Travis sent this description to me, and with his permission I am posting it here. I know you will find it as inspiring and delightful as I do.

To: Yogacharya David Hickenbottom and Carla Ma.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful letter you sent us at Anandashram.

It was very blissful. Ram has prompted me to dedicate (power went out, hold on, ok, moved blinds to let in more light in) a day to God in the form of the Guru, you!

That day was the 13^th and started with a midnight alarm to wake up, Kriya, Ram Nam and meditation till 2:30 or so to start the day off. Ram has directed me to take no food or drink other than water and to stay in silence for the day.

Now the question arises whether one can be in silence whilst belting our Ram Nam at the top of one’s lungs! But Ram says yes. The alarm again at 4:45 wakes me up and I proceed out into the ashram grounds and sit outside the Satsang Hall and count Ram Nam on a newly minted necklace of mala beads Ram has so generously provided me.

(Lights back on, thank you Ram!) About 25 minutes provides enough time to count through three cycles of Ram Nam (power out again, Ram’s will!), then five minutes or so to get to the mandir for chanting Ram Nam. Since the mandir doesn’t open till 6 a.m. I go to the Bhajan Hall and chant Ram Nam till 6 a.m. then over to the mandir of Papa Ramdas’ to begin chanting of Ram Nam, to Ram. After each half hour of Ram Nam I walk to Swami Satchidananda’s room to quietly count mala beads (lights are back on!) for Ram and his Ram Nam Vault.

This is how Ram’s day goes until 12:00 to 12:15; there is a shortened Ram Nam chanting due to lunch. Afterward a swami I am quite fond of, that is often leading Ram Nam with cymbals, asks me, “How much chanting do you prefer?” Rather than giving me two options to choose from however, he instead ends his inquiry there. My best answer would have to be that I prefer the amount of chanting that Ram directs me to do, over the amount of chanting that I want to do. However I am in silence and indicate such. (Power out again, now I feel Ram is playing tricks on me with the lights going on and off!)

The swami then tells me that he leaves this afternoon, I pronam and bow to God in this wonderful man then leave (15 minutes ahead of schedule due to early closing of Mandir for lunch) to count mala-beads before the start of 1:00 post-lunch Ram Nam. About one third of the way to Swami Satchidananda’s room I am prompted by Ram to write the swami a letter (lights back on) in lieu of being in silence.

The 15 minute early release provided by Ram allows me just enough time to walk to my room, write a short goodbye and return to Swami Satchidananda’s room to count my routine of three cycles of mala-bead Ram Nam before the next Mandir chanting session. Upon walking to count mala-Rams I think that perhaps I should count them by the entrance and exit of the dining hall as so not to miss the departing swami. Ram tells me that I should instead go count mala-beads in Swami Satchidananda’s room.

It is Ram’s will whether or not this letter is delivered. Three cycles completed I walk to the 1:00 Mandir and who do I see walking up the way, none other than the departing swami. I hand him his goodbye from Ram and continue to the Mandir without missing a step! Oh Ram, you are Great!

At 1:00 Mandir everyone must still be eating and there is only one elderly man in the corner barely muttering Ram Nam with the cymbals. He hands them to me and bows; I bow and graciously accept my first assignment with the cymbals, Ram leading the Ram Nam, not I.

Now this man is either slightly mentally challenged or has a malfunctioning larynx because after the first verse of Ram Nam his report back is barely audible. After the second cycle of this one way Ram Nam, Ram decides my chanting should be continuous and gives me a beautiful melodious Ram Nam to chant continuously for Him. This continues the entire half hour, just me and Ram in this quiet man’s form.

2:00 chanting has more people (Ram in disguise) but again I am there a full ten minutes before anyone shows up and the women inside the mandir motions for me to relieve them of the cymbals and begin the next half hour of Ram Nam. Ram has me sing again His melodious Ram Nam and the procession soon perfects the pitch and the chanting proceeds until the elderly swami, with the four pointed cane, that usually leads the Ram Nam shows up and I hand him over the reins and he plays the cymbals for the remainder of the half hour. Thank you for sending me your swami, Ram, for (I am not worthy) Ram is the doer.

3:30 is satsang so the 4:00 Ram Nam is missed. Ram says that is ok. After the 6:00 ending of mandir Ram Nam my feet are somewhat sore and the body is somewhat tired, all is for Ram though and I feel progress is being made in Rams’ sadhana.

Back in Swami Satchidananda’s room there are a number of people meditating so I pull out a chair and sit in the Satsang Hall to count mala-Rams. Tonight the hall is accommodating a large flock of mosquitos who are fiercely guarding the place. One cycle of Ram Nam is completed before I move on to find shanti [peace] elsewhere.

Returning to Ram’s room (#5 of Swami Ramdas Block) I tally up my Ram Nams; up until that point 33, a good number. Swami Muktananda is celebrating a birthday sometime soon I hear and Ram told me to give him these Ram Nams for the vault. I am now up to 36.

That evening while winding down I get a buzz at the door. Who could it be other than Ram! My first visitor, how exciting! I open the door and Ram is there in the form of a lovely elderly neighbor. This beautiful lady has come to bring me Prasad that I had missed receiving. Ram, how wonderfully kind you are to me, what more can I do to repay you than dedicate my entire life to bringing Your Kingdom to earth as it is in Heaven.

In the morning I will break my fast with this mini-banana that has been blessed by You, Ram. I then fall asleep, tired from a long day of dedication to God and Guru who are one and the same. Ram kindly prompts me up at 11:30 p.m. and I perform Kriya by Ram’s will to end the day.

All my love forever: Travis AUM

Picture: Chandra from 2005 (I have used this picture since Chandra had left for a 10 day Gita Class before I got a picture of her on this trip. Here she is in the Bhajan Hall).

I am just now posting this writing and there will be some more following about our time in India. After returning from India I have been busy with service here, as well as adjusting to the new time zone so there has been some delay in getting these to you. In the future I will also plan to continue to use the website for writings under the category Morning Thoughts. Quite often in the early hours of the day Ram will prompt me to write on some topic, these will be made available here. With many blessings, Yogacharya David. P.S. It was Mother Hamilton who bestowed the title of Yogacharya upon me, and it was Swami Satchidananda who called me Yogacharya David. The title Yogacharya, Mother had said, means teacher or master of Yoga (union with God). I use this name in homage to these two great spiritual luminaries in my life.

Our dear friend Chandraji dropped by and during our conversation told us the story of the group here at the Ashram who have been chanting Hari Rama, Hari Krishna for the last seven days. These devotees are from several villages and traveled far to  be here at the Ashram. They are described as simple village people who  trace their practice of chanting back to a wonderful saint, Avadhoot Saraswati. I am always thrilled to come to know about a saint and a lover of God.

“Avadhoot Saraswati, his sannyas name, as a boy had a wonderful voice and some told him he should be a professional singer, but he did not have any interest in things of the world. In his teens he left home and completed the great Char Dham Yatra (The circumambulation of India). Having traveled India he continued on until he found his Guru who initiated him into Hari Rama, Hari Krishna.

“After initiation he continued his wandering life until he came to one ashram whose head swami liked the boy very much, in fact everyone loved him because he smiled so sweetly and was friendly to everyone. Then one day he became completely paralyzed. Everyone at the ashram so lovingly took care of him, but he did not even have the power of speech.

“Finally one saint was consulted and he said, “Every day you must chant the Hanuman Chalisa, even though you can’t speak it, chant it in your mind.” So his fellow ashramites picked him up, it took many of them because he was over six feet tall, and took him up to a bathing tank and threw him in! Then they laid him out on the sand. He would then chant the Hanuman Chalisa in his mind 108 times. After that they would feed him lunch.

“They repeated this for 40 or 45 days and one day he was able to speak! Gradually he became normal as they continued this treatment. The ashram head swami told the recovered boy that he should get others interested in chanting. So, he travelled all over India and with his beautiful voice he attracted large followings; they would chant Hari Rama, Hari Krishna. [It was Pabhupada who brought the chant to America that changed it to Hari Krishna Hari Rama due to his special devotion to Krishna. But since Rama was a much earlier incarnation of Vishnu his name traditionally comes first.]

“This group at Anandashram is connected with Avadhoot Saraswati. There used to be so many of them, but he is no more in the body. They are chanting for 24 hours of the day for 7 days. They divide into groups so there are at least 5 chanting at any one time. We go in and sit and listen. I was there until about 11:30 last night, some stay there all night.”

With the conclusion of Chandra’s story I am struck at how Anandashram is really a remarkable environment, where the chanting of God’s Name goes on daily from early morning to late night, and sometimes 24/7. But, in addition to this devotion to Ram Nam they invite in other groups not related to their lineage and allow them to follow their own program.

When  Nam (the name of God) is chanted with sincerity and full consciousness a tremendous spiritual power is built. That power then goes out as a blessing to the world; so that what is done locally is felt globally. Any name of God is good, what is essential is the full faith and devotion of the chanter. Some of these names of God have been chanted for centuries, some for millennia.

May the name of God ring out now and always, purifying hearts and minds everywhere and leading all to the full realization of God. This was the mission of Avadhoot Saraswati, Swami Ramdas, Mother Hamilton and so many of the great ones.

“When are you coming again?” it was the question asked enumerable times. What to say? “When Papa prompts us to come.” We are departing earlier than planned due to Christine leaving the body and my inner prompting that it was time to return.

It is difficult to describe the outpouring of love and kindness we received from so many at the Ashram. When speaking to Swami Muktananda on the eve. of our departure I said, “Swamiji, it is remarkable the examples we see here of those who personify the motto of the Ashram, ‘Universal love and service.” With Swami Chandrananda sitting nearby I continued, “It is not only the Swamis, but the inmates as well, and more than that the paid workers, such as Omana, who cleans our rooms, and Kalavathya, who has brought our meals to us. We have found Papa and Mataji’s ideal realized at Anandashram today.”

As I am saying this I unexpectedly have a loving emotion well up inside which forces me to pause, as tears stand at the edge of my eyes. What is the thought behind this emotion? It is being on the receiving end of so much love, it is seeing the ideal of Papa and Mataji expressed in so many who live here, and it also has some mysterious origins that are unnamable.

This world has gone in some wrong directions, and it suffers as a result. Too many live in a world of me and mine only. There are some that are driven by greed and desire nature to the exclusion of all else, and some get caught up in a world of addictions and destructive behavior that is the opposite of a life of selfless service.

Here at Anandashram we see those who live for the realization of God and selfless service as a constant theme. Those of us who visit the Ashram come for some period of sadhana in which all of our needs, and more, are provided for. But for the inmates of the Ashram it is not an occasional time of being in service, nor do they receive all the comforts that we do with very little demand as to what to do with our time while here; rather this is their full-time life. When there is a dedicated core number of souls in this world emulating this universal love and service, by even at a fraction of what is done by these dear souls, then this world will be changed in radical and beautiful ways.

As we prepare to leave we are flooded with offerings of food. In addition to all the individuals dropping by fruit, halva, and banana chips, Swamiji gives us Prasad to take back to America. I am prepared for the load, but not such a load! He gives a backpack that is so heavy I can barely lift it! And then books from the Ashram! He showers us with such grace. As we are packing our bags we get knock after knock on the door that keeps us very busy with the loving attention of Ashramites. Time and again, “Here, just a little something I wanted to bring by.” What can be done? A graceful thank you, with a look at the growing pile of loving gifts.

Swami Chandranandaji brings by gifts as well. “Since you were not able to go Sadhana Kendra Ashram in the north as you had planned, I have brought some things they gave to me when I was last there.” She presented to me a beautiful wool shawl and some material for Carla to have made up, some travel treats of nuts and raisins as well; so sweet and thoughtful.

Swamiji has also given us many sets of clothes. He has given me a few dhotis and a cloth to wear over my shoulder.  When Sri Krishna saw this he said, “You are a Shastri! (someone who is a master of the Shastras). By classic Indian standards there is no way that I could called a master of the shastras, not even a beginner of a knower of Sanskrit; the school children here who learn Vedic chanting know far more than I on this subject.

However, we have been assured by all the great spiritual masters that realizing God is not a matter of book learning or knowing a certain language. The main thing is to keep one’s mind upon the Divine. Through constant God-remembrance the mind is purified and is lifted into the divine realms. There are many who may know many scriptural passages by heart and spent long hours study, yet they do not know God.

In this sense you can say I know the essential nature of the scriptures, because I have lived them and I have come to know God. In knowing God I know the Source of the Vedas, the Bible, the essence of all religions. If this sound like vain boasting it is not meant to be. It is simply the truth, and is the truth for anyone who has come to know God through and through.

Our goodbyes are coming to a close. The car is packed with luggage, Onni, our driver has driven to the Panchavatti where Swami Muktanandaji has asked us to come. We walk the distance from our room accompanied by a dozen plus devotees keeping pace with us. When we arrive at the Panchavatti Swami M., Swami Chidananda and another dozen or more are waiting to see us off.

What heartfelt bliss is felt as we are leaving. An earlier conversation with Leslie, who lives in India full time now, had him remembering when Swami Satchidananda, Swami Muktananda and others were on the porch to see us off  at 2:00 a.m., so that we could catch our train. With what love and tenderness Swamiji had met us. In those early morning hours Mansi and Lakshmi had come to our room with so much food for our train trip we could have fed many families! It was wonderful to remember that earlier time, even as new memories are being made today.

Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram we repeat again and again, pronaming out the window and then the back window as our car pulls down the drive to take us to new destinations. No matter where we go or how far we go, all we have to do is to think of Anandashram and the peace, joy and love of God and His devotees will forever ring in our hearts with deepest gratitude. Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram! Victory to God, Victory to the Light and may universal love and service forever reign in the world as its motto and practice.

Picture: St. Nalini, Shahina, Prakash Babu and Mr. Azziz

“Swamiji, Swamiji,” I called to Swami Chandrananda as she walked by our door. Is it alright for us to film Ram Nam in the Mandir tomorrow? She smiled sweetly, “Why should you ask, is not this Ashram yours?” I said, No, I did not want to show disrespect. S.C.: “You are special, isn’t it?”

And why should this form be special? And yet I have been treated with such love and respect here that it is difficult to fathom. When I spoke to Swami Muktananda about departing to do the services for Christine he said, “You can do this by Skype, would that not be the same?” I replied that in Canada they would ask, “You can talk to India by Skype, would that not be the same?” He laughed, got the logic and gave permission to leave the Ashram.

Being asked to conduct satsangs, having such longing for us to come and now to return again in the future, it has so touched our hearts, we feel that this ashram is our home, the inmates (Papa’s word for those who live here) are our family.

And when Dr. Sanheendran, Mr. Azziz, Shahina and Prakash Babu and others have come to the Ashram with such love and devotion for God in this form, Nalini saying your fame is spreading far and wide, I pronam to my Gurudev for her love and blessings that have poured upon this head and ask that she bless all those who have faith and love for God in this form to be lifted into God-consciousness.

For, in truth, all the ways there is anything felt for this form, it is only about having God-experience. He is the only goal, the only object of my life and my desire is that all should benefit and be fulfilled in having the same constant and abiding union that I have with my Beloved.

Slowly walking an oblong circuit I join with the leading Swami, an older man who sits on a bench, and a dozen men all dressed in white singing the ancient words, Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram echoing throughout the Mandir.

I quickly become indrawn, feeling the power of the chant in me and around me. A coursing energy flows from the back of my head, through my brain and to a spot on my forehead. The Mandir loses it physical bounds and expands into Spirit Omnipresent. Now bliss is flowing within and without; what is within and what is without loses all meaning.

The rhythm of time marches forward with a feeling of flow between individual and universal, not so much as distinct, but like an ocean feeds into a bay and the bay feeds into the ocean and where they meet is both ocean and bay blended together. The thought enters, “This moment, this time is perfect.”

When I exit Papa’s Mandir the air is singing Ram Nam. The horizon above the hill sports a beautiful rising light that illumines the trees nearby in gold, framed behind with a brilliant sky blue. The scene is charming beyond words; my eyes charged with Divine Light makes the world seem more of heaven than earth. Thus comes about this Mandir Moment.

Pictures: Taking Christine’s picture to the Ganges near Ma’s Samadhi Temple & Master’s meditation room.

For the last seventeen years Christine has been diagnosed with various cancer conditions. The symptoms have come and gone 5 times, with good health in between. However the cancer has become more pervasive each time; she has defied all expectations for the length of her survival. She never cared for allopathic methods and has generally preferred alternative care and has received most loving attention from Dr. Chao, Dr. Lucy and others.

During these past months Christine was in the hospital and then back home and then into a hospice care facility. And through all of these years George has given himself 100% in loving care to his beloved Chris. A constant feature has also been Christine’s devotion to realizing God and to God in this form.

One thing of note, in this last year a striking similarity between Christine and Mother Hamilton, to whom she also felt such great devotion, has occurred. Even while in the hospice care there was something in the way she spoke, even in the way that she looked that reminded us so much of Mother that it was a wonder. When I recently spoke to Cate she said that during her last time there, Christine looked so much like Mother!

Before we came to India the question came, should we go on this pilgrimage with Christine in such a condition? However, in connection with this I thought of a past trip Christine had taken to India in which she was passing through a spiritual crises. She sat on the steps of the Ganges in the pre-dawn hours in great distress when a passing yogi started talking to her and told her about Lahiri Mahasaya’s Samadhi Temple just nearby.

You have to understand, yogis do not ordinarily engage people in conversation like that, and in particular a single lady, and that this Samadhi Temple he spoke of is in an ashram that is not that well known and rather hidden. If you know all the circumstances, you would see this was an extraordinary thing to happen, even on the miraculous side.

So, I felt that by going to this Ashram by the Ganges, and other sacred places that we would be going to, all the while keeping Christine in our hearts, would be of more benefit to her than remaining nearby. So we left for India, Carla brought a beautiful picture of Christine and has put it on the altars and sacred places of so many of India’s great spiritual centers.

I had told Christine before we left that what I wanted for her was complete recovery, not just “bumping along the bottom” as her health had been for the past months; she agreed. So she was “expecting a miracle.” I did not have any special thought or feeling as to what the outcome would be for her, only that God should see to it that everything should be fulfilled for the highest good of everyone concerned. So we left for India with that in mind.

As we travelled to sacred sites and met with Saints, Carla presented Christine’s picture with love and light in our hearts. When at Anandamayee Ma’s Samadhi Temple we dipped the laminated picture into the sacred Ganges water there. At Master’s meditation room where Divine Mother and Krishna had appeared to him, and we felt such a powerful Presence, the photo was placed under Master’s lighted picture. So many places like that, to each place Christine was so much in our thoughts, with prayers for her to be completely in God’s Light.

The days rolled on but no physical improvement was felt by Christine. She had hoped for a miracle of bodily health, and we wanted that for her as well. However the day has now come when the soul has decided to vacate the body that was no longer habitable.

When Carla heard the way Christine left her body, thinking of God and chanting Aum,   she said, “That is the miracle!” You see, we can think to ourselves about what we will think when we leave the body, but so many unbidden thoughts can come at that time. We can feel fear, regrets, desires, so many things can come to our minds in those last moments.

That is why Krishna prescribed thinking of Him only in life and in death (in this case Krishna is speaking as the supreme, nameless, God of all). For the soul that has cultivated such purity as to remember God in the moment of passing, that one will ascend directly to God and have no need to return to a physical birth.

Swami Muktanandaji asked me to talk about Christine’s passing during the daily afternoon reading. Whenever devotees here come to know of how she left the body, chanting Ram Nam and Aum, their eyes get large and say, “Is it so.” It is the dream of all here to live in such a way to have such a death. They are so happy to know, and then they say, “Please pray for me that I can have that too.” So you see it is a much valued and rare passing.

When we told Swami Muktanandaji, showing her picture to him, he said, “Yes, I remember her.” He listened with deep attention to my description of her passing, then went on to tell of a great saint, Vinoba’s leaving the body (I had read this description just the night before, not long before the passing of Christine).

“He was lying with his eyes closed, his face full of peace, his whole body clean and clear, the only movement being that of breathing and of the feet keeping time with the inward chant of “Rama-Hari” which in the most difficult times had never been interrupted. Just at 9:30 a.m., quietly and easily, the breathing ceased.”

You see when a great soul passes in this way it passes down into legend here in India as a tremendous event. The signs shown by Christine during this time, looking and sounding like Mother Hamilton, her focus upon God, chanting Ram Nam and Om as her last words, these are all indications of a tremendous passage directly into God’s Presence. You see how profound this is.

It is natural to feel the loss of the physical presence of this beloved soul in God. To sit down for some tea, to hear of the latest shopping adventure and what great bargains landed in her lap (usually gifts for others!), her excited description about her meeting someone in the store or at the doctor’s office and finding a kindred spirit to talk to about God, or the terrible decorating scheme here and there and how it could be improved by this color or that fabric etc. I would not be surprised in arriving in God’s heaven that she should have some decorating advice to the Creator about some improvements for his many mansions!

Although we can rightfully feel the loss of our beloved friend, we can also feel happy for her, that she is now free of a body that was not operating correctly, that she had such an extraordinary passing, the loving effect she had on so many people. She said so often in response to those praying for her and thinking about her as she was in and out of the hospital how surprised she was that so many would be praying for her! Such was her humility.

So, both the feeling the loss of her physical presence and the joy of her victory in Spirit can be felt, but in the long run it will be the many gifts of her character and spirit that will live on in us. The best way to honor Christine is to take some of what you love and admire about her and make it a greater part of yourself: her bubbling spirit, the desire to bring greater beauty into this world, to find that special spark in another and celebrate it, to strive for truth and realization with heart, mind and soul; whatever that aspect is, bring it into your life in your thought of her.

We pray for God’s deepest blessings on those who feel sorrow and grief that the healing balm of God’s sweet presence should bring peace and inner assurance that all is well in heaven and on earth. Peace, Bliss, Amen—Om.

Yogacharya David

Picture: Christine’s picture on our altar at Anandashram

A little before midnight the phone rang; it was Angela calling to say her mother breathed her last about a half hour before (It was Thursday the 24th  in late morning there).

The way that Christine passed is inspiring and conveys the nature of her soul. The day before her passing we spoke to Christine; the phone was put to her ear. As I was telling her of that the Masters’ presence with her she said, “yes.” Then when Carla was speaking to her, saying Om Sri Ram, Christine then held the phone in both hands (a surprise to everyone) and said, “Om Sri Ram.”

After the phone conversation George led everyone in singing Ram Nam, accompanied by Andrea, Angela and Honor while sitting with Christine. The next morning Angela and Andrea came to see Christine and when they walked in Christine was repeating Ram Nam. Andrea put some ice to Christine’s lips and afterwards she repeated Om, Om, Om. From that moment her breathing changed which the nurse identified as the final breaths; she left the body chanting Om.

From a spiritual viewpoint this is a supreme way to leave the body achieved by the greatest of devotees. In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna tells Arjuna:

And, in the hour when life is ending,

With mind set fast and trustful piety,

Drawing still breath beneath calm brows unbending,

In happy peace that faithful one doth die,–

In glad peace passeth to Purusha’s heaven.

The place which they who read the Vedas name

Aksharam, “Ultimate,” whereto have striven

Saints and ascetics—their road is the same.

That way—the highest way—goes he who shuts

The gates of all his senses, locks desire

Safe in his heart, centres the vital airs

Upon his parting thought, steadfastly set;

And, murmuring OM, the sacred syllable—

Emblem of BRAHM—dies, meditating on Me.

For who, none other Gods regarding, looks

Ever to Me, easily am I gained

By such a Yogi[ni]; and, attaining me,

They fall not—those Mahatmas—back to birth,

To life, which is the place of pain, which ends,

But take the way of utmost blessedness.

So, we are assured that Christine ascended directly to God and the Masters. And what great joy that brings to the Masters when a soul leaves the body in such a way. After Christine’s passing George again led all in singing Ram Nam. Truly, a blessed passing.

Please keep the family and all loved ones in your thoughts and prayers, that all may feel the great Comforter and inner assurance that all is now different, but all is well.

We enter into what had been Swami Satchidananda’s receiving room and is now Swami Muktananda’s. This brings back such memories. I seek out “my place” on the floor where I sat so many years ago in front of Swami Satchidananda, but Sri Krishna insists that I take a chair he has placed near Swamiji.

At one point a swami enters in and takes pronam from Swami Muktananda.  The swami exits out, what was said was not in English. Swami M. then tells me that a great saint and scholar, one Swami Chidananda Puri, is just now coming. I comment that not all scholars are saints, so this swami is a rarity. Swami M. agrees. He says he is very active and in charge of many projects going on all over the place, that he travels extensively.

We wait for a few minutes and a swami, perhaps in his fifties, enters in at a fast clip and sits in the chair provided. There is a rapid exchange between the two swamis as the room fills up with various devotees; their dialogue is not in English.

This lack of verbal understanding gives me plenty of opportunity to observe the man introduced as a Saint and a scholar. He is, of course dressed in orange. He is bearded, has short cropped hair but not shaved, and he has a solid white strip across his forehead that extends into his hair from front to back along the crown, denoting Shiva. He has a pleasing manner, can be quick moving but is not fidgety. Swami M., Swami Chidananda and I are seated in a triangle.

After some minutes I can tell Swami M. is saying something about me that includes “Yogananda Paramhansa.” The swami turns his attention to me as Swami M. has gone out for a moment. “You are from where?” “U.S.A.” “I am from near Calicut.” Then the Swami looks at me. I feel the power and Light of God spontaneously rise up in me as I hold his gaze. His demeanor changes as now he looks at me with unblinking eyes. Then his eyes shift upward above my head; he is seeing something about my nature.

Swami M. reenters and the two swamis return to their talk. Swami M. is explaining about how some of the Ashram projects are proceeding. Then the Swami Chidananda looks at me again with a clear gaze. He says, “You do the same work as I do.” I said, “I am just a little person, like a small child.” Others laugh, he smiles, but does not say anything.

After some more talk between he and Swami M., he stands to walk out. We all stand with him, as he is nearby I reach down and touch his feet. He draws me up and is smiling and laughing, filled with joy he gives me a hug. Then, with full-on directness he says, “You do the same work as I do.” I take this as his blessing, for he is a saint who knows God.

I am including this post now (this is an excerpt from a writing that has not been posted yet), so it will be timely. We have understood that a powerful typhoon has hit Puri.  We loved our time in Puri and the people there;

Picture: Garuda, eagle who carries Vishunu. This statue sits prominently between the hotel and the sea at Puri.

We were just there just a week ago. Please pray for the residents to be safe, and that all should keep their mind on God. It is a holy city, May God protect it.

These past few days Puri has been in the news as it has taken the brunt of a typhoon (in the Atlantic it is called a hurricane). Just six days ago we were there in a hotel looking out over the beach and vast water. It must be quite a difficult thing to go through for all there; in fact they have evacuated many people from the area.

The hotel we stayed at had a lobby that had no walls on two sides. The restaurant was also open like that. Those winds and rains must be lashing through the hotel at incredible speeds and power. Those who are there are no strangers, but friends.

In fact how can we say that any in the world are strangers? Are not all our intimates? If there is suffering by anyone, is it not our very self that is also suffering? This universal empathy would not be possible without the Presence of God in the midst, for it would overwhelm the individual mind. However, the universal mind of God can easily accommodate this expansion.

Even as you might say, “Oh, I just stubbed my toe, ouch!” And then later you notice, “Oh, that food tastes so good!” And all through the day you are aware of so many different parts of your body relating experiences to your mind.

Now, your toe might be thinking, “I have nothing to do with those tastes in the mouth.” And the mouth may say, “I have nothing to do with that lowly toe!” However, the brain sees it all as part of the same body. Even so God sees all parts of creation as His very self, and there is no part that is separate or dispensable.

May those souls in Puri be safe, and may the damage from the storm result in even better buildings through their restoration. Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.

Picture: Swami Satchidananda; background Swami Ramdas

We are seven minutes before six p.m., riding in the car from the Mangalore airport. I had wanted to be at the Ashram before six in order to be in time for the closing of the Mandir. I know about where we are as we crest a hill before descending the back way to the Ashram and I do not see any possible way, according to laws of physics that we can be there before six.

Oh Papa, You know what is in my heart; time and space are Your playthings. If it be Thy will, bend time and allow us, Your children, to arrive in time for the Mandir Closing.

Somehow, and the only explanation in my mind is that Papa did bend time and space, we arrived a few minutes before six.

Oh Papa, You have rulership over this entire universe. Even the slightest desires of your dear ones can elicit a response from Your almighty will. Teach us to rely upon Divine Will alone, cheerfully submitting to what You decide that is for our highest good.

Carla and I enter the Swamiji’s Mandir from opposite sides.

Oh my Lord, this is like coming home. All voices joined in joyful unison singing Your name. We feel wrapped in a spiritual warmth that unifies all here. Something inside stirs, such a deep familiarity. It is true I have spent time here over the years, however this sense of connectedness transcends a single lifetime’s depth of experience.

Such a warm greeting from Swami Muktananda, Sri Krishna, Ananthraman, Swami Chandrananada, who was a newly minted Swami last time we were here, Saint Nalini, and too many to name. My heart overflows with Divine Love; swimming in a sea of smiles, love and joy. “How long has it been?” We are asked. “Seven Years, oh, it cannot be so long!”

We take our room in #4 of Ramdas block. The Ashram is filled to overflowing, there are two groups here. One group is made up of devotees of Meher Baba; they have a continuous chanting program for 48 hours. The group, complete with a blown loudspeaker are directly above us on what used to be the rooftop, but a canopy was built a few years ago so it is now covered. Another group is chanting Hari Rama, Hari Krishna for seven days without a break in the Centenary Hall. Our dear friend Chandra has been participating in this and is very uplifted from the experience.

It is insisted that we take our meals in our room for the next few days as the canteen is very full. Lakshmi Mahadev comes to our room. “Oh I have only been recently been informed of your coming, I will be going away next day after (day after tomorrow), I am so very sorry.” However she is glad to hear we will be here for some time and we will see her when she returns.

The power then goes out, a quick search produces some “torches” from our luggage. A knock at the door and Saint Nalini brings a candle and one match. “We have had so much rain this year that this is the only match I could find that would light!” Minutes later Ananthraman comes and brings another candle. So much love and concern for our slightest comfort.

We enter the Bhajan Hall. There sits Papa and Mataji in their life-like poses in front, now there is the addition of Swami Satchidananda’s form. This is my first time back to Anandashram since his Mahasamadhi. I pronam when I enter and then I seat myself up close to Swamiji’s picture, my back to the arched wall.

When it seems the right moment I go into Papa’s small room, it is the original part of this now larger structure that once served as Papa’s only room along with a covered porch. I pronam to the altar, and then I proceed to Papa’s, Mataji’s and then Swamiji’s realistic paintings that are on hard board that is cut to match the outline of their physical bodies, making them appear so life-like sitting there.

When I reach Swamiji’s picture a tide of emotion rises up. There is no single emotion, there is some feeling of loss, and there is gratitude, love; so many emotions are there, not any one single thing but a combination of all. Even as I write this I feel it, and yet there is nothing distinct I can say about this floodtide. Tears flow freely from the eyes.

I truly cannot say it is a feeling of loss, for I feel his thoughts and presence with me. His picture does not seem an ordinary picture, but a living Presence.

“Oh my dear Swamiji, You have been so instrumental in what I have in God. I have often referred to You as my second Mother, Mother Hamilton being my first Mother. With unbounded love and perseverance you helped to chip away the dross that covered the Divine Light within this ‘temple not made with hands.’ My love and gratitude are endless, and I surrender myself to your holy feet. Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram. It was this holy nam that you chanted for your final realization. It was this all-powerful chant my own Gurudev initiated me into almost 40 years ago.

“Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram: Victory to God, Victory to the Light for this entire world. Your pure Light is radiating through so many souls here. What a rare thing to have such continuous illumined masters in this lineage, Papa, Mataji, and You, my dear Swamiji. May this Ashram ever be a beacon of purity and Light for one and all. Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram!

We end the evening program with the arathi as once again the singing joins us together and brings such brotherhood. Kannan rushes across the Bhajan Hall for pronam greetings. He appears to have had some health issues; he says he was not well last year but he is all right now.

Our hearts are quite full with all the love we have been greeted with. Arriving on time for the closing of the Mandir, being enfolded in the loving vibrations of singing the Holy Name, receiving Prasad under a tropical night sky and sitting in warm comfort with a half-moon hanging overhead is all pure bliss.

Oh Papa, Mataji, Swamiji, due to your committed lives for God and Gurus alone you have created this abode of bliss. May we, with your blessings, bring this light, love and purity to all whom we come into contact. Our fervent prayer is that all may experience the Divine Union that was your all, and all, in all. Let the name of God ring from hills and dales and in the hearts of all, by whatever Name each one chooses to sing with love and faith. Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram!