The Cross and The Lotus · PDF fileYogacharya David gave Kriya initiation on ... One of the recipes originally published in Master’s -Lessons greatest story ... Kriya Yoga path for

God is an artist par excel-lence. He has painted the picturesque universe on the screen of His own immuta-ble and glowing Spirit. So He is at once the painter and the painted. In the ulti-mate analysis, God and His lover, God and His devotee and servant, are He. The unmanifest—which is be-yond all duality has become both. This is a secret few know.

Swami Ramdas

The first human beings, sym-

bolically called Adam and Eve,

were materialized according to

the will of God, but later they

reproduced themselves through

the medium of sex creation.

Similarly, though bread is made

by man and fish is caught by

him from the ocean or lake, he

forgets that the original wheat

and fish and all things were cre-

ated by the power of will and

special creative energy of God.

Paramhansa Yogananda

Does God listen to our prayers? It may appear at times that

God turns a deaf ear to our desires. However, unseen forces are

released when we pray, and even though things may have to

fulfill their lawful course, never-the-less sincere prayer always

bears a positive result. If no other change is noted, the great

Comforter will support and strengthen us for what must be en-

dured due to inevitable karmic law.

Yogacharya David Hickenbottom

The Cross and The

Lotus Journal

June 2016, Vol. 17 No. 2

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

Mother Hamilton

The cross and lotus symbolizes the unity between East and West. The lotus is the sign of illumined consciousness, the thousand petal lotus of the crown chakra. The cross is the symbol of the body surrendered to the will of God. Following the way of the cross results in the resurrection of illumined consciousness.

The Cross and the Lotus, symbol of man. East and West blended, join hand in hand.

Marching toward the infinite light and life divine. Lift up your eyes and see the star,

descending from heaven where e’er you are. Be filled with the peace and ecstasy of God’s almighty love.

Aum-Amen. The Reverend Yogacharya Mother Hamilton

The Cross and The Lotus Journal is published by

The Cross and The Lotus Publishing Mount Vernon, WA, U.S.A.

Website: www.crossandlotus.com

E-mail: [email protected]

© 2016 The Cross and The Lotus Publishing is dedicated to the publication of materials that promote God-realization. Our spiritual lineage begins with Jesus Christ and Babaji and flows down to us through Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, Paramhansa Yogananda and Yogacharya Mother Hamilton.

The Reverend Yogacharya David Hickenbottom continues this lineage with the help and support of many sincere devotees. We are dedicated to realizing God and serving devotees of every race, color, creed and religion.

Mother Hamilton often said she was the product of two fully illumined Masters, her own Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, and Swami Ramdas. We therefore feature articles about Swami Ramdas and Anandashram. We bow to the feet of Saints and realized Masters of all religions.

The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 35

Journal Editors: Larry & Cate Koler

Calendar of Events June 6 Ramadan (ends July 5)

19 Father’s Day

20 Summer Solstice (3:34 p.m. PDT)

July 1 Canada Day

4 Independence Day

July 19 Guru Purnima

25 Babaji Remembrance Day

Aug. 7 Swami Ramdas’ Mahasamadhi Day (1963)

Sept. 22 Fall Equinox (7:21 AM PDT)

26 Lahiri Mahasaya’s Mahasamadhi Day

30 Lahiri Mahasaya’s Birthday (1828)

30 Mother Krishnabai’s Birthday (celebration day) (1903)

Oct. 2 Rosh Hashanah (ends evening Oct. 4)

12 Swami Satchidananda’s Mahasamadhi Day (2008)

Center News Yogacharya David gave Kriya initiation on March 26,

2106 to some new devotees as well as several others re-newing their vows. Welcome to our new Kriyaban sisters and brothers!

Cross and Lotus Publishing will be producing a book containing the correspondence between Mother and Herl-wyn Lutz and between her and Marge Ranney. It will also include her communications to and from other saints and devotees. If you have any correspondence between you and Mother and would like to share it, please send it to Yogacharya David. It can be published with your name or without, in its entirety or an excerpt only—you can decide.

We also are always on the lookout for photos of Mother. Share your spiritual treasures!

Page 34 The Cross and The Lotus Journal

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

Baked Apples Hawaiian

Apples: 6 large

Brown sugar: 1 cup dark

Pineapple: 1/2 cup crushed

Cinnamon or nutmeg: 1 tsp

Nut meats: 1/4 cup

Butter: 2 tbs.

Wash and core apples and fit into a shallow baking pan. Mix other ingredi-ents and stuff apples. Put 2 cups of water in pan and bake 35 minutes at 350°F.

Comments from our C&L chef, Angela Victory

On a relaxed and rainy Sunday, these are going to bring com-fort and joy. I was imagining Carla in her kitchen pulling these out of the oven for David and her to enjoy. (Some diet modifica-tions: butter—coconut oil; brown sugar—omit or drizzle of hon-ey after baking.)

I skipped the water in pan, just using some butter to grease the baking dish; wal-nuts were my choice of nut meats; I went heavy on the spice and I used 1/2 the sug-ar. The pineapple was from a tin and it was a surprising added bonus; I have never had baked apple with pine-apple and it’s so good.

Serve at room temperature with plain yogurt or coconut cream, drizzle some of the baking juices over it, add a mint leaf from the garden and enjoy it with a cup of tea/chai/coffee.


Dear Friends,

The Mystical Crucifixion is the greatest story ever told. In the mid-twentieth century Mother Hamilton brought to light the hidden meaning that makes explicit the story behind the story of Jesus Christ that has remained concealed for nearly 2,000 years.

Mother’s spiritual experiences transformed her understanding of the sacred scriptures as did those of the masters of our lineage before her. Lahiri Mahasaya used the power of intuition and his own spiritual experi-ences to explain the underlying meaning of the Bhagavad Gita, the Puranas and other ancient texts of India. The great yogi combined physiology with metaphysical principles to clarify the Kriya Yoga path for aspiring yogis. For instance, the master taught that when Krishna, Arjuna and others blew their conch shells before the battle of Kurukshetra, the story is really de-scribing the various sounds heard in meditation. These sounds originate in the spine, from the bumblebee-like-sound at the base of the spine all the way up to the highest sound-centers of con-sciousness in the brain; these beautiful sounds indicate ascending progress in deepening meditation.

Lahiri Mahasaya’s disciple, Sri Yukteswarji, not only made commentary on Eastern scriptures, he also elucidated stories from the Bible as well. This discerning jnani showed how the tree in the Garden of Eden was actually a description of the human spine. The roots of the tree are at the top of the brain, the trunk is the spinal column and the branches are the afferent/efferent nerves that spread out from the tree trunk/spinal column. The serpent in the tree is the potent life-force that flows along the spine and the forbidden fruit that is responsible for the fall of man is directing the life-force to the lower centers in the spine, leading to the complete identification with sense experience.

Sri Yukteswarji’s disciple, Paramhansa Yogananda, brilliantly revealed the inner stories of both East and West in his commen-


taries of the Bhagavad Gita and the New Testament. Demon-strating through the use of physics, psychology, and metaphysics this yogi master brought to light with remarkable clarity other-wise obtuse verses in the scriptures. Through his teachings the “Second Coming” so long predicted and anticipated is not, as some suppose, Jesus appearing in clouds up in the sky, but is the spiritual experience of seeing the Light of God at the Christ center, or the ajna as it is known in the East, that enlightens the soul in deep meditation and leads one into the kingdom of heavenly consciousness.

Mother Hamilton continued this tradition by going into the laboratory of her own experience and found yet further eternal truths contained in the scriptures. Mother’s story is compelling, for her life is a living testament. Mother explicitly tells us how God put her through spiritual experiences, then took her to the Bible and showed her how what He just put her through is described in relevant verses. I know of no other spiritual Master who speaks so clearly about the cause and effect relationship between personal experience and the revelations that resulted.

From the early 1950s until 1970 Mother was put through these powerful experiences that took her through the jaws of death, not once, but three times as she transcended the physical, the astral or electrical, and finally the causal or idea bodies. Her life is a roadmap to God-realization, just as the life of Jesus is the Way to know his heavenly Father.

Through Mother’s teachings we come to know that her body, the body of Jesus, and for that matter your body is the cross of the spine and the brain upon which you ascend unto your heav-enly Father. We realize through our own experience that the great scriptures of the world are in truth not to be seen simply as historical events, but as living examples that show us the way to the Infinite. Combining physiology with mystical insight Mother taught us to look beyond the historical explanations of the para-bles and see that each phase of the Christ’s story is our story. For instance, Jesus going to the hill of Golgotha, which means place of the skull, is the way to the New Jerusalem of Divine Con-sciousness. The higher consciousness experienced in the illu-mined brain (of the skull) is achieved by the aspirant when undergoing the mystical crucifixion and then ascending into the kingdom of heaven; even as Jesus did, for he is the Way.


Modification for chair yoga: Turn 90 degrees to sit sideways in your chair (you may sit forward if this is not possible). On an inhalation, lift both arms straight up, shoulder width apart with palms facing each other. On an exhalation, twist the torso to the right, bringing your hands down to hold on to either side of the back of your chair. (For forward facing chairs, allow the right hand to come down behind you to the seat of the chair and let the left hand rest on your right thigh.)

Breathe gently with the twist, softening with each exhalation. Return to forward facing on an exhalation and sense within the body. Turn to the other side of the chair and repeat on the left side.

Benefits: Squeezes, detoxifies and massages the abdominal or-gans and replenishes them with fresh prana, blood and oxygen. Improves suppleness of the spine, releases tension, stretches the shoulders and improves di-gestion (to name a few!) Happy twisting and may all be blessed with perfect health. Namaste.


Yoga and Health Marichyasana –“Ray of Light” (Marichi Twist pose)

By Briana Jones

Props: Even, firm floor space, yoga mat

Practice: Sit on the floor with your legs outstretched in front of you. Draw your right knee towards you, hugging it towards the chest and placing the right foot flat on the floor a fist width from your left leg.

With the right knee snug against your right ribs, take your left arm and wrap it around your right knee, holding on where it is comfortable. Take an inhalation and sit up nice and tall, stretch-ing the right arm straight into the sky.

On an exhalation, twist the torso around to the right, allowing your right arm to come down behind you with the hand contact-ing the floor for support. If it feels alright for your body, nestle the right knee further into the crook of the left elbow for lever-age in the twist. Turn your gaze as far behind you as is comforta-ble.

Breathe naturally, noticing the subtle lengthening of the spine on the inhalations and the invitation to gently deepen the twist on the exhalations. Soften the edges of the pose. Allow the heart to be open and bright. When you are ready, on an exhalation un-twist and return to center, releasing the arms and legs. Return the right leg to the forward position and sense the increased flow of prana. Repeat on the left side.


Dear friends, the Mystical Crucifixion is not just for one man named Jesus Christ, or even for a favored few such as Mother, but it is the way for one and for all who have the courage to follow in the footsteps of Christ and ascend to their heavenly Father. The fact that all do not go the Way of the Cross and the Christ into transcendent heavenly consciousness is due to a general lack of spiritual adventurousness, not because it is unavailable. In truth, with your one hundred percent aspiration and God’s Grace it is the way for you as well. My own life has proved the truth of this, not just for me but for every sincere aspirant.

By whatever name you wish to call it—the Mystical Crucifix-ion, the Battle of Kurukshetra, or the night of testing of the Buddha—the Way is the same for all. So, go forward, unafraid, for the trail has been blazed by those Great Ones in God. Come into that most blessed state of being and know, even as Mother knew, that the greatest story ever told is meant to be your story. The purpose of your life is to fully realize the tremendous, eternal truth, “I and my Father are one. Blessed Spirit, I am He!”

We fit You in a frame to worship You,

Though You contain the fourteen universes.

We display You to show our pleasure,

Though You have no definition or form.

We sing songs addressed to You,

Though You are way beyond words.

We put garlands around your neck,

Though You are apart from all action.

Says Tuka, O God, become limited

To pay me a little attention.

–Tukaram

from Tukaram, Says Tuka


Letter to a Devotee

Dear ____________,

Thank you so much for your loving prayers for health. I know that the prayers sent have enabled me to have great strength and resilience through all of this, and they have helped pave the way for the excellent care from doctors and smooth dealings with the insurance company. Prayer is powerful; prayer works!

You ask about the role of the “good thief” next to Jesus on the cross, wanting to go to heaven with the Christ. The good thief is associated with satwic energy. Satwic energy is above both ta-masic and rajasic energies. Tamasic is the worst kind of con-sciousness/energy in that you are stuck—a depressive energy with little or no life energy. Rajasic energy is always active, on the go. Rajasic is considered better than tamasic, but by itself it brings no lasting peace or true joy. Satwic consciousness/energy is the smooth flow of life-force; it has both real peace and joy; it is the preferred way of being. However, satwic is not the whole. The whole sees that creation, preservation and destruction are all vital parts of life. It does not hold to just one aspect, such as cre-ation or preservation as being good and destruction as bad. So too with tamasic and rajasic, they are parts of the whole along with satwic. To rise above all three qualities of tamasic, rajasic, and satwic—or destruction, creation and preservation—means that you see how all aspects serve the purpose of the Creator who uses everything in creation to fulfill His will.

What does this mean in your life? When you see suffering, for yourself or others, you know that God is working for some high-er purpose. Suffering may awaken individuals (or groups or na-tions) to higher consciousness, when otherwise they would have remained comfortably staid. When it is time for death of the body it is seen as a release for the soul, to be no longer bound by a body. When difficulties arise in life it makes the devotee go deeper in his relationship with God (no atheists in the foxholes!) We can all think of times when our world was rocked by some event we did not like at all at the time, and then later say, “That was one of the best things that ever happened to me!”


Memories of Mother

This column is for writings about Mother but also includes articles and poems by Mother. This is a little writing of Mother’s about one of

her favorite subjects—motherhood.

The Gift of Motherhood

By Yogacharya M. Hamilton

The gift of motherhood is one of the most beautiful of all of God’s blessings. How great a privilege it is for a mother to be able to hold her child in her arms, this precious part of God which He has formed out of His own substance. It is the bene-diction of the holy sacrament of marriage, and the harvest of the love which brought it into being. How fulfilling it is to care for it, to weave dreams for its future, to guide and direct it in the highest way possible. It is not what she receives in return that is important to her; the joy to her is in the giving. It is her selfless love which fashions not only the destiny of the child, but the world in which it lives. The child acts also as the teacher. Through the experiences of life which it brings to her, she learns patience, understanding and wisdom. Patience develops self-control and self-mastery.

Understanding touches the heart, and broadens the conscious-ness, while wisdom brings the knowledge of truth that each soul comes with its own destiny to fulfill and must be given that priv-ilege. It is the hopes and the dreams, the sorrows and disappoint-ments, the trials and tribu-lations, and the great joys of human motherhood which can finally bring the seeking soul enlighten-ment, and to that moment of realization where she sees all as her own. Having attained this Universal Vi-sion, still she remains the child and the servant of God who alone is the Blessed Mother of us all.

Mother and her children


Out of the Mouths of Babes By Rose Wylie

On March 29, 2016 our two granddaughters, Charlotte (9) and Katarina (7) spent the day with us. After breakfast I went to have a bath and do my hair so I asked the girls to do something until I was done. I had purchased neon sidewalk chalk for them so I suggested they wait until I could watch them draw. They said, “It’s ok Grandma, we want to do a surprise for you.”

When I saw their art I was very astounded and proud. Across the two driveways they had printed in very large letters: “Our world is a good world.” They did several little spiral spots. In the centre they drew a heart which said: “We love the world – C and K.” In a rectangle they put: “Thank you Jesus for life.” Oth-er rectangles: “I love my family, I love my friends, I love Luna

(their dog), I love Phineas (dog), Thank you for being kind.”

I stood a few mo-ments to digest it all and replied, “What you have done is so touching. When you do things like this the

vibration of your work will spread throughout the world. The more and more these positive vibrations go out to the world, the more it will help to prevent wars.”

Of course, they both got a huge hug from Grandma acknowl-edging their good work. The art work lasted several days with the good weather. Those walking by would stop, look and smile.


The satwic or the good thief will hold only to his perspective of wanting positive things, and will push away from the other aspects that are also part of the whole. So a good person will say, “I don’t see why God allows suffering in this world?” Suffering may come as disparities of income, illnesses, storms, deaths or any number of things that are difficult. We can all agree that to work in service to reduce suffering in the world is a good thing. However, as Jesus said, “You have the poor with you al-ways” (Mark 14:7); there will always be disparity in income, tal-ents, and intelligence in this world of duality.

So, the universal vision incorporates all of life, whereas saint consciousness, or satwic consciousness, fights against what it sees as evil. Krishna stood against the evil-minded Kurus, but behind the scenes he was using the entire play for a higher pur-pose. He was both participating in the play upon the field and was above it at the same time. It is quite a notion, but true. Medi-tate upon this. Find the place inside of you that is above all qual-ifications and sees God as the all and all in all. Even from this universal vantage point God continues to express Himself through you to make this world a better place.

In your own business you strive to treat everyone fairly (a sat-wic business.) However, through ignorance or through villainy, a customer will demand something from you or your product that was not part of the sale. You may say “no” to their demand. Yet, you compassionately see how the customer is operating through their limited perspective, and how by your being fair and up-right—yet not yielding to their demand—the customer can grow from their experience with you even though it causes them dis-appointment (suffering) in the moment. Satwic, the good thief wants everyone to get along and is loath to be firm even when someone is not doing the right thing. So, the universal vision of Christ Consciousness is superior to the good thief by his side, yet both ascend into heaven.

May you know the universal vision, and through that Divine Consciousness know when and how to make this world a better place.


The Book of Life An Excerpt from a Talk Given by

The Reverend Mother, Yogacharya M. Hamilton

in Seattle on October 22, 1980

[Bible reading is Revelations, Chapter 1, Verses 10-20]

All is recorded in our Book of Life

I want to speak to you tonight about “The Book of Life.” Each and every one of us is a book of life. There can be had, in practi-cally every bookstore, what is called an “Empty Book”…and the pages are all blank. Those pages are there for you to fill from the things that come from your consciousness, from your heart. They can be poems. They can be prose. They can be anything that you feel directed to write from within your consciousness, something that you want to preserve in a book. Maybe some of you already have one. I have two of them, and in my book I have partially written down some of the things which God has given me and which have been published.

But each one of us has a book of life—we are that book of life. And in accordance with our thoughts, words and actions, our book of life is written. There is not one thought, one word, one action that you put forth from yourself, as a human being, that is not recorded in this book of life, and they are called the “Akashic Records.”


how parents want to protect their children when they go out in the world and that’s how I feel about Silver Star. Even if I do eve-rything I can to protect her, she may get some bumps and bruises along the way but this is the only way to learn.

Several times God has sent me the perfect people just in the nick of time as employees, consultants, or re-ferral sources and I don’t know why I am surprised each time. Any problem I have I take to God and Gurus and then I do not have to solve it alone. There have been some very big challenges that have stretched me to the edge of what I thought this body could do but this is all part of my Sadhana. I have had many blessings and seen seemingly impossible situations improve through God. The most important meeting I have each and every day is with Him and if I miss that then things can slowly but surely go off track. Even getting off track by getting pulled into the drama of God’s world is simply God’s way of driving me back to Him. Silver Star Senior Care is God’s Business and as long as I surrender to what God wants me doing in each moment, then all will be well. With each new challenge, I tell myself: “You can do this!” This is living a life of faith.

Michele & her friend Nadine

This is a quote from Voice of the Master handwritten by Mother


Leap of Faith becomes a Life of Faith By Michele Rogan

In August of 2000, I took a leap of faith and moved from Indi-ana to Washington with my 12-year old son. At the time it felt like a huge leap of faith, and it was. After visiting Seattle in June and meeting Yogacharya David, I spent a relatively short and intense period of time preparing and laying the groundwork for the move such as job hunting and finding a place to live. It was not easy, or without glitches, but the universe supported my de-cision and I had a feeling of optimism and excitement. By the middle of September, my son was in his new school and I was starting a new job.

In another leap of faith, I started researching how to start a business in 2013 and began the steps to set it up in 2014. This was a longer process and required more sustained effort than my move across the country. Every leap of faith has unknowns, but starting a business seemed to have a multitude of unknown fac-tors. More than once I was frozen with anxiety and I would call on God, Gurus, and my Guru David for help. I thought “well, if David thinks I can do this then I must be able to” but I had a lot of doubts at times. I received booster shots of love and encour-agement from Yogacharya David as well as prayers and encour-agement from many fellow devotees and friends.

The last step was getting my agency licensed with the State Department of Health. This was a hoop that I didn’t even know I’d have to jump through when I started the process. My cash flow was at a low ebb and I felt that I was at the end of my rope. A friend stepped forward and gave me the exact amount needed for the DOH application fee. What a huge blessing! After a long gestation and prolonged labor and delivery, Silver Star Senior Care was Licensed as an In-home Services Agency by the State of Washington on October 1, 2015.

Now that Silver Star is up and running I still come to places where I don’t know what to do next, but I don’t seem to get stuck as much or as deeply as before. I have come to terms with the fact that I am learning as I go and it’s not going to be perfect. Owning a business is like parenting because you have to keep learning new skills and strategies as the business grows: just like adapting your parenting to your child as they grow. I think of


The Seven Spinal Centers

You have had Kriya now. Some of you have had tremendous feelings of cool and warm in the spine; some have had burning sensations; some have had odd heat experiences perhaps; some have had visions. Many, many things come to me over the tele-phone and in person from the people who are doing Kriya. You are at the point where you are really starting to open up your book of life.…

…Now as your consciousness starts to climb the spiritual stairway of your being, you go through seven spinal centers, or through the seven churches. As I have explained to you many times before, the life force enters the medulla, goes straight through the brain (that is the thousand-petaled lotus of the brain), wherein it is said that God and the angels abide. It is an abode of bliss, and man must climb this spinal stairway; he must go the way of his own cross in order to come into the blissful presence of that God who dwells within him. So he starts at the bottom of the stairway.

The Hindus tell us that there are lotuses in each one of the spinal centers. The first spinal center, which has to do with the life force, has four petals. We hear about the foundation, the cor-nerstone of the Gospels, the foursquare Gospel. Gospel means God’s spell. So it is when the consciousness starts to ascend that stairway that God’s spell starts to come into our consciousness and permeate our beings.

A Sound is associated with each Chakra

When you start into this experience, many times when you’re meditating, you will hear the sound of a bumble bee. That is the first sound you will hear from that bottom center, which is called the coccygeal center, in the Christian Bible and in medical termi-nology. Then you go to the next center, which is the sacral cen-ter. That is the center which governs all circulation and that has a six-petaled lotus. Then you go to the next one which is the lum-bar center, and that governs the energy of your body. That has a ten-petaled lotus. Then there is the heart center which has a six-teen-petaled lotus.

In the second center, you hear the sound of a flute, and the third center you hear the sound of a harp. The fourth center is the heart center and that is the center in which you hear the bell.


Someone wrote to me and said that they were hearing the bell, and they were frightened. When your consciousness comes to the point where you can hear that bell sound, it is really tremen-dous. That’s the seat of the twelve-petaled lotus. It is the seat of all life from which all the tributaries flow.

Then you have the cervical center, which is a sixteen-rayed lotus star of life force and the ether through which sounds and electrons travel. Then you have the medullary center, seat of the two-rayed lotus star of life force, positive-negative currents and so forth in which thoughts and life force sway. Then you have the ocean roar, and when you come to that that is the all-engulfing sound of everything. You go through this sixth center, which is the Christ center, and you go into the state of bliss with-in yourself, into the heaven of your own being where you meet God Himself.…

Mother interprets verses from Revelations

… I tell you things about the sounds you will hear because they’re very, very important. People get frightened sometimes because they hear things, or they get carried away in a euphoric state—for instance, if you hear the harp and the flute. But when you hear the combination of all sounds, when you have left body consciousness, then your body acts like it says in here. “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Be-cause you have conquered the last enemy which is death, and you know that hell is only a place of darkness, because that’s what the word “Hades” means.

So, when you are sitting in meditation and your heart is so filled with the love of God, your whole being reaches out for Him, your whole consciousness is absorbed in Him, and you long for Him with every single part of you, all of a sudden, you may lose body consciousness. When you do that then you stand above your physical body. You are then consciously in your as-tral body, and you can see it [the body] lying down before you and your astral body is held to your physical body with a cord. And you see all of the things that it describes. “And I turned to see the voice that spake within me. And being turned, I saw


up my spine from the base to the top of my head and I “woke up” with my brain tingling under its impact, and I was filled with wonder and gratitude to God for having granted me this wonder-ful experience.

The Wine-press By Rebecca Barnowe

Feeling the heart opening in God is His Activity Alone.

He is the Wine-press through which every grape is released of its nectar. Leaving its skin behind, it is then, that an ambrosial nectar emerges—once called “the food of the gods.”

A long road before even one grape emerges, after blossoms are pollinated, winds and rains and sun instill their activating forc-es—and the warm airs softly enfold swelling buds, ripening each into perfection.

You are no different! A work of many elements and cross-pollinating influences, bring forth the impulse to pray, to medi-tate—to become enlarged with holy purpose. He moves the en-tirety, from conception to birth, to expansion of the brain and sensitivities over decades—all coming into fruition with one sin-gular Intent, the opening of Divine Realization!

The exact hour is His Alone to unfold!

In ever burgeoning waves of bliss He is drawing each to con-sciously desire Him more than anything else whatsoever. He creates this desire alone too. Immense Desire!

Fathomless His exactitude, His Loving Power, and intricate weaving of the entirety.

In submission, align your every cell unto His Will, made perfect

even as your Father in Heaven.


Vision of the Christ By a Devotee

I had this experience of Jesus Christ in my meditation about 10 years ago. In my vision, I found myself outside a building on the walls of which were carved niches with ornamental statues inside them. Walking further on, I came across a rather dirty white wall, facing which I stood for a moment in hesitation. From deep within my heart arose an anguished cry, “My Lord! You have sacrificed everything—you have laid down your very life for the sake of the world!!” The next moment I felt a bolt of energy shoot up from the base of my spine to the top of my head, sending me reeling under its impact. Passersby glanced at me curiously, wondering if I was drunk or mad or maybe a little of both. Sensing danger, I reluctantly made my way into the enclo-sure where I found three crosses. Except for 2 or 3 people who were standing at a distance and mourning, and one or two guards on duty who were casually sauntering about at a distance, it was otherwise deserted.

I raised my eyes hesitantly to look at the man on the first cross. He was all limp—having fainted away. Suddenly the air was rent by the sound of cursing, swearing and shouting and I found that it was the man on the third cross. His face was con-torted with extreme rage, anger and hatred and he was struggling furiously in a bid to escape—jerking and pulling at his blood-covered legs and hands, trying to free himself. He was the pic-ture of emotional turmoil.

With a trembling heart, I turned to look at the One on the cross in the center—between these two. And looking at his gentle face, I was surprised to find my aching heart bathed in peace. Even in those terribly tragic circumstances, his face was beauti-ful with the crown of thorns—it was the embodiment of purity and divinity. His head was tilted upwards and his eyes gazed heavenwards. He was oblivious of his surroundings and he rolled his head gently from side to side, moaning now and then, in pain. He seemed to be in divine communion even at this time, with a look of mute, loving appeal on his face, as if imploring, beseeching his Beloved Lord—was he praying for divine mercy on those who had done this to him? I felt my heart go out to him and the next moment, I again felt that surge of energy, shooting


seven golden candlesticks.” These are the seven spinal centers with the seven electrical currents in them. “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” Because everyone is born the son of man, in the human sense.

Power to become the Son of God

But this Christ came. He is the first consciousness that ema-nated from God. His was the first power that emanated from God. His was the first expression of the will of God. And he ex-pressed himself as the firstborn or that life, that intelligence, that power, that will within every living thing. But in man, His high-est creation, He gave him the power to become the Son of God if he would only believe Him, and that’s what he said. “To all of those who believed in him, he gave them the power to become the sons of God.” He didn’t say, “I am the only one who will ev-er exist.” Why do we not listen to the words that are put in the mouth of the Christ Consciousness, that all who believe in that Universal Christ will truly become the Sons of God? You will arise from your humanness, and you will ascend into your Di-vine Self, your divinity. And having gone over the top, having tasted death, just as it says in the scriptures, “He who has experi-enced the first death, need hath no fear of the second.” I have ex-perienced that death; I have no fear of the second, because I know that I AM, and that I am one with God. I know that I am life, all of it! And that I can never die.

No such thing as death

The garment I wear may drop off. But we have read in Autobi-ography of a Yogi how Lahiri Mahasaya was tapped on the shoulder by God and told him it was time to leave. And a shiver ran through his body, because no matter how great you are in God, still, when you go to leave the body, consciously, you know that you are giving up this home which you have lived in for many, many years, perhaps. And you don’t want to leave. That last little bit, even though you’re totally one with God.

You know there’s no such thing, truly, as death. You hang on to this little bit of life. But he, being a total God-man, just turned around in a circle a few times and sat in meditation, and left the body. And was sitting there in half-lotus posture and the life force had departed.


Just as the life force enters the medulla, goes straight through to the optic thalamus gland, distributes itself throughout the brain (and that is your life, your energy distribution center); then it goes down to every one of the spinal centers and furnishes the light, the power which keeps that particular body part moving. Just so, as the three bodies are formed and this life force not only forms them, the consciousness forms them, but also when it is time for you to leave this house, to throw off this bodily gar-ment, then you go out the opposite way from which you came in. First you shed the physical body, so you must break that bodily jar. Next, you go through the things that are necessary to escape from your astral body, the second jar. Then, thirdly, of course, you must do that which is necessary to escape from your idea body; that is the idea jar.

And then you go over the top, and there’s a void there; you go into the nothingness of God, or the everythingness of God, whichever way you want it. But then you awaken, and if you have gone all the way, then you are consciously joined with God. You are consciously filled with His consciousness and His bliss, His power, His will. You have gone from being the son of man into being the Son of God, the Christed One. And that’s what every man was meant to be on this earth.…

…All of you are the disciples of Christ, and it is through the Christ Consciousness that all of us realize our oneness with the Father God. By whatever name you want to call Him, there is this Supreme Intelligence, Power, the Supreme Light, the Su-preme Will, the Supreme Presence that governs this universe. And what we are trying to do through the techniques which are given to you, the Kriya being the greatest among them, is to help you to overcome all of the obstacles in your human life, and to realize that you are truly God in human form. To go beyond, and then to come back and live a life; to become your Selves.…

Finally we must turn our face to God

…But don’t forget that when you try to do something, when you try to change yourself, you’re not going to do it, because that little “you” is that human ego, the son of man, which never in this world wants to depart. You’ve got to take it above your own will, your own action and place it totally in the hands of God. So that’s why Ramdas said one day that man must do eve-rything within his power to help himself until he comes to the


up to the open sky, smiled to me, and said, “Direct flight!” In-deed, a sense of freedom—pure, unbounded freedom—flooded my whole being as the physical form of John was returned to the elements from whence God fashioned it.

Arunanchala, the Holy Hill of Ramana Maharshi, was where John had spent his last weeks prior to receiving the inner prompting which brought him to Anandashram. He was present on the hill every day, meditating there, and absorbing the grace and healing vibration of that place. He so loved his time there, I imagined he might like to have some of his ashes left in celebra-tion. After all was completed at Anandashram, I was able to trav-el there, and early one morning, climbed to the top of the moun-tain. There was a clear view of all the surrounding country, and a steady wind blowing toward the north. After a resounding

“Hari Om” I scattered most of the ashes to the wind. For the remainder of the ashes I set up a little ‘cave shrine’ at the summit, in an out-of-the-way rock overhang.

Through these experiences, I have felt that though John passed out of his body, I too

went to heaven. Such powerful currents of love and support poured in to me from all around—from friends; neighbors; from you, my spiritual family; and most of all, from God and our Gu-rus. To witness first-hand the ideal of “universal love and ser-vice” embodied by all those at Anandashram as they cared for John, for Cate and myself, as though we were their very own, was inspiring beyond words.

Thank you John, for pointing my life in the direction of the highest teaching. Thank you, all, for your blessings of kindness and generosity. Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram!


John Thamann By Rebecca Harvey

Last month, I had the distinctive honor of lighting the funeral pyre of my dear Friend, Husband and Teacher, John Thamann. John was the kindest and most truthful person I have ever known. His entire life was dedicated to God and the sacrifice and surrender necessary to realize Him. John’s passing at Anandash-ram was a blessing both for him and me, to have such a signifi-cant event as the cremation of one’s body presided over, start to finish, by the saintly souls of the Ashram. What more could any devotee wish for?

The cremation day began with a traditional ceremony conduct-ed by Swami Muktananda, and all present gathered around sing-ing Ram Nam. John’s body was draped with garlands of flowers

and tulsi leaves, and blessed by Swamiji with kum kum powder and ho-ly water. Atop the shroud, over his heart, I placed rose petals from the re-cent Kriya initiation, of-fered by David, a photo of Mother Hamilton, of-fered by Cate, along with a letter I had written.

At the cremation grounds, some short distance up the road away from the Ashram, the pyre was ready. John’s body was laid on a stack of hand-cut wood and dried coco-nut husks, within the con-fines of a brick surround. A dry palm frond was lit, and handed to me to begin the first flames,

which soon became a blaze. As we stood back and watched the billow of smoke rising, one of the men tending the fire pointed


point where he knows beyond all doubt that of himself he can do nothing! It is then, and then alone—when he has been brought to his knees, perhaps sheds bitter tears, and realizes that he has tried everything, that he has gone to everybody, that nothing, no doors are left open to him—finally he turns his face to God and says, “God, I’ve done everything I know how. If it is Your will that this be done, then You must do it.” And at that very mo-ment, Papa said, then God comes in and He does the work. Be-cause the human ego, you yourself, are no longer standing in the shadow of your own light.

You don’t want to get rid of this human self because you think you won’t exist. You think that when you die—because this is the way the orthodox Christians have told us and people in all religions all over the world—that you have to wait until after the death of the body before you descend into hell, you’re put into purgatory, or you ascend into heaven. That is not so; it happens in one lifetime when the soul is ready to receive it.

None of you would be here if you were not ready. You have risen to that point where God has blessed you greatly, and He has brought you to the truth. But you must take that truth, you must use it; you must change your lives, all the way. And you must be honest. And you must be trustworthy. And you must be stable. You cannot be jumping up and down, hopping from pillar to pillar like a monkey jumping from one tree to the other and perhaps falling. That never gets you anyplace.

Pay the price, as the Christ did

When you find a true teacher, when you find the truth, when you find your own path, stick with it as long as you live, be-cause it will take you all the way! The results depend on you. But don’t look for excuses to get out of it, as many do. They want you to reach over and touch them on the shoulder with a magic wand and say, “I give you God-realization,” and never in this world does that work, as I stated Sunday. Just the ac-ceptance doesn’t work; you’ve got to pay the price! Because if you are a true disciple of Christ, you pick up your own cross, which is your own body, and you start to ascend that road to-ward Calvary, or the ultimate transformation of the human with-in yourself. You’ve got to pay the price, even as the Christ did. Otherwise, it says, thy faith has made thee whole, but you haven’t had the experience. You don’t know through experience


the truth; you just know that you have faith through belief. You do not have actual knowledge through actual experience, and there is a vast, vast difference. The one is purely an intellectual thing, where the other, the whole of your being is involved, and the whole of your being becomes absorbed and transformed into God. And that’s what we want.

Live your life in God

You don’t cease to live when that happens; you don’t give up life, but you come out of the crypt. You come out of Hades, and for the first time in your life you really know what life is. Because you are that life itself, and you’ve only been living in the shadow of your own light. You’ve never realized the tremendous power, the tremendous potential that each and every one of us has, never! And you will only do it if you make the total effort!

So, I keep urging each and every one of you to give up the things of the senses. Now, you have to use them, but use them with discretion. Don’t overdo anything. But keep your mind on God. Speak His Holy Name. Think of all of His wonderful attributes. Love Him with all of your heart. Feel that peace and that bliss within yourself, and then go around and give it to everybody you meet. A kind word, a kind gesture, some helpful act.

…Live your life in God. Find your spiritual stairway unto your abode of bliss, the thousand-petaled lotus of the brain. Be willing to go through the battle of the heart center, the battle of Armageddon, the battle of Kurukshetra, as the Hindus call it, and then ascend the ladder further. After you have gone through the heart center, then you climb gradually into the heaven of your own being. And know that just because you’ve been through the crucifixion of the ego of the five senses that that’s not the end of it, because you have to destroy their hold on the ten subtle qualities of the mind, your memory storehouse. You have to dig all of this stuff out and replace it with good. Sweep your house clean and put God in there. Let your light so shine that your good works will appear before men, and you will be like a candle on a hilltop, lighting the way for all men to follow. Let go and let God with everything you have in you, and He will bless you all the days of your life.


We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture or to carve a statue, and so make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmos-phere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the high-est of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.

– from Walden by Henry David Thoreau

leave the body while at Anandashram and making spiritual pro-gress. For that we give thanks, and see the guiding hand of Mother and Papa in the passing of this wonderful, dedicated and sincere soul.

Davidji, Rebecca and John


John Thamann—In Memoriam (December 4, 1945 - April 1, 2016)

By Yogacharya David

John passed away while in India at Anandashram. He was a long term Kriyaban and disciple of Mother Hamilton’s, having taken initiation from Mother in the late 1970s.

John was quiet in nature, intro-spective and highly demanding of himself. During an intense sadhana period John felt he failed Mother while in a powerful spiritual experi-ence; this became a turning point. It was not until these last years that he made contact again. I did not know John from those earlier days, but he and his wife, Rebecca Harvey, came out from the East to attend some functions and John became reconnected with this path. Since then they moved to Ashland, Oregon and attended services at Peter’s home.

It has been wonderful to get to know both John and Rebecca. They took Kriya Initiation in 2014 and have been sincere in their efforts for higher realization. John went on pilgrimage to India and her holy sites. He spent time at Ramanashram and the sacred hill of Arunachala. From there he traveled to Anandashram. The Ashram opened its arms to John, and he in turn had his heart opened. When he asked Swami Muktananda for permission to stay longer, Swamiji easily gave it.

John had been feeling tired and weak for months, even before he left for India. However, he was one to push through pain and distress, not giving too much attention to the body. John was re-luctant to say anything about his physical condition, and once the ashram knew he was having problems they immediately ar-ranged for help. Through unavoidable circumstances John left the body there.

Of course Rebecca and all family and friends will greatly miss John. From a spiritual perspective it was a great boon for John to


Spiritual Evolution By Swami Ramdas

The attainment of God-realization is a gradual process. You have to progress from stage to stage before the goal is reached. The first step is strong aspiration which gives rise to concentra-tion and purification. Then comes the inner vision and the result-ant peace and bliss which leads to the full knowledge of the real-ity. Next, you achieve a state of all-comprehensive realization of divinity in all aspects of existence. Ultimately, you get the expe-rience of the mystic oneness and identity with God which baffles description. Hence, it must be understood by every aspirant, the path which takes him to the goal of spiritual perfection should be trodden upon with determination, steadiness and patience.

The transformation that is sought to be brought about is of a tremendous nature. The animal and the human have to be changed into the super human and the divine. Unusual haste, un-controlled impatience, and impetuous zeal should be avoided. Every human being, in whatever situation or circumstance he or she is placed, possesses the right to realize the highest spiritual status. What is needed is a fixed resolve, a sustained faith, and an optimistic outlook when walking on the path.

There may come moments of vacillation, uncertainty and even of despair. Here, the aspirant should have recourse to the society of saints. Through their inspiration and guidance, he should regain strength and assurance and march onward. Just as the flower reveals its hidden grace and fragrance, so your soul unfolds its latent qualities of all-encompassing vision, eternal wisdom and infinite bliss by a natural evolutionary urge God has implanted within you.

Saints are beacons. Saints show the path. They hearten you in your struggle. Their words should carry absolute weight with you. They can awaken and enthuse you. But you have to advance on the path by your own growing inner power and will. You should feel conscious that the Divine within you is your sole ref-uge. It is by the constant thought and meditation of Him that you rise from the lower to the higher planes of consciousness. When finally you are absorbed in Him, He manifests within you in all of His beauty, power and glory.


Into the Beatitude of My Peace By Rebecca Barnowe

I have compelled you to enter into the beatitude of My Peace.

Do not be disheartened if some days you come weighed down by imperceptible stirrings of grief, or even of a strange indiffer-ence. Come as you are.

Remember eternally the divine invitation which powerfully drew you into My Presence unexpectedly from distant lands.

Come, come whoever you are, wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.

It does not matter. Ours is not caravan of despair.

Come, even if you have broken your vow a thousand times.

Come, come again, come.

from The Mathnawi by Mevlana Jeluludin Rumi

All are compelled to seek the Life-bearing waters springing forth from within. Know you not that each strive for authenticity, innocence, purity and peace? The subtle entrapments of mind wreak havoc. Congestion sets in. Humans then mistrust incoher-ently, even the approach of their good. This is expected—and always is resolved in a heartbeat.

For the moment you hear and feel, and taste and discern the Higher World entering in, so majestic in its grandeur, and peer-less in Its Intelligence, Clarity and Power—the dismal melee of past states, blows away like fog, melted by the blazing Sun.

You cannot then imagine ever having given credence to view-points so shallow, and aspirations so petty.

Every time you rise, you lift all in the wake of renewal, wheth-er they realize this ever or not. In this manner humanity takes on a more refined potential in his etheric nature—a potential opened by a single thought. All who approach with an unquenchable ar-dor to find God, surrendering everything are met and lifted into the company of angels and savants. Little by little each begins to be taught, through transmissions received within, unspeakable in their glory.


The Master From Jewel in the Lotus: Deeper Aspects of Hinduism by Sri M

When the time is ripe, the master comes. You don’t have to search for him in the Himalayas. He may be living next door but you may not know. Your ignorance and arrogance effectively help him to remain hidden.

If you are a sincere aspirant, if your only goal in life is to meet your beloved ‘Self,’ if you constantly meditate and pray for guidance, the master shall surely come—if so required.

You may or may not recognize him but he guides you silently. The true master is the Lord Himself who takes on various forms to guide the devotee.

Test the master well before you accept him. If there is even a trace of lust or selfishness in him, he is not of the highest status. Test him thoroughly but have patience. Do not judge in haste, for, many a time the actions of a master have been misunderstood. Mysterious are his ways. Do not judge his actions without finding out the motives.

Once you have decided after careful reflection, treat him with the greatest respect and beg of him to accept you as a disciple. You are fortunate if he does, because a true master is not fond of collecting hundreds of disciples. Rarely does he agree to be the guru.

A guide is necessary in almost all cases because you are starting on a voyage of largely uncharted territory. You may find here and there greatly advanced spiritual beings who do not seem to have had a guide. They are the exceptions, and though they may not have had a guide in human form, understand that God Himself guides them and looks after their needs.

Don’t imitate them, for they belong to a special category. Do not even imitate your own teacher, for you are not he. Follow his teachings and instructions instead, and you’ll bloom into a master in your own original way and not turn out to be a faint imitation, a mere shadow of the original.

A master may be young, old, male, female, fair or dark. The externals do not matter at all. What matters is his inner spiritual status. He may, if he so decides, help you wipe your heart clear of all the accumulated vasanas and make you free.


I Meet my Guru From Autobiography of a Y ogi by Parmahansa Yogananda

A Christlike man in the ocher robes of a swami stood motion-less at the end of the road. Instantly and anciently familiar he seemed; my gaze fed hungrily for a trice. Then doubt assailed me.

“You are confusing this wandering monk with someone known to you,” I thought. “Dreamer, walk on.”

After ten minutes, I felt heavy numbness in my feet. As though turned to stone, they were unable to carry me farther. Laboriously I turned around; my feet regained normalcy. I faced the opposite direction; again the curious weight oppressed me.

“The saint is magnetically drawing me to him!” With this thought, I heaped my parcels into the arms of Habu. He had been observing my erratic footwork with amazement, and now burst into laughter.

“What ails you? Are you crazy?”

My tumultuous emotion prevented any retort; I sped silently away.

Retracing my steps as though wing-shod, I reached the narrow lane. My quick glance revealed the quiet figure, steadily gazing in my direction. A few eager steps and I was at his feet.

“Gurudeva!” The divine face was none other than he of my thousand visions. These halcyon eyes, in leonine head with point-ed beard and flowing locks, had oft peered through gloom of my nocturnal reveries, holding a promise I had not fully understood.

“O my own, you have come to me!” My guru uttered the words again and again in Bengali, his voice tremulous with joy. “How many years I have waited for you!”

We entered a oneness of silence; words seemed the rankest su-perfluities. Eloquence flowed in soundless chant from heart of master to disciple. With an antenna of irrefragable insight I sensed that my guru knew God, and would lead me to Him. The obscuration of this life disappeared in a fragile dawn of prenatal memories. Dramatic time! Past, present, and future are its cycling scenes. This was not the first sun to find me at these holy feet!


Truth and Parable Read by Mother in her talk “The Book of Life” Oct. 22, 1980

A rabbi famed for his learning and his wit once was asked by

his students why he so often illustrated the truth by telling a sto-ry. “That I can best explain through a story,” he said, “A parable about parable itself.”

There was a time when Truth went among men una-dorned, as naked as his name. And whoever saw Truth turned away in fear or in shame and gave him no wel-come. So Truth wandered through the lands of the earth, rebuffed and unwanted.

One day, most disconsolate, he met Parable, strolling along happily, in fine and many-colored garb.

“Truth, why do you seem so sad,” asked Parable cheer-fully.

“Because I am so old and ugly that all men avoid me,” replied Truth.

“Nonsense!” laughed Parable, “That is not why men avoid you. Here, borrow some of my clothes and see what happens.”

So, Truth donned some of Parable’s lovely garments and lo, everywhere he went, he was welcome.

The rabbi smiled, “For the truth is that men cannot face Truth naked. They much prefer him disguised.”

Arrogance falls to the ground like old husks, as Higher sensi-tivities open in obeisance.

Entering into the Beatitude of My Peace, an immortal com-portment naturally instates Itself.

The Omnipresent Spirit is the “Lord of lords,” espoused in Light.

Speech falls away utterly. …Aum


Guru Purnima 2016 Celebration – July 19

Babaji Remembrance Day – July 25

An avatar lives in the omnipresent Spirit; for him there is no distance inverse to the square. Only one reason, therefore, can motivate Babaji in maintaining his physical form from century to century: the desire to furnish humanity with a concrete ex-ample of its own possibilities. Were man never vouchsafed a glimpse of Divinity in the flesh, he would remain oppressed by the heavy mayic delusion that he cannot transcend his mor-tality.

Jesus knew from the beginning the sequence of his life; he passed through each event not for himself, not from any kar-mic compulsion, but solely for the upliftment of reflective hu-man beings. – Yogananda, Autobiograpy of a Y ogi, Ch. 33


Love for God is the greatest thing in the world, and it is said that God and Guru are not different. And when you come to the point in your spiritual development where you have earned the right to be with a God-realized soul who themselves has gone the way, has gone through everything on the path and has reached this illuminated state, you are fortunate indeed because such a one has love for you such as you will never find any place on earth—never. And it is only when you finally, through their help, go within and find God, that you find that the two blend together and are one. – Mother

from “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” A talk given on April 14, 1974

Om Guru, Om Guru, Om Guru, Om Guru

We bow eternally at Your Lotus Feet!

Who can fathom the eternal blessings You bestow on us?

How can we ever understand the price

You pay to show us the way?

Christ-like, You suffer for us. You die for our sins.

You lift us into divine bliss.

In seeing You, we behold the face of the Lord.

May we be ever conscious of Your Grace.

– Cate

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