo immensely. Truly, the big man with the big heart.
With immense appreciation,
Christopher Titmuss