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The inspirations that we receive from the hves of the Saints g: TIMES TG REMEMBKR
are iauue~ , Sri Swami Venkatesanauda ~d l usthat
studylng the life of a Saint graphicaily enlivens the searhings
lt
cuutaiaed iin che scriptures.

Mother Yogas~ h a d tia: great blessiug ofbeing with

her Guru Sri Swansi ~ sau sndaji whenever be visited
Csye Town, E'og nuutyyears he-would Jnalce her &irnily home
his resnporary residenee.%b can nowenjoy Mother
Yogeshwari's accounts of her eaperiences wich herGuru Bri.
Swaxai ~ esa nanda. He inspired many seelrers tn pursue
their Spiritual goals and his legacy still continues to this day'
inspirieg raanyspirltual aspirants. May this book also help
tu kindle che Sre of spiritual pursulc wichin you, I 4
4
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Anerak KarirA~ • •

> . ) MOTHf B."fQGESHWAM'5 ANEi.-DOTKS

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GF SRI SWAMI QENKATEShNANOA
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Swami Venkatesananda
 TIME5 TO REMEMBER

Mother Yogeshwari'sAutobiographical Anecdotes of

Sri Swami Venkatesananda

Published by:

Ananda KutirAshrama Publications

publications8anandakutir.org.za
http://www.anandakutir.org.za

Tel: +27 21 6961821

Fax: +27 86 7303065

PO Box 36134, &losderry, 7702

Cape Town, South Africa

1st Publication: 2012

Printed by
Mega bigital
www.megadigital.co. za
 Gratefulthanks to the following:-

TinaGoodchild,Rosemary Frith,Janaki
Mackenzie, Uma Edwards, Vani Pryce and Swamis
Parvathianandaand Vidyananda for their assistance in
thisproduction.

In additionI wish to thank:

BonnieVan Ginkel for the cover design.

 ACKNOM'ILFDSFkfFNTS
There aremany specialpeople I would like to thank
and towhom I shallalways be grateful.
Firstlymy parents: my fun-loving, good-natured father
and my loving mother with the listening ear and healing
hands.
Joan vanAlphen, Jaya, my Yoga teacher, whose inspiring
lessonswere the highlights of each week. Through Jaya
I met my Guru Swami Venkatesanandaji.
MurielBeamish, a quiet, mature woman who used to
attend classes.We did our best to transcribe a talk by
Gurudev Sivananda which Swamiji had sent. How we
battledwith the sanskrit words and the not very clear
recording!Much later I discovered that a book had
already been published of that talk! When I told
Swamijiof this he just smiled. He knew that the very
act of listening intently to that recording and working
on it was the best sadhana.Muriel was a wonderful
supportduring a trying time in my life.She was so wise.
Janaki,then Jean Mackenzie, who used to come
for lunch on the back of my daughter Vanessa's bike, as
they attended the same school.Janaki became part of
my family.Having come from a journalistic background
she was excellent at editing and was always on hand to
help inevery way. After having spent many years in
Holland serving the beautiful Swami Hridayananda
(Gurudev'spersonal physician) she returned to Cape
Town. She is now editing talks by Swamiji from tapes,
which Swami Vidyananda is working on to make into CDs.
 John and Betty Koopman who were ini tiated by
Swamijion the same day as I. Swamiji aptly referred to
John as St. John. Betty is a strong upholder and
protector of neglected animals. They were both
excellent musicians, giving music lessons, and played in a
band. For many years John was responsible for
parcelling and mailing Swamiji's books.
Tina Goodchild,one of our founder members, is
always with us,either physically, or at the end of the
phone, orvia emails. She and Doug, her husband, and
mother Natividade go back a long way and stillfeature
stronglyin our lives. Tina was a great help during the
earlyyears. She used to come every day to type, print
and generall
y help 'run the show'!
Margery Mitchell,who was a nursing sister,
attended classes at Alma Road and was a strong support
for uswhen we moved to Rondebosch East.
Ivan Agherdine, our Sunday morning Yoga
instructor, met Swamiji in Alma Road in the 1970's.
Swamijipresented him with an Islamic prayer mat. Ivan
taughtYoga ina gym for many years and introduced his
studentsto Hatha Yoga and to Ananda Kutir.As an ex-
schoolteacherof English and Drama he produced a play
written by Swami Hridayananda about Gurudev,which
we performed inthe Yoga room. He was also a pillar of
strengthinneedy times.
Swami Parvathiananda came to Cape Town with
Swamiji in 1978. She took a Hatha Yoga class in Alma
Road,Rosebank. She had previously taught in the Perth
Ashram headed by Swami Lakshmiananda. As she was an
ex-nurseI was happy to give her students who needed
specialattention and private lessons. The following year
she accompanied Swamiji to Rishikesh, India. There at
Swamiji'ssuggestion she attended classes at the
Krishnamacharya Mandiram, Madras where she learnt
some valuablelessons there. On her return she became
a very much sought-after Yoga Teacher as her
reputationgrew. Together we formed the Ananda Kutir
Yoga Trustwith the help of our many friends. Some of
these friends are still with us.
Then thereare those who came after and to whom
we owe somuch! We graduated into a small but vibrant
ashram affiliated with the Sivananda Ashram Rishikesh,
India.Swami Parvathiananda and I agree that neither of
us couldhave achieved this without the other. Neither
could allthis have come about without the blessings of
our Guru Swami Venkatesanandajiand our Sadguru Sri
Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj. I t i s a lso due to t heir
continued blessingsthat we are surrounded by such
specialpeople who keep the ashram going, not to
mention the great Mahatmas who have blessed this
ashram withtheir wisdom and their presence.

10
 The enclosed remembrances cover many years,
but actuall
y Swamiji only spent three weeks of each
year in Cape Town, from the late 1960'suntil his
Mahasamadhi in 1982, and then not always every
consecutive year.
Even when we hosted Swamiji I had my family to
look after,as well as catering for the devotees and
friends.The strong, spiritual connection was kept
alive through correspondence, or a phone call on
specialoccasions. There was time to digest and learn
so much from those precious letters.I have included
many excerpts taken from them to expound the
teachingswhich have enriched my life.
 rHE BESZNNrNS
We all arrived at the Mitra Hall, Mowbray, with
our ownpersonalloads: fullof past hurts, heavy guilt
complexes, inferiority complexes or superior ones.
The heaviestload was the ego. Surely we had allcome
to realizethat there must be a better reason for
living,a better reason for landing on this earth. We
must haveallfelt a desperate need for guidance from
a higherpower, someone who would show us the way
out ofour own self-created prisons.
Then we met Swami Venkatesananda who to some
was a great lecturer and to others, like myself, a
Guru, one who sheds light,removing doubt and
negativi
ty. From that day onwards my life took an
upward spiral,but gradually.Such a Guru knows that
transformation does not happen overnight,so he
patientlywaits for the student to evolve in his or her
own time,no matter how long it takes.
But letme go back to the beginning.
O n my 37th birthday,when my youngest child,
Franz was 5 months old,there was the customary
party.As always, everyone drank too much, smoked
and behaved irrationally, losing all sense of decency. A
friend and I sat together and talked, neither wishing
to be part of allthat was going on. Looking around I
thought, "Surely this is not what life is all about?" For
years I had felt like an outsider. Yet I could not
fathom out what itwas that I was seeking. I believe
that when we question the purpose of life we begin
our journey back to the source from which we came.
W hy does it take us so long? I guess it takes a few
knocksand blows to bring us to our senses. No wonder
my Guru said "bon't waste pain!" From the moment I
asked that question,so many wonderful opportunities
presentedthemselves in quick succession.
I decided to take myself in hand: do some form
of exerciseand perhaps recover some of my fitness
and self-esteem!For eleven years I had given up all
my p r e v ious ac t i v i t i es - dancing, d i v ing,
mountaineering,etc. Much as I adored the children
and thoroughlyenjoyed looking after the family,the
time came when I questioned, "What about ME?" How
ironicthat the most important lesson I needed to
learnwas to negate the 'ME'.
A neighbour suggested that I take up Yoga, as
someone workingin her office was preparing to teach
it. "What's that?" I asked. She lent me a book by
Indra bevientitled "Forever young, forever healthy."
In thosefar-off days, Yoga was understood to be a
form of exerciseonly (even today misguided people
thinkthat Yoga is merely that!). After reading the
book,I was completely sold on the idea of attending a
Yoga class.The teacher was none other than Joan van
Alphen,better known by her monastic name Jaya in
Yoga circl
es, and years later as President of the
InternationalYoga Teachers Association for South
Africa.My neighbour who had introduced me to Yoga
left Cape Town three months af ter we began
attending the class in Jaya's Kenilworth home.
However two other friends joined me. Jaya was a
marvell
ous Yoga teacher, bringing spiritual messages
intothe classes to introduce the fact that Yoga was
not justa physical form of exercise but so much
more. We used to take turns driving there and
enjoyed thattoo.
One day Jayatold us about a wonderful Swami
from Indiawho was giving inspiring lectures at the
Mitra Hall in Mowbray. Mitra means friend and was
the temple belonging to the Hindu community. So the
three of us went together and sat waiting
expectantly for the Swami to arrive. I kept looking
back but did not see anyone who looked like the one
fitting Jaya's description.
Then Iturned round and looked straight into the
calm,beautifulface of the Swami as he had taken a
seat rightbehind me. He was waiting patiently to be
escorted to his seat on the podium. His large eyes
seemed tobe gazing inward, though wide open.
Then came thelecture.I was spellbound! When
this Swami talked about God, he seemed to have
first-hand knowledge. As we walked home my feet
hardlyseemed to touch the ground! Every night I
attended the following ten lectures which were on
the Bhagavad Gita.
Who had even heard of the Bhagavad Gita? Even
the Indian community, though perhaps having the
scriptureson their bookshelves, seldom opened them.
As Mr. B.Chavda, a senior devotee, admitted, though
they may have read the Bhagavad Gita, they
understood very little of it.But at the Mitra Hallthe
text came to life through the vibrant voice of
Swamiji. It b ecame an inspiration to seekers of all
religions.
After walkingfrom the hallto Salt River, where
he was stayingwith Mr. Munsook and the Reddy
family, Swamiji would type a page condensing his talk.
Copies were made and the following evening the
audience would receive the summary of the previous
night'stalk. This developed into the Bhagavad Gita
bailyReadings, a page for each day of the year.
A smallband of enthusiastic workers produced
the f irst e d ition. The late Elizabeth (Gita) Roinski
typed themanuscript.Mr. Palsania donated the first
thousand copieswhich were for free distribution.A
few years later Swamiji formed the Chiltern Yoga
Trust with Johnny and Padmavathy Mudge as the
trustees. The Trust was named after the Chiltern
applefarm which the Mudges owned in Villiersdorp.
Swamijistayed there once on his return overseas and
conducted the ten-day burga Puja, to which a few of
us were invited.
The t r ust h a s p ublished all o f S w amiji's
scriptures — the firstbeing the Song of God-
BhagavadGita for daily reading.
Swamiji's other lectures were quickly
transcribed by eager disciples and published. These
books were my only reading matter and meditation
became a much more important part of my Yoga
practices.
My interest in Yoga deepened. However,
Gurudev'sIntegral Yoga, embracing allaspects of
Yoga, makes so much sense, not to concentrate on one
path atthe expense of another. Caring for the family
might have helped me to keep a balance also,
otherwise my enthusiasm might have made me go
overboard! Some of my more worldly associates
probablythought that I had anyway.

reE Frasr ENCOuNrEa

On my first close encounter with Swamiji, I wore
a chainand pendant which my sister-in-law had given
me. The pendant was ceramic with a snake charmer
paintedon it.Possibly it was chosen because of my
strong bond with India orthat the snake charmer
looked a little like a seated yogi to my sister-in-law.
Swamiji looked at it and asked me, "What is t his?"
Feeling rather overcome by this attention, I said,
"It' s my sister-in-law" instead of "M y sister-in-law
gave it to me!" Swamiji packed up laughing. Well that
was it,we both ended up just laughing.

THE SNSLINS PHOTOBQAPH

Ananda used to teach Hatha Yoga every Sunday
morning atthe Mitra Hall.As always in those days it
was done on a donation basis and the collection was
offered to our Hindu friends who owned the hall.
Ananda was taught by Swamiji himself and was very
highlythought of by Swamiji and everyone. Imagine
my surprisewhen she asked me to take the class for
her.I had up to that stage only attended classes with
great enthusiasm, never dreaming of conducting one,
so I feltsomewhat apprehensive taking on the class
of popularAnanda. At some stage I turned round to
do a spinaltwist and looked straight at a beautiful
picture of G urudev Swami Sivanandaji, which was
behind me on the podium. To my amazement Gurudev
seemed tosmile at me. After that my confidence was
fully restored and I was well away!!!
 BESrNNSVSS OF MSaPLESHrP
and BEiSZNNZNiSS OF ANANDA KUTIR
When I first began conducting Hatha Yoga
classesat the request of a few friends, we used the
loungeof a friend. As more people joined we moved to
a Guide Hallopposite our house in Alma Road, where I
used to be a 'Brown Owl'.
In 1967,inspired by Swamiji and prompted by
the need, a Yoga hall was built in our home in Alma
Road, Rosebank.This was a loving offering of my
husband Ernie,who did much of the work himself.
Swamiji suggested that it be named 'Ananda Kutir'
after the name of his Master's abode in Rishikesh,
India.
The Yoga room was anextension of what used to
be the garage,and the maid's room was converted
into achange-room with a wash basin and shower. A
narrow passage led straight into the Yoga room with a
beaded African curtainin place of a door. To the
rightof the passage a curtain was used to screen off
the li
ttle meditation room. The main entrance was on
the other side.There were no fences or high walls.
Students walked in from the side entrance of the
house, through the gate and into the Yoga room
through large double doors. A large picture window
filledone side of the Yoga room, showing a glorious
view of the mountain.There was no fee for the
classes,just a collection plate at the door. Needless
to say, the classes were overflowing. The collection
money went towards producing Swamiji's wonderful
books.
From 1970 onwards, when in Cape Town, Swamiji
stayedthere and also gave many wonderful lectures in
the hall.People did not mind crowding together on the
floor.When that was full to overflowing they sat in
the adjoiningmeditation room, where they could at
leasthear him. Thus 'Ananda Kutir'became charged
with Swamiji's presence.
When Swamijiwas in residence, he stayed in the
change-room.As it was set apart from the house, it
was privateeven when classes were in progress.When
lecturing,he simply walked through the passage
making hisshining appearance through the beaded
curtain.After the lecture he would mingle with the
crowd for ashort while, laughing and joking. Then
after making his pranams (salutations), acknowledging
everyone, he would slip back into his room. I think
t hat Swamiji loved t hat l i t t l e r oom. Much of h i s
writing was done there:the correspondence, about
fifty letters a day, plus the baily Readings, including
the Yoga Vasishta and the Buddha baily Readings.
After finishing the latter, Swamiji remarked, "I have
done allthat I need to do. Now I can go!" We
devotees did not like that at all!
 W hen there were no classes running,Swamiji had
the wholeplace to himself. Sometimes he carried his
typewriterinto the garden so that he could enjoy the
sun.One hot day I thought, 'Swamiji might get sun-
stroke.'Playfully I put a funny Africa sun hat on his
head. Completelyunaffected by my frivolous act,
Swamiji just kept on typing.
One day Swamiji gave ' Ananda Kutir' a b i g
surprise.He had requested Swami Shankarananda to
bring a beautif ul statue (murthi) of the Lord
Venkatesaback from India.
Swami Shankarananda was one of S wamiji's
beloved spiritual brothers who was travelling to
burban by ship from India. From burban friends
Narayani and Girdallal (later t o b ecome Swamis
Narayaniand Ananda) brought the murthi to Cape
Town. It is perhaps wrong to say that Swamiji was
excited, but the boyish enthusiasm with which he
unpacked the box with its precious content was a joy
to behold.The murthi of the Lord Venkatesa was
installed in the meditation room and lovingly blessed
by Swamiji.
Swamiji met a sculptor, Jean Norris, who made
fiftyreplicas of the Venkatesa murthi.These were
sent allover South Africa and the world. Swami
Sushila and I were given the task of going to the
docks,approaching the Captain of the ship in the

20
harbourand sweetly asking him to transport a murthi
overseas to the USA. The arrangement was that if
no-one collected it on the other side, it would be
dumped inthe sea! Knowing that ladies of easy virtue
were there for different reasons, I dressed very
d emurely indeed! All went well until one day t h e
devotee on the other side slipped up and arrived a
day or so late. By then the murthi had been
committed tothe sea. I had never seen Swamiji really
angry,but he was very close to it over this incident.
After this unfortunate occurrence, the distribution
was done in the normal way. Swamiji was very drawn
to LordVenkatesa.As a young boy he used to climb up
the mountain in Tirupati to sit at the feet of the
famous Venkatesa murthi where he had some
remarkable experiences.

PRINTINS
Swamiji's love was a lways i nclusive. Swamiji
transformed thosewho gathered around him into fit
instrumentsfor his spiritual work. Each one had a
role to play in the dissemination of Gurudev's
teachings.
Apart from the publicati ons of the classical,
ancient scriptures produced by the Chiltern Yoga
Trust, Swamiji's b r i lliant t a lks e x pounding t hese
texts were transcribed,typed and edited by these
disciples. Later, even the printing was an 'inside' job
and Toby Tobler did much in this regard. Later this
was taken over by Swami Parvathiananda,who came
with Swamiji f r o m t h e Perth Ashram in Australia
where she had learnt to print.
When new accommodation was needed for the
printingmachine, Mr. Jackie Gihwala offered one of
his store rooms in the warehouse. And when the old
machine became too cantankerous to handle,a few
friends purchased a better one. Following Swamiji's
suggestionthe new printing press would be owned by
those who used it.He also encouraged devotees of
long standing, the Februarys, to assist Swami
Parvathiananda with the printing.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Two spiritual leaders in the community, both
devoted toSwamiji, had a dispute. Both, being strong
personali
ties, refused to come to terms with each
other. Swamiji stayed away from South Africa for a
couple of years. However, Swamiji always kept in
touch by replying to every single letter sent to him.
Spiritually there was always a connection, more like a
communion,possibly more powerful than a physical
meeting.It has never left! At last he arrived back in
Cape Town toeveryone's delight. I can stillrecallthe
meeting atthe airport. It was evening and a glorious
22
sunset paintingthe sky orange matched Swamijis
'
robes. There was an incredible joy which filled one's
whole being, raising one up and expanding
consciousness.Allvestige of separation disappeared.
Swamiji said he would fast until the two made
up. It was not long before the two settled their
differences.They remained good friends after that.
I attended a meditationgroup for a couple of
years.It was held in the lounge of the leader of the
group.The focal point was a beautiful picture of
Swamiji with flowers next to it. I loved those Friday
evenings!Swamiji attended them too when he visited
Cape Town. On one of those occasions when we sat
very still with closed eyes, my legs were killing me and
I very quietl y unlocked them, hoping nobody would
notice. I glanced up and immediately Swamiji's eyes
opened,so I was caught out! "Oh dear," I thought,
"now I've lost a Brownie point." The following week
Swamiji again attended the meditation, which in itself
was such a great blessing. This time I stayed for the
whole time without even being aware that I had legs!
Now how do you account for that?
However, treading the spiritual path is not
always a bed of roses,as I was to discover. Some
m isunderstandingled the leader of the group to turn
against Swamiji. Unfortunately this affected all of
us, asshe continued to have weekly meditation, using
Swamiji'
s picture and tape, but running him down.
After carefulthought and without discussing this
with anyone else,I told her that I simply could not
come anymore. It was a difficult thing to do as I was
actuall
y very fond of her! Here is a letter which was
Swamiji's reply to mine.
13th September 196T
"Alleyiance" t o m e i s e a sy, mother Cynthia,
because even ifyou denounce me and turn totally
ayainst me, you will be liviny up toit: for 1 want that
all my friends and co-pilyrims on the Path should be
free as the kVinditself and every relationship should
be free and voluntary, flowiny all the timein a sinyle
direction — towards the Omnipresent &od hidden in
all Any of my f ri ends by denyiny or denouncing me
will only be followiny me mor e faithfully than others
who may accept me half-heartedly!/
" Alleyiance" i n a different sense may be
extremely difficult. For, even as 1 do, 1 want all of
you to love all totallyindifferent to how the others
reciprocate.1 know 1 am contradictiny myself now (as
1 have very often):we should allbe free — but 1
humbly pray, free to love one another. Let not even a
trace of i l l-will enter our heart — i s my constant
prayer to the Lord."
Swamijidid not write for some time after that
and I assumed that Ihad incurred his displeasure,
24
w hich is t h e l ast t h ing I w o uld ever wish t o d o !
NeverthelessI felt in my heart that I had done the
r ight t h ing, even if i t m e ant b eing isolated f r o m
everyonewith whom I had formed a strong bond.
Then came the letter.
14th Narch 196B
"Now 1 hope allof you...appreciate why 1 have
beeninsistinyon each person decidin9 for oneself and
not do anythin9just to please one another or to
please me. Love must come from within, and should
not beimposed from outside."
Years later Betty and John Koopman told me
that theytoo had left the group at the same time
alsowithout talking to anyone else...

THE HOIME FRONT

There was atime when things at home were very
difficult. Not wanting to bother Swamiji with all that,
I wrote only about pleasant happenings and the Yoga
work. One day Swamiji wrote, "bon'thold anything
back from me!"

ELSSV YOiSA CAkfPS

Bill and Sue (later Swami Sushilananda) Thomas
came to Cape Town from the USA in the 1970's after

25
having met Swamiji in their home country. They
edited and produced books transcribed from
Swamiji's lectures. They also initiated Yoga camps.
We w ere able to use the hostel for
accommodationat an apple farm in Elgin,a beautiful
settingwhere we could take lovely walks. We used to
go duringthe winter months, when the apple pickers
were notusing it.
Pamela Eriksson, a friend and devotee of
Swamiji, who lived on a farm nearby, was a colourful
character and a great storyteller. She was a
journalistand wrote a book of her experiences sailing
with herhusband to Norway. After his untimely death
from cancershe stayed at the farm with her mother.
When we had a camp, she would bring logs of wood
from her farm for the large fireplace. We used to
have over seventy people attending. The younger
members loved spending the night sleeping on the
floor in the hall with the blazing fire in front.
We invited speakers to lecture on alternative
methods of healing,which were not so well known
then. Peter bowling, a sincere practitioner of
Naturopathygave wonderful workshops. Many became
vegetariansafter these Yoga camps. Other speakers
demonstrated various forms of massage and
reflexology,working on some keen volunteers. We
also had an interesting talk on homeopathy by br.

26
Ruth Bloch to encourage students to use such
methods of healing, rather than painkillers to cover
the symptoms. Then we ha d t h e H atha Yoga
practiti
oners from various schools who shared their
expertise.But the highli ght of these camps was
Swamiji's wonderful lectures, which he gave in t he
mornings and evenings.
I was not able to spend more than a day there,
as thiswas a time when I caught up with duties on
the home front.But my daughters loved to attend
thesepopular camps, which made a big im pact on their
lives.
In those early years I used to be so filled with
awe that Istood back, but Swamiji would beckon me
to come forward. He would offer Prasad (blessed
food) to everyone, sometimes popping it into one's
m outh himself.
Laughing, he would make you feel that
you and he were on the same wave-length! This was
what we later called the 'Queen's treatment', or the
'King'
s treatment' of course. One would feel very
special,maybe even the chosen one! Then came the
teaching! You would find that someone new was
receivingthe same attention that you enjoyed. Ouch!
The ego popped.
Later,if you were specially blessed, you would be
given some work to do. It might be cooking, typing or
postingletters.To perform any task for the Guru is a

27
privil
ege, not a chore. The feeling of awe developed
intogreat love unlike anything experienced before.

THE LETTERS
Swamijiused to write about fifty letters a day.
In each country a devotee would be given the job of
forwarding them. It might only be a line but to the
one receivingit,it was the greatest gift!I was given
the pleasant duty of forwarding the messages. To
open the letterbox and see the familiarwriting in
green ink on a well-packed envelope was thrilling.
However, I took care not to read what I sent on
though Swamijihad instructed me to do so. 'Would
the receiverbe happy about my reading the letter?'
In any case it had always been instilled in me not to
read other people's letters. Then when the next
envelopearrived, at the bottom of the letter for me,
he wrote, "REAb THEM."
Thiswas yet another lesson for me.

THE EEO ~ND r

After reading autobiographies of great Beings I
observedthat many of them had no ego consciousness
and never referred to themselves as 'I'but rather as
'Ram' or 'this body'. "Aah," I t hought, "'I' is a no-no
word." So I wr ote a letter t o Swamiji without once

28
using 'I'. He answered using lots of 'I's. I got the
message!
If you lost heart, Swamiji would lift you up. If
you made a mistake, Swamiji would laugh it off. But
never, never criticize another or try to cause
mischiefbetween another disciple and the Guru.
I saw how he completely divorced himself from
such atroublemaker. One such disciple's letters were
returned unopened and e ven w hen s h e a r r ived
unexpectedlyfrom afar,she was ignored.
I couldnot help putting myself in her place and
said, "Swamiji, how could you do that? Will you do
that to me one day?" Cheeky,wasn't I? He looked
away and then said, "If you knew how much trouble
she has caused, you would do the same."
NormallySwamiji seemed to accept us as though
nothingwe did was bad. One day I asked him, "What
exactly is good and what is bad?" "Everything's
alright," he r eplied, "as long as you don't get
attached." Then I realized that though Swamiji
showered us with so much love, he was not attached
to any of us. If someone wanted to serve him, work
for him,he would say, "Very good, very good!"If that
same personwent to some other Guru, he would say,
"Very good,very good!" However once at a lecture he
mentioned that we should "Mind our own business".
The enclosed letter also states the same thoughts

29
although I don't have the slightest idea what
promptedit.
23rd kfay 196B
"Zt was one of &urudevs principles never to
suspect others;often he was cheated; and he never
car ed.
Zt is ver y difficult and entirely unnecessary to
judye other people. kVhat is most important to us
personallyis that the wor Id within should be clear to
us andunder our control — what happens outsideis not
soimportant.
Yes, when you ar e so sincere and you have such
intense faithin &od, what appears to be undesirable
willeventually turn out to be for your own yood. "
I remember anamazing experience I had at one
of the last public talks at the Mitra Hall, Mowbray.
Swamijipaused in his talk and gazed into space for a
moment. Then I saw that Swami Sivananda (his Guru)
had completelytaken over Swamiji. Superimposed
over Swamiji was Gurudev Sivananda, looking
magnificent,more real than real.Th e image remained
for a few seconds, then disappeared when Swamiji
continued speaking.
briving in the car, I s a id, "Swamiji, I a m not
clairvoyant." "Very good, very good," he said. Then I
said, "But tonight I distinctly saw you disappear and
there was Gurudev in your place." "bid you hear that,
Sushila?" said Swamiji, "Put it in the next report."
This surprised me since Swamijidid not encourage
any show of clairvoyance and usually brushed it aside.
Then I r emembered Swamiji saying that he was
always the f irst listener. Before every lecture
Swamijirecited the Guru Stotram, invoking Gurudev's
blessings,and the Peace chant. Great disciples do
this: completely surrendering themselves to the
Master.It is as though they themselves step aside.
Then theGuru holds nothing back from the disciple,
who then takes on the attributes of the Guru.So
greatdisciples become great Gurus, although in their
heartsthey always remain disciples.
The Mitra Hall was so packed when Swamiji gave
his lectures that there was not even floor space and
peopleeven climbed up to the windows from outside
and stood at the entrance. Once, atthe end of a
lecture,Swamiji called me from the floor where I sat
cross-legged,to join him and a few others on the
podium for the concluding prayers. As I closed my
eyes,I saw allof us sitting there, so clearly, but we
were upsidedown! I opened my eyes and everything
came back to normal. I never mentioned this strange
experience to Swamiji.
Swamiji could turn us inside out and upside down.
When I was being given the 'VIP Treatment', Swamiji
said, "When I die, will you be with me?" Naturally I
did not think this would happen for many years, nor
did I even wish to consider this.All the same I
thought, "Wow, am I that special?"Years later he
said exactlythe same thing to someone else. So I
said,"Swamiji, you said that you wanted me to be with
you when you die." "Oh, didI?" he said, "Well, you're
invited."What else could I do but burst out laughing.
Swamiji adored children. He played with them
and gave them piggy backs. But he would not hold a
young baby because he said that he might hug them
too hard and hurt them!
W hen my youngest
child Franz was a toddler,we
attended a party of one of Swamiji's devotees. Franz
was givena sweet and the bowl of sweets was placed
infront of Swamiji. Franz helped himself to another
one, which I took from him as it had not been
offered. "No, No," said Swamiji so forcefully that I
Jumped out of my skin! Then Swamiji laughed and said,
"Let him have it."He told me much later that he
believed in showering young children with love and
givingthem what they wanted untilthe age of three.
Then disciplining them! In retrospect I wondered
whether thismethod was a similar one to the training
of disci
ples. First shower them with love, make them
feel special, breaking down barriers, so that they
become malleableand confident. Then begin to slice
off the ego.If the latter were attempted straight
away, the disciple would either collapse or explode in
anger and walk of f.
 The best way tolearn is to watch how the Guru
behaves,how he talks, how he handles even the most
difficultsituation. How he isso 'at home' in whatever
home, beit a palace or a very humble abode.
Speakingof being humble, it was amazing to see
Swamijiwith another holy person. He made a point of
sittingbelow the levelof the other. And when he had
audience with J. Krishnamurti, he hardly spoke but
just listened intently.

VESFr~Rr~NrsM
Swamiji encouraged the use of fruit and
vegetables as opposed to eating animal products.
However he did point out that the latter should be
graduallyreduced by those who were long-standing
meat eaters. He also told me that very tasty
vegetariandishes should be offered to encourage the
preference for them. In the late 1960's our friend
bhaleyRamjee gave Indian cookery demonstrations in
our kitchen,which used to be packed with keen Yoga
students. Here are Swamiji's letters regarding
vegetarianismand these popular evenings.
10" Jvne 1966
"1t is yood to learn 1ndian cooking as a
preliminary to work for veyetarianism. Side by side
with the Yoya movement veyetarianism should also
spread Only t hen will Yoya be t r u ly and hundred
percent effective.1f people ask, "1f you don't eat
meat or fish what do you eat?" you must be ready
with someinterestiny cookies."
Avgust I96B
'Indian c ookiny: L ovely. Kindly c o nvey m y
conyratulationsto Mother Daya. 1 am sure if people
knew what tasty dishes can be prepared from
veyetables, they will not kill animals to eat. "
20'" November I970

Yookinyin oil: and the use of spices: As part of

cookiny lessonsit i s O.K A f ter all we do admit that
tastes willdiffer. It is then up to each person to
decide whatis yood for each one. Tastes chanye, too:
for instance,nowadays if 1 take any fried thiny it
upsets me. The cookiny lessons are meant only to
provide alternatives to meat dishes. The finesse
beyond this,one has to discover for oneself. If we
listen to food experts, we miyht have nothiny to eat!
Also: often 1 have found that the experts own
kitchen runs on dif f erent principles. Zn all t hinys,
wisdom whichis moderation andmiddle of the road"

AN EVENZNi5: OUTINi5:
It was the last evening of one of Swamiji's visits.
It was twilight and Swamiji asked what I would like to
do. Isaid that I would love to go for a walk along the
beach.The children and the old Labrador dog piled
into the car with us and we drove to Blaauwberg
beach. It was getting darker now and the children
were very thrilled to be out, running excitedly along
the beach. The old family dog ran with them.
Although the older children were with the younger
ones, Swamiji made sure they were safe and told
them notto go too far into the sea.
O ne oftencomes across phosphorous flashing in
the sea but that night it was everywhere. Sparks of
lightlike shooting stars sprang from our feet as we
kickedthe soft sand.
We walked together and Swamijitalked, never
failingto take an opportunity to teach. He said that
people may become famous as artists, poets,
politi
cians or sportsmen, but nothing is greater than
handling relationships. Since then I have often
thought of that teaching and how important (and
s ometimes difficult) i t i s t o d e al wit h al l t h e
different personalities we meet on t hi s incredible
journey called life.

THE SHA kYL

We had been invited to attend supper at one of
Swamiji'
s devotees in Rylands. buring the course of
the eveningSwamiji asked me to accompany him to a
house nearby. He thrilled everyone there by his short
but unexpected visit.Walking back to the host's
house I suddenly started shivering. Swamiji
immediatelytook off his shawl and put it around my
shoulders.He insisted that I keep it on untilwe were
rightback inside the house.
As the years rolled by Swamiji gathered many
more disci
ples. I always found myself drawn to the
newcomers because of our mutual love for Swamiji.
They feltlike family, as indeed they are, the Yoga
family. I once mentioned this to Swamiji and this was
his response.
1Bth Jvne 196B
"you are so very riyht when you say that they
who have acommon ideal should love one another. It
is natural. St Paul said that he who says he loves &od
and does not love his brotheris a l iar.Jesus said the
same thing Buddha said so. But in practice somehow
from somewhere the little1 springs up and spoils
everything VVith &urus &'ace everythingis possible,
in &ods good time.
kVe should go one step farther and love even
those who do not "belong toour own circle".1 read
somewhere that a devotee of the Lord said, "1 /ove
&od allday that 1 have no time to hate the devil".
Lovelyidea.
May &od bless you. "
 SOODBYE TO DAD
At the end of another one of Swamiji's blessed
visitsto Cape Town, he expressed the wish to go to
my parents'home to say goodbye to them. Although
he had often chatted to my mother, he had never
been tomy parents'home before and had seen very
little of my father.
I drove him to their place and he walked down
the stairs,which led to their little house. My father
came out to meet him. Swamiji flung his arms around
him andgave him a big hug.I wondered how my dad,a
'pukka'ex-army man, would handle this! But my dad
respondedas though Swamijiwas a long lost friend.
M y f a t her d i e d b e f or e S wamiji's v isit t h e
followingyear. I am sure that Swamiji knew that this
was goingto happen and gave him his blessings.
After my fatherpassed away, I awakened one
morning feeling a little nostalgic and sad that he was
no longer here. I heard something in my head say,
"The past affects you only if you live in the past!"
"How true",I thought. "If we livein the now as we
are supposed to do, we would never be sad, we would
be experiencingwhat is right now, the present!"
 kf Y kfOTHER
M y motherwas a natural Karma Yogi.Allher life
she loved to serve and was never too busy to take
time to li
sten to anyone's troubles or to help anyone
in need.Yet, as a child I remember being grateful
that my mothernever pushed me forward li ke some
ambitious mothers did. I pushed myself! She was
orphaned atthe age of fourteen and had to work
from 8am till6 pm as a cashier,then go home to cook
and lookafter her younger sister. Though she was
content to cook, sew and knit and remain in the
background,she was fullof fun!She would walk from
her home in Rondebosch every afternoon with little
treatsfor the children and do my ironing. Would you
b elieve t h a t s h e ac t u ally e n j oyed i r o ning? I
persuaded her to attend one of my beginners classes
and found that she was quite supple too. She
admitted aftersome time that at first she thought
that relaxationat the end of the class was a waste of
time...
."But I got used to it," she said.
Swamijiwas very, very fond of her. Once in a
farewellspeech he praised me most magnanimously
(that was Swamiji's way) and then spoke about my
mother;how wonderful she was and that I had not
quitecome up to her levelyet.I was so proud because
as far as everybody was concerned she was just a
mother and a granny, who did the washing and the
ironingand allthat. But she was very specialand he
knew it.I was so touched to hear that from Swamiji.
Here was someone who was ableto look beyond the
outwardappearance and into one's heart!

NOrHERs P~ssrNS
In 1979 Mother became ill . I took her to the
familydoctor. He advised her to go to Groote Schuur
hospitalfor tests.As we walked from the surgery to
the car, she said, "That'sthat!" I think that she had
known for some time that there was a serious
problem! After many x-rays and tests, no one
informed us of the results.At last I cornered the
doctorand asked him outright if Mother had cancer!
He nodded. Ithen said that I wished to take her to
her own little home where she would feel more
comfortable,physically and mentally.Mother would
not hear of my givingup the Yoga classes to look
afterher. This was when Swami Parvathiananda (then
Irene and an ex-nurse) stepped inand offered to be
with Mother during the day untilI took over in the
evening.So the Yoga classes were not disrupted.
Everyone knows how hard itis to experience the
pain of losing someone so dear to one, even though
one knows that itis inevitable. I kept in touch with
S wamiji throughout this period. The following a r e
excerptsfrom hisletters in response to mine.
 13th April 1979
"1 dohope that thereis nothing seriously wrong
Mother is a n e x t raordinary angel and whenever 1
think ofher there is an extraordinary flutter in the
heart."
26th April 197P
"Lifeis in His Hands; and they are ones best
refuge...1 cannot think of one mor e saintly and more
lovingand more considerate of others'comforts and
conveniencesas Mother has been, and I am sure that
she is surrounded by everyone's Love which is &od
The Prasadam can be dissolvedin water and given.
Please keep me in touch with the progress.1
have reyuested for Puja to be done in Tirupation
Mother'sbehalf; she willreceive the Mahaprasadam
from there. "
16th May 1979
"1 am deliyhted toread about Mothers reaction
to what is happening Typical of h er . People have
written volumes about allsorts of lesser beings: as
Swami Vivekananda used to say, the first class saints
and yogis live and die unnoticed by anyone.
1 feelelated that thereis someone else who has
the same objection tohospitalization which 1 have-
having to use the bed-pan.

40
 Home is the best place for the like of her.
However I can also understand the problem of haviny
to livealonein the home. Ztis on such occasions that
1 feel there is a l ot of w isdom in the jo int f amily
system, though it has its own drawbacks. Then an
ayed and even sick grandmother can be at home which
is fullof other people not any one of them beiny held
responsible for the gran and everyone lending a
helpiny hand when needed. Zn the Western style this
is lacking "
29th May 1979
"Zhope Mother had a peaceful freedom from the
body. Zt was good that she did not have to undergo all
the additional tortures that modern medical
treatmentimposes onus.&od bless her.
One of the most unforyettablepersons 1 have
seen...
I hope you ar e all riyht and not too disturbed by
whateverhappened before and after."
1Bth Jvly 1979
"One who is born a yogi or yogini — like Mother,
needs no guru; but how does one manage to be born
such? And, then,perhaps you would have noticedin
your mother'scase as I have in the case of &urudev,
that s uc h a bo r n y og i r e g ards e v eryone a nd
everythiny as the &ur u. "

41
 SPIRLTUAL SZFTS

LOVE
At one stage in my spiri
tual journey, I was
havinggreat difficulties with a Gurubhen, someone I
looked upto very much. No matter how hard I tried,
she seemed to try to run me into the ground! One
night just before dropping off to sleep, I was
thinkingof her and wondering what to do! I connected
with mybreathing as a m eans of calming the mind. My
mind became deeplyinvolved until,going deeper and
deeper, it was not just the breath, but an incredible
energy,which seemed to take me on an inner journey.
Then a tremendous love enveloped me. Such love that
I had neverbefore experienced. And the one who was
givingme so much pain was reached too,in fact it was
almost directed wholly to her. Though I call this a
microcosmic experience, it made me feel that it was a
journey into the farthest heavens and the love was
like an exploding star.

SELFLESS SERVICE
Shortly before Swami Chidanandaji came to
South Africain 1969, I had an amazing experience.
At that t ime on my spiritual journey, the kundalini
seemed to be doing a lot of travelling! Often I felt

42
thisjust before dropping off to sleep. This time the
familiarfeeling going up the spine and then as though
the ajna chakra was being stretched open. A bright
light shone from the ajna chakra to a beautiful pair
of hands open like a lotus. Somehow I knew that
these were the hands of Swami Chidanandaji.I heard
a voice say, "Selfless service is the path to God-
Realisation."Afterwards I came to learn that Swami
Chidanandajiused to do tremendous work helping the
lepers.

BLZSS
One nightjust before dropping off to sleep, I
contemplatedsomething I had just read.It must have
been inconnection with the Yoga teachings, because
at that time, I read nothing else. Suddenly, I felt a
tremendous light flash into my head, like a thousand
suns.It was so powerful that my body from the waist
up wastrembling,as if receiving an electric shock. I
heard a voice say, "Come to Me and you will know
everything. " I found myself inwardly answering, "I'm
too small! " For the rest of the night waves of bliss
kept rolling over me.
The following night I w as awakened with light
again, but this time it was softer, more like moonlight.
I remember thinking,"Oh, I can merge in with that,"
and did. Then I was shown beautifulpictures in
gloriouscolours, which I found myself merging into.
O ne was ahuge colourful flower. I became one with it.
Then came alarge fish. I also became one with it.The
bliss continued all night.

ONE ~LONE EXrSrS

On another occasionI awoke with the words of
Jesus in my mind."I and the Father are One."
Immediately came the reply. "One without a
second."
"Oh,"I thought, "That comes from the Bible and
alsoRaja Yoga. It means the same thing!"
We (disciples of Swami Venkatesanandaji) used
to refer to amazing happenings of magical
synchronicit
y as 'Guru's Grace'. In the Yoga Vasistha
and generall
y, Swamiji referred to such incidents as
'accidental coincidences'. Here are some such
experiences:
buring the time that I taught Yoga at the
Mitra Hall i n Mowbray, I r e membered that my
Mother used to buy fish from a shop in the Main Road
somewhere nearby.One day I decided to buy some
for ourcat, instead of the usual tinned stuff! It was
years sinceI last went there and I was in one of my
vague moods!!
! I walked one way, then changed my
mind and turned round walking the opposite way. I
44
t hink I d i d t h i s t w ice, each t ime t h inking I w a s
mistaken.Then I found it and walked in.The assistant
was servinganother customer, but he had a shocked
look onhis face. He said that someone tried to steal
my bag, but every time he tried to grab it,I turned
round!He then chased the fellow, but did not manage
to catchhim.
Years later from the present ashram, I used to
take our Labrador for a morning walk along the banks
of the river.
I used thistime to contemplate and admire the
glorious sunrise and the beautiful mountain, feeling so
very blessed!
One morningas I was walking back through the
gate,a car drove up quickly and a woman came out of
the carand asked if I was the one who walked along
the bankswith the dog. (From a distance she thought
that Iwas a teenager, as I used to tie my hair back in
a ponytail.) She lived in a newly-built house adjacent
to the banks and much higher up. The grass had not
been cutfor weeks and was as high as my waist. She
saw a man coming up from the grass, where he had
been crouching,to attack me from behind. Just at
that moment I turned round and said "Come on,
Sheba,"calling our dog who had lagged behind. The
m an evidentlycrouched back in the grass again.Since
then thisconcerned lady had looked for me to warn

45
m e not towalk that way again.That was a couple of
weeks afterthe incident.Needless to say, I did not!!!
I thinkshe might have also complained to the Council
about thegrass, because since then it has never been
allowed toget that high.

ROSEB~NK SNrPPFrS

THE CHOPPER
When Franzwas about ten years old,my husband
bought him achopper bike. It was the rage at the
time.Swamiji rode it around the garden. This caused
much hil
arity amongst the disciples who used to spend
the day with us to be with Swamiji. Come to think of
it,our house was usually overflowing.

SPEC7~LrNVrr~nON
Swamijireturned from a long spell overseas at
the endof 1969. Pauline Mudge (Padmavathy) invited
him tostay at the Chiltern Farm for a rest from his
busy schedule.Swamiji invited just a few of us to
meet him at the farm. This was a great privilege,
especiall
y as we had not seen him for a couple of
years.Later Swamiji performed the nine-day burga
Puja,worship of the bivine Mother at her farm.
46
 Some devotees decided not to create offspring
as they wanted to lead a 'spiritual' life without any
attachments. "betach the mind from the world,
attach it to God," was Swami Sivanandaji's injunction.
But theyacquired a pet on whom they lavished great
attention! S wamiji i g nored t h e li t t l e c r e ature,
possiblyto point out the irony of this.Word went
round that Swamiji did not care for animals, which
was untrue!We had a Labrador called Paddy, a very
much lovedfamily dog. When Swamijireturned after
an absence of a year or so, Paddy ran up to him
wagging her t ail. "Oh, she remembers me!" said
Swamiji delightedly and patted her affectionately.
When shebecame very old,she developed a growth on
her leg. Swamiji observed this and said, "bon't let
them cutit off — leave it!Give her some parsley."

SOT YOU!
The Eastern peopleeat with their right hand,
not with a knife and fork. This they do so deftly, but
when we Westernerstry,we make quite a mess of it!
However, Swamijiadapted to our culture perfectly.
Once he tried to stab a pea with a fork but it kept
bouncingaway. Then he tackled the other vegetables
and suddenlystabbed the pea when 'it wasn't looking!'

47
 SV-BFTWEEN
A photographer wanted a picture of Swamiji
standing between EstelleStodel and her husband.
"Oh," he said jokingly. "I don'tlike to come between
husband and wife."

HrS-STORY
Swamiji would walk into t h e k i t chen and see
Franz doing his homework. "Aah! What are you
studying?" "History", said Franz. "Hmm! His story."
Swamiji loved playing with words, yet taught at the
same time.He maintained that the author of a history
book reflected onlyhis point of view. It may not be
givinga true account of what happened.

KLTCHEN DUTY
Another kitchen scene was when I was using an
old-fashioned mincer to grind sesame seeds for
making halva which Swamiji loved. It was quite hard
to turn the handle.Swamiji came over and pushed it
with me.Of course it was done in no time.

EASY CLEAN
I used to sweep the Yoga room carpet with a
broom anddust-pan. Then one evening after Satsang,

48
Swamiji immediately went into his room. I wondered
why because he usually stayed for a little while. I
understood the reason when some friends arrived
with abrand new vacuum cleaner. A delighted Swamiji
plugged itin and demonstrated how to use it.He had
arranged for it to be delivered as a surprise.

SLAVE OR SERVANT
Swamijiworked very hard, typing the scriptures,
finding the time to visit sick people, receiving guests
and giving advice to those who needed help. Then in
the evening he gave those wonderful talks. But once
someone pushed their luck.I am not sure in what way,
but itmust have been enough for him to say quite
sternly,"I am your servant but I am not your slave!"

BABY PACZFZER
At theairport a young woman came rushing up to
me. "Who isthat man?" she asked."My baby has been
so restlessand this man passed by,looked at her and
walkedon.She fellasleep and hasn't moved since."

rHE ENDURrNS ~PPLE

In the early days of Swamiji's visits he gave an
appleas Prasad to an elderly devotee. She treasured

49
it so much that she kept it for years, showing it to
Swamijievery time he came here. It shrank to the
sizeof a walnut after many years, but never rotted.

NENMNi5: CAR PROBLEiMS

T ravelling to Cape Town f rom b urban with a
devotee thecar developed a serious problem. It came
to astandstillbut Swamiji told the driver to carry on.
On arrivingin Cape Town a mechanic said on examining
the car that he could find nothing wrong with it.
Swamijisaid that if this can be done for a car, how
m uch morefor human hearts? The same driver of the
car toldme later that Swamiji told him when to start
and when tostop, when to overtake even at the top of
a hill
.It was as though Swamiji was the navigator and
the devotee the instrument. The driver followed
every instruction with complete trust.
Another elderly devotee who had accompanied
Swamiji from Port Elizabeth realized during a lecture
that she had left her blanket behind. It later
mysteriouslyappeared, I don't know how! These two
incidentswere told to me in whispers as I was on the
fringeof things then and Swamiji had probably told
his friends not to repeat such matters. We all know
now how impossible that is...

50
 RUNNSVi5: OUT OF 8AS
Some friends invited Swamiji and me to lunch. At
that time, there was a shortage of petrol,so it
became the subject of the conversation.Our host
was a much loved devotee of Swamiji,very talkative,
but anendearing friend to allof us.buring a pause in
hisconversation on the subject of the fuel shortage I
said, "Mr. X,you'll never run out of gas!" "Oh no," he
said, "I can get it from this one and that one..." and
he li
sted a few other outlets.
When we arrived home, Swamiji packed up
laughing. "He didn't get i t!" he said. "He didn't get
what?" I asked. "When you toldhim he would never
run outof gas, he didn't get it!"

rHE DE~N ~ND SN~Nrsr

T he wife o f t h e b ean, b r b u miny of t h e
Universityof Cape Town, used to attend Hatha Yoga
classesin my Yoga room inAlma Road, Rosebank. Her
husband expressed a wishto have an interview with
Swamiji.
This was duly arranged to take place half an
hour before the evening lecture. The bean's wife, a
delightful lady, sat in the lounge with me during their
most interesting discussion. The bean had lots of
questions to ask and Swamiji,as always, had an
answerfor each one of them. The Yoga hallwas filling
up and by starting time, 8pm, the hall was
overflowing. Swamiji was a stickler for punctuality
and always began his lectures on time as well as
ending them at the precise time. The discussion
carried on for so long that I became anxious and the
bean'swife tried to attract her husband's attention.
But there was no response.I picked up Swamiji's
shawl tohand to him, giving the hint that it was time
to go into the hall.But no! It did not work! At last, at
five past eight (the lecture being at 8) Swamiji rose
and went into the hall along with the bean and his
wife.There was a strong lesson here, "bon't push me
around!"But his manner was just as loving as ever!

THE YA JNA (FZRE CEREiMONY)

As I was badly burnt as a child,I was wary of
firefor many years. But during a yajna for a special
ceremony I suddenly felt such a warm affinit y with
the fire that I felt myself enjoying the close
encounter with it.Perhaps I was getting too close to
itas I suddenly became aware of Swamiji's complete
attentionfocused on me as if to protect me or stop
me from gettingany closer.
To i l lustrate h o w S w amiji k e p t e v e r ything
together I recallthat at one of those powerful fire
ceremonies one of the devotees passed out for a few
minutes,perhaps she went into a trance. On arriving
home Swamiji t o o k t h e r e s ponsibility o f t hi s
52
happeningonto himself, for on returning home he
said, "I just took my attention away from her for one
second!"

THE BrareOAV
We have always celebrated Swamiji' s birthday.
On one such occasion, friends and devotees gathered
at our home for lunch. I thought that this would be a
splendidopportunity for us all to greet him on the
phone. With much excitement everyone wished him.
When I took over the phone, he surprised me by
saying, "Oh, it all looks so beautiful."

ALSAYS NADE SELCONE

Mr. GopiMunsook, his sister Phyllis Reddy and
her husband Christiemoved from the little house in
Salt River with a tiny prayer room attached to a
doublestorey house in Rylands. Just as everyone was
made welcome in the Salt River house despite its
small size, so the doors were always opened in
Rylands.
When Swamiji stayed there we attended the
religious functions and wonderful meals provided by
Phyllis.
 They toldus about how they were blessed with a
son anddaughter. One day Swamiji turned to Phyllis
Reddy and said, "Would you not like to have a child?"
She was too shy to answer but Swamiji knew that the
couple had waited in vain for twelve years for a
family. So Swamiji said, "You have the wrong names.
You shouldbe called Lakshmi and Narayana." This was
amazing because Swamijihad never been told that
Phylli
s was named Lakshmi at birth but did not use
the name. Nothing more was said untilthe eve of
Swamiji's departure.
Then Swamiji gave Lakshmi some butter mixed
withsugar candy and told her to repeat the thousand
names of the bivine Mother.Eleven months later a
fine son was born to Lakshmi. A few years later
Swamiji performed the same little ritual and Lakshmi
had a lovelydaughter the following year. Such was
Swamiji's grace.

PLACE OF HONOUR
In the earlyyears Swamiji also stayed at the
sumptuous home of the late Mr. S.J. Patel. Huge
crowds used to gather there and were always made
welcome. At a satsang in honour of Mr. Patel' s
birthday Swamiji tried to persuade his host to sit in
the comfortable easy-chair provided for himself.
When Mr. Patelhumbly refused, Swamiji fetched a

54
huge and heavy chairfrom across the room and
placed itnext to his.Thus Mr. Patel was obliged to sit
inthe place of honour.
Years later at another home in Rylands I was
given a seat next to Swamiji.The chairs were on a
raised platform. I muttered that I didn't want to sit
up there, feeling that only Swamiji should be sitting
there. Swamiji wheeled round, looked me straight in
the eyes and said,"bo you think I do?"

FASTINS
Swamiji seemed to really enjoy fasting. Each
year in January when the grapes were ripe and
plentiful
,he would fast for at least three weeks. He
alsofasted every Thursday. We both went on a three
week grapefast one year, beginning the day following
a rich and bountiful meal with I n dian f r iends. We
broke the fast in the same way that we began it by
goingto the same friends again for a delicious meal.
Afterwards Swamijiremarked that we survived this
fast without the usual preparations of cleansing, etc.
beforehand. I silently thought that it was all
Swamiji's grace. On another occasion when Swamiji
stayed elsewhere, I fasted on grapes without telling
anyone.After ten days he told me to give up my fast!!!
I suppose Swamijinoticed that I had lost weight.
Swamiji told me that i t w o rried him to see people
55
grow thin,as so many in India look like that when they
contractTuberculosis.

THE PEACOCK FEA THERS

The mountainsidehad many animals free to roam
on it and exotic birds, including peacocks. The locals
used to collect these feathers and make them into
dustersto sell.So when one day I saw a few peacock
feathers on Swamiji's table, I picked them up and
began todust some of the items on his table. Swamiji
quietlytold me that Baba Muktananda had given them
to him! Baba Muktananda was a great Siddhi
(perfectedYogi)with amazing psychic power. He gave
darshan (blessing) to many hundreds of people by
merely touching each with a peacock feather,
transferringhis shakti, psychic energy. Swamiji was
very fond of him. Imagine my embarrassment, using
the sancti
fied peacock feathers as a duster!We kept
them formany years in the shrine.

ASRPORT APARTHEZD
Years ago there were no security sections at the
airport. We were able to sit together in the non-
European restaurant for the last few moments. On
one suchoccasion on a particularly cold and windy day
we huddledtogether around Swamiji.

56
 An airwaysofficialcame up and said, "This is for
Coloureds only." "Oh, but it's so cold and windy
outside,"appealed Swamiji."Coloureds only," repeated
the man asthough they were the only two words he
knew.
So, muttering furiously and f eeling terribly
humiliated that our beloved and revered Guru should
have been spoken to in that way, we filed outside. Of
course Swamiji came out with us.
The amazing end to this little anecdote was at
the finalgate to the plane (in those days we were
allowed toaccompany passengers to that point).As
Swamiji walked past this same official, he gently
patted him on the shoulder and smiled kindly at him
as though to say, "I know it'snot your fault." The
expressionflitting across the face of this man was
firstlyone of stunned amazement, then disbelief and
lastly,did one detect a glimpse of remorse? It could
be thatSwamiji had broken yet another barrier!

80 8REEN
An elderly lady used to regularly attend the
meditation sessions in the small meditation room.
Usually arriving a little late, she always created a
slightdisturbance (of course this should not bother
an experiencedmeditator,should it?) She refused to

57
take off her shoes, which might have been because of
the diffi
culty in reaching them, as she was very large!
She always wore a 'mac' which crackled when she
moved (of course,one's meditation should not be
disturbed by such small distractions!!!).
O ne day shesaid that she had some wool left
over from a garment and that she would like to knit
Swamiji a jersey with it. We heard about this for a
long time.
Eventuall
y she came to give the finished product
to Swamiji. I was in t h e Yoga room when Swamiji
called me, soI hurried to his room. It was evident
that Swamijiwanted me to be present for the fitting.
He pulledthe jersey over his clothes. It was bright
green and about two sizes too small!To be honest
Swamiji looked like a green sausage! Not wishing to
hurt her feeli ngs, Swamiji graciously thanked her.
She lefta very happy lady! This was another lesson
for me in acceptance, graciousness and humility.
Swamijioften wore the clothes which were given
to him for a day or maybe more, then gave them to
some deservingdevotee. They were probably not worn
but treasured for the rest of the devotee's li fe as
they were then impregnated with Swamiji's shakti.
I wonder whoreceived the green jersey?

58
 LrKE rHELO~VEs ~NDFrsHEs
Tara Gihwala performed wonderful seva. She
used to cook wonderful meals on Monday mornings.
She worked at her brother-in-law Mr. Gihwala's
warehouse in Rylands and used to get the driver to
deliverthe food. Imagine at relaxation time towards
the end of the classthe delicious aroma of the
Eastern meal penetrating the Yoga room! A very
tough test for the students to rise above the
temptationsof the senses and to keep their minds on
higher planes!!!
One evening a few students and friends were
invited to attend supper prepared by Taraben,
assistedby her dear friend Chanchen Ranchod. We
spread acloth on the floor of the Yoga room to seat
about twelvepeople. On that particular evening more
and more peoplearrived, perhaps hoping to catch a
glimpse of Swamijibefore the lecture. Of course
they werealloffered a meal. I did not count just how
many we fed. Tara herself could not understand how
the mealstretched so far.

rHE 6eE~rEsr BLEssrNS

The greatest blessing is to have a Guru. It may
take many years or even incarnations before the
seeds fructifywhich the Guru plants in our hearts.

59
But the process itself i s f i l led wit h wonderment.
There isso much to learn, so much more than the
mind can ever dream of or im agine.
One thingthat I observed was that on Swamiji's
arrivaleveryone's face lit up.But after seeing him off
at the airport, it looked as though someone had
switched off the light. This was the general
impression.I determined there and then that I would
keep the lightwhich he had ignited in my heart
forever burning brightly. Yes! Yes! Yes!

BESrNNSVS OF NEW ~SHR~N

To consolidate the many years of work at
'Ananda Kutir'it became necessary to form the
'Ananda Kutir Yoga Association and Trust' (now
'AnandaKutirAshrama') in order to build a permanent
ashram.
For many yearsI had felt the need to have a
placewhere Yoga could be practised and lived; a place
which wasa home to allwho were keen to take part in
allthe Yoga activities. Swami Parvathiananda shared
this vision.
Our Guru discouraged anyone from doing
somethingwith a view to pleasing him or any other. So
at first he was non-commital.But when he realised
that we were serious,he gave us the first donation
and agreed to be Patron.
60
 Swami Parvathiananda and I were the trustees
with a smallcommittee of good friends. Keen and
supportive students became members and paid a
yearlyfee. Some even became Life Members which
meant making a substantial donation. I would like to
make special mention of Moira Henderson, bi
Andrews, Margery Mitchelland Mig Freitag. Apart
from the importance of the financial help, we were
gratefulthat Swamiji and these friends had faith in
us! bi still comes to Hatha Yoga classes!
For oneyear the Yoga activities continued at the
old Mitra Hall t hanks to t h e Shri Kshatriya Hindu
Mitra MandalSociety.
The Ananda Kutir Yoga Association began to
produce a bi - monthly Y oga m agazine. Swami
Parvathianandaproduced this for many years assisted
by Tina.Tina also helped her with the printing when
we used the multilith 1250 offset printing press
which Swami Parvathiananda learnt to use in the
Perth Ashram,Australia.
This kept the members informed of the Yoga
activities and later the building progress.
bue to Supreme Grace a piece of land was
acquired in a newly developing area. Andrew
Sutherlandlent us the money to pay for the land for
which he never asked interest,though we paid him
back only two years later.
 How surprised we were to discoverafterwards
that itwas the same road into which Swamis Sushila
and Venkataramani had just moved! When Swami
Sushilaspoke to Swamiji about it in Johannesburg,
mentioning what a coincidence it was, he replied, "It
was not c oincidence, it w a s b i vine i ntervention."
Robert Macleod did allthe legal transactions for us
free ofcharge. He also manned the bulldozer loaned
to usby John Lilley,husband of our good friend Joan.
Brother Munsook, aleading figure in the Hindu
community,gathered his friends together to collect
matching finance. This enabled us to obtain a bond
for the buil ding. It also formed a bond of lasting
friendshipwith these wonderful people. When I told
Swamiji this, he delightedly said, "Good old Munsook."
About ayear before, Swamiji had told us to look
for anewly developing area. This made us wonder, as
these were usuallymiles out of town. However this
piece of land was a stone's throw away and it all
fitted inwith what we had envisioned. So the Trusts
worked side by side,the Chiltern Yoga Trust being
responsiblefor the book publications and the centre
for conducting classes. As Swamiji once said,
"Together wewalk alone. Alone we walk together."

Thanks to an excellent architect and friend,

Theo Moekli,and a most sympathetic and wonderful

62
Muslim builder, the new 'Ananda Kutir' was finished in
record time. This coincided with the completion of
the Vishnu Temple in Gatesville.
Swamijihad agreed to be present at the opening
of both centres,but this was not to be! Two days
before the arranged time, Swamiji attained
Mahasamadhi on 2"4 becember 1982. The day before
he had sent via a friend, Robin Featherstone, a large
quantityof Prasad especiall
y for the opening of our
centre.
We all felt his presence very strongly at the
openingof Ananda Kutir and also at the prayers for
him at the temple in Gatesvill
e. In fact he was
everywherewhere love for him flowed.
 THE LAST kYORD
Swami Sushil ananda was in Johannesburg when
Swamiji took Mahasamadhi. A few days later she was
asked to give a lecture. In her talk she spoke of
Swamiji a s t he la te Sw a m i V e nkatesananda.
Immediately a voice in her head said, "I was never
late!"
Swamiji said that while Gurudev was alive, there
was God and there was Gurudev. And when Gurudev
took Mahasamadhi,there was only God.
I used to think of Swamiji and Gurudev as
separate but now it really feels that wherever
Gurudev is, there is Swamiji, his beloved disciple and
our Guru...
M ay we alwaysbe grateful for the blessings in
thislife and never, ever forget them.
Swamiji spoke so much of Gurudev and so
beautifull
y that it almost seemed as though we also
knew him. Now that Swamiji is no longer with us in
physicalform, one cannot help feeling closer to
Gurudev,the two having become one.

64
Installed murthi of Lord Venkatesa Franz, Heidi and Vanessa posing
wherethe Yoga room was going to
be built in Alma Road Rosebank

Yg

Swamijion Franz's bike

Swamiji giving a piggy-back to my
son Franz

65
 Phyllis Reddy with Swami Chidanan-
daji, Brother Munsook and Mr. Patel

Swamiji with Mr. Chavda, close

devotee and chairperson of Divine
Life Society — Cape Town

Our Meditation Group

66
 Photo taken at the Chiltern Farm

Swamiji and John Koopman at Chiltern Farm

67
Swamiji with Brother Munsook (Cape Town Hindu Priest) at a
Durga Puj a Ceremony in Rylands

with Ernie, Swami Chidanandaji and Franzin

front

68
 with Muriel and Swamiji

Back lefi Swami Sushilananda with Swamiji

Front - Swami Ananda (then Girdalal) with Bill Thomas

69
Swamiji and the Dean of UCT, Dr Duminy

Swamiji with devotees at Cape Town Airport

70
Jaya andSwami Hridayananda - afarewell atthe
ai rport

with Ananda and Swami'i

71
Swamiji with the funny sun-hat
Swamiji with my mother

c
<u I

Swami'i with devotees at the Bloublommet'ies Farm

72
 Janaki, Swamiji and Heidi

Family andj i ends with Swamiji

 u

Left front - Muriel, and Janaki and Padmavathi back

right

I
«P

Last photo taken of Swamiji in Johannesbsurg withjom left Swami

Sushilananda, Valerie Davidson and Ananda

74
with Arabella Koopman, Swamjti and Mr Palsania — light supper before
satsang

Betty and John Koopman

75
My father and mother Mother cooking chilli bites

The Kassens with Swamiji

76
 The Beginnings of
Ananda Kutir Ashrama
78
 Logo ofAnanda Kutir Ashrama created by Laurel
Zahn forSwami Venkatesananda

with Swami Parvathiananda (then known as Irene),1982

79
 Yoga Camp Elgin 1981

'Vsv vt VV

at a committee meeting with Front row - Irene (Swami Parvathianandah Tara,

Andrew, Robert, Theo, Tina
Back row - loan and Charles

80
with Robert, Peter, Irene (Swami Parvathiananda), Franz and Tina at the newly
acquiredland in Rondebosch East for the present ashram

t
)
4»

with Tara, Irene (Swami Parvathiananda), Sylvia, Rob, Clare, Tina and
Natividade at the Blessing Ceremony of the Foundations

81
THE YEARS THA T FOLLOS'ED
 M any yearshave passed since the opening of this
Ashram.Many friends have come and gone, and many
are stil
lwith us.Th e energy of our Guru and the Holy
Beingswho have blessed this place make ittrue to its
name, Ananda Kutir,Abode of Bliss.It is also a happy
placefor children,who are always made welcome. This
includesmy grandchildren (now grown-up) who loved
to play in the cottage garden and whose birthdays
were celebrated here.
Now we have the Ashram children who come to
Satsangsand Yoga days. Many came intheir mothers'
arms. We are happy to hear that they too feel this is
theirhome. And now a new generation is coming.
with my children from left - Peter, Franz and Vanessa, front Heidi

with my son Peter and wife Isla

84
my grandchildren from left - Faye, Ella, Kai on Sara's lap and Dylan sitting on
Candice's lap

ra

my grandchildren from left front - Kai, Ella and Dylan

Back - Faye (holding Melissa) and Sara

85
 s.g~

'•

my grandchildren Kai and Ella

with Joke, Isla my daughter-in-law and

grandchildrenSara, Ella and Faye

86
 with Swami Parvathiananda

• 4p

rs

I
with Swamis Shankarananda, Parvathiananda and Sushilananda

87
with Clare Fenton, Joke Spij ker and Joan Lilley

1f

Ivan Agherdine

88
v

with Swami Parvathiananda

h
1e.

Ivan teaching at Masincedane Clinic KTC

89
Blessing Ceremonyof the Sivananda Pillar by Sri Narasimhulu

90
 Swami Vidyananda and Vijay, our
Ashram babyShivesh with Deonath music master

Wednesday Sandwich makers -Pat,P ramilla,Jill,Joan, Barbara, Sue and

Rosemary

91
 SV RETROSPECT
We thinkthat we are alone but that is never the
case. There is an invisible thread connecting us with
God. As long as we are unable to realize this, the
teachers,the friends and the right books come into
our hands. When the time is ripe,then the Guru
makes his/her appearance.
What a blessing! No matter how many more
years orlives it takes to know the truth, to become
Self-Reali
sed, may we always remain aware of our
connectionwith the Guru.
Hari Om Tat Sat

92