Reverend Mother Yogacharya M. Hamilton
Dedicated to the Realization of God and Service to Him in All Forms
The Cross and The
Lotus Journal
December 2009, Vol. 10, No. 4
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 sym-
bol 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.
Om-Amen. The Reverend Yogacharya Mother Hamilton
The Cross and The Lotus Journal is published by
The Cross and The Lotus Publishing
P.O. Box 1864, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, U.S.A.
Website: www.crossandlotus.com
E-mail: [email protected]
© 2009 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 3
Dear Friends,
I have learned much from speak-
ing to aspirants and devotees on a
daily basis. It is wonderful, really, to
see out through the eyes and experi-
ences of those striving to lead a
good life. God teaches me some-
thing from each one and of course
the deepest lessons are when I learn
about myself.
The other day a principle about
life and our take on events sur-
rounding us came to me like the
clarion sound of a crystal clear bell.
It is unavoidable to make judgments about people, places and
situations that surround us. Sometimes these judgments are sim-
ple preferences: I like the way they decorated that room. There
are times when preferences can involve emotional reactions giv-
ing them a stronger flavor: That music sets my nerves on edge,
like the sound of fingernails on a chalk board!
Judgment crosses a line into being judgmental when a prefer-
ence becomes the standard by which all must abide and you en-
tertain an intolerance for deviation. An emotional charge accom-
panies being judgmental that leads to frustration, demoralization
and rage. Besides these emotional charges the one who is judg-
mental is now psychically tied to the one(s) he is intolerant of
and even more importantly, he loses his connection with his true
Self. The ultimate price of being judgmental is separation
from God.
A simple example of someone showing up late for work illus-
trates how pernicious being judgmental can become. Imagine
you work in an office with a regular starting time. “Joe” comes
in late every single day. You work near Joe and daily you notice
this regular irregularity. You see it, others see it, yet the boss
seems to take no notice or do anything about it. Your resentment
grows about tardy Joe; eventually intolerance and even a seeth-
Page 4 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
ing anger boils over as you minutely tally up the crime of his
lateness. In your obsession with Joe you lose your center, you
lose connection with God. What is more aggravating is that oth-
ers around you do not seem to be bothered at all! You feel more
and more isolated.
This is the way that a simple situation can ruin your days. Here
is the key to the principle I have observed. Without love for Joe,
you can work yourself into a state of misery that will make you
hell bent. Not a hell anyone has imposed upon you, it is a hell
you willingly entered step by judgmental step.
You must love Joe first, see God in him, and then you may ob-
serve Joe‟s behavior and not be ensnared by the relationship.
This love must be the active ingredient in every relationship we
have in order to be free: in family, work, friendship, marriage,
larger social and worldly issues. I have heard people talk about a
well known person as if they know them personally and they
have such venomous hatred dripping from their lips that you get
the feeling they would torture or kill that one if they had the
chance.
You must ask yourself, if you were on the receiving end of this
kind of scathing judgment, how would this feel to you—without
love, without mercy, without any sense of connection from the
one making a judgment about you? And here is the boomerang
side of this principle: the loveless sentence you would impose
upon another you will ultimately apply to yourself. Those minds
that are like sharpened knives become suicidal when they are
done with their homicidal tendencies.
Now, does this mean that you hold with no values, no firm
principles by which to guide your life? The answer is no. Discov-
ering and knowing physical, mental and spiritual principles by
which to guide your life is absolutely essential to leading a
moral/spiritual life. Moral principles become the bedrock by
which you purify the mind—this is dharma.
When you observe how another guides his or her life it gives
you a window into his priorities and values. You make your ob-
servation—Joe comes in late on a consistent basis. The next
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 5
train of thoughts: I have learned that being early really works for
me; I feel more relaxed when I get in; I oftentimes get a great
deal done when I am here before others arrive; and I feel good
about myself by keeping my agreement with my employer for
when to start. Then you remember a time when you were not a
timely person: I remember coming in late; I was cursing the slow
traffic on the way in; I felt a panic setting in when I realized how
late I was. I realized that I was anxious when I was late and I felt
stress when I was early. I knew then I had to change, and I did.
Then you relate to Joe as a part of yourself: I really feel for Joe;
while it bothers me some when I see him come in late, I know
from my own experience it is no fun for him; he is imprisoned by
his habit of being late and he will continue to be late until he lets
himself out of that prison by establishing a friendly relationship
with time.
In this case you maintain your value of timeliness, yet that
value did not separate you from Joe. Quite the opposite, you feel
connected with Joe, you wish better for him (versus wanting him
gone, dead or tortured!) and you can remain at peace while ob-
serving all of this.
You may say: But what I care about is really important, not
just someone coming in late! What this person does affects so
many others; I cannot relate to him at all; I certainly can feel no
love for him. However, the principle is the same in either case.
When you lose a loving connection with the other (the other per-
son, the other place or the other situation) you lose yourself and
you lose your connection with God.
I met a saint once who went by the name of Peace Pilgrim.
Peace Pilgrim walked 25,000 miles for peace, then 50,000 miles
for peace and she kept on going to her last day; she was a pil-
grim, an apostle, and a prophet for peace. Her aspiration was a
big one—peace for this world. She knew this would happen
through one person at a time learning how to come to peace with
him or herself first! There are those who advocate for peace, yet
it is clear they have not done the work to find peace within them-
selves first. This is improper, you are inasmuch saying: I can
husband my anger, my suspicions of your worst motives, but you
Page 6 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
must disarm and let go of yours. As Peace Pilgrim well knew,
you have to come to peace within before you can positively af-
fect this world.
You take personal responsibility for yourself first: to find calm
within, peace within, and to find love within your heart for all
humanity. Jesus said that it is easy to love those who love you!
Anyone can do this. To love those who hate you, spite you,
would kill you—to love even then, that is how it would be
known that you are His disciple. It takes total purity of mind and
heart to exude a sweet fragrance even when the axe is used to
chop you down. Jesus took incarnation on earth in order to teach
this lesson; this same Truth came as a fresh realization that rever-
berates through me even now. It is Truth Eternal that you
must have love in your heart for one and all.
Now, are you ready to love all?
Ever in the Light,
Letter to a Devotee Thank you for your loving and tender note. What you describe
touches my heart. Of course the situations of your family mem-
bers are not only difficult for them but they reach deep into your
heart as well. As much as you would like their conditions to be
different than they are, there is only so much that you, or anyone
else, can do. When you feel your heart go out to them feel that it
is God who is expressing compassion through your heart; you
are the witness to what Divine Love feels for each of us. You
now feel an intimate communion with God through even painful
feelings of compassion; this gives you unending endurance of
compassion and this gives you an idea of what God feels for
each one of us in our own suffering.
In addition to being a witness to what is occurring in your own
compassionate heart you can also be a witness to the difficulties
of your family members. Make it your prayer demand to God
that if you are to do something (any serviceable action) that He
makes it clear to you; then feel you are His instrument in what-
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 7
ever service He asks of you. Turn the whole situation over to
Him, know that before you loved your family that He loved
them. When you do this successfully you will feel the heavy
weight of the sole responsibility come off your shoulders; now
the whole responsibility is with God and now you are an instru-
ment for His action.
When there is no particular action required, you can see and/or
feel your family surrounded in golden Light. Feel that this Light
is supporting them, giving them comfort, guiding and protecting
them. Every individual has freedom of will, so there is no forc-
ing them to accept this almighty Presence, but your prayer
through this visualization supports that living Presence in them.
(Contrast this to projecting worried thoughts and always think-
ing of how they are miserable, helpless etc.) Now you are not
only an instrument of service in the little things you can do for
your family but you are also an instrument of prayer. You are
also feeling that same Presence within you as this is filling your
own mind and your presence is also a blessing to them and to all.
It is not required nor is it helpful for you to feel miserable.
Your joyful feeling in Spirit is the greatest way for you to serve!
So you may feel great joy, even when you are feeling compas-
sion for those who do not have that same feeling of joy. There is
something inside of us that can feel guilty if we do not join oth-
ers in their pain. Think of yourself in some painful difficulty;
you do not need others to feel bad; you want their understanding
and you also benefit if they have a larger view of the situation
than you do in the moment. When you are feeling your connec-
tion with God you feel His joy; you also feel your connection
with all creation; therefore bliss and compassion are entirely
compatible.
You have, in fact, been in my prayers for your total and com-
plete recovery, that your physical health be perfect and your
spiritual health be glowing with His Light. May you ever have
that Light glowing within and be a blessing to all.
In the Presence of God and Gurus,
Page 8 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
God’s Perfect Timing An Excerpt from a Talk Given by
The Reverend Mother, Yogacharya M. Hamilton
in Seattle on November 5, 1972
Mother Hamilton
To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 [Refer to verses 1-22]
Everything in its own good time
There is a time for everything, a season for everything. And in
all the things that it says in this chapter you can see the workings
of duality and that man must do everything in its own good time.
He must constantly keep his full attention upon God. He must go
inward in order to find God because Jesus has said that God and
the kingdom of heaven are within. And He made this statement,
know ye not that ye are gods. This is the truth. You are God in
human form.
But until you realize the divinity within your own being, until
you realize your Oneness with this eternal infinite Spirit then you
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 9
remain, as it says in here, as beasts, because it is the human ego
that acts and gives into its desires even as the beast uncon-
sciously does this. But man is born with that special gift of con-
sciousness, that special gift of judgment, of reason, of intelli-
gence, where he can go within himself and find his real Self—
which is to say, God. He can become a great being of light; he
can become a fisher of men…
Mother’s experience was universal
… Many think that because I have explained to you the things
on my own path, my own God-Realization, the things which
have happened to me, that you‟re going to have to go through the
same thing. Some shy away from it in fear. But I have told you
over and over and over again and I repeat it: you will not have
to go through what I went through because this was a special
thing that God asked of Himself in me—a very special thing
which was done on a universal basis. And therefore it was the
individual experience multiplied a million times or more. How
else could I teach you the truth unless I went through all of it in
the same way that it is pictured that the Christ went through in
there? [The Bible]
A man can only expect the fruits of his labors as it says in Ec-
clesiastes here and whatever you put forth this is what you reap.
Whatever you sow you reap. And so as long as he‟s content with
just the fruit of his labors—so long as he eats, drinks and is
merry; he does the things that he wants to; he takes his pleasure
but also he takes his pain—this is the way God will arrange it.
But the real individual, the real soul that wants God more than
anything in the world, that is willing to offer himself and all that
he calls his own, all that he possesses at the Feet of God—for His
service, that one then will rise above this animal state—which is
the human ego—and he will become the Holy Ghost, or the Di-
vine Ego, that One which still lives in a human body but there is
nothing there but God.
Every devotee will be tested
There is no time…there is no instance anywhere where a truly
devout and spiritual soul will not be tested. You will be tested
Page 10 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
about your love for God; you will be tested about your love for
the Christ; you will be tested about your love for your guru. I can
assure you that this is true because I was myself for three long
years, and I went through hell with it because for eighteen years
I had been so glued to my Master that nothing or nobody was
important to me but God in him. Then, all of sudden, he tested
me. He didn‟t say a word to me, he didn‟t turn me away; he was
just as loving, he was just as concerned as he had always been,
but all of a sudden I just felt this division. And I was devastated;
I wondered what I had done, and I didn‟t realize what he was
doing. No word was spoken.
So I went down to Encinitas and I literally threw myself on the
bed and cried. And I searched through the Bible to try to find
comfort and no matter where I looked I couldn‟t find it because I
was no longer at one with my Guru. So when I finally went back
to Mt. Washington, I was paralyzed as I had been once before.
And he happened to be away that day and so one of the sisters
there came in and talked to me and they massaged me all day.
Nothing happened; I was just as cold and as rigid as could be. So
finally Master came back about a quarter to seven that evening
and they told him immediately of my plight and he sent word
down to me that he would pray for me but that he would not see
me that night. And within ten minutes I felt the blood coursing
through my veins just like a molten river of…whatever. It was
just on fire and for the first time I could move my limbs.
So the next night he called me in from dinner, as a matter of
fact; I‟d only started to eat—it was about six-thirty and we talked
for hours upon hours. And he took his shoes off and he asked me
if he could be comfortable. I said of course. And so we talked
and he told me many things which made me understand an awful
lot that I hadn‟t been able to understand before. And he ques-
tioned me very closely about what had brought this on. And
when I told him, he said a very strange thing, “If you had not
been affected, I would not have seen you again.”
Do not question what the Master does
So this was what I had to live with. And he had dealt with
some people in a way that I, as a human being, disapproved of
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 11
and I thought, why does he have to do this, here he’s God-
Realized; I just don’t get this. So I asked him about it and he said
that through my intercession he would grant both the people in-
volved special dispensation, which he did. But apparently, they
fouled it up later.
I have come to know, since I am in the position where I am
now, not to question what a God-Realized soul does—ever. I
have understanding now of what my Master was and what he
did; and that in everything that he did he was going, not accord-
ing to his own whims, his own human will, but he was going ac-
cording to God‟s direction alone. He was doing that which was
best for the individual—they needed that test; they needed it.
They needed whatever was handed out to them, and so did I.
And then, that same evening, all of a sudden, he took me in his
arms as I was ready to leave and he kissed me right at the Christ
center. And I was filled with bliss, as though I had had oceans of
wine or liquor to drink; only it was ecstatic. I was as one drunk
and when I turned away from him I could scarcely walk. And so
as I got to the door, he said, “Mildred”. I turned around and I
looked at him in a very dazed way and I said, “Yes sir?” And he
smiled at me so sweetly and he said, “I just wanted to look at you
once more.” That was the last time I saw him as I had known
him for three long years.
And while he never said a word to me, he put me through, in-
wardly, such tests, such experiences as you wouldn‟t believe. But
you see, my love for God was greater that my love for myself.
My love for my Guru stood out above my love for anybody or
anything because I knew that he alone was the bridge between
myself and the Infinite. That without him I could go no place, do
nothing because I knew that he knew God, and that he could help
me to that ultimate end.
Mother’s reason for going to India
And the fact that after his passing, I went to India—not to go
to another guru, to another master, but to get help for the work
that my own Guru had done. I thought I could get it so that what
he had written, what he had set up could be saved and I found
Page 12 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
out that that wasn‟t God‟s will at all. He answered my prayer for
His work. But the way He answered it was to put me totally
through the Crucifixion in order that I might get my own God-
Realization, that I might become that Truth which he had taught.
So that they could throw all of the scriptures, all of the lessons,
all of the teachings—they could throw them away or burn them
or they could be put in water, didn‟t make any difference. To-
tally destroyed. And still, because my love for God and my Guru
was great enough, I came through that tremendous ordeal, even
unto death. And I stand before you now so that I can tell you the
living Truth of what you are in God. It‟s tremendous.
Mother’s experiences taught her the Truth
Now, each of these things happens in its own time. The great
thing that I did was to have total faith in God in my Guru. Be-
cause to me in the beginning—my beginnings were one in an
orthodox church…and the whole religious theme was on
Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. And the church mortgage—that‟s
the truth, time after time I heard that! And so, I had no idea, none
whatsoever of any of the things that I am now able to tell you. I
had never read about them (except I read Christ‟s experience in
the Bible, to some degree). I had never met anybody (besides my
Master) and I was not interested in going to anybody else, in
reading anything even, because I was so loyal to him. But it was
through that, through putting God and Guru above myself in
complete and total faith and surrender, that I am able to give you
the real Truth of the Christian Scriptures. And to tell you that I
am not the only one—as it has been presented that Jesus the
Christ who lived two thousand years [ago] was the only one as
far as the whole Christian faith is concerned—but that the Christ
is in every one of you, eternally living. In fact, He is that Life,
that Power, that Intelligence which is within you, without Him
you cannot move, nor live, nor breathe, nor have your being.
We do nothing of ourselves, not one God-blessed thing. But I
gave Him only this love. I was so busy with the experiences of
my life, which were so tremendous at that time, that I couldn‟t sit
in meditation—but my whole life was meditation. Because my
love for my Guru, and for God in him and the God that he taught
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 13
me to know was inside myself was so great that always I was
meditating upon Him no matter what I was doing—whether I
was getting a meal, or scrubbing a floor or washing diapers,
whatever it was, God was there. And my Guru was alongside of
me.
And finally, when I was in Washington, D.C. after his passing
and I saw the devastation which had come about in the two years
since that time, I sat in my hotel room and I cried my eyes out for
about two hours. And I prayed to God to use me in some way;
that I could right this terrible wrong so that all the years that he
had spent would not be in vain. And so this is what he did to me,
this is what he did for me and I regret not one tiny bit of it. I
would go through every bit of it again to be able to teach you and
to tell you that Truth, which in truth you are!
This is all God‟s life, every bit of it. And you are That. There
is nothing but God anywhere. And when you go up into the
mountain of your own Being and you come face-to-face with that
great Light of your own Soul, that living Reality which is God or
the Christ within you, you will know that I speak the Truth.
EXPECT A MIRACLE TODAY By Yogacharya David
Expect a miracle today:
Expect God to reveal Himself today.
Expect God to heal an injury today.
Expect God to fill you with peace and bliss today.
Expect God to bring solace to all those who mourn.
Expect God to be with you in your silent heart today,
and always.
Expect a miracle TODAY!
Page 14 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
How Christ Consciousness Descends
Into Human Consciousness By Swami Yogananda (1932)
When Christmas comes, people usually think of buying gifts
for their loved ones. A few think of the beauties of Christmas
music and church services. Most people revel in the festivity of
the Christmas tree, with its
glimmering tinsel and the gifts
around it. It is good to celebrate
the birth of Christ with songs,
dinners, and the exchange of
gifts, but if material festivity
becomes the only purpose of all
the Christmas celebration, it is a
pity, and nothing is gained.
Let us learn how to make our
celebration of Christmas a real
commemoration of the holy life
of Christ, a truly spiritual and
uplifting experience. Once I
saw a shotgun adorning a
Christmas tree, and I remarked
to my hostess: “Madam, that
shotgun for your son is an insult
to the Christ who preached
„Thou shalt not kill.‟ A gun means death, murder, revenge,
brother fighting brother. For that reason it is out of place in the
celebration of the birthday of the „Prince of Peace‟.” The lady
took the gun away, and placed there a child‟s Bible instead. We
must remember that on Christmas Day we should exchange not
only useful gifts, but God-reminding gifts.
The original meaning of most religious symbols and holy days
is usually forgotten. Most people think of Christmas as an ordi-
nary festivity and forget Christ, the master of ceremonies. Christ-
mas and Christ are used for festivity, and the great spiritual sig-
nificance of Christmas is lost sight of. As in a picture show, the
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 15
principle attention for the audience is on the story of the picture,
and not on the music, so in Christmas entertainment, the princi-
ple attention is on the material celebration, and Christ, though a
most necessary part, is pushed into the background.
We should rejoice that such a holy Being as Christ was given
to serve as an ideal of perfection for deluded mankind to follow.
Indifferent, unconscious honor shown to Him will not do any
good. Christmas should be so used that it may materially, men-
tally, and spiritually give us at least a new impetus to start in the
Christ Path of Truth with the beginning of the new year.
Last year we tried to do this at the Self-Realization Mother
Center. A short description of the way we celebrated Christmas
will give some suggestions as to how spiritual people should
celebrate the coming of Christmas.
To begin with, we did our Christmas shopping early. Every
member, and all others invited to the Christmas festivity, re-
ceived a gift. However small in money value, it was rich with our
love. Everyone in our Divine family is considered closer because
of the spiritual tie, which is stronger than the material tie of com-
pulsion. We are gathered together in the name of our One Father,
and have recognized ourselves as children made in His image.
We knew that getting dinner for a hundred people, adorning
the Christmas tree, and making all the arrangements, would take
much time, and in the din of activity Christ might slip away un-
noticed from the altar of our attention, so the day before Christ-
mas we fasted on fruits and stopped all cooking. About forty of
us sat around the exquisitely decorated Christmas tree and alter-
nately chanted and meditated deeply, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
We ate a supper of fruit and meditated again until 11 p.m. As we
retired, many guests said: “We have felt Christ and God today.
We never knew before what the deep diving into Cosmic Con-
sciousness meant. Most of us swam on the surface of the sea of
silence, but never dived to get the beautiful pearls of God-
contact.”
Christmas morning we began with a meditation, and then the
final preparations were complete and the long-looked-for dinner
Page 16 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
came. After that was the opening of the mystery packages, then a
closing meditation and singing until late at night. So it was that
our Christmas began in the Consciousness of Christ and ended in
His expanded Consciousness.
With the coming of Christmas, do not let your Consciousness
sink into the well of turkey dinners, exchange of gifts, dances,
festivities, and cocktail parties. A well of material thoughts is not
a fit place in which to celebrate Christ‟s birthday. Instead, take
your consciousness from the pitfalls of material festivities and
enter the secret door of silence with closed eyes to behold the
vast altar of peace spread eternally above, beneath, to the left and
to the right, in front and behind, within and without.
If you go deeper, you will meet Christ coming to you in His
burning robes of Bliss, like the rising Aurora, and your joy will
dance in every atom of space. Then open your eyes, behold your
little body and say: “The Christ-Peace is descending on the altar
of my thought, feeling, and devotion.” Meditate upon the state-
ment: “Christ-Peace is descending into every tissue and cell of
my body as health.”
Place Christ on the altar of your business and possessions. Say:
“I possess these things in Christ.” Then meditate on the state-
ment: “My Christ-Peace has descended upon every member of
my family, upon my country, and upon my world.” Behold
Christ-Peace descending upon your body, upon your possessions,
and extending to your neighbors, to all countries, and onto the
united altar of all hearts and all creatures. Let Christ-Bliss extend
from your body to all lands, to America, Asia, South America,
Europe, Australia, to the Solar System, to the Island Universes,
and to all Beings. Meditate upon the following: “My Christ-
Peace is descending upon every living thing, upon every living
star, upon every speck of matter and space.”
Celebrate Christmas upon the altar of the vast inner silence,
and upon the sanctuary of every desire, every living thing in the
world, and the Cosmos. Then will you know Christ as the Divine
King ruling the heart of all finite Creation.
Article from East West Journal, December, 1932
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 17
Renunciation From the book, In Quest of God by Swami Ramdas
December 27th marks the 87th Sannyas Day of Swami Ramdas.
Ramdas‟ heart heaved a deep sigh—a hazy desire to renounce
all and wander over the earth in the garb of a mendicant—in
quest of Ram—wafted over his mind. Now Ram prompted him
to open at random the book—“Light of Asia” which was before
him at the time. His eyes rested upon the pages wherein is de-
scribed the great renunciation of Buddha, who says: —
“For now the hour is come when I should quit
This golden prison, where my heart lives caged,
To find the Truth; which henceforth I will seek,
For all men’s sake, until the Truth be found.”
Then Ramdas similarly opened the “New Testament” and
lighted upon the following definite words of Jesus Christ: —
“And everyone that hath forsaken houses or brethren,
or sisters, or father or mother or wife or children or
lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred-fold
and shall inherit everlasting life.”
Then again he was actuated in the same way to refer to the
“Bhagavad Gita”—and he read the following sloka: —
“Abandoning all duties come to Me alone for shelter,
sorrow not, I will liberate thee from all sins.”
Ram had thus spoken out through the words of these three
great avatars—Buddha, Christ and Krishna—and all of them
pointed to the same path—renunciation. At once Ramdas made
up his mind to give up for the sake of Ram, all that he till then
hugged to his bosom as his own, and leave the samsaric world.
During this period, he was very simple in his dress which con-
sisted of a piece of cloth covering the upper part of the body and
another wound round the lower part. Next day, he got two
clothes of this kind dyed in gerrua or red ochre, and the same
night wrote two letters—one to his wife whom Ram had made
Page 18 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
him look upon for sometime
past as his sister—and an-
other to a kind friend whom
Ram had brought in touch
with Ramdas for his deliver-
ance from debts. The resolu-
tion was made. At five
o‟clock in the morning he
bade farewell to a world for
which he had lost all attrac-
tion and in which he could
find nothing to call his own.
The body, the mind, the
soul—all were laid at the feet
of Ram—that Eternal Being,
full of love and full of mercy.
Remember Me
by Harriette deMers Rowe
Remember me when you see a bird flying
Remember me when the roses glisten with dew
Remember me, but only cry a while
for I am forever, always with you
Remember me but do not grieve,
‟twas God‟s will for me to leave
Remember me, but not in sadness, but in gladness
Remember me for all we shared, laughter and fun
For now, my purpose on earth is done
So—go your way, find a new tomorrow
Never think of me in sorrow
Make each day the best
Before you come to Heavenly rest
Remember Me
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 19
In Memoriam
Harriette Eugenie de Mers Rowe, 1911-2009 By Yogacharya David R. Hickenbottom
The first time I came to see
Mother I entered Bonnie
Barnowe‟s living room
(where Mother held services
at the time) and sat down in
front and off to one side.
When I looked across the liv-
ing room I saw an older
woman sitting on the couch
meditating. The thought
crossed my mind that perhaps
this woman was Mother Ham-
ilton. Then Mother came out
and it became very clear who
Mother was! When attending
Mother‟s talks in the next
couple of years I would take a
position on the couch and
quite often Harriette sat next to me; we would sit after Mother‟s
talk and meditate. We would then talk quietly about God and she
would reach out and hold my hand. She was always so loving
and kind; I remember her vividly as I think of those times now.
Harriet was a Kriyaban; she had a long career as a nurse, was a
mother of five, and had 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchil-
dren who called her G.G. (Great Grandmother). Harriette was
also an artist, a dancer, singer and a lover of nature. Mysticism
ran deep in her coupled with an independent spirit. In retirement
she travelled up and down the West Coast in her camper-van and
was an inspiration to and loved by many. When she left the body
on September 28th at 97 years of age, she had lived a long and
fruitful life.
Herlwyn Lutz told of a time when he, Win Smith and Harriette
traveled to southern California for a Kriya Convocation just after
Page 20 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
Inscription in a book from Mother to Harriette
Master‟s passing. All went well until the trio were on their way
back. Neither Harriette nor Win was in favor of driving after
dark, whereas this was Herlwyn‟s favorite time to drive. The
morning after they stopped for the night Herlwyn left a note, his
car and two Kriyaban friends behind as he hitch-hiked home.
Much to the astonishment to all, Herlwyn made it back to Seattle
before Win and Harriette. No minor difference of this kind could
change the close relationship Herlwyn had with Harriette; right
from the beginning he felt as if Harriette was his sister, even
though she was nearly old enough to be his mother.
May God and the Masters bless Harriette in her ongoing jour-
ney to complete realization.
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 21
Being in Business with God By Peter Schultz
I‟ve had this thing about being a businessman since as long as
I can remember—since I was a little kid actually. I‟ve always
wanted to be a good one—you know—making wise decisions
building a huge financial empire as all those around you gather at
your feet to bask in your wisdom.
Great fantasy—the only problem is—it hasn‟t worked out that
way. The truth is I‟m a bit of an idiot. The ONLY reason I have a
business that supports my family at all is because I kept at it long
enough to overcome a mind-boggling series of amazingly stupid
mistakes.
So right now I‟m going to give you a million dollar piece of
advice you can use in your own business (or life). Ready? Here it
is: Every one of those mistakes was made about as far from a
God-conscious state as you can get.
Here‟s the opposite side of that statement: Putting your mind
on God means profit. Putting your mind on God means more
money, more love, more freedom, more great ideas, more well-
being, more laughter, a better life—not someday—but right now.
Yeah there‟s a recession on right now—so what? The only real
recession that exists is a recession in God consciousness. The
revenue for my business is down 25% since last year and after a
good deal of fretting and hand-wringing I finally found a solu-
tion. I sit at my little computer in my little office and...put my
mind on God. And you might be pretty amazed at what God
comes up with. Talk about a good businessman...
God has ideas—good ideas.
God has enough life force for you to get ‟em done.
God has a customer list that can swamp your business with
fresh new orders.
God will send you emails telling you how great your product
or service is swelling you up with the incentive to do even better.
If you want an awesome business partner, God is the one. God
Page 22 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
will make you a fortune and most importantly—He‟ll make you
fortunate. Walk with God and you will become rich in every
good sense of the word.
Here‟s another trick. Scared about money? Hard time paying
your bills? Don‟t know what you are going to do? Spending a
few nights tossing and turning wondering how you got yourself
into this mess? Here‟s the trick—Put your mind on God. You
cannot put your mind on God and be scared at the same time. It‟s
impossible—I‟ve tried.
Have you ever seen one of those movies where the hero is
really down on his luck? Boy, his business failed—he lost all his
tools—his shop burned down—the poor fellow is homeless
walking down the road with nothing. And then it starts to rain.
And you are sitting there in the audience really rooting for
him. You want to shout, “Don‟t give up, you still have a chance,
keep going, you can make it!”
Well that‟s the way it is when you are down on your luck and
you suddenly strike up a conversation with God. It‟s not happen-
ing to you anymore—you‟ve stepped outside of the situation and
are watching the movie with God and you are shouting, “Don‟t
give up, you still have a chance, there‟s lots of things you can
do!” And God is right there with you giving you that feeling of
hope, and goodness, and riches in the idea world which, with His
life-force, manifest themselves here in the material.
Truth is—you can‟t do it WITHOUT God. Oh sure—there are
a few that are so trained in past lives and this one that they can
make a fortune in money, or build a big business without putting
their mind on God—but they will never be RICH. Not like the
God-Man.
I‟ve been focused on money my whole life and the richest peo-
ple I‟ve met are Mother Hamilton, Swami Satchidananda and
David Hickenbottom. They make the Rockefellers look like beg-
gars.
So if you want to have a great business and be rich—REALLY
RICH—go to God. There is „no other path except by Me, sayeth
the Lord‟. And He wasn‟t kidding.
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 23
Memories of Mother Roses and Chocolates
By Jerry Trofimchuk
When I first started attending church at the Victoria Centre, I
knew very little about what a Guru might be all about and noth-
ing at all about the Guru-Disciple relationship. In order to come
to some sort of a conclusion about what would be best to do and
what would be best to avoid doing, I observed the disciples who
had been with Mother Hamilton for a while to see how they car-
ried themselves and listened to what they had to say. Over time I
concluded that it was customary to bring a gift for the Guru and
that Mother especially seemed to like to receive roses and choco-
lates.
From that point forward, whenever Mother came to Victoria,
or if I went to Seattle to see Mother, I brought roses and, if at all
possible, chocolates for her. That was usually easy to do as flo-
rists are to be found everywhere and Victoria has at least three or
four fine chocolate-making establishments, each making a de-
lightful variety of first class chocolates that are suitable for such
occasions.
Perhaps one year after I started coming to church, Mother ex-
perienced a heart attack. This of course created a stir in the
group, with much anxiety and much discussion and of course
many prayers! At one point the idea was expressed that because
Mother had had a heart attack, it would be better not to give her
chocolates. The idea was expressed that it would be “for her own
good”, or words to that effect.
I thought about that for a short while and concluded that it was
a sensible and practical idea. A near fatal conclusion on my
part—that the disciple should think that he knew better what was
good for the guru, better than the Guru herself!
From the normal human perspective, and from a normal health
practices perspective, perhaps it would have been a sensible and
practical idea to stop giving chocolates to someone who had ex-
perienced a heart attack. But from the perspective of the Guru-
Page 24 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
Disciple relationship there are just so many things wrong about
my deciding that I knew what was good for the guru in that in-
stance that they are too numerous and frankly too troubling for
me to list them here. And that is without even considering that
Mother had not experienced the heart attack for some personal
reason but rather that she was almost certainly working out
karma for the group or perhaps even karma on a Universal scale.
Nevertheless, having drawn my conclusions, the next time
Mother came to Victoria, I gave Mother roses, but in place of
chocolates, I gave Mother something else, I do not recall just
what that was anymore.
Mother was not happy. I think I could fairly say that Mother
was cross with me.
It was not the other gift that I had substituted for the usual
chocolates that resulted in this reaction from Mother. Rather I am
quite certain that she could see how I had come to this conclu-
sion. Mother was not happy with me and there was nothing that I
could do to change that state of affairs that day. I realized what I
had done, but there was no inner relief. I found myself in a state
of turmoil.
I made a firm resolve from that day forward that as long as
God gave me a sound mind with which to make decisions, I
would give Mother exactly what she wanted, to the very best of
my ability. And I resolved to banish all notions of knowing any-
thing at all about what might be good for the Guru.
If roses and chocolates were what Mother wanted, then roses
and chocolates she would get!
From the Mouths of Babes
God is like the air. You can’t see the air but you
know it is there. God is like that. You can’t see him
but you know He is there.
— spoken by a 4 ½ year old member of our spiritual family.
[We welcome other sayings about God or spirituality by children of
our extended spiritual family.]
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 25
Loon Lake Retreat By Yogacharya David
Once again
we gathered at
Loon Lake for a
retreat. We ex-
amined the eight
meanesses of the
heart based on
Sri Yukteswar‟s
The Holy Sci-
ence. During 24
hours of silence
we meditated on
the obstacles of:
hatred, shame, fear, grief, condemnation, race distinction, pride
of pedigree, and a narrow sense of respectability; searching for
the roots of these meanesses within. We then created an image of
ourselves without these obstacles and what life would be like
free of them.
It was intense and deeply satisfying work. We also enjoyed the
beauty of Loon Lake and companionship with our spiritual fam-
ily.
Page 26 The Cross and The Lotus Journal
From the Master’s Kitchen One of the recipes originally published in Master’s Lessons
HONEY GINGERBREAD
Flour: 2½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour Baking soda: 1 teaspoon Baking powder: 1 teaspoon Ginger: 1 teaspoon Cinnamon: 1 teaspoon Allspice: ½ teaspoon Salt: ½ teaspoon vegetized Cream: ½ cup Brown sugar: 1 cup Egg: 1, well beaten Milk: 1 cup Honey: ½ cup
Sift flour, measure; sift again with baking powder, soda,
salt and spices. Combine cream, sugar and egg. Combine
milk and honey. Add cream mixture and milk mixture alter-
nately to dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour into well-oiled
shallow pan. Bake in moderate oven 30 minutes.
Comments from our C&L chef, Angela Victory:
I substituted coconut oil for cream and almond milk for
cow‟s milk. The coconut oil combined really well with the
sugar—once they were creamed together, I added the egg. I
did take the time to sift the flour because this adds air and
changes the weight. I cooked the cake longer—this will vary
Ph
oto
s b
y M
ike
Vic
tory
The Cross and The Lotus Journal Page 27
because of the pan size. What I loved about baking this cake
is the wonderful depth of spices. I had fun playing with the
combinations of spices, like doubling the ginger and adding
a dash of white pepper. This is a wonderful cake to serve at
Christmas with a cup of tea or chai in the spirit of Master.
Extras: While Aiden was eating his cake and sipping on
Bengal Spice tea, he said “gingerbread chocolate cake!” This
got me thinking that ¼ cup of the flour could be substituted
by ¼ cup of cocoa powder—turning it into Honey Choco-
late Gingerbread.
Journal Editors: Larry & Cate Koler
Calendar of Events Dec. 21 Winter Solstice (9:45 a.m. PST)
25 Christmas Day, Mother Hamilton‟s Birthday (1904)
27 Swami Ramdas‟ Sannyas Day (1922)
Jan. 5 Paramhansa Yogananda‟s Birthday (1893)
22 Mother Krishnabai‟s Mahasamadhi (1989)
31 Mother Hamilton‟s Mahasamadhi (1991)
Feb. 17 Ash Wednesday
26 Yogacharya David‟s Birthday (1954)
Mar. 7 Paramhansa Yogananda‟s Mahasamadhi (1952)
9 Swami Sri Yukteswar‟s Mahasamadhi (1936)
20 Spring Equinox (10:31 a.m. PDT)
30 Swami Ramdas‟ Birthday (1884)
Apr. 4 Easter
After he [Ramdas] started
chanting the Mantra given by
the Guru, within a very short
time he reached a state of mental
exaltation and elevation full of
light and peace so much so that
at times he used to lose himself
in a supreme consciousness for-
getting the body. He was repeat-
ing the mantra incessantly, al-
most throughout day and night.
God did all these things for
Ramdas.
Swami Ramdas
If all the people of the world
chose to renounce worldly life
and to enter jungles to find
God, cities would have to be
built there too, and industries
founded, or people would die
of starvation, exposure, and
epidemics. Final freedom must
be found not in the avoidance
of life‟s problems but by
activity in the world with the
sole purpose of working for
God.
Paramhansa Yogananda
The good-time yogi shows up when the sun is shining and the
going is easy. When trials come, the sun darkened by black
clouds and portents of difficulties are present the good-time
yogi lacks commitment and turns away. Only the yogi who
stays true in good times and bad will achieve the goal; for
each season is necessary to make the heart pure.
Yogacharya David Hickenbottom
Mad
onn
a an
d C
hil
d—
Art
ist
Un
kn
ow
n