Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana

There was a time at Harvard in 1964 when Priya Nath had sent a large portion of his scholarship to Shri Nathji in London. It was Christmas. The banks were closed. Priya Nath realised very suddenly that he had not a single penny with him for the evening meal. The University Cafeteria, Harkness Commons, was closed. He was pondering over the problem when there was a knock on the door of his dormitory, Perkins Hall. Kopr Kritayakirana stood at the door. "I saw your light," he said to Priya Nath, "So I decided to come over and introduce myself! I guess we are the only foreign students left on campus. Everyone else has gone home for Christmas. I have come to invite you out for dinner with me." Thereafter the bond of friendship between Priya Nath and Kopr Kritayakirana had strengthened over the years that Priya Nath was at Harvard. When he left his dormitory, Perkins Hall, and shifted to Conant Hall after the first year, he chose Kopr as his room-mate and the two of them lived together for one full year. Indeed at that time in Priya Nath’s life, there were only three persons with whom he ever shared a room – the first was Pran Nath, the second Kopr, and the third was Shri Nathji!Priya Nath was convinced that it was Shri Nathji who had sent Kopr to look after him. Priya Nath had returned to India in 1967 while Kopr stayed on at Harvard to complete his studies and left Harvard finally in 1969. He had promised Priya Nath that he would come to see him in India and he kept his promise. October 1969 saw Kopr at Savitri Nivas.

In Mussoorie, the meeting between Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana and Shri Nathji was very dramatic. As Shri Nathji began speaking, Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana felt an overwhelming sensation of love inside him. His mind and soul appeared to enter a strange world of self-forgetfulness. His wife experienced the same feelings. She fell down on her knees, weeping with spiritual emotion. Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana stood with his eyes closed, his body swaying as if he were about to fall. "What did you feel?" Priya Nath asked him, as they drove to New Delhi in a taxi. "I cannot describe the feeling," said Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana, "it was as if I was in the presence of some overwhelming power of Love." Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana remained silent for a long period of time in the car, as it travelled down the Grand Trunk Road. He was lost in meditating upon God. Six years later, when Shri Nathji had cataract in his eyes, Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana offered to have the operation done at Thailand, and even contacted a famous eye surgeon of the country. "I shall feel privileged if I be allowed to bear the costs of the operation," he wrote to Priya Nath. Though Shri Nathji never went to Thailand, Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana came to have a very large place in his heart. "The man is a walking angel–a devtaa–in human form." Shri Nathji said about Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana, "agnostics like him are closer to God than many believers! It brings a coolness to my heart to even think of him."

Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana is a Thai National. He did his B.Sc. ( Physics) from Chulalongkorn University. Master  AM. (Physics), Harvard University and Doctoral  Ph.D. (Physics), Harvard University. Dr. Kopr Kritayakirana served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Siam Commercial Life Assurance Plc from 1988 to 2001. Dr. Kritayakirana served as Advisor of National Science and Technology Development Agency. Mr. Kritayakirana has been a Director of Thai Reinsurance Plc. since 1989. Dr. Kritayakirana serves as Independent Director of Thai Reinsurance Public Co. Ltd. and serves as Director of Siam Commercial Leasing Public Company Limited (formerly Siam Panich Leasing Public Co., Ltd). Dr. Kritayakirana has been Director of Siam Panich Leasing Plc. since 2000. Mr. Kritayakirana served as an Independent Director of Banpu Public Co. Ltd. since 2003. He served as an Independent Director of Sicco Securities Public Co. Ltd. from 2002 to August 26, 2009. He served as Director of Siam Commercial Life Assurance Plc. from 1988 to 2001. Dr. Kritayakirana served as Director and Executive Director of Bangkok Metropolitan Bank Plc. from December 31,1997 to September 30, 2001. He did Certificate of Completion in Directors Program Class 11/2002 from The Thai Institute of Directors Association.