A week after finishing The Life of Yogananda there are some takeaways I have from this biography. The first is how hard Master worked and the sheer amount he travelled for years while crisscrossing America. Some years he was at Mt. Washington for merely a few weeks. I know Master said in the Autobiography that he loved to travel and see new places, yet this amount of being on the road must have been very challenging. He was here in America to make a difference—and what a difference he made.

The other fact that stands out is how many balls Master was balancing: a travelling speaker, event planning, advertising and then the classes that followed, responsibility for the Mt. Washington Headquarters and a growing number of churches and Centers, financial responsibilities to keep it all going (working to pay off debts much of this time), and fulfilling his role as guru to a growing number of devotees—in person, through letters and in Spirit.

Then there were the disappointments: those he depended on who did not follow through—even betrayed him, people of wealth saying they would support the work and then nothing, having to battle prejudice and people being suspicious of his motives, jealousy and those who thought they knew better than he.

And, he rose above these obstacles and challenges; he was a tremendous success. In hindsight we see his accomplishments—however, hindsight can lose details, and while Master did have support, drew many wonderful souls to him, and is a shining light in this world, it stands out to me what an extraordinary God-man he was to overcome all the trials that God sent to him.

There are those who do not always see the man in the God-man. Some have said that Jesus did not really suffer on the cross, because God could not suffer. Nor could he have had doubts, because how could God doubt? And while it is true that a God-man or a God-woman has access to extraordinary power and consciousness, that one still lives in a human body, faces many of the same trials that any human being does, can even feel despondent (Rama, an incarnation of God felt depressed at times when separated from Sita). Acknowledging his humanness only increases our compassion and appreciation for all that Master accomplished in his life.

And how may this inform us on our path to God-realization? As Master said, “The same God that is in me, is also in you.” You call upon that same God—the tremendous power, upliftment and intelligence that made it possible for Master to do all he did—and that Divinity ignites in you the qualities of the all-powerful One.

As Mother said of her own condition as a fully realized Being, “I am fully human, and fully Divine.” To many this seems to be an unsolvable paradox, but for the sincere aspirant it offers inspiration—even in your humanness, you are also Divine. Your task is the same that Master and Mother had in their lives, to realize the inner divinity of God. In Master’s life you have a story of just such possibilities, not only for Master or just a chosen few, but for all who aspire.

For my book review of The Life of Yogananda:

http://www.crossandlotus.com/David/BookReviews/A_Review_of_The_Life_of_Yogananda.pdf

 

When I first met Mother in 1974 I had not heard of the Autobiography of a Yogi or Paramhansa Yogananda. My introduction to Master came from Mother—from her stories, eventually reading his books, listening to records, yes LP records, of him singing and talking, then taking pilgrimage to Mt. Washington, Lake Shrine and Encinitas. And what a journey it has been to know Master through Mother’s experiences, his writings and connection to places he lived.

I remember Larry and I climbing the stairs to Sri Yukteswarji’s Serampore Ashram in India. The steps were worn with use and I thought, Sri Yukteswar and Master walked up these same steps so many times—I felt so privileged to follow in their footsteps. Then standing on the landing where a picture had been taken where Sri Yukteswar stood and Master sat during Yoganandaji’s return to India in 1935—it was thrilling. It may be hard for some to understand how meaningful these experiences are, such as meditating in Master’s attic meditation room at 4 Gupar Road in Calcutta where Master had the vision of the Divine Mother and where Babaji came to see him before his coming to America—at what joy there is in this feeling of connection.

Of course, it is not just physical locations where a realized master resided that he may be experienced. When a soul becomes realized, more than ever their consciousness may be known wherever a keen desire and love attracts them. When at Cloud Mountain, Mother and Master gave me their darshan. In one of those darshans it was notable that their joy was bubbling over as a deep vibration. That joy repeatedly rose up from some unfathomable source deep inside them—one would start and the other would respond, and back and forth it went. It was waves of blissful joy after blissful joy that had no limits. Words simply do not do justice to being with them—however the blessings continue with me even now when remembering that evening, and will stay with me all the days of my life.

We celebrated Master’s birthday on January the fifth, but due to getting medical procedures done at that time I did not write about it on that day. But, I did want to write something about Master’s birthday, to say that if not for him there would be no Mother, without Mother I do not even want to think what my life would have been. The living Presence of these masters is the greatest of blessings to all whose minds are attuned to them. As Lahiri Mahasaya said, to think of Babaji with reverence releases a blessing to you; and so it is with all the great Ones.

It is the power of our thought and devotion that brings God and the masters to us, that gives us an experience with them. Deepened thought and devotion acts as a magnet and makes them real. There are those who write fanciful tales, some who mistake or overstate their spiritual experiences, but that should not make us doubt that we may have actual and direct experience with God or any of His saints and realized masters. To think of Master with total devotion will draw him near, will make you know that his grace and blessings are flowing to you; they will change you and draw you closer to God in body, mind and soul. Master came to make you know that you may realize God—it is for this reason only that he was born. You can honor most him by going to work and, even as he did, make Self-realization your priority—first, middle and last.

May Master ever bless you and his grace lift you constantly higher into the supreme divine consciousness of his infinite Beloved.

 

Today is the anniversary of the great samadhi of Paramhansa Yogananda. Spiritual masters attain a high state of consciousness in which they transcend the limitations of the five senses and the reasoning mind–they find themselves in states of bliss, have visions of light beyond that which the sun or flame brings to the eye, hear sounds that come from the depths of creation, and have a deep sense of knowing who and what they truly are that transcends the short human life-cycle here on earth. Much can be written to try and capture this high state, but none can be the final word on it.

When an accomplished spiritual master senses that the time is right he slips the bonds of the human body for the last time and he or she enters into the realm of light and realization as a freed being–without necessity for returning to the earthly realm to fulfill unmet desires. For it is said that full spiritual realization answers all the heart’s desires, leaving nothing for the master except to think, do and say as Divine Will directs. God chooses the moment for this final ascension, a well known path by the master who “dies daily” in Christ Consciousness.

Master chose to leave the body in a public manner, even as he had led an open life for the uplift of all humanity. The occasion was the coming of a new ambassador from the relatively newly freed nation of India. Master was to be a keynote speaker for the function honoring the new ambassador. After a dinner in the Biltmore Hotel conference room Master rose to speak. He told of humorous stories of first coming to America. He had heard that Native American (Indians) scalped white men, and when he saw bald men in the cities of America he thought that “Indians” had been at their gruesome work! And when he saw signs for selling “hotdogs”, he thought, “Lord, why did you bring me to a land where they eat dogs!”  Through humor and instructive stories Master touched the hearts and delighted the audience with his short talk.

Then he recited part of his beautiful poem, My India, closing with the sentiment, “Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God-
I am hallowed; my body touched that sod.” Then he turned a little toward his right and his body slipped to the ground. He was gone, just like that. The ending of life spent in service to humanity to awaken God-consciousness in one and in all. Master had “died with his boots on,” and he has left his mark for all of us to follow in doing what he did, knowing what he knew, becoming what he became; for he is the archetype for a rapidly developing consciousness in this world.

Slights, insults and injustices rarely stayed with Master. Even though he was subject to racist treatment and smears in person and in the public arena, he remained positive and saw the best in America and in people. He ever kept a higher vision of individuals and nation-states. This positivity was based on an inner vision that God is the evolutionary force in nature and humanity, and that although uneven and at times unlovely, it is inexorably moving toward the enlightenment of all creation.

Honoring Master is best done by emulating him. Following in his steps does not mean that we have to feign an East Indian accent or take on outward mannerisms like him. It means that we strive to know God, we honor saints and realized masters,  we endevor to live as guru instructs us, and that we serve God in all souls–even as he did! Let us think on and honor the great master today, on his Mahasamadhi Day, as on all days.

You may hear my talk from last night to the Ashland Center:

Master’s Mahasamadhi.

http://www.crossandlotus.com/David/Talks/2017/20170306_DA_Skype_Master’s_Mahasamadhi.mp3

 

Picture: Master; 1924-age 31

Today, we celebrate the birth of Paramhansa Yogananda, one of the great spiritual personalities to inhabit this world, and a personal blessing to those of us who follow this Kriya path. Master, Yoganandaji, wrote 70 years ago:

The characteristic features of Indian culture have long been a search for ultimate verities and the concomitant disciple-guru relationship. My own path led me to a Christlike sage whose beautiful life was chiseled for the ages. He was one of the great masters who are India’s sole remaining wealth. Emerging in every generation, they have bulwarked their land against the fate of Babylon and Egypt.

I find my earliest memories covering the anachronistic features of a previous incarnation. Clear recollections came to me of a distant life, a yogi amidst the Himalayan snows. These glimpses of the past, by some dimensionless link, also afforded me a glimpse of the future.

The helpless humiliations of infancy are not banished from my mind. I was resentfully conscious of not being able to walk or express myself freely. Prayerful surges arose within me as I realized my bodily impotence. My strong emotional life took silent form as words in many languages. Among the inward confusion of tongues, my ear gradually accustomed itself to the circumambient Bengali syllables of my people. The beguiling scope of an infant’s mind! adultly considered limited to toys and toes.

Psychological ferment and my unresponsive body brought me to many obstinate crying-spells. I recall the general family bewilderment at my distress. Happier memories, too, crowd in on me: my mother’s caresses, and my first attempts at lisping phrase and toddling step. These early triumphs, usually forgotten quickly, are yet a natural basis of self-confidence.

 Thus begins the spiritual classic: Autobiography of a Yogi. Master continues his narrative at the age of 8 after his healing of deadly Asiatic cholera by Lahiri Mahasaya:

Shortly after my healing through the potency of the guru’s picture, I had an influential spiritual vision. Sitting on my bed one morning, I fell into a deep reverie.

“What is behind the darkness of closed eyes?” This probing thought came powerfully into my mind. An immense flash of light at once manifested to my inward gaze. Divine shapes of saints, sitting in meditation posture in mountain caves, formed like miniature cinema pictures on the large screen of radiance within my forehead.

“Who are you?” I spoke aloud.

“We are the Himalayan yogis.” The celestial response is difficult to describe; my heart was thrilled.

“Ah, I long to go to the Himalayas and become like you!” The vision vanished, but the silvery beams expanded in ever-widening circles to infinity.

“What is this wondrous glow?”

“I am Iswara. I am Light.” The voice was as murmuring clouds.

“I want to be one with Thee!”

Out of the slow dwindling of my divine ecstasy, I salvaged a permanent legacy of inspiration to seek God. “He is eternal, ever-new Joy!” This memory persisted long after the day of rapture.

 Master’s intense search for God, which took him to the feet of his great guru, Sri Yukteswarji, is now immortalized in his autobiography and has become a living testament in the changed lives of those who took Master as their guru. We are indeed blessed to have this seamless connection come to us through his most beloved disciple, Mother Hamilton. The traditional guru-disciple relationship has been kept intact by Master’s and Mother’s total dedication to realizing God, and their compassion in passing that on to spiritually thirsty souls longing for that same realization. May Master’s light shine ever brighter, leading all sincere aspirants to the harbor of God-experience—eternal, ever-new Joy! Jai Guru and happy  birthday Master!

2016 Loon Lake Retreat

A spiritual retreat is a concentrated time of companionable connections and deepened divine awareness–I only wish that all could attend. Each retreat is a mystery as to what the topic will be. As the time approached my prayer was that our time together fulfill the highest good of all—whatever topic God chose.

The approach of the 70th anniversary of the release of the Autobiography of a Yogi in December of this year triggered the topic—to spend our time meditating on the life and ongoing influence of our great master, Paramhansa Yogananda. When a soul such as Sri Yoganandaji realizes God, his life yields an unending source of inspiration and offers unlimited facets of a divine personality.

I asked our three ministers to read passages from the Autobiography of a Yogi that were particularly meaningful to them. Larry focused on the fascinating chapter Kashi, Reborn and Rediscovered. It is an intense experience for Master as he promises to do a thing that he is not sure how to do—finding Kashi in his new incarnation and put him solidly on the spiritual path. Through his knowledge of how the heart acts as a receiving station and the ajna a transmitter Master develops a method for finding Kashi that he fearlessly and relentlessly employs in order to fulfill his sacred promise.

That promise is made when Kashi asks about his future. Master spontaneously says, You shall soon be dead. Instead of Kashi asking that his life be spared he implores Master to find him when he reincarnates and ensure his continued spiritual journey. Kashi is unremitting in pursuing Master to fulfill this difficult occult request. Master finally relents when he sees Kashi stretched to the breaking point. It is both touching and fascinating as Master describes in humble detail how he fulfills his sacred promise to his beloved disciple.

Jill read from the chapter The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar in which Master’s guru describes afterlife, and in particular the astral worlds. In his new afterlife role Sri Yukteswarji serves as spiritual preceptor in an astral heaven where he is a guru for those souls who leave their bodies on earth in a high state of realization, but not yet fully realized. The great master intimately knows the comings and goings in all the three worlds. Jill spoke about her younger days when she was keenly aware of death, a constant feature to life, but no one wanted to talk about it. Death, the elephant in the room that went unnoticed, was finally addressed when she read the Autobiography. It spoke deeply to her longheld quest to know the truth about death.

Peter described that when he was given the Autobiography as a young teen it struck him as the ultimate adventure story. Master ran away from home to the Himalayas in search of saints as a youth, Peter could identify with this impulse and in reading the Autobiography he felt he was on an exciting spiritual journey with Mukunda. Peter related how his awakened spiritual life helped him in an outdoor adventure of his own in the Alaskan wilderness. He and a friend hiked and then paddled a raft to a campsite at the end of a remote lake. The plan was for a seaplane to pick them up in three days. They were well prepared, however when they unpacked there were no matches! Their freeze-dried food was inedible without the required hot water, so they faced a daunting prospect of no food and no warming fire in the days to come.

The two young campers displayed an unusual response to this crises—both entered into a deepened state of prayer. After placing their dilemma before God they searched around a bit and discovered matches mysteriously spread on the ground and amazingly, quite amazingly, they were dry and flame-worthy. How could these matches inexplicably be in this remote area and in perfect condition? This demonstration of God’s Grace was not dissimilar to what happened in Master’s life that he describes in the chapter Peter read, Two Penniless Boys in Brindaban. Master’s life ignited a spiritual flame in young Peter that has burned ever since.

The retreat was filled with Master, his grace definitely felt. No better topic could have surfaced for our time together, and it is proof positive that Master is a living presence that only grows with time.

Picture: Mother’s Autobiography of a Yogi

 

Today we celebrate Master’s (Paramhansa Yogananda’s) birthday. What an absolute difference this great spiritual Master has made in my life, and in the lives of so many, many people. Certainly the Autobiography of a Yogi continues to be a best seller and is a spiritual classic that has moved new generations to spiritual depths of feeling and perception that would have otherwise remained hidden.

It is difficult to measure the attainment of another, however we can contrast Master’s life and work to many who write books and more books and give public talks and never come close to being qualified to tying the latches of Master’s shoes. Truly Master stands heads above so many others, with very few peers.

When Master drew Mother to him he set into motion a spiritually uplifting current that is transmitted to all of us. A disciple of Master’s once told me that for any other person to be a guru after Master would “block his light.” I had never heard such a load of ignorance in all my life (this would only be true if that one claiming to be a guru was filled with ego). I can tell you, and you do not need me to say it for you know it yourself, Mother’s Light only added to Master’s Light, making for tremendous illumination for all.

There are many who are currently re-reading the Autobiography of A Yogi, and others who are studying his lessons, and still others who are reading the books published in his name (although many of his books have been heavily edited and in some cases the “voice” of the author nearly disappears, still many of these sayings and writings are our only access to them and the Master’s Spirit will still inspire us in spite of the filters of heavy handed editing). Master sought to make yoga and religion well-reasoned and understandable, demonstrable and experiential by every man, woman and child. Since seeking out happiness is a universal need, he showed that only by realizing God will you know lasting bliss and happiness. Therefore the path to Self-realization is needed by everyone walking the globe.

My prayer is that with the marking of Master’s birthday you will be inspired to delve deeper into his writings, and as the Master said, for every hour of reading, meditate two hours. Your going deeper into God-consciousness is the greatest way to please the Master, then broadcast that Light of God you discover within yourself to the entire world. Just think of a world in which all people, everywhere, are striving to know the truth of God and express His loving will in this world. This spiritual transformation is what the Master came to bring about, and each of us can do our part by following in his footsteps.

Master—Happy Birthday—and thank you for being born and bringing this universal message of liberation and freedom to one and to all!

 

AWAKE—The Life of Yogananda—

Compelling…Enough to make a modern soul look inwards. New York Times movie review.

It was an evening spent with many from our Spiritual Group, dinner at a delightful Asian restaurant and then on to a much anticipated movie, Awake—The Life of Yogananda, a newly released movie to a limited number of theaters and in the case of Bellingham, for one night only (although they have now scheduled another night in November after a sold out performance last night).

In a word, a wonderfully made film about our beloved param-guru.

With astounding vintage still pictures and moving pictures of Master, Sri Yukteswarji, Anandamayi Ma and others, the movie makers worked magic with older photos and film to make us feel that we were there. There were a few voice recordings of Master and quotes from Master read by an actor as a voice over, many interviews from some who knew Master and some who were placed in the movie because they are well-known today.

The movie was respectfully and lovingly done; the copyright at the end indicated that it is an SRF production and they own the rights. There are some things I would have preferred, for instance there was little or none of Master’s music performed by him or others, and there were noticeable absences of known recordings and videos by disciples of Master, such as Roy Eugene Davis, Bob Raymer, Yogacharya Black or Yogacharya Mother Hamilton.

The stories told did, somewhat surprisingly, bring out some the more difficult times in Master’s life. The painful separation between Master and Dhirananda, and the “yellow journalism” attacks on Master (at least in part due to racism), and his experiences in Washington D.C. where he was received by the President and his lectures were attended by congressmen and senators, but people of color were not allowed to attend his lectures; Master conducted classes for people of color separately.

The movie told Master’s story in such a way that you felt you could actually meet him and know what he would be like, not an “ivory tower” version of him. Overall, excellent effort in bringing out the life and teachings of Master that is informative and entertaining for all audiences, not just ardent disciples and followers of Master’s teachings.

These past two weeks spent working on the description of the days leading up to the mahasamadhi of Paramhansa Yogananda has taken me into a feeling of loving closeness with Master that is wonder-filled. His God-centered personality shines through the descriptions by various people, giving glimpses into his varied divine moods and ways that he lived his life.

One simply cannot measure a spiritual master by outward signs, although those signs may give a hint of his or her inner glory. We love to hear stories of any great saint, but to hear the story alone is a bit like looking into a room from the other side of a glass window—nice, but not the same as being in the room itself.

To enter the room where Master dwells means to enter deeply into your yogi’s cave of meditation and deep communion with God. In a world of suffering and isolation it comes as a great amazement to find that right within your own consciousness lays a treasure trove of union with the eternal, all blissful Consciousness of God. Without the clarion call of great souls who have themselves discovered this greatest of open secrets, who would guess at this truth?

This world acts as a maze of a thousand turns that keeps us from the hidden Goal. However, these same great knowers of God that tell us about the glowing kingdom within also give us the means for traversing the maze quickly and safely.

Master came to make you know that with intelligent use of your will you can jumpstart your journey; instead of plodding steps you may fly to your goal! A lofty promise, great words, and a moving testimony from his own life and experience that is proof of this truth.

In order to fulfill that promise we must apply the same principles with the same vigor as the great master did. We may doubtfully look through that glass window and say, “Well, that is alright for him, he is exceptional, but not for such a one as I.” This is delusion’s voice hissing to you that you cannot attain what Master accomplished. However, we must take our cue from the great Master’s life, attitude, and love for God: and strive as he strove, love as he loved, be willing to shake heaven and earth to uncover the hidden treasure trove!

Let us so transform our lives that we feel that we are living as kindred spirits with all the great spiritual masters. Mother felt that Master was so great that he was Christ come again. Boldly dare to claim your kinship with these greatest masters. Be inspired by Master’s life and example and know the greatest open secret in all the world.

Picture: Master-1950-Encinitas

Last Speech Given by Yoganandaji

Delivered at Hotel Biltmore on March, 1952

Your excellency, our Ambassador, illustrious and understanding Ambassador of free India. . .I bow to God in you.

I am not here in an advisory capacity. So I will relate a few snatches of my experiences. I remember my meeting with Mahatma Gandhi. That great prophet brought a practical method for peace to the warring modern world. Gandhi, who for the first time applied Christ principles to politics and won freedom for India, gave an example that should be followed by all nations to solve their troubles.

You, your Excellency, represent the great spiritual India. I wish that you bring the very best of my India to my America, and take the very best of my America to my India. But that is a very difficult task, not doubt, for in this world nations and men are all a little bit crazy, and they don’t know it—because people with the same kind of craziness mix together. But, when differently crazy people get together and compare notes, they find out their particular craziness.

Indeed your Excellency can discover the goodness of different nations. I think if we would gather together the great men of all lands—we could build such a model civilization that all nations would eventually form a United States of the World, with God guiding them through their conscience. (Applause)

India has great things to give to you, as you Americans can very greatly help India. But we often concentrate on our faults and not on our good qualities. I remember that when I first came to America in 1920, I was warned never to go in dark alleys, lest my scalp be removed by Red Indians! And whenever I saw a bald-headed man I thought some Indians had been at work! (laughter)

I remember, too, that when I first came here, I was riding one day to the seashore when I noticed some “Hot Dog” signs. In imagination I saw all kinds of dogs going through the meat chopper! And I thought, “My Lord, why did You bring me to the land where people eat dogs?” I asked a man what was inside those mysterious bags and he said, “Pork and beef.” I gasped in relief to find that Americans don’t eat dogs. (laughter)

One morning I was passing by an empty field next to a store. That evening as I passed that same way again, I saw a house standing in the field. I inquired of a man if the house had been there in the morning. “No,” he replied, “They just put it up.”

When I think of such energy, I like to be an American. But when I hear of so many American millionaires who die prematurely after making a business success, then I like to be a Hindu—to sit on the banks of the Ganges and concentrate on the factory of Mind from which spiritual skyscrapers can come and to think of the great masters of India who are her glory. Somewhere between the two great civilizations of efficient America and spiritual India lies the answer for a model world civilization.

It seems there is plenty of money for war, which brings in its wake great sufferings. We don’t seem to learn from these. If we have plenty of money for wholesale killings, couldn’t we picture the possibility that if all big leaders and all peoples got together, they could collect a vast fund that would banish poverty and ignorance from the face of the globe?

I do hope and pray, your Excellency, that you will always emphasize the airplanes of mercy from one country to another instead of airplanes that carry bombs to destroy. Let us work for peace on earth as never before. We want a congress of scientists, of ambassadors, of religious men who will constantly think how to make this world a better home, a spiritual home with God as our Guide. (Applause)

I am proud that I was born in India. I am so proud that we have a great Ambassador representing my spiritual India. I am proud today. I often say:

If mortal fires raze all her homes and golden paddy fields,

Yet to sleep on her ashes and dream immortality,

O India, I will be there!

God made the earth, and man made his confining countries

And their fancy-frozen boundaries.

Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God—

I am hallowed; my body touched that sod.

(With these last words, from his poem, “My India,” Paramhansaji slid to the floor, a beatific smile on his face. He had often said: “I do not wish to die in bed, but with my boots on, speaking of God and India.”)

Picture: Mrs. Sen pronams to Master; the last picture of his living form.

In our narrative we enter the last act, the evening of the banquet to honor the Ambassador of the “newly minted” nation of India; a fulfillment of Divine Mother’s whispered promise to Master that he would live to see the day of a free India. It has been moving and uplifting to take this journey with you of Master’s last days.

****************

The banquet at the Biltmore in 1952 was scheduled to start about 7 p.m. Shortly before that time Colonel Steinberg and Mr. Clifford Frederick (a resident disciple at the Mt. Washington Center, who had driven Master in his car to the hotel) went to Paramhansaji’s room to escort him downstairs. This trio entered the banquet hall—the Music Room of the Biltmore—a few minutes after seven o’clock. Yoganandaji was directed to his seat at the speakers’ table. On his right was Mme. Sen, a Bengali, wife of the Ambassador of India; on his left was Mrs. Sharma, an Englishwoman, wife of Dr. J.N. Sharma of Los Angeles. On this, the Last Supper of all, Master was thus symbolically placed between East and West.

About 240 guests were present, including thirty five SRF students from Los Angeles and nearby cities. Twenty persons were seated at the speakers’ table, long and comparatively narrow, which was placed on a platform that elevated the guests of honor above the floor level. The majority of the guests sat at circular tables. To accommodate those for whom no seats were available in the Music Room, additional tables were set up in an anteroom.

The Misses Fay and Virginia Wright (sisters who, with their mother Mrs. Rachel Wright, have been resident disciples at the Los Angeles headquarters for more than twenty years) were present at the banquet. They had made reservations for seats directly in front of Master’s place at the speakers’ table. Through some error their seats were given to other persons. Faye, Virginia and Sally (Miss Sahly) therefore sought out a table in the anteroom.

Yoganandaji looked at the tables in front of him and did not see the three disciples. He beckoned to Mr. Frederick, who was seated two tables away, and inquired, “Are Faye, Virginia and Sally here?” Mr. Frederick replied, “Yes, Sir,” and unobtrusively pointed them out to Master as they stood at the distant doorway of the anteroom.

“An expression of deep kindness, of very great blessing, then came over his face,” Mr. Frederick recounted later. The beloved Master, who never forgot any goodness shown him, thus remembered, by his look of farewell benediction, to thank three disciples who had long served him faithfully.

Mr. Frederick, who generally photographed Master and his guests at any SRF gathering, had been instructed by Yoganandaji not to take any pictures at the Biltmore. Probably Master had made that request because the banquet was to be given not by SRF but by the India Association of America. Unfailingly, in every situation that arose in daily life, Paramhansaji manifested an exquisite sense of propriety and courtesy.

Insignia of the handiwork of the Master Playwright may be detected in all the details in the drama of Yoganandaji’s passing. To SRF disciples it seems no accident that a commercial photographer was present at the banquet and took many beautiful pictures of the great guru during his last hours on earth.

The cameraman, Mr. Arthur Say, who also photographed Ambassador Sen and other celebrities, had never met Paramhansaji before March 7^th. The young man has long been interested in India, however, and spent several years there during the war. He attended the banquet as a guest of Mr. Ram Bagai, former president of the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents’ Association. “When I received a printed invitation from the India Association,” Mr. Say later told the editor of Self Realization Magazine, “I felt a strong inclination to accept it. The young lady who had planned to accompany me decided at the last minute not to go, but I was determined to be present.” He added. “I have never regretted it when I have obeyed the urgings of the still small voice within.”

Guests at the dinner were given their choice of several courses. Master was served with fruit salad, a vegetable plate, and strawberry parfait. But he ate very little. SRF disciples who were seated at nearby tables observed that their guru scarcely touched his food. He was attentive, however, to his dinner companions, and conversed affably with Mme. Sen and Mrs. Sharma. Halfway through the meal he summoned Mr. Frederick to fetch some butter for the Ambassador’s wife.

Mrs. Sharma later stated: “Paramhansaji was very kind and thoughtful. He said to me once or twice: ‘Please excuse my talking in Bengali with Madame Sen. We are having a wonderful time chatting in our mother tongue!’ Then the three of us would talk together for a while in English.

Paramhansaji was perspiring about the face but seemed happy and composed. He was in good health, apparently, and presented no signs of being tired, faint, or in pain.”

She added, “We talked of deep things—of mankind, and philosophies, and the Infinite God. The last words Paramhansaji said to me were these: ‘Always remember: life has its beautiful roses and also its thorns; and we must accept both.’”

We may perhaps surmise from these final words to Mrs. Sharma that Yoganandaji was attempting to soften slightly the shock that the gracious lady was soon to feel at his passing.

Paramhansaji was always an ideal guest, considerate and appreciative, whether in a private home or at a public function. But then, was there any way in which Master failed to display the beauty of a life that is attuned to the Divine Will?

[A description of various speakers is deleted here. We pick up the narrative once again]

. . .Tonight at the banquet, however, Yoganandaji did not gaze about him with his usual heartwarming smile, nor did he laugh at any of the amusing anecdotes in the various speeches. He was not stern, and only occasionally grave, but an aura of strangeness surrounded him that was quickly detected by all his disciples at nearby tables.

After the talk by Mr. Ford, Dr. Saund introduced Colonel Steinberg. This great friend of Self-Realization Fellowship spoke with fervor of its influence for peace and goodwill among the nations, and referred lovingly to Master as a “spiritual giant.” He then announced that Yoganandaji would address the assemblage.

As Paramhansaji rose to go to the speaker’s stand, Mme. Sen offered him a gesture of respect by placing her hands together in a pronam. It was a true symbolic tribute. By it one feels that the wife of the Ambassador conveyed the gratitude of India to its son in the West who was a living embodiment of its ancient spiritual culture.

(A few minutes later Yoganandaji was no longer a living embodiment. Mme. Sen’s touching tribute happily did not go unrecorded. Mr. Say caught in his camera lens the fleeting scene of the pronam. This photograph is auspicious not alone for its symbolic value but also because it is the last picture taken of the great guru’s living form.)

. . .Master had followed with intense ardor the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi to rescue India from foreign rule without recourse to war, and as the Divine Mother had assured Paramhansaji many years ago that “India will be free in your lifetime,” it was naturally a proud night in Master’s life when he could publicly welcome to Los Angeles the Ambassador of India. Echoes of that pride in his native land are to be found throughout his brief talk. “I love India,” he tells us in a poem, “because there I first learned to love God and all things beautiful.”

Yoganandaji’s talk was short. (It was over at 9:30 p.m., having lasted less than ten minutes.) He spoke more slowly, more measuredly, than was his wont. The attentive audience was seemingly caught in his magnetic web of love and harmony.

Paramhansaji finished his speech with a few lines from his poem, “My India.” Then, his eyes lifted, he turned slightly to his right and sank quietly to the floor. The great guru’s mission was ended.

I was made for Thee alone. . .My hands were made to serve Thee willingly. . .My voice was made to sing Thy glory. . .My feet were made to seek Thy temples everywhere. . .My eyes were made a chalice to hold Thy burning love. . .My ears were made to catch the music of Thy footsteps echoing through the halls of space. . .My lips were made to breathe forth Thy Praises.

These lines written by Master tell of the ideal use of the human body. Now his hands and feet, his eyes and ears and lips—all were stilled. As he departed from that physical form, surely its every atom sang to him in gratitude: You have used me well.