Dulal (Sol Montlack) was one of the earliest disciples of Sri Chinmoy, accepted by the Master on 20 August 1966. In 1967, he helped to officially incorporate AUM Centre Inc (later renamed Sri Chinmoy Centre), in New York City, as mentioned in AUM magazine:
“To our Dulal (Mr. Sol Montlack) who made many patient trips to the Supreme Court, untangled countless difficulties, and saw through the Incorporation to its conclusion, we offer our deep and grateful love.”
Dulal wrote an introduction to My Yogi-Friends, My Avatar-Friends, Agni Press, New York, 1971:
“Sri Chinmoy’s path is the path of unconditional love, devotion and surrender. It is the path of purity, sincerity and gratitude. It is the path of the heart. It is the path of service that demands transformation and offers God-realisation.
This path is not an escape from reality; on the contrary, it is Reality itself. It is for the strong as well as for the pure in heart.”
— Continue reading Dulal's introduction to My Yogi-Friends, My Avatar-Friends
Role in Welcoming Seekers
Dulal served as an early president of the Sri Chinmoy Centre and played a role in helping new seekers integrate into the centre. For example, Sarama recounts how Dulal introduced her to Sri Chinmoy.
Ashrita recalls ringing Dulal when he was first interested in meditating with Sri Chinmoy.
Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha
On the evening of 25 May 1973, the former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant attended the first performance of the play, Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha, at Old Mill Farm in Harrison, New York. Dulal is second from left.
Performing with the Master
Dulal was a professional violinist, playing as a viola player in the Little Orchestra Society of New York. In The Life of Sri Chinmoy, Madhuri Sands quotes Dulal sharing an experience of his Master playing through him.
“There was a concert I was nervous about. I had some solos to play in the orchestra and I asked Guru to put a force on me. The force was so strong I found I was playing so relaxed and easily that I realised that if I didn't concentrate I wouldn't know where I was. Afterwards, Guru told me that he was playing. He was playing, and he never took a lesson in his life!”
— Madhuri Sands, Life of Sri Chinmoy, Part 2, Sri Chinmoy Lighthouse, 1972.
In public concerts, Sri Chinmoy would on occasion perform with Dulal.
Ten Divine Secrets
On 6 May 1976, during a celebration of Dulal’s birthday, Dulal asked Sri Chinmoy to reveal some of his inner secrets for the benefit of the disciples. This led to the publication of the book Ten Divine Secrets.
Tribute to Dulal
On 2 October 1993, Sri Chinmoy offered the following tribute to Dulal, one of his pioneer disciples in the West, at a special observance for Dulal held at Aspiration-Ground after Dulal’s earth-departure:
Dulal, the human in me will eternally remain grateful to you. The divine in me will eternally cherish you. Two thousand five hundred years ago, you had a most significant incarnation. You became Lord Buddha’s dearest and closest disciple. In this incarnation you came to another spiritual Master. Your soul knows, your heart knows, your life knows where you are and where you will eternally be: inside my heart and inside Alo’s heart.
The most sincere and most cheerful surrender of the American mind to an Indian heart you were. I have created many, many things in many fields. Your soul’s inner depth felt and realised the beauty, the divinity and the immortality of my creativities in various fields. Your soul’s nobility will remain unparalleled. Your heart’s capacity to assimilate the shortcomings, weaknesses, expectations and demands from many, many, many people who have known you over the years will remain unparalleled. Your smile is made of divine oneness plus divine kindness.
Quite a few times you came to me with problems and problems, countless problems of the disciples, and I asked you for your suggestions to solve the problems. You gave me the suggestions. I looked at you with my heart of compassion and I said, “I shall deal with these problems in totally different ways.” You looked at me and I told you how to deal with the problem. Immediately is the right word, unreservedly is the right word, cheerfully is the right word, unconditionally is the right word: these words can be applied only to your life. You accepted my advice, offering the messages to the disciples in question.
In so many ways, I cannot count, you have served the Supreme in me. Since you left the body yesterday in the afternoon you have come to me so many times, so many. Long, longer, longest conversation we have had, and this special meditation that we held today is also at your express wish. You wanted to have it here at Aspiration-Ground and not anywhere else.
You were not only physically tall, but spiritually also you were tall, extremely, extremely, extremely tall. I have written many, many books. If ever I write a book about you, it will indeed be a very thick volume, with many, many significant incidents and experiences that took place in our mission. With you we started our mission. To you we gave the name Dulal. Dulal means darling. Your soul and your heart are undoubtedly worthy of this name.
Today we had most significant, most significant meditation to love your life, to offer my gratitude to your heart and to be inseparably one with your soul’s vision-light. Now I wish to share something with all the disciples, your brothers and sisters who are still here in the land of the living. When the hour strikes, we shall also join you. You can see us; you will be able to see us infinitely easier than we do. Here I am identifying myself with the disciples.
Now to come back to the significant part. I see so vividly, so vividly, with my third eye that you were inundated with a blue light, a blue aura. There are many auras, but blue is my most significant and most favourite in my life-story. This moment I saw you flying in the blue sky. The sky was flooded with blue light, and you were flying with unimaginable ecstasy. Next moment I saw you swimming, swimming, swimming in the sea of blue light. Flying and swimming, swimming, swimming.
You said, “My Gurudev, I bow to your infinite blessings. I bow to your eternal compassion. I bow to your immortal love. Alo, my Mother, my Mother Divine, my own Mother of Eternity, I shall always love you, I shall always give you my soul’s love and gratitude, love and gratitude. My brothers and sisters, I have only one piece of advice to you all: obey, obey, obey our Gurudev. Do not disobey him. Do not disobey him. Do not disobey him.”
Dulal. Dulal. Dulal. Dulal. Dulal. Dulal. Dulal.
Photos: Sarama (1972, 1974), Bhashwar (1976), Pulak (1993).