Sunday, January 13, 2019

Paul Sempe on UG




 Paul SempĂ© with UG in Gstaad in the late 1990's

 


Paul SempĂ© was dear friend of mine as well of UG.  He was a retired tugboat captain in Marsailles and was for sometime ardent follower of Gandhian way of thought.  He used to attend J. Krishnamurti's talks in Saanen, Switzerland, for a number of years before he met U.G.  He had a keen interest in Philosophy as well as in the Sciences.
 
Every summer, he came all the way from Marseilles to Gstaad to spend time with him and drive him and his friends around. I first met him in 1986 at the Berne railway station where he and UG came to receive me and my daughter, Shyamala.  That year and on several other occasions I had many interesting discussions with him and we became close friends.

The last I saw him was a little before the year 2000.  Soon after that, he met  with an accident in the Bergerie near Marseilles where he used live like a hermit in rather primitive conditions.  He was found dead washed away by a flowing river.  His big smile, friendly manner and intelligent philosophical discussions are memorable.  


He sent this article to me some time before he passed away and it has been shelved until recently when I discovered it while I was going through my papers.  I thought it would be of interest not only to those who knew him, but also to UG readers in general. 

Here is a link to his article:

http://ugkrishnamurti.net/ugkrishnamurti-net/Sempe.htm