I am reading through a transcript that Carla had highlighted for me in which there was a question and answer format Mother was engaging us in. The year was 1986, and I asked Mother:
David H. Mother, how can you tell when the impressions and the voice and the feelings that you’re getting are from God and not just from yourself?
Mother Hamilton: Well, you all remember that in the Bible it says, “Test each spirit as it comes, or each thought because not every spirit is of God.” You have intuition inside of you. You intuit. In other words that is God speaking to you. I have used that many, many times in my lifetime. And your solar plexus is your second brain and that’s where you get the feeling that something is right or wrong. So when you don’t feel totally comfortable and get the green light on something, take a good look at it. I had that happen to me when I was in New York. I was shown something that I could do, that I wanted to do very badly and it looked just like a beautiful arrangement.
Then I remembered that “test each spirit as it comes.” I did that and immediately I said to God, “If that’s right let me know but if it isn’t show me something else.” Immediately I got a totally different picture. And I would have been in deep trouble if I had done what I first got. So when you get these feelings of either go ahead or the stop signal, listen to them. Don’t go against them. That is God in you, protecting you, guiding you, directing you.
In reading this I noticed that Mother did not give a concrete reference, such as look it up in this book, but rather gave a means for going deeper inside myself and communing with God. The other thing that struck me was that Mother gave an example from her own experience in which she had a misleading direction, something that seemed so right in her own mind, but God was prompting her from within to “test each spirit.”
It is amazing to think that 32 years have passed since Mother said this. I think back over the many experiences God had yet to put me through, and the times when I both honored and ignored Mother’s sage advice. I do wish I could say I always exercised the precise discrimination Mother taught, for that would have saved me a lot of pain and trouble.
However, the relevance of her teachings is timeless, and not just for me, but for all. That we take the time to really go to God to ensure the direction in which we are heading, to confirm that the day-to-day decisions we are making are in concert with the highest light and wisdom of God. It is crucial to our long term happiness and fulfillment that we really listen to what Mother taught, and do as she did.
My mother and me in front of her tea cup collection–2012
What a perfect idea, to honor mothers everywhere. As Mother said, “every mother goes through pain, and sometimes into the very jaws of death, to bring forth every child which she bears.” This was true of my own mother.
God gave me an experience of being in my mother’s womb. I heard my mother’s heartbeat, I was so perfectly comfortable being where I was. And, I knew that life on earth would not be an easy one, I felt resistant to leaving that haven of peace in the womb, as I listened to that heartbeat. It was such a complete experience that while going through it my own physical body was curled up in a fetal position.
I talked with my mother after I had this inner experience about my birth. She said that I was breached, and the doctor was up to his elbows getting me turned. She had tears from this that needed to be sutured, and my aunt Kay came to help her for some weeks after the birth as my mother could not move easily—she had my two older brothers to care for as well as a new baby. Every mother faces the possibility of the unknown, and shows great courage in bringing forth new life. When we really think about it, new life is absolutely a miracle, and no new life is possible without a mother.
Today we salute our mother’s, and if feel great gratitude not only for my own mother, but all mothers; for they made a decision for life, and life is a miracle.
Since I not only have a physical mother, without whom I would not have this incarnation, I also have my spiritual Mother, without whom I would not have a life worth living. Plato compared himself with a midwife, helping to bring forward a new being, spiritually born. Guru takes it further. The guru delivers spiritual Shakti or power of the Divine Mother, and so is an essential part of the Christ, or Krishna, child taking birth in the aspirant. Then guru shepherds the soul through all the experiences the soul must go through in order to know God.
Babaji described how he watched over the soul of Lahiri Mahasaya; when he left the body in a previous incarnation, moved with him in Spirit as he spent a life in the astral, then kept him under a protective wing when he was just a little tyke buried under the sands in lotus posture and then growing into manhood. How lovingly he was with his beloved disciple—watching, protecting and secretly guiding him until it was ordained that they should meet again in the physical.
Mother, willing to expend herself completely, entered the “jaws of death” to help bring about the total restoration of God-consciousness to all whom God had given her. I know that even when we are not aware, she watches over us, helping us to overcome our karma and to know the Infinite. Motherhood requires patience, for the zygote, fetus, newborn, a graceless teen and all the in-between stages will not appear like a finished product, not at all. Yet the Guru never ceases to see the perfect soul in God that each one of us truly are. Oh, such patience, a forbearance that only God can display!
I bow to you my blessed Divine Mother. May your Grace lift us up, guide us through the great transformation; that we may merge into God, and God into us. Inspire us to be what we should be in God, and know the perfect freedom of Spirit—to be immersed in the bliss you experience and the supreme wisdom you know.
Mother sitting at the feet of Papa at Anandashram Bhajan Hall
January 31 is Mother’s Mahasamadhi date, and we mark the day by celebrating Mother’s life as one of the greatest God-women this world has seen. When Master incarnated, he brought some tremendous souls with him—among those greats were Sister Gyanamata (Edith Bissett), and of course Mother Hamilton. Both lived in Seattle and became friends as sister-disciples of the Master. Sister moved down to live with the Master, Mother remained in Seattle. In subsequent years Master made Mother the Center Leader of Seattle, ordained her a minister, and then Master gave Mother the distinction of being the only woman with the title of Yogacharya in his world-wide work.
As Reverend Lawrence Koler and Cate, and Reverend Jill were all at Anandashram during the preparation of a booklet in celebration of this date, we focused on the writings of Mother to Swami Ramdas—the booklet is entitled My Beloved Papa. This booklet is available on crossandlotus.com website under What’s New, and printed copies are being distributed the same as the Journal. These very important letters show the progress of Mother’s journey to God-realization.
Mother’s teachings are unique, in that the experiences that God put her through are her teachings. When Mother completed a spiritual experience, God would guide Mother to a biblical passage and the connection between her experience and the biblical passage would be revealed to her. Such revelations may seem ephemeral or even haphazard to someone only hearing about this—however, such realizations affect every part of a person: body, mind and soul. The knowledge gained in this way does not come as an idea only, but as an entire experience that changes the aspirant down to the cellular level of body and being. These letters from Mother to Papa trace the impact he had on Mother from their first meeting in Seattle to Mother’s return from Anandashram and the Dark Night of her Soul. May Mother’s writings inform and inspire you, and ultimately lift you into the supreme Divine Consciousness.
I have always felt that to truly honor Mother, her life and her teachings, is to follow in her footsteps. I consider Mother the greatest salesman in the world, for she would tell us that to follow her we would enter the Mystical Crucifixion: it will be difficult, painful, tear us down—even to the point of death–before lifting us up in God-consciousness. Now, who wants to sign up!
Mother is leading us on the most terrific adventure known to man. Even though the saying has been made famous—Space, the final frontier—I think the true ultimate frontier is inner space through spiritual evolution. Mother is our leader, and those of us who choose are the lucky explorers in Man’s greatest adventure. Thank you, Mother, for leading the way with your courage, faith, loyalty and purity of purpose—and for your compassion upon us all through all the years you taught us and spent your life for our spiritual advancement.
Note: There is an interesting astronomical event on Mother’s Mahasamadhi Anniversary that is occurring for the first time in 150 years. It is a Super Blood Blue Moon. Super because it is in a near orbit of earth and therefore large and bright—as evidenced yesterday when I saw the moon in the afternoon and it was big and brilliant even in daylight. A blood moon because it will be eclipsed, in the earth’s shadow it will appear dark red; for those on the West Coast total eclipse will be shortly after 6 a.m. And it is a Blue Moon, you know, Once in a Blue Moon, that is it is the second full moon in one month. I often feel the effects of the moon’s cycles, and the timing of this rare occurrence is interesting. You may want to observe your meditation during this time to mark its effects—and even take a peek outside at this rare astronomical event.
Wednesday January 31, we mark the anniversary of Mother’s Mahasamadhi. While it is certainly a solemn occasion to observe the time of Mother consciously leaving the body, and we certainly recognize the tremendous contribution Mother has made to our lives, what stands out to me in this moment is Mother’s sense of humor and fun—Mother’s laugh. The streets of Mother’s joy and wisdom often met at the intersection of laughter—using humor in her work as God’s minister, and purely in comical appreciation for the general human condition.
On one occasion Mother said,
“As many of you who see more of me perhaps than others do, you know that I have a tremendous sense of humor, and that I do a lot of wisecracking, and sometimes it seems to get out of control. This evening I was reading briefly out of a book called The Master Said, which told about incidents in my own Guru’s life. He said that when he was a boy, he used to laugh a lot, and that the saints he went to see just loved his laughter. I was thinking the other day that when I get up to the pearly gates, because I’ve laughed and joked so much and sometimes taken God along with me, that I might be in a little trouble with Him. Either He was going to say, “Well, here is this terrible person that didn’t hang her head in shame and think of all the sins she had committed and what not,” or He’s going to say, “Well, here comes this individual who doesn’t think she has to wear sackcloth and ashes all the time and starve the body and what not,” and maybe He’ll just welcome me into His arms. So this story reminded me of that. Master told about his going to all these saints and how they loved his laughter, but one saint said to him, “You know, I understand your laughter. But sometimes when you laugh like that so wholeheartedly, you annoy the other devotees.” And Master said to him, “But it is God who laughs.” And the saint said, “Yes, that is true. You may laugh if you wish.” [chuckles] So I take that.
Mother, Master and Papa all had a tremendous sense of fun—they could laugh at themselves as well as the recurring absurdities of life. Sri Yukteswarji also had a wonderful, sometimes wry sense of humor. After Sri Yukteswar was recovering from a serious illness, Master wrote:
“When I ventured a few words of sympathy over his emaciated figure, my guru said gaily: “It has its good points; I am able now to get into some small ganjis (undershirts) that I haven’t worn in years!”
Listening to Master’s jovial laugh, I remembered the words of St. Francis de Sales: “A saint that is sad is a sad saint!”
From a talk Mother gave, it shows her way of using humor to make a salient point with everyday imagery:
But, you know, there are a lot of people who just love to borrow trouble, so I brought along a little recipe for misery. (laughter) I thought I’d like to share it with you. If you’d like to take it down—if you have paper and pencil . . .. (laughter) It calls for one cup of guilt, one cup of dwelling on the past, one-half cup of plain “poor me”, a pinch of sarcasm, one tablespoon of criticism, one-fourth cup of blaming on others. Blend and let it set until the ego rises to double its size. (tremendous laughter) Divide it in equal portions and bake in a hot oven of judgment. (laughter) I think that’s beautiful.
As we know, Jesus was a master story-teller who made his points while giving memorable images to his listeners. Mother could also use funny stories to a wonderful, even to a devastating effect, as she did in telling this story….
“When you have final God realization, you see, one thing is like another to you. You cannot see any difference because there is God equally present everywhere. But our egos are so great, and we think that if we have accomplished a little something, that it is we who have done it. In truth, we have done nothing. It is God who has done all of it.
There was a very capable man, one day, who was a good businessman. He had talked to a great number of people, and his talk had been extremely successful. He was lauded as a wonderful orator, and everybody said what a wonderful speech he had given. The praise that was given to him was beyond description.
The next morning, he got up and he dressed. He was before the mirror shaving and combing his hair, when he really looked in the mirror. He said to his wife, “How many great men do you really think there are in the world?
His wife looked at him, and she said, “Well, I don’t know, but I can tell you one thing. There is one less than you think.”
I think that is a wonderful, wonderful story.”
While the path can be tough, keeping a sense of humor about our human condition helps ease us along the way, it makes us not take ourselves too seriously, and it can make a point to the other fellow in a way that may be of help—and do it with a laugh. You do not need to be the saint who goes around being sad, thinking that by doing so you are pleasing God, for that, indeed, would make you a sad saint. With love in our hearts, we strive to be more like our dear Mother, delightful Master and joyous Papa—we can clap our hands and ask, “What’s the fun?”
Happy Birthday Mother! A Guru who knew how to have fun!
As with many, Christmas is a wonderful time of year for me. I love the message and the feeling of the real reason for the season, as well as the decorative lights during what is for us the darkest time of year, the little traditions celebrated, and deepened meditation upon the personal and impersonal Christ. I knew that the special feeling that comes with our Christmas Service in Maple Ridge and on Camano Island was to be the heart of spiritual and social Christmas, and that afterward it would be a time of growing inner focus. Carla also had elective surgery this last week, and so recovery time for her added to being home and more reclusive.
I realize that for some it is also a season that brings up those things that have been lost. I have definitely lived long enough to have people and situations that are no longer here. Christmas celebrations with my Guru come to mind, and how she brought such life and meaning to the season as well as her birthday celebration on Christmas Day. However, I will say that a very definite virtue of a deepened communion with God is that it is the sole relationship that continues to deepen, glow and provides life, inspiration, renewal, and ever-new joy to devotees that never fades with time. In God-consciousness all people, past and present, feel near and dear. So, while I may miss certain interactions from the past, the sting of loss is replaced with a warm glow. When you take the feeling of loss to deepen connection with your infinite Beloved, then wounds are healed and loss becomes gain.
It is the one thing about God—He is not a thing of the past or a story that becomes staid, but a deep well of living waters that brings new birth and new openings to the most tremendous gift ever given to all God’s children. The angels’ universal sound is singing its song in my ears and beyond, the warm Christ-light is blazing as the leading star and lights the Christmas tree of my spine and brain–love is glowing from my heart, radiating out to all creation. These fill my heart, mind and soul and shares itself with one and all—there is no limit, no aloneness, no feeling of loss possible in this ever-new birth. This is the gift I wish, hope and pray for one and all—that you share in this God-experience. You will find it waiting for you to unwrap from under your tree-of-life, right within you. There are many wonderful things about this world, but none compares to the universal Christ-presence sown throughout creation, and that is most definitely residing deeply in you.
P.S. Thank you so much for your cards and gifts, each one is received with love and gratitude. I want to share with you a list of some holiday movies we enjoy. All, I think, are family friendly though some may not appeal to little children—of course, you may not like all of them as much as I do, but I think you will find there are many gems here, and hopefully some you may not know and come as delightful surprises—others simply reminders to see again.
It’s a Wonderful Life (spoiler alert, Clarence get’s his wings!)
White Christmas (when young I thought musicals were stupid, now many are delightful!)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Christmas does not come from a store, it is much, much more!)
Elf (You are an angry elf!)
Lost Christmas (Who would think Shiva would save Christmas!)
The Santa Clause (I Like the sequels as well)
The Last Holiday (Queen Latifah to God, You just mess’n with me now!)
Christmas with the Kranks (Botox scene makes me laugh every time)
Christmas in Connecticut (A fun Classic)
Jesus of Nazareth (Zeffirelli makes each scene look like a masterpiece painting—and James Earl Jones plays a wonderful Wiseman—you can watch it up to the birth of Jesus)
A Christmas Carol (there are many versions, but Alistair Sim makes the most grumpy and then joyfully redeemed Scrooge in this 1951 classic)
Holiday Inn (You just have to love corny musicals, and Fred Astaire’s dancing of course)
A Christmas Story (You’ll shoot your eye out!)
Miracle on 34th Street (Edmund Gwenn makes the best Santa!)
The ferry glides upon the most perfect blue water, islands near and far with scattered trees makes the scene so charming, a perfect day as we make our way to Victoria to see devotees. With pilgrimage and hospital stays in this past couple of years–it has been a long time since making this journey.
I am reminded of times past, going back thirty seven, thirty eight years and making this same trip with a group of us following Mother Hamilton as she came to Victoria to see devotees here. Being on the ferry with Mother, then staying with devotees, Sunday Service at the YMCA chapel, brunch with Mother at a beautiful atriumed restaurant for those of us who had come up with Mother and the Victoria Group, then making our way back on the ferry. It is hard to describe how compact life was, how much experience was packed into such occasions. Actual talk with Mother was very little, it was just being with her, being part of her journey–it was everything for us in the moment.
Of course Mother had very different kinds of relationships with each disciple. With some she was very personal, staying at their homes, spending social time with them. Then, for many of us, it was very sporadic to have time just with Mother outside of Sunday and Wednesday Service, very rarely one-on-one–while Mother was everything for me, she was far more impersonal in our relationship. There seemed to be an inner circle of devotees, and then the rest of us. I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be part of the inner circle, but I was secure in knowing that what I had with Mother transcended social circles, or proximity of being in person with her–I was content with what I had.
It is interesting now, because it has proven true over time that many who were part of that inner circle did not stay with Mother; however there were those of us on the outer circle who have stayed true to a bond formed with the guru so long ago. Mother said that those who were more physically distant from her often made more spiritual progress than those close, such is the mystery of discipleship. Jesus said, many are called, few are chosen, and Krishna said, of many thousands, one here and there seek Him out, and of those a rare one rises up to know Him truly as He is; the path of realization is indeed inscrutable.
Such are my thoughts in the early morning hours being here with devotees. Now I find God in this form is different with each one, some brought in closer, some kept more at a distance. However, what is equal is the love that God expresses through me for each one. For God is both personal and impersonal; the personal shows distinction, the impersonal none. God has His play, His lila, and He enjoys it. God also is unqualified Spirit, without separation, limitation–beyond time, space and form. As He is in Himself in Spirit, and also the creative Hand manifesting as all nature, so His seemingly dual nature is within all souls–the microcosm in the macrocosm. In Spirit He is one, whole, complete; and in creation He joyfully expresses Himself as varied forms in the ebb and flow of life–with all of its dramas.
Being made in His likeness (unqualified Spirit) and His image (expressive form), each soul has both completeness and dynamism deep in their souls. However, so many have forgotten their heritage of perfect Spirit within, and seek to find their happiness in the constantly changing images of creation; a vain task never to be completed. For, only in Spirit is wholeness experienced, and with that realization comes the experience that it is the same Spirit being expressed as multifarious creation–the same oneness known in deepest meditation reveals the deep underlying oneness in all forms (this oneness in creation is Christ-awareness–the only begotten Son of God).
Mother acted impeccably with each soul, perfect for what each one needed for his or her spiritual evolution. With me, she kept an impersonal distance that made me seek Her out in Spirit, not becoming overly familiar with Her outer form. It was perfect for me, and made me know Her in Her Divinity first, and foremost. Others She swept up in Her lila, and that was perfect for them. Inner attunement stands the world on its head in terms of who is in the inner circle and who is part of the outer circle.
In my current life God has become far more impersonal in Spirit. He is a strict taskmaster, and when I venture too much into His play, He is quick to draw me back in Him. My God is a jealous God--speaks to His instant inner direction that brooks no insubordination of too much focus on this world, even when I think it is a task done for Him! And when He flows through me as form, He does so joyfully and easily. But usually I am mostly in Him. One of the interesting things about this, is that when deep in Him, and He makes me think of someone or some situation, I feel such intimate contact in Spirit with that one–a complete knowing oneness. There is an inscrutability to His divine design that belies human logic that tells us physical contact is the only means of feeling close to another–however this wisdom is at once knowable through intuition.
Oh, in my humanness, how I would love to ride on that ferry with Mother once again, basking in her physical presence–even for just a moment! To be the littlest one in her retinue–what joy there is in that thought!Yet, as I think of Her, Mother’s shining presence glows in and around me, treasure beyond all treasures! Such is the play of the Guru–God within, God without.
Guru Purnima falls on the full moon in July–a day for honoring one’s guru. Sage Vyasa is author of some of India’s greatest scriptures and was the first to be honored on this day. Also, on this day in history Shiva gave the cream of his teachings to seven sages who had the capacity to receive it, and it is the anniversary of when the Buddha gave his first sermon for spiritual emancipation at Deer Park in Sarnath.
The term guru has been bandied about much in the west: we have wall-street gurus, if someone is a specialist in any area he may be called a guru in his field. In India a professor or any teacher may have this broad distinction of being one’s guru. Gu meaning darkness, ru is light or interpreted to mean the remover of darkness; therefore guru may be anyone who enlightens you, lifting you out of ignorance. In addition to this generic usage, there is the specialized knowledge of Self-realization; one who imparts wisdom or knowledge in this area is known as a guru, the meaning now takes on greater gravitas. Just as you might go beyond undergraduate university classes to a master’s or doctorate degree, one is given a special advisor in graduate school who guides the advanced student into higher, more specific knowledge. When this occurs spiritually, and the aspirant is ready for the last mile of God-realization, then a Sat Guru comes into the devotee’s life.
A Sat Guru has become a spiritual master himself, or else he or she could not guide another. One may have many teachers in life, however God sends a specific teacher to take one all the way to Himself. Here in the West we pride ourselves on individuality, but in the area of Self-realization the true guru is absolutely needed to guide one surely, and has the power to awaken an aspirant with his own superconsciousness–imparting a spiritual seed that matures into fruition of full realization. I have taken university classes in which the intelligence of the professor conveyed, not only in words but through who they are, that created an excitement of life-energy in the brain, feeling new territory being opened up as to an explorer just setting foot in newly found lands. The occasional professor who inspires students like this serves the mind of the student as a guru. The spiritual guru does this and much more for the awakening soul.
When I first met my Gurudev, Mother Hamilton, she transmitted a spiritual power that lifted me far beyond what anything or anyone had done before. She taught me the methods for liberating my soul from darkness of separation, she was the example in thought, word and deed of what I was striving for in my own life. She did not ask for, nor would it had been useful, for me to become a carbon copy of herself–she wanted me to stand on my own two feet. Yet, I was in need of learning fundamental principles she taught; more than that I gradually attuned myself to her superconscious mind. This is the kind of power and subtlety that requires a true guru. For, if ego is in charge of the guru, how can following such a one make you transcend ego? A guru can only be an open door to God-realization if they have that realization themselves–not just occasionally have a spiritual experience, but to be a real guru one needs to be established in his oneness with God. This requires a rarity in this world; a fully realized soul.
When I look up the ladder of our guru-lineage I am in awe of what I see. My own dear Mother, Master–Paramhansa Yogananda, Sri Yukteswarji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Babaji and Jesus–it is a blindingly blessed lineage of realized Beings that have gone before us to blaze an unmistakable path to the Infinite. Mother was also the recipient of another fully realized Being, Papa Ramdas. And for me Swami Satchidanandaji played a pivotal role in realizing God. What gratitude comes to me in thinking of these divinely illumined souls; it humbles me to dust.
The supreme Master Jesus was the example for all of us to follow:
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13)
We are not here to rise up in hierarchies, to attain name and fame for ego’s sake–we are here to serve one another. We are the products of humble servants of God. In order to honor them on this special Guru Purnima Day we may emulate those who have gone before us to the full. Even as Babaji demonstrated for Lahiri Mahasaya:
“No sooner had I passed the ascetic than my astounded eye fell on Babaji. He was kneeling in front of a matted-haired anchorite. “‘Guruji!’ I hastened to his side. ‘Sir, what are you doing here?’ “‘I am washing the feet of this renunciate, and then I shall clean his cooking utensils.’ Babaji smiled at me like a little child; I knew he was intimating that he wanted me to criticize no one, but to see the Lord as residing equally in all body-temples, whether of superior or inferior men. The great guru added, ‘By serving wise and ignorant sadhus, I am learning the greatest of virtues, pleasing to God above all others—humility.’”
We may not be prompted to literally wash the feet of others, not because we are afraid of what they would think or due to our own pride, but God does not need us to be so literal. However, we may look to serve others with equal humility and surrender, just as Jesus or Babaji. We have been given a gift beyond measure in having living examples in our guru-lineage, and saints from around the world. We have been given the very highest methods for realizing God, and we have been shown examples of who and what we should be in God. We need those examples, and along the way we need encouragement. We may find both in the exchange between our beloved Param Para-Gurus:
“Angelic guru, as you have already favored mankind by resurrecting the lost Kriya art, will you not increase that benefit by relaxing the strict requirements for discipleship?’ I gazed beseechingly at Babaji. ‘I pray that you permit me to communicate Kriya to all seekers, even though at first they cannot vow themselves to complete inner renunciation. The tortured men and women of the world, pursued by the threefold suffering, need special encouragement. They may never attempt the road to freedom if Kriya initiation be withheld from them.’ “‘Be it so. The divine wish has been expressed through you.’ With these simple words, the merciful guru banished the rigorous safeguards that for ages had hidden Kriya from the world. ‘Give Kriya freely to all who humbly ask for help.’ “After a silence, Babaji added, ‘Repeat to each of your disciples this majestic promise from the Bhagavad Gita: “Swalpamasya dharmasya, trayata mahato bhoyat”—“Even a little bit of the practice of this religion will save you from dire fears and colossal sufferings.”’
What we may have done to deserve such grace from these truly great spiritual masters one cannot say? It is said that grace is by definition is undeserved. Perhaps that is true. Surely the love and constancy I received from my Guru was more than I could give to her at the time; therefore you would have to say that all she gave me was definitely undeserved. The greatest gift we can give our beautiful lineage, as well as the inspiration and grace we have received from so many saints the world over, is to strive with all of our hearts, our strength, minds and souls for attaining that most blessed state of consciousness wherein we know we are no longer separate individuals living in darkness, but that we have boldly stepped into the light, and find the same light radiating in us that is so clearly seen in our guru-lineage. This is the greatest way to honor Guru Purnima Day.
May the great blessings of God and Gurus on this special day ever grace you with a deep seated desire to realize God, and fulfill their greatest wish for you, that you know God and be immersed in the infinite Divine Consciousness–now and always. Have a blessed day.
Picture: Full moon of Guru Purnima Day, tree of life and birds of heaven.
It is the very early morning hours of the anniversary of Mother Hamilton’s Mahasamadhi; my heart and soul are feeling the inspiration of what this day means. To some it may seem an incongruity to celebrate the death of an individual, much less the passing of a beloved teacher, a Satguru. However, when we understand the true nature of what we call death, and even more a mahasamadhi, then we truly celebrate not only the life of a great spiritual master, but her actual leaving of the body as well.
In my journey to God, He has given me direct spontaneous memories of previous lives, fully reliving them just as they occurred. One such life memory included dying and what happened immediately after. In that moment of separation from the body, which came as an immense relief, I found myself in the presence of a wonderful Being of Light. Mother explained that this was my own Christ-Self, God within me made manifest in this seemingly outer form. Together we reviewed my life with an eye for learning, this Light-form, communicating through thought-transference, conveyed insight, wisdom and compassion.
In this review I realized that I had lost sight of my true purpose in taking incarnation; I had become lost in the details and demands of life and did not make the spiritual progress as I had originally intended when coming into that life. So many live in fear of judgement of what God or others might think. The truth is that we each know what true success looks like, and when connected with the deepest part of ourselves, we judge ourselves with clarity and discernment. In that moment of insight I had great self-disappointment; I had fallen short of my own goal. Right there and then I made an adamantine resolution to never waste a lifetime, ever again!
Great spiritual masters, such as Mother, have already learned that lesson down to the very cells of their beings. Depending on the nature of their lila, the play of their lives when they choose to take incarnation, they may live a portion of their lives in ignorance. But, when the awakening comes, there is no stopping them, a force to be reckoned with! Mother came into this incarnation with no karma of her own, nothing that bound her from the past, a completely freed being. However, she took on the life of an ordinary person, went through so many experiences of living a human life. As Mother said of herself, she had experienced what any woman could go through, and therefore had understanding of the difficulties of living in this world.
When Mother spoke, she gave of her wisdom with the power of God burning brightly in her. She not only spoke of the highest esoteric truths, but she also brought everyday human experience into spiritual perspective. She did not fear or shun this world, having totally surrendered her life at the feet of God and Guru, she had gone through the death of the ego, the little self–she then embraced all creation as God’s expression of Himself. This was one of the many gifts of wisdom Mother gave to us; a modern-day Western woman who had ascended the highest peaks of realization, and never lost sight of the human roots of her existence.
Mother used to joke about when she would leave her body–she had such a wonderful sense of fun. She said that since people were always asking her questions, she could imagine herself on her deathbed, and someone would say, “Oh Mother, before you go, I have just one more question for you!” She also once said that sometimes her sense of humor “got the best of her,” and she could imagine getting to the pearly gates and St. Peter would say, “I’m sorry, I cannot find your name on the list of those who are to come into heaven.” And then a deep voice, from some distance away, would say, “Is that Mildred? It’s alright, you can let her in, she made Me laugh a time or two!”
Mother lived a Christ-like life, and even as Jesus’ disciples were not present when he left the body, Mother was alone when she died. In one of those moments that I would love to have back, I was driving home from work when I thought of stopping in to see Mother at the hospital. Then the thought came that my wife might like to come with me, so I went home. Soon after I received the call that told me that Mother had left the body. Tears came, and I wondered at the strange play of God. I could have so easily been with her at the time of transition, but she had not wished it so.
Mother had said that at the time of death of a great soul a spiritual ambiance goes out all over this world; a blessing of the light and power of God. In that moment the master consciously releases themselves from the confines of the body, no longer carrying their heavy cross, they are now free, and the world is the recipient of his or her grace without limit.
Over the many years since Mother’s Mahasamadhi, her life and teachings have taken on so many hues, colors, and subtleties–like a multi-faceted diamond that manifests glints of light with unending variation and beauty. New truths, understanding, wisdom-thoughts, Divine Mother’s love, joy, humor, the everythingness of God is constantly revealing itself to the attuned mind. Each revelation of Mother’s immense Spirit adds to our comprehension what a truly extraordinary God-being our Mother was, and is.
Elisabeth Haich had said to Mother, Why do you go around thinking you are the littlest one? Do you not realize, you are greater than any master you have met, or will ever meet! Mother was not so sure of that statement, but it speaks to what a rare a magnificent soul Mother was. Even amongst the greatest of spiritual Masters, Mother stands among them–each one a shining jewel on God’s necklace of spiritual splendor.
In deepest reverence I bow at the feet of my beloved Guru. My prayer for you: that you might also receive glints of Mother’s pure God-light, and thereby be lifted higher and higher, until you, like she, merge into our Infinite Beloved and ever know that you and your Heavenly Father-Divine Mother are ever one.
These early Christmas hours feels very sacred, the air vibrating with Aumen–a celestial song of the Infinite. The Christmas tree lite, and tiny lights all around the crèche scene on the fireplace mantel.
As I stand and gaze at the images of the dear holy family, I touch the feet of the blessed baby Jesus. A thrill of Divine Presence captures my soul. A powerful surge thrills throughout every cell of my body. I stand enraptured for some time. Then my attention is drawn to the Holy Mother, and compassion for what she must have gone through humanly, the strain and stress of travelling when so fully pregnant, the uncertainties she had faced, the surrender of her soul, the handmaiden of God—all come flooding into me.
Gradually my attention swings to Joseph, again on a human level, the sense of family responsibility and the uncertainties. His intuition told him his soon to be wife was pure. His intuition would take the little family to far away Egypt to protect them, and tell him when it was safe to return. A man of strength, courage, conviction and perfect faith.
Then I looked at the angel blowing her horn in celebration, in joy and sounds of bliss! Yes, a night to celebrate, God with us! And the wise men, certainly saints and sages all—men of transcendent vision. They bow at the feet of a baby, in perfect submission to the Divine child. And the shepherd boy, coming without the understanding of the wise men, but in the simplicity of childlike love and faith. All have a place in this pageant of Light and Love come to the world; the redeemer of mankind and a blessing to all.
Then my vision is drawn to the picture of Mother, looking at the holy scene as from above. Born on Christmas day, a birthdate-harbinger for the life she was to live—a Christ-like life. She too would suffer, not be understood, would strive for, and be loyal to God to the very end. A lover of Truth, a servant of her Guru through thick and thin. That life is now over Mother, and now you reside in the great heavens, serving all, even as you served on earth. Happy birthday Mother! I surrender at your feet.
And you, my dear Ones, may you also feel this warmth of love and sacredness of Christmas; a happy day filled with Divine remembrance and wonder-filled activities.
Picture: It’s a Wonderful Life: “Every time a bell rings…
I have been spending a special amount of time focused on the transcripts of Mother’s Talks as I work to put them into book form. As I do so I am so conscious of what a powerful engine she was for God. The other attribute that stands out to me is her willingness to share from a human level what her life was like.
Mother’s life as a God-woman is perhaps unique, because so many of her teachings about the inner meaning of the scriptures is taken from an intimate portrait of her life. Although Yoganandaji shared much about his life, and his discipleship with his guru was open for all to see, Mother’s experiences relates to a major shift of understanding about the life and teachings of Jesus the Christ, it affects all Christendom and beyond.
It is remarkable (as in once in many lifetimes experience remarkable) to be given work by Mother and Master; in whatever degree they have given us to help. No matter what role we play in the work, there is nothing insignificant in what we do. It is a ruse of the ego that makes us think that our lives do not matter, or at least does not matter much.
I think of Brother Lawrence washing his dishes at the monastery. He was reputed to be not good at anything, so he was put on what was considered lowly cleanup duty. Who the head of the monastery was at the time–I do not know. Who the bishop or even the pope was at the time–I do not know. But, through his letters on Practicing the Presence of God I know Brother Lawrence.
As you go about your life you may sometimes believe that no one sees or cares about all that you do, but this is not the truth. This is especially true when you are making sincere spiritual effort in your life. Because, by connecting your life with God’s you are unleashing a tremendous force for good in this world. The more deeply you are immersed in God, the greater the good being done.
There are no insignificant lives in this world; period. There are no exceptions to this. The original screenplay for “It’s a Wonderful Life” was not Jimmy Stewart’s role as the bank CEO, rather the main role was played by a bank clerk. He was shown the world, by his guardian angel, as if he never lived. Because he was not the bank clerk another man had the job and embezzled money from the bank. The bank failed due to the theft and therefore a number of local businesses failed as well. The whole town and its economy suffered because this one man was not there to do his humble job honestly. Every life is important, and you are indispensable to the role you play, therefore you must play it well.
Meditating regularly and deeply you change not only your life, but your families life, your community and even the world at large. There is simply no way for you to accurately assess all the ways that your spiritual practice is absolutely needed by this world. Therefore, resolve that whatever role you are playing in this world, you play it well, and you enter into your spiritual practice with all of your heart, mind and soul–for you are God’s emissary.
Swami Ramdas: In continuous remembrance of Ram Nam
The notion of a mantra or chanting as a means for achieving states of higher consciousness is well known in the East, but is only beginning to be explored in more recent years here in the West. A chant used for this purpose normally does not have many lyrics, it does not tell a story or have a romantic appeal–rather its simplicity is its power.
Recently a dear devotee was inspired by a statement Mother Hamilton had made, “If you call upon the name of the Lord for 24 hours unceasingly, He cannot refuse to answer. He must come to you.” Originally she thought to start chanting Ram Nam unceasingly the day after her long work day, but God prompted her to start immediately after, 11:00 that night. She asked for blessings for her accomplishment of this noble endeavor. I suggested anytime tiredness affected her that she walk and chant for some time.
It is interesting that God’s prompting made her chant throughout the night of a supermoon, a time when the full moon was to be closest to the earth (perigee) since 1948, and would not be this close again until 2034; a unique night for spiritual practice. Spiritually, full moons are considered favorable; it was on a full moon that the Buddha achieved nirvana and it was on a full moon that the gopis met Krishna in a dance of divine ecstasy.
Her practice brought to mind times at Anandashram, especially on full moon nights, when I climbed to the top of Manjupati, the hill behind the Ashram, and chanted through the night. On one such night I was unsuccessfully trying to remember a new chant I had heard at the Ashram when suddenly some distant temple in the valley below played over loudspeakers the very Ram Nam tune I had been trying to remember! (Only in India would a temple play a chant at this volume at 2 in the morning!) In heart-melting gratitude to the Infinite Beloved for answering this smallest of desires in such a unique way I looked out on the night, with dots of lighted lamps here and there below, in the distance incoming waves of the Arabian Sea reflecting moon’s light, with a shawl wrapped around me for warmth in the rare coolness, Ram Nam kept me company and lifted me into His Presence throughout the nocturnal observance. On other nights, when there was 24 hour Ram Nam at the Mandirs for some special occasions, I walked the Ashram walkways to quietly chant during the night.
I felt in sympathetic connection throughout for this beloved aspirant during her 24 hour practice. After this “experiment” she felt no tiredness, rather she was rested in a complete way. When drowsiness did come, she walked and chanted and did some yoga stretches without loss of Ram Nam, which was continuous. She also felt a deepened guru-disciple connection. From my own previous experiences I know this dedicated period of practice will reverberate into the future, strengthening her ongoing remembrance of God.
Ram Nam practice has a number of stages it takes the aspirant through. From the beginning chanting Ram Nam has given me a feeling of upliftment, peace and bliss. This purification results in continuous God-experience, feeling His presence permeating mind, body and spirit. At a certain point the vibration of Ram Nam enters the spine awakening an awareness of vast inner space filled with sacredness. The illumined spine and brain then effortlessly merges with outer creation–God within, God without. This universal vision confirms that there is no place where God is not.
When every cell of your being resonates with divine feeling you may be sure you are in God-consciousness. You know that you are not the body, not any temporary emotional state and you are beyond thought–you are eternal Spirit existing in a state of freedom. The power of chanting is just becoming more widely known, but what a power it unleashes to lift one and all into the bliss of His Presence–that through continuous and earnest practice He must come to you.
Note: Since returning from the Redwoods God has kept me in a powerful inner experience that keeps me indrawn in Him. It is for this reason I am not giving a talk this Sunday, the week of Thanksgiving. Know that I am with you in Spirit.
Today Mother of Teresa of Calcutta officially becomes “Saint Teresa” of Calcutta. The Catholic Church has a formal process of canonizing an individual as a saint, it incorporates at least two verified miracles after their death when he or she has been prayed for intercession. The real hallmark of a saint, we feel, is that they have led a life surrendered to God; that a saint knows God.
One of the interesting things about Mother Teresa was her inner life with God that was known only to a very few during her lifetime. After receiving a tremendous experience in God that set her out on her mission to serve the poorest of the poor, Mother Teresa did not experience God’s Presence. Not only did she live alongside the poor in Calcutta, she also lived a life of spiritual impoverishment. In this way she was meant to serve the poorest of the poor through her example of living simply, and struggling spiritually while in total surrender to God.
Who could look at her life with an honest view and not find absolute surrender to her Lord in what she accomplished. I have read her critics, but found no real basis for doubting her sincerity and holiness. Even as she lived, Mother Teresa was a saint. Anyone who takes on a greater mission in life will have oppositional forces to deal with; that will be a certainty. And it is not that we should simply accept easily someone’s sincerity and lack of hypocrisy, however we should not lack faith that there are those, even those in the international spotlight, who can rise up to sainthood.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta stands as a world-wide symbol today of service to God in the poor; service and surrender to God’s will. Mother Hamilton, in a Christmas talk in 1980, spoke of Saint Teresa after meeting her in Calcutta, and this is what she said:
“The real meaning of Christmas is giving, to give to the poor, to give to the needy, to serve the Christ in every man even as Mother Teresa does in Calcutta, India. She is a world-famous Christian saint and, certainly, she shouldn’t have to wait until after she has died to be canonized because she is a saint now. I have but to close my eyes, and I see this woman’s face before me–not beautiful in the human sense, in the ordinary physical sense at all–her face is lined with wrinkles, her features aren’t too good. But she has a light blazing in her eyes and a light on her skin such as I have never seen before. It is beautiful. And she takes the lepers, she goes out and picks up the sick and the dying off the streets, and she takes them home to her hospital. And she washes them with her own hands and makes them clean, and she puts clean garments on them, and she teaches these people about the Christ. And each one that comes before her is her Christ in human form. Now, this woman is a great, great Christian, believe me she is great. She really serves. She is completely without thought of herself. She thinks only of God through Christ and of serving him in every waking moment of her life. She gets very, very little sleep. She works ceaselessly. She uses everything that is given to her in order that she may serve her Christ, and her name has spread all over the earth. Still, when she was given the Nobel Prize and they asked her if she had any comments to make about it, she said that all the honor that had been paid to her was nothing more nor less than crucifixion. She had to take time out to come and appear before a world audience to accept an honor which she gave only to Christ, and so she felt that that was crucifixion. That is true humility, isn’t it? And if each of us could be humble in that sense, if each of us each moment of the day, not just at the Christmas season, but beginning this moment would look for people to serve, to serve Christ in them, even until you die serving Christ, what more glorious end could you have?
And I will close with a quote from Saint Teresa taken from a book about her entitled, “Something Beautiful for God:”
“That’s the spirit of our society, that total surrender, loving trust and cheerfulness. We must be able to radiate the joy of Christ, express it in our actions. If our actions are just useful actions that give no joy to people, our poor people would never be able to rise up to the call which we want them to hear, the call to come closer to God.”
Wednesday January 31, we mark the anniversary of Mother’s Mahasamadhi. While it is certainly a solemn occasion to observe the time of Mother consciously leaving the body, and we certainly recognize the tremendous contribution Mother has made to our lives, what stands out to me in this moment is Mother’s sense of humor and fun—Mother’s laugh. The streets of Mother’s joy and wisdom often met at the intersection of laughter—using humor in her work as God’s minister, and purely in comical appreciation for the general human condition.
