Dear Tom,

Thanks for sharing the information on Margaret Wilson.
I didn't make it to the library on Saturday and it wasn't open yesterday. I probably have enough books to read right now anyway. Still, I am intrigued very much by her story and so will try to find more background information at the library, possibly today.
I love that Photo of Margaret. It is always fun to hear the old scratchy records, nothing like the recorded music of today.

Well, I had a busy weekend. I rested and child-watched with my Mother on Saturday and then yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day here so I stayed outside as much as possible. I like to take my camera for a walk down to the river on days like yesterday. Luckily in the afternoon as I was coming back from the grocery store, I came upon some re-enactors all dressed up and so got some rather good shots. I tend to feel intimidated when I see people unloading their expensive, state-of-the-art camera equipment from their cars. My camera is an old Hewlett Packard hand me down that looks like it's been thrown against the wall. Perhaps it would be good for me, given the circumstance of my environment, to invest in a good camera.

Anyway, there was a lot I wanted to write about this morning in reply to your post. Sri Aurobindo puts me in mind of a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill who taught religion courses that I would take from time to time. He was a very old man from India who was a devotee of Sri Aurobindo and as I recall he had actually had darshan with Sri Aurobindo. I remember that the old professor and I had been invited to lunch at some one's home and I was giving him a ride home in my car. It's a funny memory, but it was a lesson to me when as we were backing out of the driveway he became agitated and asked me to stop the car and return back to the house because he had forgotten to say good-bye to the dog!! It was so sweet!!

There is more that I would like to discuss about this subject but as usual, the time it dwindles away.

Here is a passage from "God Lived With Them" which seems to explain some issues with Swamiji.

p. 42, Swami Chetanananda

In Madras:

"One evening while he was there, the maharajah invited him to attend a musical performance by a dancing girl. However, Vivekananda sent word that, as a monk, he was not permitted to enjoy secular pleasures. The girl was hurt when she heard the message and sang this plaintive song, which reached the swami's ears:

Look not, O Lord, upon my sins!
Is not the same-sightedness Thy name?
One piece of iron is in the image in the temple,
And another, the knife in the hand of the butcher;
Yet both of these are turned to gold
When touched by the philopshers's stone.
So, Lord, look not upon my evil qualities....

Swamiji was deeply moved. This dancing girl, whom society condemned as impure, had taught him a lesson: Brahman, the ever-pure, ever-free, ever-illumined, is the essence of all beings. He immediately realized his mistake and joined the party. He later said: "That incident removed the scales from my eyes. Seeing that all are indeed the manifestation the One, I could no longer condemn anybody."

I have bookmarked your site with the wonderful rendition of the Gayatri Mantra. Thank you for sharing the links.

Yours in devotion,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

Dear Tom,

Here is another event from the life of Swami Vivekananda which has had the effect on me of raising the consciousness. I wanted to highlight it here.

(I am on my lunch hour, and want to try to get to the library, so will type fast.)

"God Lived With Them", Swami Chetanananda, p 56

(About Swamiji's visit to the temple at Kshir Bhavani)


"Observing the ruins of the temple, Vivekananda felt sad and said to himself: "How could the people have permitted such sacrilege without offering strenuous resistance? If I had been here then, I would never have allowed such a thing. I would have laid down my life to protect the Mother." Thereupon he heard the voice of the Goddess saying: "What if unbelievers should enter my temple and defile my image? What is that to you? Do you protect me, or do I protect you? My child, if I wish I can have innumerable temples and magnificent monastic centres. I can even this moment raise a seven-storey-ed golden temple on the very spot." After his return, referring to this experience, he said to his disciples: "All my patriotism is gone. Everything is gone. Now it is only 'Mother! Mother!' I have been very wrong...I am only a little child."

Om Shanti Om,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

I will be very interested in anything that you may find out about Margaret
Woodrow Wilson....a remarkable woman, to be sure.

Nice photos of the re-enactment scenes. Your Hewlett-Packard camera still
takes excellent pictures, in my humble opinion.

Regarding the old professor who wanted to return back to the house and say
good-bye to the dog; why didn't you suggest that he do so telepathically?
The dog would have been just as happy....again, in my humble opinion.

Nice little anecdote from Swami Chetanananda, where he quotes Swami Vivekananda
as saying: " Seeing that all are indeed the manifestation the One, I could no longer
condemn anybody".

Unfortunately, I have great difficulty in accepting those words as coming from
Narendranath...for the simple reason that Swamiji would never condemn anyone
in the first place. Here is a quote concerning that:

“Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot,
fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.”

I'm glad that you like the Gayatri Mantra on my site. Here is a nice 'sung' version,
which has been 'looped' for meditation purposes:



Another nice anecdote from Swami Chetanananda, quoting Vivekananda: "All my patriotism
is gone. Everything is gone. Now it is only 'Mother! Mother!' I have been very wrong...
I am only a little child."

Swamiji was obviously a man of many moods.....
He is singing a totally different tune in this quote:

"I am a singular man, my son, not even you can understand me yet. Do your work; if you
cannot, stop; but do not try to "boss" me with your nonsense. I see a greater Power than
man, or God, or devil at my back. I require nobody's help."
(The above was excerpted from yesterday's posting of Vivekananda's Letters.)

Yours in shared devotion for the Holy Trinity.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Dear Tom,

I am glad you are interested in Margaret Wilson. Yesterday, I went to the library and checked out two books on the life of Woodrow Wilson hoping to get a glimpse of the person that Margaret was. I am getting very little about her from the Wilson biographies. I had always heard that Margaret Wilson acted as hostess of the White House after her mother's death and until Edith Bolling came on the scene. However, the biographies of WW give no indicatation that this was the case. Margaret was talented but she was not the pretty daughter. One wonders what her emotional life was like.

On my bookshelf is a book, "Here Lies the Heart" by Mercedes de Acosta, that I've owned for many years and which was also read that many years ago. In 'googling' for information on Margaret Wilson, I ran across a passage from this book which describes a meeting with Margaret Wilson on de Acosta's travel to India (some years before World War II. De Acosta was a Hollywood person and is mostly remembered for allegedly carrying on a love affair with the actress, Greta Garbo. When De Acosta received darshan with Sri Ramana Maharshi he told her, "There will be what will be called a "war", but which, in reality, will be a great world revolution. Every country and every person will be touched by it. You must return to America. Your destiny is not in India at this time." From what I recall de Acosta died sometime in the 1960's heartbroken and penniless.)

Here is a warning: This passage is very critical of Sri Aurobindo and of the Ashram and of "The Mother". De Acosta, herself, admits that her companion had an opposite attraction to the ashram.

This passage is from the book "Here Lies The Heart" but I am referencing through the link below.

"Consuelo and I, not knowing what the crowd was about, went to the ashram and rang the bell. A disciple, dressed in a sort of monk's costume, opened the door. I asked if it would be possible for us to see Aurobindo. He could not have been more surprised. He explained that no one ever saw Aurobindo and that he lived in complete seclusion except on the day of the darshan, which happened to be the next day and was the reason for the great crowds in the town.

It would seem now that Consuelo and I should have known all this, but twenty years ago very few people outside of India knew much about the great Indian sages such as Aurobindo and the Maharshi. I had read everything that Aurobindo had written, although it had not always been easy to get his books in Europe or America. But I did not actually know about his habits as I did about Ramana Maharshi's, in whom I was intensely interested and had taken the greatest pains to find out every- thing about. I do not wish to attempt a comparison between these two sages. Aurobindo was an intellectual and in his early years he had been in politics. In his later years, in his years of seclusion, he had, I believe, allowed himself to be dramatized by the Mother, a Frenchwoman who ran the ashram and had an enormous influence on him and who under stood the value of creating the legend around him that he never saw anyone but her, except at darshan, which he gave twice a year--November 22nd and March 22nd.

When I understood that I could not see Aurobindo alone and would have to wait till the next day to see him with thousands of other people, I asked if we might see President Wilson's daughter Margaret, who was living in the ashram and whom Consuelo and I both knew. She was, of course, surprised to see us but immediately said she could arrange for us to go to darshan and would also find a place for us to spend the night, as the ashram and the hotels were already crowded. As we passed through corridors I had an unpleasant sensation. To me it seemed like another convent and I have always wanted to forget my convent experiences. Women in nunlike costumes were whispering in corners and the whole place had a deadly atmosphere as well as a theatrical one. This was not surprising, as the Mother, who was the supreme influence there, had been on the stage in France. She had evidently not lost her sense of theatre over the years.

I asked Margaret Wilson if she was happy. She said she was and that not for anything would she want to leave the ashram. She said she hoped to die there and only a few years later she got her wish.

That night Margaret arranged for us to stay in the house of a French lady--a Madame Yvonne Gaebele. Darshan was to be at five o'clock in the morning. Madame Gaebele graciously served us tea and cakes at three o'clock in the morning and around four we went to the ashram with our garlands and fell into line with the many people who had been holding their places all night. Madame Gaebele was well known at the ashram and because of her and Margaret Wilson we were allowed to go almost to the front of the line. There was great tension and an extraordinary silence as everyone waited for Aurobindo to appear and take his place on a huge chair on a high platform. Everything was in readiness when suddenly a disciple appeared and made the astounding announcement that Aurobindo would not give darshan. He explained that Aurobindo had sprained his ankle and was in too much pain to give it. He said the Mother would give darshan in his place. I could hardly believe my ears. Thousands of poor people who had traveled hundreds of miles, many Of whom had been journeying for months, were to be disappointed because of a sprained ankle. There was a hush, and a wave of depression ran through the crowd that was almost staggering. Many people wept, but I was angry. "If a spiritual leader can disappoint so many people how can one find fault with a government leader or a politician?" I asked out loud--but no one answered me.

The Mother appeared and mounted the platform. Made up within an inch of her life, her lips scarlet and her hair brightly dyed, she wore a trailing chiffon dress, and as she took her place on the chair I wondered if anyone in that crowd could experience darshan. But we all filed past her, placing our garlands at her feet. I felt like a first-class hypocrite. Some years later Vincent Sheean told me that when he was in the similar position before the Mother she had slyly winked at him. I was glad to hear this. It at least made me feel better to know she had some humor. But strangely enough, opinions differ. Consuelo was impressed by the Mother and by the whole place. She wanted to stay there. I, however, said good-by to Margaret, and sadly enough it was really a last good-by. As I left the ashram I wondered how such a great man as Aurobindo could have allowed himself to be so exploited. He is now dead, but the Mother still carries on in the ashram even though the Light has gone out."

Journal of Awakening

As for our discussion about Swamiji, there was more that I wanted to say but as usual-- of a work morning --my time has dwindled away.

I would just like to say my own feelings about what Swamiji might or might not be proved to have said in reference to the books I am now reading about his life.

Here it is:

It seems to me that Swamiji himself is saying at every turn that he (during any referenced time) is not yet perfected. According to my understanding that during his time in the body and while teaching Narendra, Sri Ramakrishna was correcting Swamiji concerning certain ideas. After Sri Ramakrishna's death and particularly during his years of wandering through India, Swamiji was gaining polish to his luster. I believe that the timeline of what he is quoted as saying gives evidence to the credence or credence to the evidence (whichever is the correct way to put it.)

Anyway, I must fly now. I will be looking for more on Margaret Wilson, but these WW biographies will go back to the library soon. (There is conflict on certain minor facts surrounding Wilson's life, even between these two reference books. So much for research.)

Yours in Mother's grace,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

PS

I could never have questioned or denied Dr. Chubb's request to me to "Go back!" so that he could say good-bye to our hostess' pet.

Have a great day.

Yours again,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

You probably won't get any info about Margaret from biographies of her father.

I have a book in my home library, entitled: "Woodrow Wilson and the New America"
by Alfred B. Rollins, Jr. - P. 1965

There is only one brief mention of Margaret:

"The Wilsons found sleepy Washington agreeable. A southern family, they were
at once at home in the provincial southern atmosphere. Local "Jim Crow' ordinances
seemed as natural to them as did the soft drawl of clerks who dispensed yard goods
to the girls. Never accustomed to the pace or diversions of urban life, they did
not miss them. They were quickly busy. Mrs. Wilson, quiet, warm, efficient, gave
endless hours to slum-clearance and settlement-house work. Margaret, the oldest
daughter, setting a precedent for a later day, went on the concert stage. the two
younger girls lost themselves in romance..."

RE: "...setting a precedent for a later day". I believe the author is probably referring
to Harry Truman's only daughter, also named Margaret.

RE: Margaret's emotional life

Although she obviously inherited her father's 'longish face', and was no raving beauty,
she had other wonderful qualities. I believe that when God shuts a door, he opens a
window. Nobody is left entirely out in the cold.

Regarding Sri Aurobindo's prophesy of the Second World War; I think that it
was pretty well understood to be imminent, by most thinking people at the time.
After Germany's absorption of Czechoslovakia in 1938, war seemed to be the only
possibility of stopping that madman, Hitler.

Pandit Nehru also had some pretty good predictions, as can be noted from the
image below:



I enjoyed reading of Mercedes de Acosta's observations about "The Mother",
Margaret Wilson, Sri Aurobindo, and the general atmosphere of the Ashram.

Of course, Sri Aurobindo considered "The Mother" his spiritual equal and collaborator;
so, Darshan would have been equally effective from her, as from the sage himself.

I hope that you don't think that I am discrediting Swami Chetanananda. After all,
he has only been associated with the order since 1950. He officially joined as a
monk in 1960...so, how could he accurately quote Swami Vivekananda, since the saint
had already been dead for a half century?

RE: "I could never have questioned or denied Dr. Chubb's request to me to "Go back!"
so that he could say good-bye to our hostess' pet."

Ah, yes, but you could have prevented the old man from wasting his precious energy;
by making that timely suggestion. I'm sure that he would have appreciated it.

My personality is such; that I would be making the suggestion of using telepathy
to communicate with the beast; while the car would be already speeding away from
the house.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Hi again. Just wanted to add the following about Swami Chetanananda:

I could be totally wrong...and I would hang my head in shame, if it were so....
..but, there is 'something' about the Vivekananda quotes, that you have provided
through Swami Chetanananda, that just doesn't ring true. They do not seem to
represent the Swamiji that I have known, through his recorded utterances...these
almost 30 years.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Dear Tom,

It is interesting that we have somewhat differing opinions, but as I said (and I mean this) you know Swamiji's manner of speech much better than I do. That doesn't mean or discount that I have a different intuitive feeling that is nudging at me. I am home on my lunch hour, and should be receiving my new books from Vedanta Press today as they were in Greensboro when I checked on them yesterday. It will be interesting to match up the references as to quotations, etc.

I noticed in the two biographies on Wilson that in the two separate accounts of Woodrow's last days that one version says that Wilson's Doctor was on a hunting trip in South Carolina and the other states that he was hunting in North Carolina. After all, I do know that there is a difference in North and South and don't know why there would be different accounts. This is a case in point on how two different versions can differ.

Really, it is important to hold firmly to the truth.

Yours from North Carolina,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

PS,

The quote about the impending war to Mercedes de Acosta was made by Ramana Maharshi and not Aurobindo.

No, I wouldn't have dreamed of making the "suggestion" about telepathy to my teacher, Dr. Chubb.

I wouldn't have dreamed of it or even entertained the idea.

Yours as ever,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

If you are happy with Swami Chetanananda's version of events, then follow your own
intuition.

Regarding the two seperate accounts of Mr. Wilson's doctor's hunting trip; it's
very easy to get all tangled up in superficial details...however, when one is
quoting the words of a saint, it's a different matter altogether....

Nobody has ever asked me to stop the car, so they can go back and say goodbye to
an animal, which wouldn't know the difference between a goodbye or a hello.
I guess that I am just inexperienced with those kind of happenings.....

Here is a nice song for you:



Have a lovely day!

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Well, Tom, I received my books this evening. It looks like the original quote that was in question from Swami Chetananda is attributed to Swami Saradanada and is found in a long discourse concerning what "Narendranath" had related to him.

"Narendranath often related the experiences of this darkest period to his brother-monks. Swami Saradnanda recalls him saying:..." p 123 - 128, "The Life of Swami Vivekananda" by His Eastern and Western Disciples..

The book about Tantine is beauty in prose and contains many first hand accounts of experiences with Swamiji, all of them very beautiful.

I look forward to spending time in this particular book.

I'm sorry if some sort of misunderstanding has popped up here. It sort of seems that way.

Yours In Mother's Grace,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

I'm happy that you have received your books. They will undoubtedly bring much pleasure.

RE: "..Swami Saradananda recalls him saying:..."

Of course, that wouldn't stand up in court, being classified as 'hearsay'.

I am accustomed to getting my Swami Vivekananda quotes from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

"Tantine" will be a real treasure for you, since it probably contains correspondence between
Nivedita and Josephine MacLeod. Those two women apparently were competing for their guru's
attention. That is always amusing.....

No, Rosemary, I don't really see any misunderstanding at all. If I see something that
I don't agree with, I will mention it....I hope you don't mind... :)

Om Shanthi Om
=============

I have just learned that Josephine McLeod's father married his wife (Joe's mother) in Alabama. Even though I am very tired, I am going to Rootsweb to see if I can find out anything on that subject. The wife/mother's name was Mary Anne Lennon. That is not a name in my family history. I would remember that name!!!

It seems that all things come full circle eventually.

Gone to Rootsweb.

Your friend in Mother's Grace,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary:

RE: The Alabama Connection

That is fascinating. I'm anxious to learn more about that!

RE: "It seems that all things come full circle eventually."

So true. Let me give you another example of a strange coincidence:

As previously mentioned, I became seriously interested in Vedanta about thirty
years ago; with a very special devotion to Sri Sarada Devi.

About twenty years ago, I became attracted to a young lady, Noor Inayat Khan,
whom I had read about in a book about World War II. She was a British spy, whose
father had been an Indian Sufi mystic and musician. Her mother was an American,
born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Anyway, I was so deeply impressed with her heroic story, that I wanted to
display her photograph in my shrine room at home. But, I was concerned, that
perhaps the Holy Mother would think that I am bringing in another Shakti
figure to compete with my devotion to her. This worried me a lot, but I eventually
decided to do so anyway.

Then, my whole world changed with the introduction of the Internet.

You may read about the first website that I created on the Internet HERE, in honor
of the brave princess.

Very soon after that, the pages for the Holy Trio were also inaugurated.

One day, when I was looking for material about Noor's father, I came across
the following paragraph:

"It was while he (Pir Inayat Khan) was giving a Veena recital at the Ramakrishna
Ashram in San Francisco that he met, and fell in love with, Miss Ora Ray Baker -
"a sensitive, fragile, feylike American girl" who was the niece of Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy,
the founder of the Christian Science Movement. They got married in Paris, and Inayat Khan rechristened her as "Sharada Ameena Begum".

Can you imagine that? I was worrying about putting up Noor's precious photo in
my shrine room; without knowing that this Muslim girl's mother was named after
Sri Sarada Devi!



Om Shanthi Om
=============

Dear Tom,

Yes, that is interesting.


There is scant that I could learn last night at Rootsweb. It seems that Joe's father was the son of a Scotch immigrant and he was born in Nova Scotia, perhaps in Pictou (the only John David Macleod that I could find born in Nova Scotia around that time with a father by the name of Donald) Pictou, Nova Scotia features indirectly in my research on Lucy Maud Montgomery (who also was a descendent of Scotch immigrants).

I live down the street from Tryon Palace, the home of NC Colonial Governor William Tryon. When I was preparing for my last year's "pilgrimage" to Prince Edward Island and began to look at the lighthouses
for a possible round of visits that summer, I found one Lighthouse named Cape Tryon Lighthouse. So, I wrote to a web contact in the Tryon Community to find out how the community/lighthouse got it's name, and lo and behold, the name was given in honor of our Governor, William Tryon, who lived down the street from where I live. Not only that, but I found that the first governor of St. John's Island was a man who was a protege of Tryon's, a Registrar of Deeds in Hillsborough, NC, that we kicked out of our State for being a tax hiking loyalist. I visited his home there on Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown. It seems that he was better liked there than here. I donated two volumes of letters, "The Letters of William Tryon" to the Prince Edward Island community of Tryon and I was able to visit the family who runs the museum there. Cape Tryon Lighthouse is featured in one of the Anne of Green Gables Books of which was so important to me as a child.

Josephine Macleod's brother was murdered in Tombstone, Arizona (but not before he had moved to South America where he married a 14 year old girl who was pregnant and riding a horse and was shot and killed from long distance). According to this book, Joe's father's death was directly related to giref over losing his son.

It's time again to run out the door.

BTW, I am a stickler for "details" and this is probably why I am successful in my job (thus far) as an Accounting Clerk for Local Government.

Have a good day!

Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

Well, well, I must say! You have a real talent for discovering facts. May I ask how you
came into possession of "The Letters of William Tryon"? It was wonderful of you to donate
those precious objects to the Prince Edward Island community of Tryon.

This what I have learned today about William Tryon.

In 1757, he married Margaret Wake, a London heiress with a dowry of 30,000 pounds. Her
father had been the Honourable East India Company's Governor in Bombay from 1742 to 1750,
and had died on a ship off the Cape of Good Hope on the voyage home,

When the Continental Congress ordered Tryon's arrest, George Washington instructed
Philip Schuyler, the commander in New York, to leave Tryon alone.

During the spring and summer of 1776, Tryon and New York City's mayor, David Mathews,
were conspirators in a miserably bungled plot to kidnap General George Washington and
to assassinate his chief officers

In 1784 he was made colonel of the 29th Regiment of Foot which was stationed in Canada.

Like many pre-Revolutionary War officials in America, Tryon has generally been pictured
by Americans as a tyrant, though the Cherokees honored him with the name of "Wolf" for
his dealings in setting a boundary for them in the western part of the colony. In reality,
he was, overall, a tactful and good administrator, who improved the colonial postal service.

He became unpopular first because he obeyed the instructions of his superiors prior to the
war and then by disobeying his orders by being overly harsh against the Americans during
the war. (From Wikipedia)

Very good that you are a 'stickler for details'...so am I.

The day is always happy when I see a posting from Rosemary in Mother's Courtyard.

Incidentally, since you expressed an interest, here is a BBC interview of
Shrabani Basu, the author who recently wrote a book about Princess Noor Inayat
Khan, entitled "Spy Princess":

BBC interview of Shrabani Basu

You will require to have Real Player installed in order to access this sound file.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

That was pretty interesting, Tom. She certainly was a beautiful lady, wasn't she? It is a tragic story, but she was very brave to willingly die so young for a passionate cause. Very interesting. BTW, I have a great niece by the name of Madeline.

Well, I bought my "Letters of William Tryon" two volume set at the Tryon Palace Gift Shop. They were pretty pricey, but I wanted to leave something on PEI in honor of the happiness given to me as a child by LM Montgomery.

Also, it looks like I am going to be buying another book by Josephine MacLeod's niece: Late and Soon: the Transatlantic Story of a Marriage, by Frances Leggett. I simply must find out more about Joe's background. She is a very intriguing lady and one in whom I have found a role model personality. She truly, truly loved Swamiji. I am hearing some wonderful, beautiful stories in the book about her first hand expereriences in his company. One of the similiarities that I find between us is that there were five children in her family: 3 girls and 2 boys, the same as in my family. It will be interesting to see how her father made it from Nova Scotia to Alabama to marry Mary Anne Lennon.

This is from another book about "Tantine" and comes from a summary of the book that I found on the web.
She was obviously a powerful force to reckon with!!

" On September 1, 1986, at Rameswaram on the coast of the Indian Ocean, I heard a thrilling story about her from Swami Sarvajnananda, an old monk of the Ramakrishna Order. I taped his eyewitness account in which he stated: "Miss MacLeod generally spent six months in America and six months in India. She came to Madras another time [probably in the1930s], on her way to Calcutta. She took a taxi from the Madras harbour and arrived at the Madras Math about 1:30 in the afternoon. The shine was closed. The priest swami had already put the Lord to bed. Miss MacLeod said to Swami Sharvananda, the head of the Math, 'I want to go to Swamiji's room.' Swami Sharvananda politely replied: 'Swamiji is resting now. You will have to wait until 4 o'clock.' 'Nonsense!' said Miss MacLeod. 'Swamiji is resting! If he were alive he would have come to receive me at the port. And you say that he is resting! Please open the door right now.' Swami Sharvananda asked a monk to open the door of Swamiji's room. I put Swamiji's picture on the pillow, and Miss MacLeod then sat on his bed with her eyes closed. After some time she came out and returned to the harbour." Hearing this story, I realized the power of Love. This American woman's genuine love had wiped out the orthodox rule of a Hindu monastery."

Josephine MacLeod

Yours in Mother's Grace,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

I almost forgot to say that I stopped on my way home from work to take some photos tonight. These little white blossoms always catch my eye. This is the street where I work, Craven Street, named for Lord Craven- first Lord Proprietor of New Bern.

Spring is surely just around the corner!!!

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

Thanks for your kind words about Princess Noor. Please honor us by accepting this
Personalized Scroll from PNAS International (1998).

RE: "Letters of William Tryon"

Oh, I thought that you actually had in your possession the original letters.
That was so thoughtful of you, to go to such expense on honor of L.M. Montgomery.

I agree that "Tantine" is an amazing personality to study and emulate. We all
need role models.

Interesting that there are five children in your family. We are seven, five boys and
two girls.

Swami Sharvananda was lucky that Miss MacLeod didn't give him a sharp rap
over the head with her cane; when he told her that Swami Vivekananda had retired
for the night and couldn't see her. What nonsense!

I followed that link you so kindly provided and read the fascinating article about
Linda Prugh's book. Exotic India is a nice website. I have been offering a
link to their page on "Tantra - The Art of Philosophy" since 2001; which will be
found at the very top of our page dedicated to Mother Kali.

Om Shanthi Om
==============

Dear Tom,

I'm glad that you liked the Exotic India link.

This Daylight Savings time change is getting to us here. It has been a hard work week for no other reason than that we have lost an hour of sleep which we can't seem to find again. It is still dark when the alarm goes off and it is already time for me to stop writing and get ready quickly to go out the door. The upside (which came to me this morning as I awoke in the dark) is that I have that golden hour after work in which to take some good photographs of flowers and light and rivers, etc.

As soon as I have more time today I will try to write something worthwhile concerning the subject of my current reading (Tantine.) An interesting point that I learned last night is that Tantine (Joe) does not describe herself as a disciple, but as a friend of Swami Vivekananda.

Here is a photo on leaving the Broad St entrance to my work place. This is looking towards the east in the evening. The golden dome is the "Sudan Temple' which has been in place on this corner throughout my lifetime, so is a sort of landmark in my life.

Om Shanti Om,

With best wishes for a Happy Saint Patrick's Day,
Rosemary

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

Happy St. Patrick's day to you, and to all the visitors to Mother's Courtyard.

Here is one of my favorite Irish songs recorded 1911:



Lyrics

There's a spot in my heart which no colleen may own
There's a depth in my soul never sounded or known
There's a place in my memory my life that you fill
(No other can take it) no one ever will

Sure I love the dear silver that shines in your hair
And the brow that's all furrowed and wrinkled with care
I kiss the dear fingers so toil-worn for me
Oh God bless you and keep you Mother machree

Every sorrow or care in the dear days gone by
Twas made bright by the light of the smile in your eye
Like a candle that's set in a window at night
Your fond love has cheered me) and guided me right

Incidentally, this song recorded by John McCormack in 1911, was a monster hit amongst the troops of the Great War (1914-18)

Thanks for sharing the great photo....

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Dear Tom, et al,

Here is hoping that you had a wonderful St. Paddy's Day. I enjoyed myself last night by putting on the old black & white film, "Going My Way" with Bing Crosby and which concerns an Irish Catholic Priest in America.

I enjoyed the old recording by John McCormack very much and thank you for sharing. Whenever the first WW is brought into my focus, I cannot help but think of the lyrics from James Taylor's song "Copperline" which is another song concerning recollections of his childhood in North Carolina. In my research on that song I seem to recall James saying that these lyrics came to him from nowhere and that he couldn't explain them:

"One time I saw my Daddy dance
Saw him moving like a man in a trance
Brought it back from the War in France
Down on Copperline...
We were down on Copperline..."

Anyway, I am enjoying "Tantine, the Life of Josephine MacLeod" very, very much! I wish I could stay at home today and finish reading, but alas, such is my fate that I must fly out the door again soon in order to go to work.

This passage from the book is very, very interesting and concerns Joe's first visit to the Swami in India. Swamiji had warned Joe in a letter earlier that India could not take one more criticism:

p. 32, The Life of Josephine MacLeod, Pravrajika Prabuddhaprana

"At last, they arrived in Bombay on February 8, and there Vivekananda's devoted friend, Alasinga Perumal, met them. This was Joe's first encounter with an Indian native, in his native land. He wore vertical marks painted on his forehead, a sign of the Vaishnava sect. The sight was a rude shock to her. In spite of Vivekananda's previous warning, she remarked about him later, when she was Vivekananda in Kashmir. "What a pity that Mr. Alasinga wears the Vaishnava marks on his forehead!" she said. Instantly, the Swami turned and said sharply, "Hands off! What have you ever done?" Tears came to Joe's eyes at this reprimand; that time she did notknow that Alasinga had gone begging to collect money in 1893 to send the Swami to America. If it were not for Alasinga, she would not have met Vivekananda. Vivekananda warned her for the second time, adding, "We cannot bear one more word of criticism."

I was looking on the internet to see if I could find a photo of the cottage at Belur that Joe, Sara Bull and Nivedita had transformed into a home on the Ganges. I did not find what I was looking for, but did come across this interesting engraving of:

Festival of the Goddess Dourga at Calcutta, from Voyage in India, engraved by Louis Henri de Rudder 1807-81 pub. in London, 1858

One of the reasons that I was blown away by this engraving, beyond it's historical and artistic value, is that "Rudder" is my maiden name, and I do not encounter the name very often anywhere.

Have a wonderful day. I can't wait till I get home tonight to immerse myself again into the lives of Josephine MacLeod and Swami Vivekananda.

Yours in Mother's Grace,
Rosemary


My favorite version of "Copperline". James' father is in the audience, in London, I think, back in the 1980's....I can't figure out how to imbed the video...

Copperline

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

RE: "Going My Way"

That's a great film with Bing Crosby. I also love it, and have seen it often.
The quintessential Irishman, Barry Fitzgerald, reminds me of all the old Irish
Brothers who taught me as a child. That Irish brogue will remain forever in my
memory.

I'm glad you enjoyed the John McCormack number. I used to sing that song in
the chorus on our annual St. Patrick's Day Concert, until the old Irish brother
who served as our music teacher, told me to shut up and just move my lips....
because of my total inability to sing 'on key'.

I will check out that James Taylor song, "Copperline"...see below:

RE: Swamiji's trip to America, and the quote provided

Again, I find it hard to believe that Swamiji would speak in this fashion to
an American lady who was also his financial benefactor:

"Hands off! What have you ever done?"

This was Josephine's first trip to India, and Swamiji would have been very understanding
of her ignorance. I can't believe he would say something so harsh! I have been to India,
and the people there, are amongst the most tolerant and polite people in the world.

RE: "...that time she did not know that Alasinga had gone begging to collect money in 1893
to send the Swami to America. If it were not for Alasinga, she would not have met
Vivekananda."

You see, that is a gross exaggeration, in my humble opinion...

Here is a quote, which shows that 'Alasinga's begging' did not determine
whether Swamiji would have made the trip to Chicago:

According to a letter of Swami Shivanansa, dated Feb 15, 1894, the Madrasi disciples
collected about RS. 4000. In 1925 Shivananda also said later that Subramanya Ayar and
Manmatha Babu contributed Rs. 500 each and the Raja of Ramnad an equal amount later on,
at the request of Manmatha Babu. The Maharaja of Mysore also contributed, as learnt from
Swamiji's letter. He contributed about RS. 1,000 or RS. 1500, and the remaining was
probably raised by Alasinga and his friends. About RS. 1,200 was spent for his ticket
to America and RS. 2,800 given to him in cash (187 pounds)

RE: The name Rudder

That is a very old name. We find the name in Germany, Holland and also in Britain.
I believe it pertains to 'red'...i. e. reddish complexion. Have you done any
research on it?

My kid brother is very interested in Genealogy, and has done extensive research
into our background, even traveling to England for the purpose. To tell you
the truth, it hardly interests me.

Incidentally, our family claims direct descent from William The Conqueror,
the first Norman King of England. Here is our Lineage Chart.

Unfortunately, as 'cool' as that may be, it doesn't put any chickens into the pot,
or pay the rent.

RE: Copperline

I think I found that version @ URL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzCy8yqisQI

Beautiful song....reminds me of our Gordon Lightfoot.

Unfortunately, The Copperline number is labeled: "Embedding disabled by request".

Have a super nice weekend, curling up in bed with your new books.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Dear Tom,

Your family tree was interesting. I notice that you are descended from a line of Whartons. There was an American novelist by the name of Edith Wharton which came to mind when seeing "Edith Bonham" as did the name of Helena Bonham-Carter, whom you have mentioned before. I do enjoy genealogy but it may just be an enjoyment of discovery.

If you look at my family tree you would notice a lot of "CSA" letters indicating military service during the Civil War. One of my great grandfathers died as a result of Union Soldiers pulling him from his sick bed (measles) to show them the best place to ford on the Tennessee River. My grandfather Rudder's grandmother was a "Washington" of Virginia. It seems that the first president and I share a common set of grandparents. According to family history, Eleanor Stephens, (great-great grandmother) was sister to the Vice-President of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens. However, when I stopped at the Stephens Homestead in Crawfordville, GA, I was told that he didn't have a sister (he did have a sister, however, who "died young"). Still, this oral tradition appears in our family genealogy text, and I haven't been able to sort it all out. I also have a great Aunt who claims that she was a "Cherokee Princess". Sheesh. There does seem to be some truth to that, but it is hard to prove.

Anyway, moving on....it seems that you and I see what Swamiji might or might not have said in a different light. In my mind I would rather have been talked to in a harsh manner, feelings hurt sure, but at least you would know where you stood. Feeling harshly and talking harshly would be in order under this circumstance. I can certainly understand Swamiji taking up for his brethren and to a "memsahib" who didn't understand the hardship and loyalties that lay beneath. Whatever transpired on this occasion (and it seems to come directly from Joe's memoirs) it did not change the feelings between Joe and Swamiji going in either direction. Their love for each other outdistanced any "truth" or harsh manner of words between them.

It is very interesting that again you see this comment so differently. I would prefer being put in my place and since we are on the subject, the comment before about the "ugly proposal" to Narendra, and his reply to it---I did not see it frightening in the least. I saw it as truth. Oh, well, a different way of perceiving, I suppose.

The attitudes between the two cultures was very uptight back in this time. This is another interesting peek into the world of India at that time...

"Sister Nivedita wrote about another incident: 'One of the servants came to cook and said, "I want honey, but the mems (European ladies) have eaten from this jar, so I cannot take it!" p 54, Tantine

Wow!

On March 17 of this year, I read the following passage in "Tantine" which concerns the European ladies and the Holy Mother.

"On March 17, Vivekananda took Joe and her companions to the the Holy Mother, as Sri Sarada Devi, the wife of Sri Ramakrishna, came to be called in English....(p.41...

...p42To have foreigners visit her strictly orthodox home was itself daring, for whatever they might touch there would be considered contaminated. It was a breach of caste rules for her to eat with non-Brahmin Indians, what to speak of foreigners. Thus Joe gained a great victory for their cause that day. Nivedita's biographer writes about the significance of this act of the Holy Mother, "It was a sanction given by her to accept and absorb these Western devotees within the folds of Hindu society. Vivekananda, delighted, wrote about it to his brother disciple, Swami Ramakrishnananda, 'Sri Mother is here, and the European and American ladies went the other day to see her, and what do you think, Mother ate with them even there! Is not that grand?"

Yours in Holy Mother's Grace,
Rosemary

March Days on the Neuse River

Location: North Carolina

Dear Rosemary,

Yes, Genealogy is an interesting subject....unfortunately, I never really
developed a serious interest in it.

I believe in the possibility of the "Cherokee Princess" great aunt.

My mother remembers, as a child, one of her aged female relatives, sitting by
the fire like a squaw, smoking her pipe and wrapped in an Indian blanket.

I guess that you wouldn't find her on any lineage chart.

Regarding Swamiji's harsh words to "Joe"....it just seems out of character,
after reading so many of his speeches and writings. He must have realized
that she would find Alasingha Perumal's appearance very strange, with the
Vaishnava markings on his forehead. Especially, since Swamiji had traveled
through USA and Europe and understood the 'Western' people very well. I just don't see
the need for harshness. Anyway, it's not important.

Here is a photo of the gentleman in question:



Of course, we may have different perceptions and ideas about 'putting people in their place'.

I was taught at a very young age, by my old Irish teachers, that people will be won
over with sweetness, tolerance and kindness; rather than with harsh admonition and
caustic commentary.

After all, Holy Mother once said: "My son, forbearance is a great virtue, there is no
other like it."

Regarding the 'honey incident', the Brahmins have very detailed, strict customs
and rules concerning caste purity. Even the King of England would not be welcome
at their table. He would be considered just another "Mleecha" (foreigner without
caste).

Holy Mother had the right idea, of course....however, she was obliged to be careful,
lest her laxity with foreign women may scandalize her orthodox community.

However, from what I have read, Sri Sarada Devi always had a liberal attitude
towards these things, generally speaking. Here is a quote from "In the Company
of the Holy Mother":

Udbodhan, 8 February, 1912: Mother was talking about her life at Dakshineswar:

"For a while I had a maid called Jadu's mother. An old woman would visit us, who had
formerly led an evil life but prayed to God in her old age. I was so much alone that
when she came I would talk with her. One day the Master saw us and said, 'Why let her
in here?' I answered, 'She speaks good words nowadays, all about God. What's the harm?
people's minds change.' But He said, 'No, No, she is a prostitute, why talk with her?
However changed she may be, avoid her.' He forbade any conversation with such people
in case they had a bad influence over me. That was how he protected me from harm."


RE: March Days on the Neuse River

You live in a truly beautiful area of North Carolina. Thanks for sharing that
lovely photo.

Have a great day,

Om Shanthi Om
=============