The Cross and The Lotus Journal

Transcription

The Cross and The
Lotus Journal
March 2012, Vol. 13 No. 1
Dedicated to the Realization of God and Service to Him in All Forms
Reverend Mother Yogacharya M. Hamilton
is published by
The Cross and The Lotus Publishing
P.O. Box 1864, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, U.S.A.
Website: www.crossandlotus.com
E-mail: [email protected]
The cross and lotus symbolizes the unity between East and West. The lotus is the sign of
illumined consciousness, the thousand petal lotus of the crown chakra. The cross is the
symbol of the body surrendered to the will of God. Following the way of the cross results in
the resurrection of illumined consciousness.
The Cross and the Lotus, symbol of man.
East and West blended, join hand in hand.
Marching toward the infinite light and life divine.
Lift up your eyes and see the star,
descending from heaven where e’er you are.
Be filled with the peace and ecstasy of God’s almighty love.
Aum-Amen.
The Reverend Yogacharya Mother Hamilton
© 2012 The Cross and The Lotus Publishing is dedicated to the publication of materials that
promote God-realization. Our spiritual lineage begins with Jesus Christ and Babaji and flows
down to us through Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, Paramhansa Yogananda and
Yogacharya Mother Hamilton.
The Reverend Yogacharya David Hickenbottom continues this lineage with the help and
support of many sincere devotees. We are dedicated to realizing God and serving devotees of
every race, color, creed and religion.
Mother Hamilton often said she was the product of two fully illumined Masters, her own
Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, and Swami Ramdas. We therefore feature articles about
Swami Ramdas and Anandashram. We bow to the feet of Saints and realized Masters of all
religions.
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Dear Friends,
We follow a wonderful way of
life when we dedicate our lives to
realizing Divine Consciousness.
Truly, there is no more healthy, life
affirming and joyful outcome than
when God is sincerely sought for
and realized.
This world‟s greatest adventure is
our aspiration for what is highest
and best within us and all about. To
really engage in this supreme quest
Mother Hamilton tells us that we
must be willing to put our whole
self into the effort. When the great spiritual master, Sri Ramakrishna was describing what is required for this most noble attainment he said:
God reveals Himself to a devotee who feels drawn to Him
by the combined force of these three attractions: the attraction of worldly possessions for the worldly man, the child’s
attraction for its mother, and the husband’s attraction for the
chaste wife. If one feels drawn to Him by the combined force
of these three attractions, then through it one can attain Him.
The point is, to love God even as the mother loves her child,
the chaste wife her husband, and the worldly man his wealth.
Add together these three forces of love, these three powers of
attraction, and give it all to God. Then you will certainly see
Him1.
Jesus said it this way:
The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, The
Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy
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neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment
greater than these2.
Can you imagine having a love, an attraction, for God that is
as powerful as a miser has for his gold, a child for his mother
and a husband or wife deeply in love, all combined? What would
it be like to love God with everything you have and to love all
and serve all, even as you would care for yourself or a specially
loved one?
Some may read this with a jaundiced eye, “Who but some fanatic (not me) would feel that way about God or mankind?”
Some others may think, “I love God, I want realization,” but do
not really fully comprehend the power of this profound love.
I have had aspirants say to me in one breath, “I am missing
God; I am in darkness,” and then when something is asked of
them that their egos do not want to do, in the next breath they
say, “I feel God‟s direction to ignore that, really I feel God all
the time and I don‟t need any suggestions!” Now, you cannot
have it both ways, you cannot simultaneously say you are in
darkness and you have perfect apprehension of Divine Will.
To love God completely means you are willing to surrender
everything at His feet; even if it destroys your dreams. In my
years of following Divine Will I have known both sides: complete surrender and the lack of it. There have been moments
when I have conveniently ignored what I knew God and Guru
wanted for me, and believe me when I say I have lived to regret
each and every time I went against Divine Will!
Sex attraction, the desire for money, power, fame, alcohol, and
drugs are common temptations that come your way; at times
they arrive with the power of a steaming locomotive! It can begin as a tantalizing thought that seems harmless enough, a wisp
of a breeze that is really announcing the coming of a storm. God
has given you free will, and you can choose to live in separation
from Divine Life. But you lie to yourself when you act according
to the whims of the ego and say it is God‟s will.
The teacher, the guru, must tell you the truth, even when it is
unwelcome. As Jesus so rightly pointed out:
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No servant can serve two masters3: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one,
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon4.
We, you, must make choices of where you invest your attention, your money, your time, and your energy. Are you focused
on money, material things, sex and pleasure only? Or, is your
attention focused on the Divine? Are you driven by carnal desire,
or guided by the bliss of God?
We have all been designed with an inner compass that points
to spiritual “north”; however there is the mud of worldly attachments that keeps the compass from working properly. We must
wash the mud off the compass needle; we must purify the mind
in order to know with certainty the right direction. An intense
yearning for God washes the mind clean, then the compass will
automatically attune itself to the highest vibration.
The great adventure of realization awaits you; each moment of
each day. Sri Yukteswarji gave us a simple maxim for assessing
our spiritual attunement: ever-new joy! Do you live in that evernew joy? Do you feel the divine Presence as a constant in your
life? Does spiritual purity sing in every cell? Does the divine Intelligence consciously stream through your thoughts and mind?
If this is not your experience, then you have more spiritual practice to do.
The clarion call is sounded: “Come all my dear ones,” saith
the Divine, “come to Me and merge your little self into My great
Self of the Infinite. Come, serve Me in all forms, in all ways.
Come, this world is in need of you, of your realization. Come, it
is time.”
With all love and blessings,
1
Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.
2
Mark 12:29-31 (KJV)
3
Luke 16:13
Mammon is a term, derived from the Christian Bible, used to describe material wealth or greed.
4
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Letter to a Devotee
Dear ________,
Thank you for your thoughtful email. You do have some errors
in it; some factual and some perceptual.
First, what is required by an aspirant to the guru? A sincere desire for realization is the first necessity. Sincerity means willingness, truthfulness and whole hearted commitment by the aspirant.
In return the guru teaches you the truth as he or she has realized
it, is the example of that realization, and promises an unconditional commitment to the aspirant to lead that one to his or her
own realization.
When I met Mother I did not know the truth, therefore I was in
darkness. She knew the truth and taught it to me, corrected me
when I went astray, and loved me always. It was difficult to take
correction; I never wanted to disappoint her, but I knew that I
would be “the blind leading the blind” to do it on my own and that
I would ultimately add to my time in the darkness.
I did not always understand all that Mother said, did or taught.
But I knew it was important and I was committed to understanding. This is not to imply a slavish being “under the thumb” of
Mother, rather it was a desire to attune myself to her and to God. I
made many mistakes and a few times went against her instruction.
In each case I came to regret doing so. There was one time in particular she expressed disappointment in what I did. I was devastated. This is not a blind loyalty, but a desire to be realized. It was
not co-dependency, it was fully inter-dependent, with a recognition that Mother was the respected teacher, I was the student.
If I thought I knew better than Mother, then she would no longer
be my Guru. This did not mean I always agreed with her or did
what she wanted me to do (I wish I had, I would have saved myself much suffering and others would not have suffered so much
by my actions), but I never thought I knew more than she.
If it becomes inconvenient to follow the teachings of the guru,
and you are willing to throw that one overboard due to your own
desire nature or your own fears, you then lack sincerity. This is the
ego-nature rearing its head and demanding its own way. This,
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however, is not freedom; it is simply doing what you want, when
you want. You certainly have the right to do so, but do not call it
God-realization; for that would make a mockery of what realization truly is and those who have sacrificed for it.
You continue in my thoughts and prayers for the highest good to
be fulfilled, and that my love for you and my desire for your ultimate good and happiness is forever.
Ever in the Grace of the Masters,
Guru and Disciples
By Indira Kumari
In spiritual life one meets two types of seekers. When the first
wishes to see the master of the house, he goes to the gatekeeper
and humbly asks if he will take him to the master. The gatekeeper, of course, complies since that is his business. Now as
they go along, the man may stop here and there to admire the
gardens and the walks. But whenever he does this the gatekeeper
reminds him of his mission, saying: “This way, please, if you
wish to see the master. There will be plenty of time to look at
the scenery later.” And thus he takes the man by the most direct
route to the master.
Then there is the way of the thief. This man asks no one, but
climbs over a back fence. Since he has no idea where the master
is, he must look here and there and spend a great deal of time in
the search. He is afraid of the watchman and the master‟s dogs
so he climbs through windows. He darts in and out of back
places, hoping no one will notice the few bananas he has filched
from the garden. Perhaps he wanders into the women‟s quarters
or falls into a pond! Finally he begins to hide himself even from
the master. It is then that he realizes he did not really want to see
him after all and goes away with his dishonest day‟s earnings.
The first, the sincere man, is the devotee who takes a guru.
The guru is the gatekeeper who leads us directly to the Lord. He
is the servant of the Lord and therefore acts only according to
the Lord‟s will. Being His servant he is familiar not only with
how to reach Him, but also the various pitfalls along the way….
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Mother Hamilton (1977)
Work is Love Made Visible
An Excerpt from a Talk Given by
The Reverend Mother, Yogacharya M. Hamilton
in Seattle on September 23, 1979
[Readings: “Work” from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet and St.
Matthew, 20: 1-16]
Guru knows the Individual’s Development
The subject of my sermon this morning is “Work Is Love
Made Visible.” This is a wonderful chapter. There are many people in the world that feel just exactly the way that the workers
who started in the beginning feel. [Please refer to the Bible reading.] I have had some examples of that with the people that I
have worked with throughout the years, because newer people
who have come have been made lay ministers, and those who
have been with me sometimes for twenty and thirty years have
not.
There are reasons for everything, as I have said many times.
Each one comes in its own state of consciousness, in his own
particular development in the spiritual world. And the Guru, the
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master teacher, does exactly what God directs. In fact, he or she
does not do as God directs, but rather it is God in that fully developed spiritual form, which does all things through the form,
which He has made. And so everything happens in accordance
with His will.
Being Idle
Now we all know that there are many ways of keeping idle,
and one of them is to keep very busy. You can busy yourself
with things that don‟t amount to anything and don‟t get you any
place at all, like you‟ve never seen before, as all of you know.
And why do you do that? You do that to avoid the things that
you know that you should be doing, the things that you know
that should be gotten out of the way. And we are all, at one time
or another, guilty of that procrastination. And it is procrastination of the first order. But it is work. We tell ourselves we work
so hard, we have this to do, we have that to do, and we are constantly putting off the very thing that is the most important of all,
that which will free us, so that we will have time to meditate, to
contemplate upon God.
Now everything in the world is God‟s work. There is no question of a doubt about it. We have talked about the busy people,
but there are those who are just plain idle—because they‟re just
plain lazy. They don‟t want to do anything. They wander all over
the face of the earth and they get no place fast. They always
have a good reason why they‟re doing this. And they serve here
and they serve there perhaps a little. But chiefly, they just plain
want to enjoy themselves. And so many of these people, instead
of earning their way and working, so that they may demonstrate
that work is love made visible, will go to one house after another
and beg. This is certainly true of many of the “holy” men in India….
… But there are those also who sit or they keep busy or whatever, but they are idle in their pursuit of the spirit. And if God
looks down at the marketplace of the world, I‟m sure He sees it
in a very different way than we see it, because we see not much
idleness. We see all of this activity going around all the time,
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and most of the people are working in one way or another. But
God sees total idleness with most of the people, from the standpoint that they do not work to find and realize who and what
they are in Him. And this is very bad. This is very bad. Because
you see, all of the goals tie into the one goal, which is the realization of your oneness with God. Every single goal, no matter
what you do.
The School of Life
I‟ve spoken to you many times about goals and the chief goal
should be the realization of God within yourself, always. There
should be no other main goal whatsoever. But then as you set
yourself the human goals, these goals bring about experiences,
both good and bad, which will teach you different things which
you need to know. Sometimes they bring about suffering, sometimes very great joy. But they teach you. This is the school of
life that we are in, and we have to work our way through it.
We cannot stand like the beggar at the temple gate and just beg
alms all of our life, and watch the procession of life to go by and
expect to get any place with it. Because it will not take us any
place but into another incarnation where we have to keep repeating—lifetime after lifetime after lifetime—that which we have
done before. Until we finally learn that we have to make the effort—every effort to go to God. Until we come to that moment
when we are ready to relinquish and put all things in His hands.
And at that moment of total surrender, then God comes in and
lifts us up. And He takes us to Himself. Now I divide the “us”
and “to Himself” but in truth, as we all know, there is only One.
And it is God playing His play of life, God‟s lila, as the Indians
call it.
Many Called but Few Chosen
I think that the story that I read out of the Bible today is tremendous. Christ had such a fantastic way of teaching in parables.
Because if you will notice from what I read:
1. For the Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a man that is
an householder which went out in the morning early to hire
laborers in his vineyard.
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And this is God in each of us, who is trying to stimulate us, to
inspire us to seek Him so that we will be one of His harvesters.
And we don‟t pay any attention to it in the beginning.
2. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny
a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3. And he went about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
Now this is the second time He went out:
4. And said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard. And
whatsoever is right I will give you.
5. And they went their way. Again he went out about the
sixth and ninth hour and did likewise.
6. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and sayeth unto them, Why stand ye here
all the day idle?
7. They say unto us, Because no man hath hired us. He
sayeth unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard and whatsoever is right, that ye shall ye receive.
Now you will see that the different times that are mentioned in
here where God comes into your consciousness and He picks up
the idle, and He tries to inspire them to go out and earn some
things of the spirit, to drink the wine of spirit, to eat the bread of
life. And some of them go and they work. But then comes toward the last, and payment is due. And you will remember that
here it says:
16. So the last shall be first, and the first last for many be
called but few chosen.
The Good Thief Ascends to Heaven
Now as I have said many times before, the reason that so few
are chosen, is because they do not make the effort. Now many
times, the ones who come last make a tremendous effort and because they‟re willing to work, God takes them into the Kingdom
and gives them their payment first. And this is the way it is with
all devotees, as we know. There are those who meditate, who
practice the techniques every morning, every night religiously,
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who go about serving God every hour of the day. The thought of
God is never out of their consciousness, never. And everything
they do, they do for Him.
And there are others who work only for gain, for themselves,
that they might have a beautiful home, fancy clothes, a car, a
yacht, be able to travel all over the world. And there are those
who work just to survive. There are all types of reasons for
working. And in the beginning, man goes through all of these
various stages. As I have said many times before, he cannot help
where he is to a certain degree. He can to the degree that he has
free choice, free will. And whatever he chooses to do, he reaps
the reward or the punishment thereof. In that way, he can help
it….
…But when it comes to the last mile, when it‟s time for you to
pick up your cross and follow the Christ within yourself, to be
directed by that Savior, that son of man who is about to sacrifice
himself on your own cross in order that you might become the
Christed one, the enlightened one, then things change. And you
have to surrender yourself to Him totally. And those who are
ready, those forces within you, go with the Christ of paradise.
That‟s the good thief on the cross. But those who have been laggards, who have not gotten in and have done the work so that
love may be—what is it?—love is work made manifest. These
have a very, very tough time and they suffer.
Be Willing to Face Your Self
And so we wonder when we look at some of the lives of the
saints and see what they have gone through, what is the use of
going into it? And we avoid it through fear. We avoid it through
lethargy. We just don‟t want to get involved, because we don‟t
want to get hurt. We don‟t want to pay any prices. We want all
the rewards, but none of the punishment! And life is not like
that. Believe me. Every thought, every word, every action, is
written in the book of life. And those on the debit side will bring
the reward, and those on the credit side will still have to be paid
for, because those are the red ink ones.
And you have to, at some time or another, in some incarnation
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or another, face yourself, this human ego and do whatever is necessary to transform it into the divine, because that is the sole purpose for which we are put here, the sole purpose. Every man
comes with one religion, and that is to satisfy his needs, his
wants, and to avoid suffering. This is true, and we all know it.
But we‟ve got to be willing to go through a little pain, because
pain purifies.…
… But don‟t forget—if you want to be one of those who, as it
says here, “the chosen one,” the one to be called, then regardless
of whether you‟re first, last or in between, do not regret what
God has asked of you, but get busy. Get busy and work, because
even in the last few moments of an individual‟s life, if their consciousness changes then and they reach out for God, that is progress. And He will not refuse them. But don‟t wait until the last
minute. Do not wait until the winter of your life—because then it
describes in Saint Matthew‟s (I think it‟s chapter 24 or 25) what
happens if you wait until too late, because you have a much
tougher time going through it when you‟re older than you would
if you were younger. And think of all of the years that you
wasted: where you could be a true child of God; where you
could be an enlightened soul; where you could be spreading
God‟s word and doing His work throughout the world….
Be Inspired
… And we strive and we strive and we strive, waiting for the
promise. But that promise will never come. The payment will
never come, either for the one who starts to work in the morning,
or the one who starts to work at the last, until the effort is made.
The workers agreed to work. They agreed to work for a certain
stipend. And regardless of when they started, that‟s what they
got. They got what they had agreed to. So we must remember
that.
I wish that I could stimulate you. I wish I could inspire you
when I stand up here. I try my best, to get you to really go to
work, and find out who and what you are in God, to feel the
peace, the bliss of His everlasting presence. To feel the love of
God, not the human love, pour out of you and pour into you. It is
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tremendous, regardless of what you go through, still you have
this feeling. And you can call upon it any moment you want to.
You will never realize or know what life is all about or realize
who and what you are, until you make that effort. And you will
continue to be reborn, which you probably would like to do, because you like to be in this play—lifetime after lifetime, and go
through suffering after suffering, and with a little bit of pleasure
and a little bit of this and that and the other thing. And that is
your reward. And you still don‟t know what life is all about. You
have to rise above duality. You have to arise beyond the pair of
opposites if you‟re really going to make the grade.
Be a King of Spirit
And then when you do, you walk like a king of the spirit, not
of the human world, but a king of the spirit. And you feel God‟s
power. You feel His presence. You feel the wonder, the beauty,
the bliss that we are promised. That is the fulfillment of the
promise. But regardless—and this is the truth I tell you regardless of what any master has ever written or said—as long as you
are in the world of duality, you are going to meet with the pairs
of opposites. Nobody escapes it unless he goes to the Himalayas
perhaps and sits on a stone, and has somebody bring him his
bread and his milk. And even then, he has to deal with the elements.
The world is God. You cannot escape from God. You can‟t
say He is here, but He is not there. You can‟t separate God from
Himself because otherwise, He wouldn‟t be omnipresent, which
means His is the only Presence. You cannot say, “My intelligence and God‟s knowledge,” because everything is God. He is
omniscient. It is only His power. So you don‟t have any power
of your own, as separated from His. There is just God every
place. So if you want to go from here to there, you are still in
God. And wherever you go, you take yourself with you, in whatever state of development you are in.
And the thing to do is to stand right where you are, to measure
up fully, to face yourself and to gradually realize that the only
way out, the only way that‟s going to bring you true fulfillment,
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peace and happiness, is to fix your full attention upon God, surrender yourself to Him totally, accept every circumstance which
comes to your life as a blessing, and progress to that moment,
when you can stand straight and tall and say, “I am That I Am,”
and know it with everything that is in you, and yet walk through
the world. Walk the streets of life, without anyone else knowing
who and what you are in the Spirit….
Be His Shining Instrument
… And that‟s the thing that counts, because if you walk with
God, you have peace, you have bliss, you have contentment, you
have beauty. It all flows together in one beautiful pattern. So
work that you might be one of those that are chosen. Don‟t be
one of those that are left behind, because remember, that even
though you will never be left behind because all is God, and you
are part of Him, but you don‟t want to subject yourself to these
things, incarnation after incarnation. But you want to rise up.
You want to lift your eyes to the hills. You want to go up into
the mountain of your own being. You want your heart to open, to
expand, to include all of God every place, all of humanity. And
then be His shining, beautiful, wonderful instrument. And then
and then alone, will there be peace on earth, good will toward all
men.
Towards A Reverence of Approach
By John O’Donohue
…seeing that as I went, I left my beatitude behind me.
Dante, La Vita Nuova
When beauty touches our lives, the moment becomes luminous. These grace-moments are gifts that surprise us. When we
look beyond the moment to our life journey, perhaps we can
choose a new rhythm of journeying which would be more conscious of beauty and more open to inviting her to disclose herself
to us in all the situations we travel through.
Yet what you encounter, recognize or discover depends
to a large degree on the quality of your approach. Many of the
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ancient cultures practiced careful rituals of approach. An encounter of depth and spirit was preceded by careful preparation
and often involved a carefully phased journey of approach. Attention, respect and worthiness belonged to the event of nearing
and disclosure. In China they tell the story of subjects from
Mongolia who travelled vast distances to see the emperor. In
Beijing, they had to practice for months the decorum appropriate
to that moment of encounter. When the emperor finally passed,
they could not even look up. The whole journey was rewarded
with a mere glimpse of the emperor‟s feet. In the New Testament, a woman who had bled for years healed instantly when she
touched the hem of Jesus‟ garment.
Our culture has little respect for privacy; we no longer
recognize the sacred zone around each person. We feel we have
a right to blunder unannounced into any area we wish. Because
we have lost reverence of approach, we should not be too surprised at the lack of quality and beauty in our experience. At the
heart of things is a secret law of balance and when our approach
is respectful, sensitive and worthy, gifts of healing, challenge
and creativity open to us. A gracious approach is the key that
unlocks the treasure of encounter. The way we are present to
each other is frequently superficial. We become more interested
in „connection‟ rather than communion. In many areas of our
lives the rich potential of friendship and love remains out of our
reach because we push towards „connection‟. When we deaden
our own depths, we cannot strike a resonance in those we meet
or in the work we do. A reverence of approach awakens depth
and enables us to be truly present where we are. When we approach with reverence great things decide to approach us. Our
real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed
beauty in things. When we walk on the earth with reverence,
beauty will decide to trust us. The rushed heart and the arrogant
mind lack the gentleness and patience to enter that embrace.
Beauty is mysterious, a slow presence who waits for the ready,
expectant heart. When the heart becomes attuned to her restrained glimmerings, it learns to recognize her intimations more
frequently in places it would never have lingered before.
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In Memoriam:
Herlwyn Lutz and Billie Dennis
By Yogacharya David Hickenbottom
We marked the passing of our wonderful brother disciple, Herlwyn
Lutz. Herlwyn was loved by everyone who knew him: humble, truthful, sincere, and a disciple of Mother
Hamilton‟s since the early 1950s.
The memorial on Orcas Island was
packed, and heartfelt tributes came
one after another from the many
lives deeply touched by Herlwyn.
The words of his daughter, Mira,
wonderfully capture a glimpse of his
soul: “My father, Herlwyn Lutz, was
the greatest example of a man that I
have known. His life began with hardship but his eyes never
strayed from his search for the Divine and in the end he found
peace.”
We also remember Billie
Dennis, Mother Hamilton‟s
daughter. After a long illness
the family quietly marked her
passing. We remember Billie
for her quick laugh, her practical wisdom and her unstinting service to Mother. I know
that Mother greeted both Billie and Herlwyn as they enter
Billie with Mother
their new lives.
To honor those Kriyabans (those initiated into Kriya Yoga)
we are creating a new section on the crossandlotus.com website
that will highlight the lives of those who have dedicated themselves to Self-realization.
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The Divine Mother in Earthly Form
By Herlwyn Lutz
From the first edition of Memories of Mother, published in 2001,
I first met Mother Hamilton in
1953. 1 was a young college
student earnestly seeking a
deeper experience and wisdom than was taught by the
religion in which I was raised.
She was then minister for the
Seattle Center of the Self Realization Fellowship. Althea
Taylor, another disciple of
Yogananda‟s, introduced us,
having been told by Mother
several things about me that
she had received intuitively.
While testing by her appearance to see if I would not be deterred by externals, this remarkable woman‟s face shone with an
inner beauty that enhanced the outer beauty. Strength of character was softened by a motherly, but divine love that flowed from
her as we talked, gradually overcoming all my apprehensions
concerning doctrinal questions. I knew that I had found my spiritual teacher, later to be acknowledged by both of us as the commitment of a guru-disciple relationship (she was not previously
accepting disciples).
I attended the Sunday and mid-week services whenever I
could, which she and Father Hamilton would hold in their home
whether attended by many or only one. Sometimes I would stay
afterward on Wednesdays, and we would talk and meditate long
into the night. Wisdom and power flowed through her. Sometimes a radiance would fill the room. I would blissfully walk the
miles back to the college feeling as if my feet were hardly touching the ground.
Mother later told some of us that this time early in her ministry, was for her a feeling of great emptiness, a „dark night of the
Page 19
soul,‟ that was initiated by the passing of Yogananda to whom
she was so closely bonded. Yet no one could have guessed it, so
great was the love, power and wisdom she expressed. This was
the result of her complete dedication to God which marked her
actions all her long life. No matter how weak and wracked with
pain her body or distressed her mind with agonizing inner experiences, she would always fulfill her religious duties and unstintingly help those who came to her, determined always to be a
willing servant of the Divine. Never in her life could she remember being free from suffering. With supreme discipline of body,
emotions and mind, she would always be fully with those before
her, positive, gracious and dynamic, giving sympathy when
needed, and advice when asked, which might be to go within to
find one‟s own answers.
By example and counsel she always taught us to be practical
and while focused on God, to travel the Path in balance, seeing
Him in all things and people and to the best of our ability to express beauty and perfection in all we did. Another rare privilege
with which some of us were blessed was to have Mother explain
many of the inner experiences she was having over the years on
her path to Self-realization. This can have several adverse effects
for the seeker and is advised against by all masters. It was another example of her humility and supreme surrender to God‟s
direction as she would persist in acknowledging that sometimes
her latest experience seemed to contradict an earlier one, or individuals, caught up in their own illusions, would misinterpret her
motives or wrongly apply the information.
Mother and Father Hamilton, a wonderful soul and personality
in his own right, treated me like their own son in many ways, so
I was favored by spending time with them. It was wonderful and
sometimes humorous to see such strong personalities with
marked differences show such love and respect for each other.
Mother Hamilton was and shall always be my prime representative of the Divine Mother who lived one of the fullest and most
remarkable lives of any saint of whom I have knowledge. How
blessed I have been!
Page 20
When I Am Only a Dream
By Paramhansa Yogananda
I come to tell you all of Him,
And the way to encase Him in your bosom,
And of the discipline that brings His grace.
To those of you who have asked me
To guide you to my Beloved‟s presence:
I will warn you through my silently talking mind,
Or speak to you through a gentle significant glance,
Or whisper to you through my love,
Or loudly dissuade you when you stray away from Him.
But when I shall become only a memory, a mental image,
Or inwardly speaking voice,
When no earthly call will reveal
My whereabouts in unplumbed space,
When no shallow entreaty or stern stentorian command
Will bring from me an answer,
Then I will smile in your mind when you are right,
And when you are wrong I will weep through my eyes
Dimly peering at you in the dark,
And weep through your eyes, perchance;
And I will whisper to you through your conscience,
And I will reason with you through your reason,
And I will love through your love.
When you are able no longer to talk to me,
Read my Whispers from Eternity;
Eternally through that I will talk to you.
Unknown I will walk by your side
And guard you with invisible arms.
Mahasamadhi: March 7, 1952
And as soon as you know my Beloved
And hear His voice in silence,
You will know me again more tangibly
Than you knew me on this earth plane.
When I am only a dream to you
I will come to remind you that you too
Are nought but a dream of my Heavenly Beloved‟s.
And when you know you are a dream, as I know now,
We will be ever awake in Him.
Page 21
Page 22
Guru Focuses our Love
From the book, Thousand Names of Vishnu by Eknath Easwaran
(1910—1999), a spiritual teacher, author of books on meditation and
ways to lead a fulfilling life. Born in Kerala, India, he and his wife
founded Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in California.
Guru is a word that has come into the
English language to stay, but I suspect
that few know its actual significance.
Guru literally means “heavy.” A guru is
a person who is very heavy—so heavy
that nothing can unsettle his love or
push over her patience, no matter what
the storms.
In the modern world, very few can
claim this stature. Most of us behave
like wisps of straw or scraps of paper
that can be blown about by any gust of
passion. We seem just to react to what
others do. If somebody is angry at us, we feel justified in being
angry in return. Not at all. Those who are subject to resentment
or hostility or retaliation or revenge are not guru but laghu, light.
They have very little weight. If somebody pushes them, they
push right back, a little like mechanical dolls.
Here is where the guru is most helpful. By his steadiness and
unflappability, he shows us that we can endure the storms of life
without unkindness, and actually flourish on stress.
In India, no one in his right mind covets the role of spiritual
teacher. It is a very, very difficult job. Everyone knows how difficult it is to solve problems even in one personal relationship, to
move closer when things are going wrong. A spiritual teacher
has this kind of complication multiplied many times over. Only a
person who is completely established in spiritual awareness can
safely play this role, and only if he or she has perfect detachment.
When you realize the unity of life, as I said before, it means
that others‟ grief, others‟ problems, become your own. It means
Page 23
that there are always problems, there is always grief, for someone who has attained Self-realization: not personal problems, but
the burdens of those around you. So the role of guru is not free
of pain. But this pain is not borne supinely, for those who realize
God also have the capacity to relieve the pain of others. It is in
this that joy comes—the kind of joy that no money can buy, no
pleasure ever bring.
This name of God, Guru reminds us that that the real spiritual
teacher is in all of us—the Lord, our deepest Self. When we feel
attracted to a teacher, we are expected to scrutinize his life
closely and see that he embodies the highest ideals that all religions teach. Then, if he does, we should give him all our loyalty
and all our love; for it is primarily by focusing our love that a
spiritual teacher helps us to unify our consciousness.
Nama and Rupa
One man asked Shri Gondavalekar
Maharaj—”Is it necessary to bring to the
mind, any form of God while chanting?”
Maharaj replied, “Actually Nama and
Rupa (name and form) are inseparable.
Nama is Rupa, Rupa is Nama. Before
God‟s form, God‟s Name existed.”
He said, “Suppose, a man goes to the
railway station to buy the ticket to go to
a particular place. When he is at the
ticket-window he suddenly forgets the
name of the place where he wants to go. He says to the ticketseller, „I have suddenly forgotten the name of the place, but I
will describe [to] you the place.‟ Will he get a ticket without remembering of the place where he has to go?
On the other hand, there is another man, who knows nothing
about the place where he is going except the name of the place.
Will he get the ticket? Yes, because he knows the name of the
place where he has to go. Such is the importance of Name.”
Page 24
Blissful Abode
By Cate Koler
After a four-year absence I was overjoyed to return HOME to
Anandashram. The days before my January 22nd departure were
not without obstacles—both physical and psychological, but I
knew that it was right for me to once again make the long journey, especially as Larry was being sent for business and I would
be able to be there with him.
I had been a little uncertain about how I would feel being at
Anandashram without the physical presence of Swami Satchidananda, who had always been my central focus while I was
there. There was a difference—the thrill of Shakti whenever I
would see Swamiji was replaced now by a pervasive blissful
sense of his Presence. It was most felt in the Centenary Hall
which has now been set up as a place for silent meditation and
especially in the inner room which is a shrine to Swamiji. My
visit to that room on my first morning brought forth copious
tears (and yes, sobs as well) as the memories of my times with
Swamiji flooded my heart. I was awash with gratitude, for the
love and guidance he had bestowed on me; really, those times
were so treasured, among the best in my life. What a great, great
privilege to have been in contact with such a One!
But this has not changed: Anandashram is still an abode of
bliss where love and service, the corner-stones on which Papa
and Mataji built the
ashram are everywhere evident. The
love that I felt and
was shown me by
my dear friends at
the ashram flowed
freely and purely,
washing away time,
distance and differences. We were for-
Page 25
tunate that most of the
devotees we knew
best (too numerous to
name) were either at
the ashram or arrived
during our stay. We
were very happy to
spend time with
Swami Muktananda
and to experience a
spiritual retreat that he
conducted while we
were there—he is a sincere guide to devotees on The Path. We
were able to honor Mother Hamilton on her Mahasamadhi Day
by talking about her life and showing the Centenary DVD; her
spirit lives on at Anandashram.
We spent only two weeks at the ashram this time—my shortest
stay ever. We did, however, spend time in the mountains at
Wayannad, Kerala and in the city of Bangalore with ashram
devotees, enjoying satsang with them and
learning about the wonderful service projects
that they are involved in (see www.vset.org
and www.unnatiblr.org). We were thrilled to
see our old friends, Swami Vishwananda and
his dear niece, Ramamany who were overjoyed to see their “son and daughter” again. It
is indeed a love-fest when we are with those
in our spiritual family.
We also made a pilgrimage to the ashram of Ramana Maharshi
in Tamil Nadu (my second visit—last time in „98). It was wonderful to sit in the meditation room where one is instantly transported to a higher vibration and this time to visit both the ancient
temple (Annamalaiyar) of Tiruvanamalai and climb part-way up
Arunachala hill.
As always, I am so grateful to God and Guru for giving me the
opportunity for another trip to Mother India. May the blessings
bestowed on me increase my thirst for union with the Lord!
Page 26
Blessings from The Masters
By Reverend Larry Koler
Cate and I recently returned from a two week visit to Anandashram. There are many sacred places on this globe but for me
Anandashram is the most sacred of them all, it is the Center of
the Universe—that place from which all energy emanates. And
the central output is from the door shown below. This is the front
door of the ashram‟s Bhajan hall. This hall is at the top of a
small hillock at the base of Manjapati Hill, near Kanhangad,
North Kerala.
I received initiation from God here and He has been teaching
me within ever since. It is from this source that I have come to
know how God acts within me and within each one of us. I have
been taught over the years to have no fear of anything because
God watches over me each moment with great care and concern.
Now, of course, I still have fears and worries. But, this is just
because I am a poor student. Still, I have many times of upliftment and many, many times that I am certain that I am invulnerable and not at the whim of some caprice of nature‟s laws.
God does not work in any way except in accord with nature—
but nature is His creature—not the other way around. Nature is
so designed to bring forth every possible experience and meet
Page 27
every possible desire we can dream up. Everything in my life has
been dreamt up by me through the divine power that resides in
me. I can blame no one else and also no one else can get the
credit for that which I create and that which I experience. And
what I have already done is tremendous.
As men, we are all part of this world but we are not ruled by it.
It is ruled over and tended by us. We, as humans, are the manifold nature of God Himself. We are his fingers and he sees
through our eyes.
Each day, God whispers in my ears. He teaches me by reminding me—that‟s all. Nothing is withheld from me. I have a top
secret clearance. My beloved Guru gave me these credentials
that allow me access to the highest corridors of power. What else
could explain the unquestioned access I have to the secret rooms
of Anandashram?
Anandashram is not of just this realm. Within it is housed the
portal to all higher realms. The greatest secret I know is that this
place is run by a divine Person. This Person is so very mysterious and His one piece of secret knowledge is: who I am.
Swami Muktananda at the helm in the Ramana Building
There is—really—only God. Everywhere I look I see only
God. Everything I hear, I hear only God. Everything I know, I
know only God. And I know only this: There is only God.
Page 28
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
By Michele Rogan
Michele, Bellingham’s Center Leader, also wrote about Saint Kateri
in the Cross and Lotus’ June 2008 issue.
In December of 2011, Pope Benedict XVI announced that a Bellingham boy‟s recovery from a
flesh-eating bacterial infection in
2006 was a miracle due to the intercession of Saint Kateri, a Native American Saint who was born
in 1656. After detailed and rigorous examination of the information surrounding Jake Finkbonner‟s recovery by the Vatican officials, the announcement was made
on December 19th, 2011. The
process included turning over all
of the boy‟s medical records and
detailed interviews with family,
doctors, and clergy members.
Saint Kateri was beatified in 1980
by Pope John Paul II, and has now
met the stricter standard for Canonization. All the doctors who
Basilica of the National Shrine of
treated Jake agreed that there was
the Immaculate Conception
no medical reason for his recovery
and, at the time, the doctors prepared the family several times for
what they believed to be Jake‟s impending death. He had contracted Strep A, or necrotizing fasciitis, when he fell and bumped
his mouth in Kindergarten. The doctors were surgically removing damaged flesh each day to try and save him and he was
placed in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for two hours each day
to help slow the infection‟s progression. As Jake neared death, a
longtime family friend advised Jake‟s parents to pray to St.
Kateri for her intersession. The family is very devout Catholic,
and they have no doubt that a miracle occurred.
Page 29
Jake is now in sixth grade and has undergone 29 surgeries, but
is otherwise healthy. Jake and his mother went to Rome for the
Canonization ceremony and Jake was excited to meet Pope
Benedict. Jake is of Lummi descent and Native American Catholics are extremely happy about the news. Saint Kateri was born
to an Algonquin Mother and Mohawk father in 1656 near what is
now Aurisville, NY. She lost her parents and her brother to
Smallpox when she was 4 years old, and was left with facial
scarring and frail health for the remainder of her life. She was
baptized Kateri (Catherine) in 1676, and was ostracized by her
tribe as a result. She escaped and walked 200 miles, close to
what is now Montreal, Canada. Saint Kateri died in 1681 and
eyewitnesses reported that soon after her death, her scars healed
and her face became like that of a young girl. She is known as
“The Lily of the Mohawks,” and considered to be the patron
saint for American Indians.
I feel that this story is a very poignant reminder about the
power of faith and the fact that God and saints are working
through us every single day.
Center News
By Yogacharya David Hickenbottom
At the end of January we combined a Kriya Refresher with the
Mahasamadhi Anniversary of Mother Hamilton; in recent years
Kriya Initiations have occurred for new initiates in smaller
groups. The Refresher was open to all practiced Kriyabans to
deepen their meditation. Kriya Yoga is a sacred practice that taps
into the Supreme Power of Life. It is perfectly designed to
awaken spiritual awareness in the spine and the brain and brings
about perfect balance. Daily I am reminded what a tremendous
gift we have in Kriya.
Kriya Yoga is an instrument through which human evolution
can be quickened. The ancient yogis discovered that the secret of
cosmic consciousness is intimately linked with breath mastery.
This is India‟s unique and deathless contribution to the world‟s
treasury of knowledge. Sri Yukteswar (Mahasamadhi March 9th)
Page 30
From the Master’s Kitchen
One of the recipes originally published in Master’s Lessons
Pineapple-Coconut Cream
Crushed pineapple: 1 ½ cups
Vanilla: (few drops)
Coconut: ½ cup shredded
Maraschino cherries
Whipped cream: 1 ½ cups (see
below for substitute)
Photos by Mike Victory
Mix chilled ingredients and
serve in sherbet cups. Garnish with cherries and sliced pineapple.
Comments from our C&L chef, Angela Victory
With a child not eating
refined sugar or dairy at the
moment, I am on the
search for „treats‟ that are
free of these ingredients. I
found a recipe that is nondairy whip cream! It‟s just
chilled coconut cream,
whipped 20 seconds (kept
cold). I know Master
would totally approve of
this substitute for the dessert. I toasted the coconut
we used for color. The
maraschino cherry was
more decorative than edible but a fresh real cherry would have
also been pretty. I am a big fan of whipped cream, but this substitute was nothing less than excellent. The sugars are natural
and if I had fresh pineapple, I would have pureed it myself,
rather than using a can. This is a totally child-friendly recipe that
kids can participate in making and makes a beautiful summer
dessert.
Page 31
Happy Easter
Easter Represents the Birth of Christ Consciousness
Calendar of Events
Mar.
Apr.
May
June
7
9
19
6
8
13
10
28
17
20
Paramhansa Yogananda‟s Mahasamadhi (1952)
Swami Sri Yukteswar‟s Mahasamadhi (1936)
Spring Equinox (10:14 p.m. PDT)
Swami Ramdas‟ Birthday (1884)
Hanuman‟s Birthday
Easter
Mother‟s Day
Swami Sri Yukteswar‟s Birthday (1855)
Memorial Day
Father‟s Day
Summer Solstice (4:09 a.m. PDT)
Journal Editors: Larry & Cate Koler
At the heart of spiritual practice is a living experience. This
experience cannot necessarily be quantifiable through machines or observable facts. One must go into the laboratory of
experience in order to discover its real value. Spiritual experience is no more verifiable than the feelings of love, peace,
joy, happiness, and security. Yet, who in this world would
want to go through life without these feelings? Spiritual experience is at the core of what it is to be human.
Yogacharya David Hickenbottom
A great yogi consciously
observes through his
spherical spiritual eye the
various phenomena of death.
He sees his life-forces move
backward like a mass of
rolling light from the cells,
nerves, organs, and spine,
and then enter an astral body
that hovers over the inert
physical form.
Paramhansa Yogananda
God dwells in every being and
thing, however small, in His entirety and perfection. Think not in
terms of the individual, but always
in terms of the universal. Do everything for the sake of God. Then
your ego-sense will vanish and
you will realize you are the Universal Spirit—changeless, eternal,
infinite. This is your goal.
Swami Ramdas

The Cross and The Lotus Journal

Transcription

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