Biography
He was the eldest son and heir of Maharaja Sri Panch Sir Thutob Namgyal, and was educated at St. Paul's School, Darjeeling and at Pembroke College, Oxford. A polyglot, he was learned in Chinese, English, Hindi, Lepcha, Nepali and Tibetan.
He was recognized as the reincarnation of his uncle, Sidkeong Namgyal, the abbot of Phodong Monastery. Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal reconstructed the monastery.
After his education in Oxford, he returned to Sikkim where he was closely associated with the administration of the country. He worked to dissolved the greed that occurs in vested interests and tried to unify Buddhists by renovating monasteries and their roles.
When Alexandra David-Néel was invited to the royal monastery of Sikkim, she met Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal, at that time Maharaj Kumar (crown prince). She became Sidkeong's "confidante and spiritual sister", perhaps her lover.
Following an attack of jaundice, Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal died of heart failure on 5 December 1914, aged 35, in most suspicious circumstances. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Tashi Namgyal.
Palden Thondup Namgyal was subsequently recognized as the reincarnate leader of Phodong.
Read more about this topic: Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
—James Boswell (1740–95)
“In how few words, for instance, the Greeks would have told the story of Abelard and Heloise, making but a sentence of our classical dictionary.... We moderns, on the other hand, collect only the raw materials of biography and history, “memoirs to serve for a history,” which is but materials to serve for a mythology.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)