A Place where devotees gather to share inspiration.
"Holy Mother" painted by Swami Tadatmananda
Used courtesy of the Vedanta Society of Southern California
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
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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
=============
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 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 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 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
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