The Cross and The Lotus Journal

Transcription

1 Failing to learn from experience dooms us to be stuck in endlessly repeating patterns. Too much pride, too much shame, or a simple lack of curiosity blocks learning. Becoming the detached witness gives us access to calm intuition our best teacher. We are designed to be learning machines observe this trait in innocent children it is the key to all growth emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. So, be always ready to learn from everyone and everything. Yogacharya David Hickenbottom The Cross and The Lotus Journal June 2018, Vol. 19 No. 2 With the aid of a scientific technique of pranayama, the yogi is at last victorious in reversing the outwardflowing life energy that externalized his consciousness in the action of breath, heart, and sense ensnared life currents. He enters the natural inner calm realm of the soul and Spirit. Paramhansa Yogananda The greatest acquisition of human life is Divine love. Divine love is the love for the Lord seated in the hearts of all beings and creatures. This love is attained by the devotee in the first place only through the realization of the Lord in his own heart. Swami Ramdas Dedicated to the Realization of God and Service to Him in All Forms David, during his year of silence at Cloud Mountain. The image of Babaji behind him was installed in a special grotto in remembrance of his time there. Our Guru Lineage

2 is published by The Cross and The Lotus Publishing U.S.A. Website: 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 2018 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. Journal Editors: Larry & Cate Koler Page 39 A Call for Contributions In addition to Davidji s Dear Friends and Letter to a Devotee, Mother s talk, and lately the column, As Told by Mother, the journal includes some articles by our regulars: From the Master s (Mother s) Kitchen, Yoga and Health, (returning in September) and more recently, Minister s Message. However, over the years, we have begun several other regular features which are meant to be written by devotees like you! We are always encouraging new writers to contribute our readers tell us that it is very meaningful to hear from other voices. Please let us know if you would like to contribute an article under one of these titles/themes: Memories of Mother; Stories of a Godman (woman); In Business with God; or From the Mouths of Babes/ Wisdom of the Young. We are also happy to receive poetry, a writing about your pilgrimage, report on a satsang/ retreat/center news, biography of a saint, a meaningful episode in your life, a spiritual book or movie review etc. Notify the editors. Center News Geraldine Di Cicco is the new Center Leader for the Vancouver area. Services are Sunday evenings at 7 pm. in Burnaby. Calendar of Events June 17 Father s Day 14 End of Ramadan 21 Summer Solstice (9:24 p.m. PDT) July 1 Canada Day 4 Independence Day (U.S.A.) 25 Babaji Remembrance Day 27 Guru Purnima Aug. 15 Swami Ramdas Mahasamadhi Day (1963) Sept. 19 Mother Krishnabai s Jayanti (Birthday) (1903) 22 Fall Equinox (1:02 PM PDT) 26 Lahiri Mahasaya s Mahasamadhi Day 30 Lahiri Mahasaya s Birthday

3 Page 38 From Mother s Kitchen A lovely cookbook of Mother Hamilton s was passed along to me: The COOK is in the PARLOR by Marguerite Gilbert McCarthy, published in Angela YOU can be a guest at your own dinner party by following this advice on how to prepare unusual meals and relax and entertain at the same time. Oranges with Almonds Peel 6 oranges and separate into sections. Place in a glass serving bowl and pour 1/2 cup of honey over the oranges. Chill. Sprinkle liberally with shredded almonds. Comments from our C&L chef, Angela Victory A refreshing after dinner dessert cold oranges on a hot summer night! I suggest using your best china plate. This plate belonged to Honor s Mother. This dessert is best enjoyed by handing a fork to each person and sharing outside on the patio table in your garden, with bees buzzing by and birds chirping in the background. I refrained from using the 1/2 cup of honey but did drizzle 1 tbsp. over the fruit. Shredded coconut could have been a finish option too. Wouldn t it be special to have Mother Hamilton as one of your garden party guests? A quote from Davidji: Once, I heard someone talking to Mother about living on air only as an ideal, and she said she wanted nothing to do with this; she enjoyed eating good food! Page 3 Dear Friends, Being householder-yogis, it is essential that we not lose our way in the world rather we should fly straight as an arrow to the goal of goals. While realizing God is our great goal, still in everyday life we perform tasks that fulfill necessary functions, some to simply live in a body while others are tied to various fulfillments that resolve karmic ties. In the greatest sense, all tasks are one, because everything we do, from the mundane to the highest spiritual experiences entails saturating every action with Godremembrance and God-experience. When you wake in the morning you remember God, then meditate upon the Divine Presence, and then you enter into the world that is when you face the greatest challenges to remember God. All through the day your mind is faced with choices, for the world demands its share of your attention. Even if you are a yogi living in a cave you will go to town at noon to beg your meal. In doing so you encounter people and their reactions to you, so it is very difficult to escape the pull of the world, no matter what life you live. I was talking to a long-term Western devotee while at Anandashram. Our conversation was focused on the topic of constant God-remembrance. He was saying he could not imagine being at work and thinking of God; there was too much that demanded his attention. I assured him that while it is true that the world can invade our inner world with its stimulations and demands, with practice we find that carrying God with us into our day actually makes us perform at a higher level, due to feeling calm, more centered in the Self, and having greater access to intuition. Being other-centered, allowing the demands and influence of others draw you away from being Self-centered is a recipe for losing your balance and, as a consequence, feeling worn out and beat up by the end of the day. Once while meditating, the topic of tithing came to my mind giving the first fruits to God. I thought of applying this principle

4 Page 4 Page 37 of giving my first thoughts to God all through the day, which in turn directs my life-energy to right action. I vowed to give at least ten percent of my attention to God in every moment, all through the day. As I enacted this practice I discovered that the great majority of tasks, maybe all of them, do not require one hundred percent of my attention. While driving, walking, even talking to others I could keep at least ten percent (and most times a great deal more) of my attention going to God-remembrance. As this practice of giving the first ten percent to God deepened I realized that the very life-energy that flows through me comes only from God, is imbued only with God. I cannot think, breathe, act or do any God-blessed thing without sacred Spirit as lifeenergy flowing through me. By connecting the flow of lifeenergy with God then all thought, all speech and all actions are all products of God, and staying aware of this most basic fact makes me fully God-conscious all through the day without a break. It is such a pleasurable practice that I was most grieved when it was forgotten. This blissful remembrance made this practice an immediate necessity and a delight. In initiating the practice of giving the first fruits of your mind to God, you continue to fully live your life. As such, you are faced with money challenges, meeting someone toward whom you feel a sexual charge, or situations in which you feel stress, shame or the hundreds of other responses. Simply going about the business of living life, the world seeks to exclusively grab your full attention. Your challenge is to engage in this world, but secretly keep your attention on the Divine. This spiritual practice of God-remembrance is what is described in the spiritual classic, the Bhagavad Gita, found in the epic poem Mahabharata. Like all great sacred stories, it is a description of what an aspirant goes through in their spiritual journey to realization. Arjuna is the ideal devotee. Only he, like many of us, while on the field of battle with the ego and the pull of the senses, loses his will to battle those human tendencies that keep him from realizing God. Duryodhana is Arjuna s cousin and symbolizes lust and material desire. Duryodhana seeks to rob Arjuna and his brothers of their rightful kingdom and precipitates a war against them. This is the battle Arjuna is wanting to avoid, and it is the dilemma of every devotee when faced with either attraction or this is an easy one I have faith in humanity or I have faith that all will work out in the end. But this feeling lacks a physicality within my body. Trust on the other hand I can feel so strongly within my heart. Unlike the optimism found in faith, trust isn't given away so freely, it has to be earned. Trust has intimacy, it feels sacred and very personal. Our dear Guru lead us through exercises where we had to look at fears and bring along our trust in God. In the past I believe I have done this but back then I brought along my faith, not my trust. This time bringing trust along the result was a completely different sense of security. Not some out there intangible experiential feeling. This time I felt God right there, rock solid, in the center of my chest, a physical presence that I could hold on to. My miracle at Loon Lake was bestowed upon me. I had learned to truly TRUST GOD. My entire perception of the world had changed. My shoulders relaxed, my breathing was calm, and I knew that whatever happens from this day onwards, I can handle it all with Trust in God. House Blessing for Sarah Garland A joyful Sarah in her newly dedicated condo. Rev. Jill conducted a blessing for Sarah s new home in White Rock, B.C. Devotees enjoyed a social time with delicious food after the service.

5 Page 36 Trusting: Loon Lake Miracles By Andrea Cihelka I find myself counting down the days until the Loon Lake Retreat. My mind rushes ahead to the beauty of the lake, the coming together of my spiritual family, the delicious meals prepared for me, and some much-needed time away from my busy life. While all of these things are wonderful and are the makings of a lovely trip away, even more so there is an electrified energy of anticipation. What gift will God bestow on me at this retreat? The theme for the retreat was: A Meditation Trust in God. Throughout the workshop I learned and, much to my surprise, felt the difference between faith in God and trust in God. On the surface they seem one and the same, but such is not the case. Faith for me is an outward feeling. Being a natural optimist, Spring 2018 Group The author, Andrea is just right of the flowers. Page 5 repulsion to the things of the world the crisis comes when the aspirant would rather not engage in the battle with the senses. How many times do we step away from complete surrender to God for fear of losing material advantages, a social position in family or in life, or a sexual/romantic relationship? Everyone has a soft spot, some Achilles heel that can lead to a downfall. The fact that there is a struggle with the ego, and its minions the senses, is not the problem; everyone struggles with this during sadhana. Rather, it is giving in to temptation and then justifying it that condemns us. Arjuna argues with Krishna, saying he wants to run away from the field of battle in other words, giving up to lust and greed, not taking a valiant stand against them. But, and this is the key thing for Arjuna, he turns to Krishna, the inner Christ, for answers. He listens to Krishna/Christ s teachings, and he ultimately surrenders to him and passes the test. And Arjuna is tested, really tested; he loses strength, he cannot hold his arms up and his legs cannot support him as his body collapses he is unmanned and cannot go on. Even in that moment of complete weakness he turns to the Lord. And this is our lesson; this is what we must do when we find ourselves in Arjuna s position if we are to go all the way to complete God-realization. It is the same test that Jesus faces in the Garden of Gethsemane when he too wishes to quit the field (let this cup pass from me.) Throughout Jesus intense struggle he keeps his mind on his Heavenly Father and in the end his surrender to God is complete. And what if we fail the test, if we give into the temptation? Then, it is not simply what we have done, but what we do next. Those who out of pride or shame seek to hide what is done, justify it, find fault with others for a personal failing, lose all faith in God and guru because the test has been severe, these ones pass out of the crucible of testing and live life, but no longer live it fully. A part of them, the most important part, dies as if it had never been. It is like the man climbing a mountain, and at so many points before he peaks he thinks only of turning back and descending. Turning down hill is such an immediate relief from the tremendous strain of continuing the climb. At first it feels so good, and the view is much the same as he comes down, but gradually the descent limits the vistas, the blue skies are exchanged for jungles and swamps.

6 Page 6 Page 35 It happens imperceptibly at first, and initially it does not feel like the wrong thing to do (Arjuna even quotes scriptural texts to Krishna to justify why he should leave the field.) But then the nature of the disaster grows life loses its greater meaning, a kind of dullness and ultimate purposelessness envelops the soul until finally, in this lifetime or some other, an inner kindling of restlessness re-awakens, a desire for what is more grows. The battle is once more engaged; nothing will do but to go all the way. With renewed purpose the devotee-soul enters the great game to go beyond the things of the ego-mind and know God alone. Truly the great battle demands everything from us. However, to not engage in it fully when it calls to us is to live in regret. Let us save ourselves from that suffering and determine that there is nothing more important than to know God. To keep that focus, to fly straight to the goal and settle for nothing less than complete realization will ensure that you will hear from your Heavenly Father, This is my dear child, in whom I am well pleased. Letter to a Devotee Dear, I have been thinking of your heartfelt letter and all the changes in your life, getting used to an empty house etc. Here is my train of thought as I think of you making this transition from, what the Vedas describe, as moving from the second to the third stage of life. Changes in life, even good ones, bring a certain amount of uncertainty with them as we face the unknown. Transitions come in many forms the Vedas give us an outline of four broad stages in life. The first stage is that of the student traditionally that meant going to an ashram to learn not only the basics of education, but also how to live a spiritual life that fulfills individual karmic duties and attain complete realization of God. The next stage comes after graduating from being a student; it begins with entering a career, then marriage and children. This is a busy and demanding time of life that emphasizes service to the Everyone then enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner and God granted us a warm, sunny afternoon in the lovely front yard garden where we all sat and soaked up the bliss and love of God from our beloved Guru. It was a wonderful time shared by all and a loving tribute to a special and cherished devotee who will continue spreading her Light of God to those at her new home. Thank you, Dianne for all of your love and service and God s blessings in this new chapter of your life. Wisdom of the Young By Angela Victory When God hid my keys from me, I wanted to be frustrated but then God showed me why I was not able to leave...a perfect moment to be available to listen to my son, Aiden. He came to tell me a story about a very disrespectful gamer online who would swear at his mom, saying mean things to her and who treats other fellow gamers in a racist way. This boy was part of an online group that Aiden chats with that included his best friend. Aiden drew a harsh line. He blocked the guy and told his friend if he didn t block the gamer too, that Aiden would not be gaming with his best friend either. He told me it s NOT OK to talk to your mother like that or anyone. Although the boy was not rude to Aiden and accepted him and his best friends as equals, Aiden was firm and confident that he wasn t willing to associate with anyone who allowed this person a place to speak so unkindly to others. Unacceptable language. Super good news about the best friend, as he agreed to block this person too! Thank you, GOD for guiding them to have the foundation of right action while they navigate this modern world. Therefore, live among the wise, who are understanding, patient, responsible and noble. Keep their company like the moon moving among the stars. Words of the Buddha

7 Page 34 A Loving Tribute By Carla Hickenbottom With great gratitude devotees gathered together in loving appreciation for Dianne Tipton and her service as Center Leader in Maple Ridge as she and her family will be moving to eastern British Columbia. Dianne has been having kirtans for over twenty years and once she became a Center Leader she always scheduled a kirtan before service at her home. She is a very devoted, loyal and important part of our spiritual family and her dedication to God and Gurus is an example and inspiration. We all met at Dianne s daughter s home for a wonderful celebration of Dianne s love, commitment, and service to this path. Devotees from Maple Ridge and Bellingham gathered around for chanting, and an uplifting talk by David about Rajasi, Master s beloved disciple. He then spoke about Dianne s wonderful service which was followed by friends sharing their appreciation and gratitude for Dianne as Center Leader, her warmth, her friendship and her inspiration. Page 7 world through family, work and community. With the eventual fulfillment of career and family the next stage stands before you. For over half your total life you have given yourself to the world as a student, a professional and raising a family all the way to seeing the independence of your children. Now comes the opportunity to turn inward in order to know God more completely. Through pilgrimage and practicing sadhana you, the aspirant, increasingly leave the world behind. A gradual awakening results as you are established in spiritual consciousness. Climbing the steps of Self-realization you gain the certain knowledge of who and what you truly are as this realization becomes fully embodied in your day-to-day life. You enter the fourth stage as you are fully established in Divine Consciousness. As described in the Vedas, in this fourth stage living becomes very simple. As an individual, a married couple, or living in a small community you reduce your outer life to its prime simplicity and you yearn to remain immersed in the bliss, light and love of God. At that point you are not as concerned with cognitive learning, for the reasoning mind has been transcended and new horizons are explored through intuitive perception. Family and occupation is transformed into something new, as all humanity is now seen as your very own family. Your occupation is primarily transmitting your inner light as a blessing to the world. Even the pilgrim-seeker in you is now satisfied, as you have found that which you had sought your completeness is not out there, but fully within you. Succeeding generations become the new students, they will found their own families and enter into service to humanity through new occupations. Society refreshes itself as new generations begin their intensified spiritual search, and those courageous ones will rise to the pinnacle of life to be perfectly established in his or her God-self. Each generation leaves its legacy, and to be fully awakened to the highest realization of God is the greatest and best use of a life and lifts new generations to come. These stages of Vedic life are the means of living a fulfilling incarnation each step of the way and become the way for attaining the supreme blessing Self-realization. Moving into each of these steps entails a transitional period that requires your complete mindfulness of what you are leaving behind as you depart

8 Page 8 Page 33 from the previous step, as well as boldly stepping into exploring what you may become as you enter the new. To be fully conscious as you move to the next step will ensure that you are perfectly aligned with your purpose in life and helps lead you to your ultimate fulfillment oneness with God. With all love and blessings, Babaji Remembrance Day July 25th. Master initiated Mahavatar Babaji Remembrance Day. We offer these quotes as inspiration and a blessing from our great Param -Para-Guru. The Mahavatar is in constant communion with Christ; together they send out vibrations of redemption, and have planned the spiritual technique of salvation for this age. The work of these two fully-illumined masters one with the body, and one without it is to inspire the nations to forsake suicidal wars, race hatreds, religious sectarianism, and the boomerang-evils of materialism. Babaji is well aware of the trend of modern times, especially of the influence and complexities of Western civilization, and realizes the necessity of spreading the self-liberations of yoga equally in the West and in the East. ************ Whenever anyone utters with reverence the name of Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya said, that devotee attracts an instant spiritual blessing. Paramhansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi There are a couple of Sanskrit terms that describe a Godrealized soul. One is an avatar. Perhaps most of you have heard of these terms. An avatar is one who, like Babaji, is able to assemble the atoms of space and create a physical form. These are ones who are like guiding lights to help us, to help struggling humanity and the destiny of this world. They can assemble the atoms of space and take on a physical form and dwell among us. Mother, from a talk given in 1980 ple words, my mouth moving not at my will; I was hearing crystal-clear sharp mental thoughts, God s choices coming through me. I found it interesting that I could feel a little bit of my personality shining through but not at the volume I m accustomed to when operating from free will. That night when I laid in bed, I felt an overwhelming excitement. I recognized this feeling from before when I heard God tell me to give to a family in need. I related this feeling to God s work, in different forms, a welling-up feeling of love and happiness, savouring that feeling of gratitude to God s direction. It s a lovely feeling. A smile across my face as I drift off to sleep. I love the flowchart: aware of the vision>mind turned in to feel the details>showing up for work by organizing the date, time, location>on site, allowing God to guide my eyes, hands, mouth and ears>surrendering because He can continue to the manifested stage of the physical reality. Following these steps has given me a lesson in being in business with God. God s French door is magnificent!!! It is exciting to go to God! The adventure of discovering God within yourself is the greatest adventure in the world! It s so exciting, because it embraces not only this world but all worlds, all people! Every single business, every single creative art there is! You are what you experience when you are in business with God. Mother Hamilton, 1978

9 Page 32 In Business with God When you are in business with God, you are in business with the whole world. Mother Hamilton By Angela Victory When in business with God... First the vision of a doorway and the movement of passaging into a newly built room reserved for the dedication of God s creative flow. Then the described details come as a feeling warm light refracting through the beveled glass door that had lived in a previous home with a golden handle touched by God s children. Where does this door exist? I asked God. I arranged the day, time and location. God arranged the sunshine, no pending commitments and a trusted source as to where I could find used doors. It was a big deal for me to build the door, I was out of my comfort zone, and to be honest, I was very overwhelmed by making these concrete choices, but I had a Partner that could guide me along if I let Him I let go and let God. The door event took place, it was fun and draining (draining because of the energy from all the items there with history, psychically and emotionally pulling me around.) I kept God close, staying aware to not tense up, to let go and let God; He would come to mind as I moved through the details. Then when back in my car, that cozy place of safety, with water to drink and the sunshine to drive home in, God came to me as I reflected back: The sensations of my ego-self showed up first. I had some feeling of doubting myself. Did I make good choices? Maybe I should have done it differently? Allowing the nattering to surface and then, through a gateway wide-open as God filled my heart with love, attuning to Him, I realized that I had been in a partnership with God and we had been working together beautifully. I took His direction to go to the location, I used my eyes to look at things God s eyes looking through my eyes; hands to guide me through many doors God s hands helping me choose by feel; talking to people (out of my comfort zone at this location) God again using me to speak God-words, calm and sim- Page 9 Some Treasure of My Own By Paramhansa Yogananda Whatever I tried to give You, I found was Yours So I threw away the flowers from the altar, I put out the candles in the temple That I may offer You some treasure of my own. Searching on the paths of my heart I found Some perennial plants of my innate craving for You, For You are mine, and tis my free choice to love You as mine, Even though love came from You and was Your gift unto me. I know since You gave me Your love that love was no longer Yours, So I want to love You with Your given love, now belonging to me alone. Alas, I know Your gift of love was not given with command to love You alone, I could have used Your love, loved only Your gifts forever, Or saturate love in the material life. Now I will pick the flowers of love growing on the perennial plants of my soul treasure amidst the garden of incarnations, And lay them in the temple of Your heart for they alone are mine. Of my own accord I love You, Through my own desire I prefer You to Your gifts, And I will use my free choice to offer You all my love, To You alone and nothing else. You are mine. You must receive what s mine. [Mother read this poem by Master during her talk, The Christ in We were not able to find a copy of this original poem so have taken the liberty of punctuating and formatting it.]

10 Page 10 The Inner Kingdom An Excerpt from a Talk Given by The Reverend Mother, Yogacharya M. Hamilton in Seattle on May 17, The Bible Reading is St. Luke, Chapter 12, verses Outer Creation is also Within This inner kingdom that we have is such a tremendously marvelous, mystical thing of God s creation that it is difficult for us to comprehend in the worldly consciousness with our worldly mind. But yet we have the kingdom of heaven within us and the kingdom of earth. It is up to us whether we want to live in this kingdom of heaven or solely in the kingdom of earth. We can make this earth a heaven or we can make it a hell. And that, too, is within us and the choice is ours. This body is so wonderful when you stop to think about it. It is an exact replica of everything in the outer universe. We have the sun which is the spiritual eye in the center of the forehead. We have the moon which is the second brain, the solar plexus. We get feelings of intuition there which, when we are tuned in with the spirit, give us information which is absolutely true. We have the rivers which are the circulatory system. We have an elimination system. We have a system which breathes and provides oxygen which keeps life in our body. Above all, we have a heart and all of that which is within us is tied in this one place within us which is the seat of all life. Page 31 When you left your body, I was one of the ones who was privileged to be there shortly afterwards. We sat by you, taking turns holding your surprisingly warm hand. I wept from time to time and later a great deal at your memorial, but the loss has not been devastating. Instead I began to experience the Comforter that Jesus spoke of, for you certainly sent that spirit to me. I feel you around and within me whenever I put my mind on you, and oftentimes you take me by surprise, caressing my heart like a gentle wind or allowing me to feel the touch of your hand. I sense it there and mentally press it to my lips like I did on a few occasions while you were in your physical form. Your teachings have never failed me. Words you spoke years ago, which I took on faith then, now come back to me when I need them enlightening me, guiding me through various experiences. I wish I had been able to appreciate you then as much as I do now. Just as one s first steps to know God do not result in instant God-realization, neither does initiation by a guru allow most devotees to fully appreciate the scope of this divine relationship. Jai Guru! Where the Mind is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depths of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action; Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake! In celebration of our Countries Birthdays Canada-July 1; U.S.A.-July 4; India-August 15.

11 Page 30 Memories of Mother By Cate Koler [I recently came across this article which I had written in 2001 for our first Memories of Mother book but had contributed a different one. I dedicate these words to Mother, to the memories of our time as disciples, to those years which changed us forever.] Dearest Mother, I am sitting down now to write about you for our Memorial book and am trusting you will guide me. I have wanted my writing to be a worthy tribute to you, not sure whether it should be a specific memory that proved to be a lesson for me or a more general overview. A few weeks ago, during meditation, I asked you to tell me what I should say. This one phrase came to me: In learning how to be a devotee of the guru, one learns how to be a true devotee of God. I was with you (in your physical form) only 15 years January 1976 to January 1991, but the lessons you taught me throughout those years have been the building blocks of both my spiritual life and my material life. Early on in our relationship I was blessed by being given the ultimate test I was shown what my life would be like without you; I have never felt more desolate. I realized that life without you was not worth living. I had thought that I chose to follow you that everything was up to me; I could stay or leave. You showed me that the guru chooses the disciple and can withdraw that relationship, if need be. I had to measure up as a disciple and make a firm commitment. The next time I saw you, you smiled a heavenly smile at me and were so sweet then and for the rest of your life (even when I didn t deserve it.) My love for you since that time has never faltered and I will love you forever, my beloved Guru. Almost exactly a year before your passing, during a social function, I was sitting on the floor in front of you, holding your hand. You were very frail at that time, your poor body having suffered for so many years. I told God, that as selfish as it was, that I wanted Him to keep you in the body, because I couldn t live without your form. Page 11 Stages of Belief When we are about to put our feet on the spiritual ladder we go through many, many stages. In the beginning, perhaps, we don t even believe in God. We don t believe in a superior power, a superior intelligence. But gradually, through the experiences of life, many of which are very difficult, we are forced to turn our attention, our faces toward a Higher Power, to acknowledge that there is such a thing, to reach out, perhaps crying in our need, Father, help me! Even the most hardened criminal, when he is faced with something terrible, perhaps as a result of the sins that he has committed, finally reaches out to God and says, God, help me. God save me! And then the soul awakens to the fact that there is a Superior Power. We go through the various stages of belief in the orthodox teachings of which there are many and varied. But at last there is a reaching out from the darkness for something that is greater and it is an urge to know the mystery of life, to know about the riddle of life. This inner urge is this exactly: Man, know thyself. Do you really know yourself, the real Self? Or are you acquainted with just this outer person, the one that has been taught reading, writing, arithmetic, the various arts, the sciences, and the superficial things of life, or do you know your real Self which is God within you? You put your feet upon this path and you start your upward journey. You don t know where it is going to take you so you have to lay hold of a great thing and that is called faith faith in God, faith in His power to provide all that is necessary for you, to protect you through all of the experiences which you, as an individual soul, are going to go through. All Shall be Added unto Us We are all on this path for but one purpose and that is to realize our oneness with our Father. It is said that the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are both within. If we find God first, then all of the other things are added unto us. This is true. Whatever clothes we need, whatever food we need, whatever money we need, whatever we need in service is given unto us when we give ourselves completely and absolutely to God.

12 Page 12 Now, to many people, this is a fearful thing to do because you want to have jurisdiction over yourself; you re very independent. And you think to yourself, But I know what s best for me. Why do I have to surrender myself to God? And yet, do you really? Is everything in your life as you think it should be? Is it all in peace and harmony, a thing of beauty, of success, of fulfillment, of complete supply? Or are you still reaching out like a beggar and trying to do everything yourself and most of the time failing very miserably? When you can relax and let yourself be lifted up in the arms of God, when no matter what He requires of you, even your personal life which is to say your idea of separation from Him that you are willing to give it with everything you have, then He comes, then He lifts you up. He puts you through what is necessary and He takes you unto Himself. And then you say, Father, how is it that You ask so little of me when You have given me so much? Dying for Christ There are two things that we know for sure that we are born into this world and one day we have to leave it. The body does; the spirit is God within this human form. We are told that God is infinite and eternal, therefore, He never dies. So this Infinite Spirit which is within this body of flesh will one day give up this cage in which it has dwelt and go on to a new existence, a new life, wearing a new garment of some sort. Now, that s an absolute must. We don t like to think about it. We like to think of ourselves living forever and so the consciousness, the spirit within us does, but not the body. So sometime or other you still have to go through this experience of death. If you are willing to go through it, to die for Christ, as it is said, to follow in his footsteps, to pick up your cross, which is to say your body, made in the form of a cross, and follow him in order that you may be his disciple, then you emulate him in every detail, even unto the death of the human ego, which creates physical pain within yourself. It creates a totally different situation, an exploration into worlds within yourself that you never even dreamed existed. You come in contact with the beasts, with the dragons, but you are also lifted up by the angels in heaven, by God Himself, and you are carried on a soft pillow, Page 29 When to Leave the Body By Sister Gyanamata My Blessed Master, I cannot wish to live for a great number of years, like the woman you mentioned who has celebrated her 100 th birthday. I can t help wondering, What else has she to celebrate? Length of life what is that worth? Jesus was just thirty-three. His Holiness your Master Sri Yukteswarji was eighty-one when he decided to go. Swami Vivekananda died before he was forty. These names come to me. But I do not wish to be a deserter in the face of the enemy. Since you regard this poor life as useful to you and the work, I will do my best to hold to it as long as it helps you. I would like to believe that I will go quickly when the time comes, as I wish never to be a burden to you and the others. I would also like to be able to say, of my little life, It is finished, as Jesus said of his great one. Nothing left undone that I could have done. I have, then, these ambitions: To be near you, which is the desire that brought me from Seattle. To serve you; to be loyal to you to the last drop of blood in my body; never to fail you through carelessness. To make as perfect a manifestation of your teaching as possible. To go quickly at just the right moment. To leave nothing unfinished. With deep devotion, Gyanamata From the book, God Alone I have but one desire, one thought in keeping on with my existence, and that is to stay long enough to write the Truth out, to speak the Truth out, and to change history, so that people will know the Truth behind the parables and that we will, all of us working together shoulder-to-shoulder, come into a new world, a world that is filled with the consciousness of God, a world where we have masters instead of slaves, a world where we have beauty and wonder and life instead of some of the things that people are wallowing in now. Mother, from a talk in 1980, Palm Sunday

13 Page 28 Papa Stuns the St. Paul Rotary Club By Suzy Raymer [Reprinted from Om Sri Ram Magazine, Winter 2002/03, #26] During Papa s 1954 World Tour, Papa stayed at the home of Bob Raymer in St. Paul, Minnesota. Bob, who had sponsored the U.S. portion of the trip, felt honored, blessed and thrilled to have Papa staying with him and his family. He had arranged for Papa to give a speech at the St. Paul Rotary Club, of which, as a local business owner, he was a member. Most likely, none of the other members had ever seen or heard a saint from India, so he expected they would be deeply impressed by this special man he was so fortunate to be able to bring to them. The meeting began. People sat politely, no doubt wondering who in the world was that oddly dressed little man sitting there smiling on the podium. A friend of Bob s, David White, walked to the lectern and, in a lengthy introduction, presented Papa to the Members of the club. Then, it was Papa s turn to speak. As Papa looked into the faces of the people in the audience, Bob waited in eager anticipation of what he knew would be stirring words from Papa. He expected that Papa would speak for at least twenty minutes, maybe more. He knew that Papa would definitely impress the listeners with his spiritually uplifting speech. But, to Bob s horror, Papa spoke only one short sentence: One should not be possessed by one s possessions. Then, he walked back to his chair and sat down. The audience, stunned, sat silent. No one said a word for what seemed like forever. The meeting ended with Bob thinking it had been a complete disaster and he felt so embarrassed that he thought he might lose his membership in the club. But, later that afternoon, he received phone call after phone call, thanking him for inviting Papa to speak. Most of the callers also felt that Papa s eight-word talk had been profound. Papa, of course, knew exactly what the members of the St. Paul Rotary Club needed to hear, and the succinct speech that had seemed like a catastrophe to Bob was, in fact, a success. It was probably not the first time and undoubtedly not the last that Papa s power had been underestimated. Mother Krishnabai and Swami Satchidananda were also on the podium but did not speak. Page 13 a cloud, if you will. You hear the voices of angels sing and you feel a bliss, an ecstasy that you never even dreamed was possible. Whatever You Need is Given to You When you make this final commitment to God and this tremendous light of your own soul is set before you, and you come face to face with it, and you not only go toward it, but you are consumed by it then you know the true meaning of life. You know the true meaning of who and what you are, and you find that you are God in human form. Your whole consciousness expands. Where before you were just striving to have things come to you, now a new world opens out before you. Whatever you need is given unto you. You don t need to think what you should say. Time after time, I stand here before you with no preparation. I hunt up something to read to you. I get a Bible chapter and sometimes I read it and then don t even touch it because God has a different idea. The Bible chapter is fine, but He wants to talk about something else. And I stand before you and all these words flow out without any preparation on my part. And He does a much better job than I ever could, I can assure you. I never know what s going to happen, so I m as interested in listening to what He says as you are. Every now and then I think, Well, I didn t know that. Isn t that amazing! I many times listen to a tape that I have made afterwards and as I listen, I stop and think to myself, Well, that s a marvelous truth. Now, I must play that over so that I get that into my consciousness. Because it is poured forth, and yet it actually was something that I didn t know before. God has placed this idea in my mind. He has spoken it through these lips, and here we are, both of us. He is truly wonderful. You needn t give any thought to what you re going to wear, any thought about what you re going to say, because whatever you need at that moment will be given unto you. Faith in God must be supreme! You know what it means to actually relinquish yourself, your life, everything you are and everything you have to God in one fell swoop? And have complete confidence that you re going to be taken care of, that you re going to be lifted up and wrapped in the nice warm blanket of God s love?

14 Page 14 Page 27 Sitting at Ramdas Feet I sat under the stars in India twenty years ago, under a full tropical moon which was a beautiful red shade, and the whole sky was blanketed with stars. The perfume of the tropical flowers was heavy and it was beautiful. It just filled your nostrils and you felt just uplifted in the whole scene. But the greatest inspiration, the greatest beauty, the greatest perfume came from the saint who sat on the stone pillar while the rest of us all sat at his feet on a stone platform on a mat, all nestled together like sardines in a box but yet nobody quite touching each other. He would talk to us about God endlessly. He would have lost all thought, all consciousness of his body. He was lifted up and these words of truth, of inspiration that came from him were food for our minds, for our souls and changed our body chemistry. Mother s Great Guru, Yogananda This is the greatest thing that you can possibly do, to sit at the feet of a saint and to hear God pour forth His truth through this form which He has created. I have had that privilege many, many times. My own Guru, who was the greatest of them all in my estimation time and space stood still every time I was in his presence. I could be with him for hours and listen to him; I wasn t conscious that five minutes had gone by. This happened the first time I ever met him. His lecture started at eight o clock and finished at eleven and it seemed like not five minutes had gone by and yet my whole life had been changed in those few hours, never to be the same again. God reached out and touched me and made me His own. But He used this blessed instrument, this Guru, the one who comes to lead you out of the darkness into the light. When it comes to that moment when you have graduated from the orthodox school, from the lower grades, and even from the college of New Thought, and you want to go pioneering and get your Doctor s degree, your Master s degree, then God sends someone special to teach you, someone who has done the pioneering, done the exploring, paid the price for the knowledge and the truth which he can give you. And helps you, guides you, directs you, loves you, lifts you up, inspires you to go within yourself and find what they have found. thing and everything I want. So he thought to himself, It would be very nice now that I have this beautiful palace if I had a lot of beautiful damsels to wait on me. And they should bring me all the finest foods, the most precious garments. They shall serve me day and night and grant my slightest wish. Well, he d no more than wished this then again the damsels materialized, the food, such was never thought of, appeared before him the nectar of the gods. And so he dined and he was waited on. Then he thought to himself, I have all of this worldly wealth, all of these precious things and the people to serve me. I must have an army to protect myself. So again, this came into manifestation and a huge army manifested itself in order to take care of him. Well, he was rather tired with all of the day s activities so he decided he would go to rest. So he went to one of the large bedrooms on the lower floor. It was quiet, off by itself, overlooking a forest and a broad, spacious lawn. As he laid down there he thought to himself, You know, this is in rather a secluded part of this palace. There is an open window and there aren t any soldiers around to guard me. A lion could jump through the window and carry me off and I couldn t stop him. Nobody is around to protect me. And he no more than thought of that than in jumped a huge lion, carried him off and that was the end of the man. He had forgot to remember to wish only for that which was good and that which was positive. Each of us, you see, have a wishing tree within us. It is the tree of life. It is controlled and governed by our thoughts and our will. Whatever we think, whatever we wish, whether it be good or so-called evil, we bring into manifestation because the mind is all-powerful. We are all on this path for but one purpose and that is to realize our oneness with our Father. It is said that the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are both within. If we find God first, then all of the other things are added unto us. This is true. Whatever clothes we need, whatever food we need, whatever money we need, whatever we need in service is given unto us when we give ourselves completely and absolutely to God.

15 Page 26 As Told by Mother [Mother tells this story in the talk featured in this edition.] The Wishing Tree You know, there s a story which Sri Yukteswar used to tell many times to his devotees about the wishing tree: There was a spiritual man by the name of Hari who had practiced great austerities for a good many years. He had one great desire and that was to realize his oneness with God. He had the idea that when that happened the stars would shine, the moon would shine, the sun would shine, his whole being would be filled with light, and everything that he wanted would be given to him. But also, at the same time, he had a material desire because he had heard that there was such a thing as a wishing tree. This wishing tree was a tree that was brought into existence by spiritual sprites, the little people, for the benefit of those that were seeking God. Anybody who was fortunate enough to find this wishing tree could make a wish and that wish would be granted. This man, through the long years of practice of austerities, had gained a great deal of power and part of this power was occult. He determined that he was going to go in quest of this wishing tree because, although he wanted his God realization more than anything else, he also had some other desires that he would have liked to have had fulfilled. So he went hunting for it one day through the forest. He came upon this very abundantly clothed tree. He thought how beautiful it was and he felt a tremendous magnetism. This power within him told him that at last he had come in the vicinity of the wishing tree. He decided to test it out. He thought to himself, if this is truly a wishing tree, I wish that I would have the most beautiful palace in the world materialize instantly. No more had the thought crossed his mind than the palace was manifested right before his very eyes, complete with huge, spacious lawns and trees and flowers and everything laid out before him. He thought, Well, isn t this a wonderful thing. All I have to do now that I m under the wishing tree is to wish for any- Page 15 Apply the Truth Your Guru Teaches You They don t do it for themselves, they do it for mankind, for you as an individual. They are not the ones that profit. You are the ones who profit. The greatest gift they can give you is the Truth. But you must take that Truth and you must apply it to your own life, each and every one of you because if you do not, it will avail you of nothing. The spiritual teacher comes. They pay a tremendous price for the truth which they are able to give you. They give their whole lives teaching you, guiding you, directing you. But unless you make the effort to take that truth and put it into manifestation, to put it into action in your own life and to find that truth within yourself, nobody s going anyplace. God s work isn t going to go ahead. This world isn t going to change. Like Jung said, there is this spark of light in the darkness. When the world has come to a certain state of darkness where it is so much in the throes of suffering of so-called evil that it can t stand itself and the burden that it has imposed upon itself any more, then the spark which is forever within starts stirring and working its way up, just like a small torch. And that torch is right within your spine, right within your own being and it works and works and works until it becomes a great flame. Change Ourselves First If you go through that process of purification you yourself become a light on a hilltop, a candle which, when it is lit all men see and reach out for. You plant the seeds of spirit and they in turn take root and they bear a harvest and so the work of God will grow. And so the world around you and particularly within you will be changed, and not before that time, because until we as individuals are ready to change ourselves, nothing is going to happen to change this world on the outside. As I have said so many times, the world is made up of individuals. This world will not change until we change ourselves, the world within us. We have to know ourselves and to know yourself, what you really are, gives you complete liberation, complete freedom! You are no longer bound by all of the trials, the tribulations and the worries and the cares that you had before. These things come to you. You have to meet them. They cause pressures. They

16 Page 16 Page 25 cause pressure to a God-realized soul because they re not bearing their own burden but that of all of those who follow with them. And believe me, there are many that come. Purify Your Life People want the spiritual teacher to make a decision for them. Master, shall I do this or shall I do that? Master, what do you think? What is God s will for me? God s will is your will. What is your will for yourself? Just where do you want to be? Where do you want to live? What kind of a world do you want to live in? Do you really want to know yourself? And let me ask you this do you have the courage to face yourself as you are today so that you may really know your real Self? To do away with all of the things that must be done away with, to change yourself and purify yourself, your consciousness, your mind, your thoughts, your actions, your words? Let us purify our lives! Let us keep our full consciousness upon Him alone because He is our everything! Without Him we are nothing! Just think, we couldn t eat the fruit off the trees if He hadn t made it possible for the seeds to be planted in the ground and the tree to grow and to bear fruit and the harvest to come. We couldn t eat the vegetables. We couldn t eat anything on this earth or have what we need in the way of water which is necessary for man s life if it were not for God. And yet we take so much credit for doing everything when, without Him, we can absolutely do nothing. We are totally, absolutely dependent upon Him. I don t care where you go. You can go to a cave. You can go to a mountain. You can go to a hermitage. You can go on a lonely island. But still you are dependent. You are never independent. Each man is dependent on God for something and on God in each other, because this is God s plan. This is the way He made this universe. This is God s Work In this group which has no name, which has no organization, which has but one thought, one principle in mind and that is to help each man to find out who and what he really is, to help him to the realization of his oneness with God through Christ, by whatever name you want to call him, depending on At one point, David very calmly took a couple of steps toward the area where this family was bowling, and he stood. Once again, this father acted out of line, over the top, certainly he was going well past any reasonable line of healthy parenting, reasonable reprimanding, or anything acceptable and fair to his son. Then David took a couple of steps into this man s personal space and what I saw was amazing. This dad faced David squarely in front of him; they were about three feet apart. It was as if this dad had entered into some receptive, subtle, trance-like mode. Their eyes were looking into each other s and the man was pretty calm. Earlier, I had anticipated that any comment from David would elicit an outburst from the man, but not now. David made some brief comment to him. David was not speaking loudly and so I did not hear all of what he said. It was gentle. He did not exactly reprimand the man, he said something like: Sir, it seems that maybe you are having a bad day and possibly your son is experiencing the brunt of it? He went on to say something like: it seems that he is quite upset by this and it would be good if you were not so hard on him. The man was not resisting, not objecting, not defending himself at all. It seemed that the Truth of David s words had pierced directly into this man s heart and soul. His shoulders slumped, his face relaxed, and as I recall, it seems he said he was sorry to David and that David suggested that he apologize to his son, which he promptly and sincerely did. I suppose this interaction only lasted less than a minute. The man appeared changed, quite changed. David and the man exchanged some parting, gentle comments and David stepped back into our bowling area. No words were spoken between David and any of us about what had occurred. Everyone resumed their playing. That man, his son and their other family members remained there, as did we, for another half hour or so. The man never did act poorly again, and it seemed that the man and his son were doing fine. I, and surely others in our group, had wondered, what will the Master do? We observed what a master could do. David brought pure love, calmness, peace and some words and tone that seemed absolutely perfect for this dad to hear and feel. As I left the bowling alley and went home it occurred to me that David s comments and his Shakti power improved that man and his son s relationship forever. I believe it did.

17 Page 24 Stories of a God-Man [We have decided to introduce a new regular column, based on the article Carla wrote for the last journal. It will feature stories and observations of saints our Gurus, Mother and David, as well as Swami Satchidananda or other highly evolved or realized masters we have had the privilege of meeting. editors] By Rick Bohr Fifteen years ago, I stepped consciously onto this path, with David as my Guru, guide and teacher. He has been my living example of what would the Master do? It has been amazing, and I feel incredibly blessed that in this lifetime God has provided me with much access and interactions with my Guru. With his guiding hand, this life is the greatest adventure! Approximately eight years ago I was at a birthday party at our local bowling alley. One of the Schultz kids had a few friends gathered and a few adults were there too, including David and Carla. It was a busy day, somewhat loud and moderately chaotic. A lane or two away there was a family which included a middleaged dad and a couple of grade-school kids. The dad was being harsh, negative and mean to his young son. Our group of adults and several kids were aware of this dad and his horrible interactions with his son. It was impossible to not notice or to not feel sad for this boy. Upon observing for some time, it was obvious that the dad thought this boy could simply do nothing right. The dad was loud enough to be disruptive to all in the vicinity. He had horrible body language, and what made me feel worst of all, several times he grabbed his son by his arm and directed him in such a hard way that I suppose most of us were thinking, I hope he doesn t hurt his arm by pulling on it so aggressively. It occurred to me that if David were not there, at some point I would have said or done something but it felt clear to me that it was not my place to do anything. Not with David there. As I was bowling I kept hoping (I suppose many others who were in the vicinity did as well) that this dad would stop. I began to wonder, What will David do? As time passed (it felt like 20 minutes, maybe it was only 5 or 10) and the scenario continued between the dad and son, it felt that each of the adults in our group were wondering the same thing: Surely David will do or say something what will it be? Page 17 what language you speak because they re all the same this is our aim, our goal. That is what we are interested in, in developing an army for God, with God as the head, with the whole universe and all of its people as a part of our organization, if you want to call it such. It is God s work. It is His name, it is His fame, it is His glory that must be spread across the earth. Do Only What God Directs I have paid a tremendous price for the truth that I teach you, the truth that I have realized within myself. And yet I would pay that same price a thousand times, if God so willed, to know what I know today, to be free as I am today. Not to care what man thinks, but only what God thinks. Not to do what man expects of me, but only what God expects of me, and that is sometimes a little difficult spot to be in because, believe me, when you are a spiritual teacher you are on the head of a pin. Each one has his own concept, his own image of what you should be and each one is different. If you try to satisfy the image that everyone held for you, you would be in deep trouble. So you throw caution to the winds and you say, Here am I, Lord. Take me. Do with me as You will. And you don t worry about what the other fellow thinks but only, Am I straight with God? Am I listening to His voice? Am I hearing His words of direction clearly? And am I doing everything that He is directing me to do for His plan, His purpose, in accordance with His will? And if I do all of these things I will find, in the end, that everything I have done was my will and that I have gained such riches that I never could have gained if I had not been willing to put my feet upon the path and go His way that I might know my Self. This is what we are aiming for. This is what this sacred initiation will help you to attain. It is the airplane route to God. There is no faster, no greater, nor no more spiritual way that is taught in all the world than this because it is within yourself. You are working with your own spine, with your own brain, within your own body. And you are doing it with full protection, full safety. You are on a journey to God and His kingdom of Heaven which are to be found only within yourself.

18 Page 18 Three Poems to Thee By Rebecca Harvey My Guru Page 23 (Maharaji) in that book. His visage started an awakening within me and, I believe now, that this started me on my quest for God. I had no desire to travel to India nor to meet Ram Dass but the seed was planted nonetheless. In October, 2011, I was lucky enough to visit Babaji s Cave near Dwarahat and hiked the trail with a wonderful devotee named Pulak. On our return trip by car to a local airport, Pulak happened to mention that we were about to pass Neem Karoli Baba s famous ashram and Hanuman temple at Kainchi. I immediately asked the driver to stop. Pulak and I walked across the bridge to the ashram. I was just floating along and feeling grateful for the privilege of visiting this holy shrine. God had arranged this, I felt sure. My Guru is made of Truth. Not simply that He speaks the truth or that He lives in truth. The very atoms collected into the form of my Guru are composed of nothing but the One Absolute, Vital, Living Truth. My Guru is made of Love. The attracting force of pure Love alone binds the molecules of my Guru s body together. Were this Love to release - poof! No more body! He is merged into all-space. My Guru is made of Humility. At all times He is ablaze with the power, heat and light of a thousand suns. But he keeps it secret, in His golden cloak, so as not to burn me up too quick! My Guru is made of Patience. With such tender patience He holds my hand, walking every step with me, slowly, because my legs are very short and His are very long. Here am I with Pulak in front of Kainchi Ashram Maharaji s room was just being opened when we walked around to that part of the ashram grounds. I walked into his room and bowed my head onto the blanket placed on the bed in the small room. Immediately, I felt the great guru s presence and he flashed an image of his picture in the book where I first saw his face. It was all over in a flash but I was shown inwardly the connection of that first contact to that day 41 years later. I am sure that his great Shakti is what touched me in 1970 and he played a part in awakening me. During the day that I was hitchhiking to Seattle in 1971 what went constantly through my mind was this clear notion that I was going to be with Jesus in some fashion or other. On Easter Day, 1976 I met Jesus in Mother and it all happened in Seattle. Later that same year, sometime in the fall, it occurred to me how all those things were connected. God, Christ, Gurus.

19 Page 22 Minister s Message [This column features the thoughts and inspirations of one of our three ordained ministers.] Coming to Jesus By Rev. Larry Koler Page 19 To my Guru, Ocean of Compassion and Infinite Patience Wait for me, Gurudev. I am coming home. Pray for me, Gurudev, that I may not keep Thee waiting long. In the myriad halls of eternity, You found me. Oh! To be found! What a light is mine - my Guru! What a love is mine - my own Guru! What a God is mine - God as Guru! As the full moon reflects the brilliance of her Guru, the sun, May our souls shine, ever full, reflecting that One Radiant Self. In 1971, I had an odd experience. It came to me that I needed to go to Seattle to find Jesus. I was living in southern Oregon at the time and I had recently spent a morning with some people we used to call Jesus Freaks. I had no temptation to join them, though I much admired them and very much felt the spiritual current that moved through their community. All I do know is that this spirit moved in me a day or two later and told me to go to Seattle, that I would find Jesus. I left within minutes of this inspiration. I walked out to the road and hitchhiked all the way to my family s home in Seattle. Long story short is that I went back to Oregon two different times and then in 1974 my house burned down and this forced me back to Seattle for the third time. Two major events happened exactly on the same date. The first movement of spirit happened on January 22, 1971 and my house in Oregon burned down on January 22, I got the message. But, to flesh things out a bit, let me add some extra details that mean a lot to me and gave me some guidance in this story. In the months before leaving in 1971, I read the book, Be Here Now by Ram Dass, and was profoundly moved by the stories there. I also was very affected by the picture of Neem Karoli Baba Thank you, Gurudev, for patiently teaching me how to shine. I Am He A God of Love Dreamed of me Thus, I came to be. A drop of Joy In Thee, the sea. All space, all form, all One are We Forever free! Forever free! Now to know That I AM HE! Rebecca with her Guru Loving pronams to Davidji! Guru Purnima is July 27th.

20 Page 20 The Perfect Master By Rick Chapman, devotee of Meher Baba Certain outer signs are intimately tied to the inner state of spiritual perfection. The perfect Master not only experiences oneness with God, but also oneness with everything. This means that he is not found drowned in the experience of God awareness, unresponsive to the world around him. Seeing himself in everyone, he responds to each person s needs as if they were his own. Because his infinite experience of God pervades everything, when the perfect Master embraces or feeds another person, his realization is simply that he is embracing or feeding himself. One invariable manifestation of this supreme experience is the spontaneity of love that such a one feels and expresses toward all beings in creation. To him, nothing is essentially more attractive or repulsive than anything else. All the different opposite sides of life, which we know in duality good and bad, beauty and ugliness, sinner and saint are to the perfect Master merely different expressions of himself. The Master who has reached the highest plane is equally at home at the lowest. He is as comfortable in a village hut as on a throne. With royalty, he is regal. With the poor, he is simple. With scholars, he is learned. And with children, he is disarmingly childlike and radiantly happy. The perfect Master is perfect at every level. In honor of Guru Purnima we bow in reverence to our beloved Mother, the embodiment of one who is both human and divine, a Perfect Master. My Divine Mother...radiant is thy beauty, warm is thy love. from a song written by her daughter, Barbara Page 21 The True Teacher By Francis Brabazon The True Teacher is that one who, having no need to come, for my sake came; having no need to remain, for my sake remains; and who, having no need to go, will for my sake go: who rocks me to sleep and at the same time awakens me; makes me blind and at the same time sharpens my sight, and removes my ignorance by making me know nothing: who without admonition makes me aware of my shortcomings; without urging me to effort awakens and sustains my interest, and rewards me without letting my ego become inflated: who puts on a coat when it is cold and takes it off when it is hot, satisfies hunger and thirst in the same way as I do, but does not sleep as I sleep but watches for me my sleeps of unconsciousness: who in every way in everyday life acts like an ordinary man, is easily pleased and hurt, but being beyond pleasure and pain, suffers as no one else can suffer and whose bliss shines through his suffering: who is the father of children he has never begotten, the mother who never brought forth with labor, the brother and friend who sees no one but himself: who is the Goal and its revelation and the pathway to it and the path-treader who treads no path any whither because he is where he is and has never been anywhere else: who, in fact, is the supreme Reality but appears to my eyes as very man, to my mind as Rightness and to my heart as the ineffable Beloved who may be approached and attained. From the magazine, The Awakener about Meher Baba, Read by Mother during a talk in 1963.