A Life Lived with Love and GratitudeThe dark storm clouds of World War Two were gathering when Arthur Patrick Maxwell (Swami Deva Rashid) slipped from his mother’s womb in October 1937 in London. Born in a privileged family, he grew up reading James Joyce, Karl Marx, William Blake, Frederic Nietzsche, and Aldous Huxley. He spent his holidays wandering the Tate Gallery or following his great-aunt’s gardener around her spacious garden. She loved Rashid, gave him books to read, and shared with him her love of art and nature. One day, from high up in a cedar of Lebanon tree, Rashid had a fall.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1080/1080;" src="/ckeditorUploads/rashid.png" width="1080" height="1080"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="http://localhost:4041/ckeditorUploads/rashid.png"></figure>In Rashid’s words, “In the split seconds before I landed safely on the branch below, my whole life flashed before me. I spoke to no one of this event, but I understood forever that our lives are not how the elders and betters prescribe this in our rational culture.”Years later, the grown-up Rashid was inside a phone booth on a snowbound landscape outside Hereford. He was calling the Probation Service Day Centre, where he worked part-time as an art therapist, to tell them the roads were far too dangerous for him to come to work. He looked up across the speckled wastes of white and see a bright yellow petrol tanker sliding sideways down the road towards him.&nbsp; Rashid saw horror written on the driver’s face as his vehicle jumped the curb. "I don't want to die!" screamed Rashid inside his head. "I haven’t properly lived!” The accident didn’t happen, but something died that day in Rashid. It could be either complacency or procrastination.&nbsp; What was born, however, was a conscious search.&nbsp;Rashid moved to a farm with his wife and children. One morning he was milking his cow, his head resting on the warm flank of the cow when his wife came in unwrapping a parcel.&nbsp; She sat down on a spare milking stool and read aloud one page of My Way: The Way of the White Clouds by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. They were both in tears. Rashid stood up and said, “We must see this man.&nbsp; He knows!” Saying this, Rashid’s knees started shaking, and he had to sit down because, for the first time in his adult life, he knew he was facing the hugeness of the Mystery.&nbsp;Within a few weeks, they were sitting at Osho’s feet and took sannyas in 1977. Rashid grew vegetables for Osho in Poona 1, worked in the pot room and fire tower at Rajneeshpuram, and was His bodyguard in Poona Two – he served in many roles, each with totality and love.An accomplished writer, Rashid’s works – including The Only Life - Osho, Laxmi and a Journey of the Heart, The Point of Vanishing, and his three poetry collections – reflect his deep awareness and devotion. His recent London exhibition of paintings, Drawn In, showcased the deep gratitude and meditativeness woven into his art.Yet beyond his accomplishments, Rashid’s greatest gift was his radiant presence. His transition to the other shore has been as inspiring as his life itself. As his body grew weaker due to an advanced lung cancer diagnosed in 2024, his spirit shone brighter. Ma Dhyan Prachi, who was fortunate to be by his side, shared how he remained joyful, surrendered, and full of humour while feeling HIS endless blessings. Rashid himself expressed it beautifully: “Weaker in the body, but something inside me is as vital as never before.”When asked how he would describe his life, he simply said, “A good start.” The impending death of the body was a great adventure for him. Even amidst serious medical discussions, he would often make the nurses and doctors laugh. A couple of days before Rashid left his body, his nurse Gary visited. Rashid was asleep for most of the conversation about his medication, but just as Gary was leaving, Rashid, in a very quiet voice, asked if he would be able to walk and talk again. Gary held both his hands with love and told him he would never be able to do it again. Rashid gathered all his energy, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “No problem, I will become a writer.” Gary hugged him tight and said, “I want to be like you.”Rashid was surrounded by a very loving family, blessed with various children and sixteen grandchildren who adored him. His long-time partner, Nisheetha has been a pillar of support to him throughout.His life was a testament to living with creativity, gratitude, and surrender. He lived fully, loved deeply, and laughed wholeheartedly.Rashid left his body in ease and silence on February 15, 2025, in Devon, England.