the cross and the lotus journal...the cross and the lotus journal page 3 dear friends, i have...

Reverend Mother Yogacharya M. Hamilton

Dedicated to the Realization of God and Service to Him in All Forms

The Cross and The

Lotus Journal

December 2009, Vol. 10, No. 4

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 sym-

bol 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.

Om-Amen. The Reverend Yogacharya Mother Hamilton

The Cross and The Lotus Journal 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]

© 2009 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.

The Cross and The Lotus Journal

Dear Friends,

I have learned much from speak-

ing to aspirants and devotees on a

daily basis. It is wonderful, really, to

see out through the eyes and experi-

ences of those striving to lead a

good life. God teaches me some-

thing from each one and of course

the deepest lessons are when I learn

about myself.

The other day a principle about

life and our take on events sur-

rounding us came to me like the

clarion sound of a crystal clear bell.

It is unavoidable to make judgments about people, places and

situations that surround us. Sometimes these judgments are sim-

ple preferences: I like the way they decorated that room. There

are times when preferences can involve emotional reactions giv-

ing them a stronger flavor: That music sets my nerves on edge,

like the sound of fingernails on a chalk board!

Judgment crosses a line into being judgmental when a prefer-

ence becomes the standard by which all must abide and you en-

tertain an intolerance for deviation. An emotional charge accom-

panies being judgmental that leads to frustration, demoralization

and rage. Besides these emotional charges the one who is judg-

mental is now psychically tied to the one(s) he is intolerant of

and even more importantly, he loses his connection with his true

Self. The ultimate price of being judgmental is separation

from God.

A simple example of someone showing up late for work illus-

trates how pernicious being judgmental can become. Imagine

you work in an office with a regular starting time. “Joe” comes

in late every single day. You work near Joe and daily you notice

this regular irregularity. You see it, others see it, yet the boss

seems to take no notice or do anything about it. Your resentment

grows about tardy Joe; eventually intolerance and even a seeth-


ing anger boils over as you minutely tally up the crime of his

lateness. In your obsession with Joe you lose your center, you

lose connection with God. What is more aggravating is that oth-

ers around you do not seem to be bothered at all! You feel more

and more isolated.

This is the way that a simple situation can ruin your days. Here

is the key to the principle I have observed. Without love for Joe,

you can work yourself into a state of misery that will make you

hell bent. Not a hell anyone has imposed upon you, it is a hell

you willingly entered step by judgmental step.

You must love Joe first, see God in him, and then you may ob-

serve Joe‟s behavior and not be ensnared by the relationship.

This love must be the active ingredient in every relationship we

have in order to be free: in family, work, friendship, marriage,

larger social and worldly issues. I have heard people talk about a

well known person as if they know them personally and they

have such venomous hatred dripping from their lips that you get

the feeling they would torture or kill that one if they had the

chance.

You must ask yourself, if you were on the receiving end of this

kind of scathing judgment, how would this feel to you—without

love, without mercy, without any sense of connection from the

one making a judgment about you? And here is the boomerang

side of this principle: the loveless sentence you would impose

upon another you will ultimately apply to yourself. Those minds

that are like sharpened knives become suicidal when they are

done with their homicidal tendencies.

Now, does this mean that you hold with no values, no firm

principles by which to guide your life? The answer is no. Discov-

ering and knowing physical, mental and spiritual principles by

which to guide your life is absolutely essential to leading a

moral/spiritual life. Moral principles become the bedrock by

which you purify the mind—this is dharma.

When you observe how another guides his or her life it gives

you a window into his priorities and values. You make your ob-

servation—Joe comes in late on a consistent basis. The next


train of thoughts: I have learned that being early really works for

me; I feel more relaxed when I get in; I oftentimes get a great

deal done when I am here before others arrive; and I feel good

about myself by keeping my agreement with my employer for

when to start. Then you remember a time when you were not a

timely person: I remember coming in late; I was cursing the slow

traffic on the way in; I felt a panic setting in when I realized how

late I was. I realized that I was anxious when I was late and I felt

stress when I was early. I knew then I had to change, and I did.

Then you relate to Joe as a part of yourself: I really feel for Joe;

while it bothers me some when I see him come in late, I know

from my own experience it is no fun for him; he is imprisoned by

his habit of being late and he will continue to be late until he lets

himself out of that prison by establishing a friendly relationship

with time.

In this case you maintain your value of timeliness, yet that

value did not separate you from Joe. Quite the opposite, you feel

connected with Joe, you wish better for him (versus wanting him

gone, dead or tortured!) and you can remain at peace while ob-

serving all of this.

You may say: But what I care about is really important, not

just someone coming in late! What this person does affects so

many others; I cannot relate to him at all; I certainly can feel no

love for him. However, the principle is the same in either case.

When you lose a loving connection with the other (the other per-

son, the other place or the other situation) you lose yourself and

you lose your connection with God.

I met a saint once who went by the name of Peace Pilgrim.

Peace Pilgrim walked 25,000 miles for peace, then 50,000 miles

for peace and she kept on going to her last day; she was a pil-

grim, an apostle, and a prophet for peace. Her aspiration was a

big one—peace for this world. She knew this would happen

through one person at a time learning how to come to peace with

him or herself first! There are those who advocate for peace, yet

it is clear they have not done the work to find peace within them-

selves first. This is improper, you are inasmuch saying: I can

husband my anger, my suspicions of your worst motives, but you


must disarm and let go of yours. As Peace Pilgrim well knew,

you have to come to peace within before you can positively af-

fect this world.

You take personal responsibility for yourself first: to find calm

within, peace within, and to find love within your heart for all

humanity. Jesus said that it is easy to love those who love you!

Anyone can do this. To love those who hate you, spite you,

would kill you—to love even then, that is how it would be

known that you are His disciple. It takes total purity of mind and

heart to exude a sweet fragrance even when the axe is used to

chop you down. Jesus took incarnation on earth in order to teach

this lesson; this same Truth came as a fresh realization that rever-

berates through me even now. It is Truth Eternal that you

must have love in your heart for one and all.

Now, are you ready to love all?

Ever in the Light,

Letter to a Devotee Thank you for your loving and tender note. What you describe

touches my heart. Of course the situations of your family mem-

bers are not only difficult for them but they reach deep into your

heart as well. As much as you would like their conditions to be

different than they are, there is only so much that you, or anyone

else, can do. When you feel your heart go out to them feel that it

is God who is expressing compassion through your heart; you

are the witness to what Divine Love feels for each of us. You

now feel an intimate communion with God through even painful

feelings of compassion; this gives you unending endurance of

compassion and this gives you an idea of what God feels for

each one of us in our own suffering.

In addition to being a witness to what is occurring in your own

compassionate heart you can also be a witness to the difficulties

of your family members. Make it your prayer demand to God

that if you are to do something (any serviceable action) that He

makes it clear to you; then feel you are His instrument in what-


ever service He asks of you. Turn the whole situation over to

Him, know that before you loved your family that He loved

them. When you do this successfully you will feel the heavy

weight of the sole responsibility come off your shoulders; now

the whole responsibility is with God and now you are an instru-

ment for His action.

When there is no particular action required, you can see and/or

feel your family surrounded in golden Light. Feel that this Light

is supporting them, giving them comfort, guiding and protecting

them. Every individual has freedom of will, so there is no forc-

ing them to accept this almighty Presence, but your prayer

through this visualization supports that living Presence in them.

(Contrast this to projecting worried thoughts and always think-

ing of how they are miserable, helpless etc.) Now you are not

only an instrument of service in the little things you can do for

your family but you are also an instrument of prayer. You are

also feeling that same Presence within you as this is filling your

own mind and your presence is also a blessing to them and to all.

It is not required nor is it helpful for you to feel miserable.

Your joyful feeling in Spirit is the greatest way for you to serve!

So you may feel great joy, even when you are feeling compas-

sion for those who do not have that same feeling of joy. There is

something inside of us that can feel guilty if we do not join oth-

ers in their pain. Think of yourself in some painful difficulty;

you do not need others to feel bad; you want their understanding

and you also benefit if they have a larger view of the situation

than you do in the moment. When you are feeling your connec-

tion with God you feel His joy; you also feel your connection

with all creation; therefore bliss and compassion are entirely

compatible.

You have, in fact, been in my prayers for your total and com-

plete recovery, that your physical health be perfect and your

spiritual health be glowing with His Light. May you ever have

that Light glowing within and be a blessing to all.

In the Presence of God and Gurus,


God’s Perfect Timing An Excerpt from a Talk Given by

The Reverend Mother, Yogacharya M. Hamilton

in Seattle on November 5, 1972

Mother Hamilton

To every thing there is a season, and a time to

every purpose under the heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 [Refer to verses 1-22]

Everything in its own good time

There is a time for everything, a season for everything. And in

all the things that it says in this chapter you can see the workings

of duality and that man must do everything in its own good time.

He must constantly keep his full attention upon God. He must go

inward in order to find God because Jesus has said that God and

the kingdom of heaven are within. And He made this statement,

know ye not that ye are gods. This is the truth. You are God in

human form.

But until you realize the divinity within your own being, until

you realize your Oneness with this eternal infinite Spirit then you


remain, as it says in here, as beasts, because it is the human ego

that acts and gives into its desires even as the beast uncon-

sciously does this. But man is born with that special gift of con-

sciousness, that special gift of judgment, of reason, of intelli-

gence, where he can go within himself and find his real Self—

which is to say, God. He can become a great being of light; he

can become a fisher of men…

Mother’s experience was universal

… Many think that because I have explained to you the things

on my own path, my own God-Realization, the things which

have happened to me, that you‟re going to have to go through the

same thing. Some shy away from it in fear. But I have told you

over and over and over again and I repeat it: you will not have

to go through what I went through because this was a special

thing that God asked of Himself in me—a very special thing

which was done on a universal basis. And therefore it was the

individual experience multiplied a million times or more. How

else could I teach you the truth unless I went through all of it in

the same way that it is pictured that the Christ went through in

there? [The Bible]

A man can only expect the fruits of his labors as it says in Ec-

clesiastes here and whatever you put forth this is what you reap.

Whatever you sow you reap. And so as long as he‟s content with

just the fruit of his labors—so long as he eats, drinks and is

merry; he does the things that he wants to; he takes his pleasure

but also he takes his pain—this is the way God will arrange it.

But the real individual, the real soul that wants God more than

anything in the world, that is willing to offer himself and all that

he calls his own, all that he possesses at the Feet of God—for His

service, that one then will rise above this animal state—which is

the human ego—and he will become the Holy Ghost, or the Di-

vine Ego, that One which still lives in a human body but there is

nothing there but God.

Every devotee will be tested

There is no time…there is no instance anywhere where a truly

devout and spiritual soul will not be tested. You will be tested


about your love for God; you will be tested about your love for

the Christ; you will be tested about your love for your guru. I can

assure you that this is true because I was myself for three long

years, and I went through hell with it because for eighteen years

I had been so glued to my Master that nothing or nobody was

important to me but God in him. Then, all of sudden, he tested

me. He didn‟t say a word to me, he didn‟t turn me away; he was

just as loving, he was just as concerned as he had always been,

but all of a sudden I just felt this division. And I was devastated;

I wondered what I had done, and I didn‟t realize what he was

doing. No word was spoken.

So I went down to Encinitas and I literally threw myself on the

bed and cried. And I searched through the Bible to try to find

comfort and no matter where I looked I couldn‟t find it because I

was no longer at one with my Guru. So when I finally went back

to Mt. Washington, I was paralyzed as I had been once before.

And he happened to be away that day and so one of the sisters

there came in and talked to me and they massaged me all day.

Nothing happened; I was just as cold and as rigid as could be. So

finally Master came back about a quarter to seven that evening

and they told him immediately of my plight and he sent word

down to me that he would pray for me but that he would not see

me that night. And within ten minutes I felt the blood coursing

through my veins just like a molten river of…whatever. It was

just on fire and for the first time I could move my limbs.

So the next night he called me in from dinner, as a matter of

fact; I‟d only started to eat—it was about six-thirty and we talked

for hours upon hours. And he took his shoes off and he asked me

if he could be comfortable. I said of course. And so we talked

and he told me many things which made me understand an awful

lot that I hadn‟t been able to understand before. And he ques-

tioned me very closely about what had brought this on. And

when I told him, he said a very strange thing, “If you had not

been affected, I would not have seen you again.”

Do not question what the Master does

So this was what I had to live with. And he had dealt with

some people in a way that I, as a human being, disapproved of


and I thought, why does he have to do this, here he’s God-

Realized; I just don’t get this. So I asked him about it and he said

that through my intercession he would grant both the people in-

volved special dispensation, which he did. But apparently, they

fouled it up later.

I have come to know, since I am in the position where I am

now, not to question what a God-Realized soul does—ever. I

have understanding now of what my Master was and what he

did; and that in everything that he did he was going, not accord-

ing to his own whims, his own human will, but he was going ac-

cording to God‟s direction alone. He was doing that which was

best for the individual—they needed that test; they needed it.

They needed whatever was handed out to them, and so did I.

And then, that same evening, all of a sudden, he took me in his

arms as I was ready to leave and he kissed me right at the Christ

center. And I was filled with bliss, as though I had had oceans of

wine or liquor to drink; only it was ecstatic. I was as one drunk

and when I turned away from him I could scarcely walk. And so

as I got to the door, he said, “Mildred”. I turned around and I

looked at him in a very dazed way and I said, “Yes sir?” And he

smiled at me so sweetly and he said, “I just wanted to look at you

once more.” That was the last time I saw him as I had known

him for three long years.

And while he never said a word to me, he put me through, in-

wardly, such tests, such experiences as you wouldn‟t believe. But

you see, my love for God was greater that my love for myself.

My love for my Guru stood out above my love for anybody or

anything because I knew that he alone was the bridge between

myself and the Infinite. That without him I could go no place, do

nothing because I knew that he knew God, and that he could help

me to that ultimate end.

Mother’s reason for going to India

And the fact that after his passing, I went to India—not to go

to another guru, to another master, but to get help for the work

that my own Guru had done. I thought I could get it so that what

he had written, what he had set up could be saved and I found


out that that wasn‟t God‟s will at all. He answered my prayer for

His work. But the way He answered it was to put me totally

through the Crucifixion in order that I might get my own God-

Realization, that I might become that Truth which he had taught.

So that they could throw all of the scriptures, all of the lessons,

all of the teachings—they could throw them away or burn them

or they could be put in water, didn‟t make any difference. To-

tally destroyed. And still, because my love for God and my Guru

was great enough, I came through that tremendous ordeal, even

unto death. And I stand before you now so that I can tell you the

living Truth of what you are in God. It‟s tremendous.

Mother’s experiences taught her the Truth

Now, each of these things happens in its own time. The great

thing that I did was to have total faith in God in my Guru. Be-

cause to me in the beginning—my beginnings were one in an

orthodox church…and the whole religious theme was on

Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. And the church mortgage—that‟s

the truth, time after time I heard that! And so, I had no idea, none

whatsoever of any of the things that I am now able to tell you. I

had never read about them (except I read Christ‟s experience in

the Bible, to some degree). I had never met anybody (besides my

Master) and I was not interested in going to anybody else, in

reading anything even, because I was so loyal to him. But it was

through that, through putting God and Guru above myself in

complete and total faith and surrender, that I am able to give you

the real Truth of the Christian Scriptures. And to tell you that I

am not the only one—as it has been presented that Jesus the

Christ who lived two thousand years [ago] was the only one as

far as the whole Christian faith is concerned—but that the Christ

is in every one of you, eternally living. In fact, He is that Life,

that Power, that Intelligence which is within you, without Him

you cannot move, nor live, nor breathe, nor have your being.

We do nothing of ourselves, not one God-blessed thing. But I

gave Him only this love. I was so busy with the experiences of

my life, which were so tremendous at that time, that I couldn‟t sit

in meditation—but my whole life was meditation. Because my

love for my Guru, and for God in him and the God that he taught


me to know was inside myself was so great that always I was

meditating upon Him no matter what I was doing—whether I

was getting a meal, or scrubbing a floor or washing diapers,

whatever it was, God was there. And my Guru was alongside of

me.

And finally, when I was in Washington, D.C. after his passing

and I saw the devastation which had come about in the two years

since that time, I sat in my hotel room and I cried my eyes out for

about two hours. And I prayed to God to use me in some way;

that I could right this terrible wrong so that all the years that he

had spent would not be in vain. And so this is what he did to me,

this is what he did for me and I regret not one tiny bit of it. I

would go through every bit of it again to be able to teach you and

to tell you that Truth, which in truth you are!

This is all God‟s life, every bit of it. And you are That. There

is nothing but God anywhere. And when you go up into the

mountain of your own Being and you come face-to-face with that

great Light of your own Soul, that living Reality which is God or

the Christ within you, you will know that I speak the Truth.

EXPECT A MIRACLE TODAY By Yogacharya David

Expect a miracle today:

Expect God to reveal Himself today.

Expect God to heal an injury today.

Expect God to fill you with peace and bliss today.

Expect God to bring solace to all those who mourn.

Expect God to be with you in your silent heart today,

and always.

Expect a miracle TODAY!


How Christ Consciousness Descends

Into Human Consciousness By Swami Yogananda (1932)

When Christmas comes, people usually think of buying gifts

for their loved ones. A few think of the beauties of Christmas

music and church services. Most people revel in the festivity of

the Christmas tree, with its

glimmering tinsel and the gifts

around it. It is good to celebrate

the birth of Christ with songs,

dinners, and the exchange of

gifts, but if material festivity

becomes the only purpose of all

the Christmas celebration, it is a

pity, and nothing is gained.

Let us learn how to make our

celebration of Christmas a real

commemoration of the holy life

of Christ, a truly spiritual and

uplifting experience. Once I

saw a shotgun adorning a

Christmas tree, and I remarked

to my hostess: “Madam, that

shotgun for your son is an insult

to the Christ who preached

„Thou shalt not kill.‟ A gun means death, murder, revenge,

brother fighting brother. For that reason it is out of place in the

celebration of the birthday of the „Prince of Peace‟.” The lady

took the gun away, and placed there a child‟s Bible instead. We

must remember that on Christmas Day we should exchange not

only useful gifts, but God-reminding gifts.

The original meaning of most religious symbols and holy days

is usually forgotten. Most people think of Christmas as an ordi-

nary festivity and forget Christ, the master of ceremonies. Christ-

mas and Christ are used for festivity, and the great spiritual sig-

nificance of Christmas is lost sight of. As in a picture show, the


principle attention for the audience is on the story of the picture,

and not on the music, so in Christmas entertainment, the princi-

ple attention is on the material celebration, and Christ, though a

most necessary part, is pushed into the background.

We should rejoice that such a holy Being as Christ was given

to serve as an ideal of perfection for deluded mankind to follow.

Indifferent, unconscious honor shown to Him will not do any

good. Christmas should be so used that it may materially, men-

tally, and spiritually give us at least a new impetus to start in the

Christ Path of Truth with the beginning of the new year.

Last year we tried to do this at the Self-Realization Mother

Center. A short description of the way we celebrated Christmas

will give some suggestions as to how spiritual people should

celebrate the coming of Christmas.

To begin with, we did our Christmas shopping early. Every

member, and all others invited to the Christmas festivity, re-

ceived a gift. However small in money value, it was rich with our

love. Everyone in our Divine family is considered closer because

of the spiritual tie, which is stronger than the material tie of com-

pulsion. We are gathered together in the name of our One Father,

and have recognized ourselves as children made in His image.

We knew that getting dinner for a hundred people, adorning

the Christmas tree, and making all the arrangements, would take

much time, and in the din of activity Christ might slip away un-

noticed from the altar of our attention, so the day before Christ-

mas we fasted on fruits and stopped all cooking. About forty of

us sat around the exquisitely decorated Christmas tree and alter-

nately chanted and meditated deeply, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

We ate a supper of fruit and meditated again until 11 p.m. As we

retired, many guests said: “We have felt Christ and God today.

We never knew before what the deep diving into Cosmic Con-

sciousness meant. Most of us swam on the surface of the sea of

silence, but never dived to get the beautiful pearls of God-

contact.”

Christmas morning we began with a meditation, and then the

final preparations were complete and the long-looked-for dinner


came. After that was the opening of the mystery packages, then a

closing meditation and singing until late at night. So it was that

our Christmas began in the Consciousness of Christ and ended in

His expanded Consciousness.

With the coming of Christmas, do not let your Consciousness

sink into the well of turkey dinners, exchange of gifts, dances,

festivities, and cocktail parties. A well of material thoughts is not

a fit place in which to celebrate Christ‟s birthday. Instead, take

your consciousness from the pitfalls of material festivities and

enter the secret door of silence with closed eyes to behold the

vast altar of peace spread eternally above, beneath, to the left and

to the right, in front and behind, within and without.

If you go deeper, you will meet Christ coming to you in His

burning robes of Bliss, like the rising Aurora, and your joy will

dance in every atom of space. Then open your eyes, behold your

little body and say: “The Christ-Peace is descending on the altar

of my thought, feeling, and devotion.” Meditate upon the state-

ment: “Christ-Peace is descending into every tissue and cell of

my body as health.”

Place Christ on the altar of your business and possessions. Say:

“I possess these things in Christ.” Then meditate on the state-

ment: “My Christ-Peace has descended upon every member of

my family, upon my country, and upon my world.” Behold

Christ-Peace descending upon your body, upon your possessions,

and extending to your neighbors, to all countries, and onto the

united altar of all hearts and all creatures. Let Christ-Bliss extend

from your body to all lands, to America, Asia, South America,

Europe, Australia, to the Solar System, to the Island Universes,

and to all Beings. Meditate upon the following: “My Christ-

Peace is descending upon every living thing, upon every living

star, upon every speck of matter and space.”

Celebrate Christmas upon the altar of the vast inner silence,

and upon the sanctuary of every desire, every living thing in the

world, and the Cosmos. Then will you know Christ as the Divine

King ruling the heart of all finite Creation.

Article from East West Journal, December, 1932


Renunciation From the book, In Quest of God by Swami Ramdas

December 27th marks the 87th Sannyas Day of Swami Ramdas.

Ramdas‟ heart heaved a deep sigh—a hazy desire to renounce

all and wander over the earth in the garb of a mendicant—in

quest of Ram—wafted over his mind. Now Ram prompted him

to open at random the book—“Light of Asia” which was before

him at the time. His eyes rested upon the pages wherein is de-

scribed the great renunciation of Buddha, who says: —

“For now the hour is come when I should quit

This golden prison, where my heart lives caged,

To find the Truth; which henceforth I will seek,

For all men’s sake, until the Truth be found.”

Then Ramdas similarly opened the “New Testament” and

lighted upon the following definite words of Jesus Christ: —

“And everyone that hath forsaken houses or brethren,

or sisters, or father or mother or wife or children or

lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred-fold

and shall inherit everlasting life.”

Then again he was actuated in the same way to refer to the

“Bhagavad Gita”—and he read the following sloka: —

“Abandoning all duties come to Me alone for shelter,

sorrow not, I will liberate thee from all sins.”

Ram had thus spoken out through the words of these three

great avatars—Buddha, Christ and Krishna—and all of them

pointed to the same path—renunciation. At once Ramdas made

up his mind to give up for the sake of Ram, all that he till then

hugged to his bosom as his own, and leave the samsaric world.

During this period, he was very simple in his dress which con-

sisted of a piece of cloth covering the upper part of the body and

another wound round the lower part. Next day, he got two

clothes of this kind dyed in gerrua or red ochre, and the same

night wrote two letters—one to his wife whom Ram had made


him look upon for sometime

past as his sister—and an-

other to a kind friend whom

Ram had brought in touch

with Ramdas for his deliver-

ance from debts. The resolu-

tion was made. At five

o‟clock in the morning he

bade farewell to a world for

which he had lost all attrac-

tion and in which he could

find nothing to call his own.

The body, the mind, the

soul—all were laid at the feet

of Ram—that Eternal Being,

full of love and full of mercy.

Remember Me

by Harriette deMers Rowe

Remember me when you see a bird flying

Remember me when the roses glisten with dew

Remember me, but only cry a while

for I am forever, always with you

Remember me but do not grieve,

‟twas God‟s will for me to leave

Remember me, but not in sadness, but in gladness

Remember me for all we shared, laughter and fun

For now, my purpose on earth is done

So—go your way, find a new tomorrow

Never think of me in sorrow

Make each day the best

Before you come to Heavenly rest

Remember Me


In Memoriam

Harriette Eugenie de Mers Rowe, 1911-2009 By Yogacharya David R. Hickenbottom

The first time I came to see

Mother I entered Bonnie

Barnowe‟s living room

(where Mother held services

at the time) and sat down in

front and off to one side.

When I looked across the liv-

ing room I saw an older

woman sitting on the couch

meditating. The thought

crossed my mind that perhaps

this woman was Mother Ham-

ilton. Then Mother came out

and it became very clear who

Mother was! When attending

Mother‟s talks in the next

couple of years I would take a

position on the couch and

quite often Harriette sat next to me; we would sit after Mother‟s

talk and meditate. We would then talk quietly about God and she

would reach out and hold my hand. She was always so loving

and kind; I remember her vividly as I think of those times now.

Harriet was a Kriyaban; she had a long career as a nurse, was a

mother of five, and had 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchil-

dren who called her G.G. (Great Grandmother). Harriette was

also an artist, a dancer, singer and a lover of nature. Mysticism

ran deep in her coupled with an independent spirit. In retirement

she travelled up and down the West Coast in her camper-van and

was an inspiration to and loved by many. When she left the body

on September 28th at 97 years of age, she had lived a long and

fruitful life.

Herlwyn Lutz told of a time when he, Win Smith and Harriette

traveled to southern California for a Kriya Convocation just after


Inscription in a book from Mother to Harriette

Master‟s passing. All went well until the trio were on their way

back. Neither Harriette nor Win was in favor of driving after

dark, whereas this was Herlwyn‟s favorite time to drive. The

morning after they stopped for the night Herlwyn left a note, his

car and two Kriyaban friends behind as he hitch-hiked home.

Much to the astonishment to all, Herlwyn made it back to Seattle

before Win and Harriette. No minor difference of this kind could

change the close relationship Herlwyn had with Harriette; right

from the beginning he felt as if Harriette was his sister, even

though she was nearly old enough to be his mother.

May God and the Masters bless Harriette in her ongoing jour-

ney to complete realization.


Being in Business with God By Peter Schultz

I‟ve had this thing about being a businessman since as long as

I can remember—since I was a little kid actually. I‟ve always

wanted to be a good one—you know—making wise decisions

building a huge financial empire as all those around you gather at

your feet to bask in your wisdom.

Great fantasy—the only problem is—it hasn‟t worked out that

way. The truth is I‟m a bit of an idiot. The ONLY reason I have a

business that supports my family at all is because I kept at it long

enough to overcome a mind-boggling series of amazingly stupid

mistakes.

So right now I‟m going to give you a million dollar piece of

advice you can use in your own business (or life). Ready? Here it

is: Every one of those mistakes was made about as far from a

God-conscious state as you can get.

Here‟s the opposite side of that statement: Putting your mind

on God means profit. Putting your mind on God means more

money, more love, more freedom, more great ideas, more well-

being, more laughter, a better life—not someday—but right now.

Yeah there‟s a recession on right now—so what? The only real

recession that exists is a recession in God consciousness. The

revenue for my business is down 25% since last year and after a

good deal of fretting and hand-wringing I finally found a solu-

tion. I sit at my little computer in my little office and...put my

mind on God. And you might be pretty amazed at what God

comes up with. Talk about a good businessman...

God has ideas—good ideas.

God has enough life force for you to get ‟em done.

God has a customer list that can swamp your business with

fresh new orders.

God will send you emails telling you how great your product

or service is swelling you up with the incentive to do even better.

If you want an awesome business partner, God is the one. God


will make you a fortune and most importantly—He‟ll make you

fortunate. Walk with God and you will become rich in every

good sense of the word.

Here‟s another trick. Scared about money? Hard time paying

your bills? Don‟t know what you are going to do? Spending a

few nights tossing and turning wondering how you got yourself

into this mess? Here‟s the trick—Put your mind on God. You

cannot put your mind on God and be scared at the same time. It‟s

impossible—I‟ve tried.

Have you ever seen one of those movies where the hero is

really down on his luck? Boy, his business failed—he lost all his

tools—his shop burned down—the poor fellow is homeless

walking down the road with nothing. And then it starts to rain.

And you are sitting there in the audience really rooting for

him. You want to shout, “Don‟t give up, you still have a chance,

keep going, you can make it!”

Well that‟s the way it is when you are down on your luck and

you suddenly strike up a conversation with God. It‟s not happen-

ing to you anymore—you‟ve stepped outside of the situation and

are watching the movie with God and you are shouting, “Don‟t

give up, you still have a chance, there‟s lots of things you can

do!” And God is right there with you giving you that feeling of

hope, and goodness, and riches in the idea world which, with His

life-force, manifest themselves here in the material.

Truth is—you can‟t do it WITHOUT God. Oh sure—there are

a few that are so trained in past lives and this one that they can

make a fortune in money, or build a big business without putting

their mind on God—but they will never be RICH. Not like the

God-Man.

I‟ve been focused on money my whole life and the richest peo-

ple I‟ve met are Mother Hamilton, Swami Satchidananda and

David Hickenbottom. They make the Rockefellers look like beg-

gars.

So if you want to have a great business and be rich—REALLY

RICH—go to God. There is „no other path except by Me, sayeth

the Lord‟. And He wasn‟t kidding.


Memories of Mother Roses and Chocolates

By Jerry Trofimchuk

When I first started attending church at the Victoria Centre, I

knew very little about what a Guru might be all about and noth-

ing at all about the Guru-Disciple relationship. In order to come

to some sort of a conclusion about what would be best to do and

what would be best to avoid doing, I observed the disciples who

had been with Mother Hamilton for a while to see how they car-

ried themselves and listened to what they had to say. Over time I

concluded that it was customary to bring a gift for the Guru and

that Mother especially seemed to like to receive roses and choco-

lates.

From that point forward, whenever Mother came to Victoria,

or if I went to Seattle to see Mother, I brought roses and, if at all

possible, chocolates for her. That was usually easy to do as flo-

rists are to be found everywhere and Victoria has at least three or

four fine chocolate-making establishments, each making a de-

lightful variety of first class chocolates that are suitable for such

occasions.

Perhaps one year after I started coming to church, Mother ex-

perienced a heart attack. This of course created a stir in the

group, with much anxiety and much discussion and of course

many prayers! At one point the idea was expressed that because

Mother had had a heart attack, it would be better not to give her

chocolates. The idea was expressed that it would be “for her own

good”, or words to that effect.

I thought about that for a short while and concluded that it was

a sensible and practical idea. A near fatal conclusion on my

part—that the disciple should think that he knew better what was

good for the guru, better than the Guru herself!

From the normal human perspective, and from a normal health

practices perspective, perhaps it would have been a sensible and

practical idea to stop giving chocolates to someone who had ex-

perienced a heart attack. But from the perspective of the Guru-


Disciple relationship there are just so many things wrong about

my deciding that I knew what was good for the guru in that in-

stance that they are too numerous and frankly too troubling for

me to list them here. And that is without even considering that

Mother had not experienced the heart attack for some personal

reason but rather that she was almost certainly working out

karma for the group or perhaps even karma on a Universal scale.

Nevertheless, having drawn my conclusions, the next time

Mother came to Victoria, I gave Mother roses, but in place of

chocolates, I gave Mother something else, I do not recall just

what that was anymore.

Mother was not happy. I think I could fairly say that Mother

was cross with me.

It was not the other gift that I had substituted for the usual

chocolates that resulted in this reaction from Mother. Rather I am

quite certain that she could see how I had come to this conclu-

sion. Mother was not happy with me and there was nothing that I

could do to change that state of affairs that day. I realized what I

had done, but there was no inner relief. I found myself in a state

of turmoil.

I made a firm resolve from that day forward that as long as

God gave me a sound mind with which to make decisions, I

would give Mother exactly what she wanted, to the very best of

my ability. And I resolved to banish all notions of knowing any-

thing at all about what might be good for the Guru.

If roses and chocolates were what Mother wanted, then roses

and chocolates she would get!

From the Mouths of Babes

God is like the air. You can’t see the air but you

know it is there. God is like that. You can’t see him

but you know He is there.

— spoken by a 4 ½ year old member of our spiritual family.

[We welcome other sayings about God or spirituality by children of

our extended spiritual family.]


Loon Lake Retreat By Yogacharya David

Once again

we gathered at

Loon Lake for a

retreat. We ex-

amined the eight

meanesses of the

heart based on

Sri Yukteswar‟s

The Holy Sci-

ence. During 24

hours of silence

we meditated on

the obstacles of:

hatred, shame, fear, grief, condemnation, race distinction, pride

of pedigree, and a narrow sense of respectability; searching for

the roots of these meanesses within. We then created an image of

ourselves without these obstacles and what life would be like

free of them.

It was intense and deeply satisfying work. We also enjoyed the

beauty of Loon Lake and companionship with our spiritual fam-

ily.


From the Master’s Kitchen One of the recipes originally published in Master’s Lessons

HONEY GINGERBREAD

Flour: 2½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour Baking soda: 1 teaspoon Baking powder: 1 teaspoon Ginger: 1 teaspoon Cinnamon: 1 teaspoon Allspice: ½ teaspoon Salt: ½ teaspoon vegetized Cream: ½ cup Brown sugar: 1 cup Egg: 1, well beaten Milk: 1 cup Honey: ½ cup

Sift flour, measure; sift again with baking powder, soda,

salt and spices. Combine cream, sugar and egg. Combine

milk and honey. Add cream mixture and milk mixture alter-

nately to dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour into well-oiled

shallow pan. Bake in moderate oven 30 minutes.

Comments from our C&L chef, Angela Victory:

I substituted coconut oil for cream and almond milk for

cow‟s milk. The coconut oil combined really well with the

sugar—once they were creamed together, I added the egg. I

did take the time to sift the flour because this adds air and

changes the weight. I cooked the cake longer—this will vary

Ph

oto

s b

y M

ike

Vic

tory


because of the pan size. What I loved about baking this cake

is the wonderful depth of spices. I had fun playing with the

combinations of spices, like doubling the ginger and adding

a dash of white pepper. This is a wonderful cake to serve at

Christmas with a cup of tea or chai in the spirit of Master.

Extras: While Aiden was eating his cake and sipping on

Bengal Spice tea, he said “gingerbread chocolate cake!” This

got me thinking that ¼ cup of the flour could be substituted

by ¼ cup of cocoa powder—turning it into Honey Choco-

late Gingerbread.

Journal Editors: Larry & Cate Koler

Calendar of Events Dec. 21 Winter Solstice (9:45 a.m. PST)

25 Christmas Day, Mother Hamilton‟s Birthday (1904)

27 Swami Ramdas‟ Sannyas Day (1922)

Jan. 5 Paramhansa Yogananda‟s Birthday (1893)

22 Mother Krishnabai‟s Mahasamadhi (1989)

31 Mother Hamilton‟s Mahasamadhi (1991)

Feb. 17 Ash Wednesday

26 Yogacharya David‟s Birthday (1954)

Mar. 7 Paramhansa Yogananda‟s Mahasamadhi (1952)

9 Swami Sri Yukteswar‟s Mahasamadhi (1936)

20 Spring Equinox (10:31 a.m. PDT)

30 Swami Ramdas‟ Birthday (1884)

Apr. 4 Easter

After he [Ramdas] started

chanting the Mantra given by

the Guru, within a very short

time he reached a state of mental

exaltation and elevation full of

light and peace so much so that

at times he used to lose himself

in a supreme consciousness for-

getting the body. He was repeat-

ing the mantra incessantly, al-

most throughout day and night.

God did all these things for

Ramdas.

Swami Ramdas

If all the people of the world

chose to renounce worldly life

and to enter jungles to find

God, cities would have to be

built there too, and industries

founded, or people would die

of starvation, exposure, and

epidemics. Final freedom must

be found not in the avoidance

of life‟s problems but by

activity in the world with the

sole purpose of working for

God.

Paramhansa Yogananda

The good-time yogi shows up when the sun is shining and the

going is easy. When trials come, the sun darkened by black

clouds and portents of difficulties are present the good-time

yogi lacks commitment and turns away. Only the yogi who

stays true in good times and bad will achieve the goal; for

each season is necessary to make the heart pure.

Yogacharya David Hickenbottom

Mad

onn

a an

d C

hil

d—

Art

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