About the Contributors

(In their own words)

 

Karl Bareither, a long-time student of spirituality, recognizes Swami Aseshananda as a significant teacher who changed lives through his own example.  Karl’s meeting with Swami is described in “Managing Our Priorities,” American Vedantist, Fall 2003.  Karl, a businessman, resides in Avila Beach, CA.  

 

Ray Berry and his wife Sonja have been associated with the Vedanta Society of New York since the 1960s. Later, the family resided adjacent to the Olema, CA Vedanta retreat, and Ray was also a regular visitor at the Trabuco, CA monastery. He is the author of The Spiritual Athlete: A Primer for the Inner Life.

 

Ron Bartlett, composer, percussionist, film sound mixer, first met Swami Aseshananda in Hollywood in 1985 and visited him several times in Portland.  Ron credits Swami Aseshananda with insightfully guiding him to find his guru, Swami Swahananda.  A member of the Hollywood center from 1986, Ron has composed music for DVD projects and serves in various sound-related capacities.

 

Pravrajika Brahmaprana has been a nun at the Vedanta Society of Southern California since January 1973.  At present she is residing at the Vedanta Convent in Hollywood and helping with the Vedanta work at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas in Dallas.

 

Swami Brahmarupananda is an independent monk in the Ramakrishna tradition. Initiated by Swami Bhashyananda, he has been a resident of the Vedanta Center in Silver Spring, MD, since its inception.

 

Alan Boyce, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda, lived in Portland between 1973 and

1977.  Swami’s exemplary life, guidance, and personal instructions continue to inspire

Alan’s spiritual pursuit. Alan and his wife, Sylvia, now reside near Toronto, Canada.

 

Vimukta Chaitanya is a monk of the Vedanta Society of San Francisco, California. 

 

Esha Ray Chaudhuri, Ph.D., was introduced to Swami Aseshananda by the revered monk of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Ranganathananda, whom she had known from her childhood days in New Delhi, India. A disciple of Swami Aseshananda since 1979, Esha lives with her family in Calgary, Canada.

 

Robert Collins, Ed.D, and his late wife Julie began attending the Portland center in approximately 1955, and Robert served on the board for about a decade.   Robert, a retired professor of biology, resides in Portland.

 

Bert Cornick, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda from 1978, had almost daily contact with Swami through 1996.   Bert served the Portland center as treasurer from 1983 to

2001.

 

Swami Damodarananda, Resident Monk of the Vedanta Society of Perth, Australia, first met Swami Aseshananda in 1940 while a student in Madras (Chennai). He met Swami for a second time at the 1987 Vedanta Convention held in Ganges, Michigan, and later in Portland.

 

Dharmadas (Jon Monday), a disciple of Swami Prabhavananda, made pilgrimages to Portland to visit and videotape Swami Aseshananda for the last 15 years of Swami's life.  

 

Mike Di Feo, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda, attended the San Francisco Vedanta center and visited Swami Aseshananda several times between about 1989 and Swami's passing.  

 

Sarah Dorsey resides in Portland, OR. and was initiated by Swami Aseshananda in 1974 while a college student. 

 

Fae Dougan began her association with Swami Aseshananda in 1955 and was among the first disciples he initiated.  Fae contributed this reminiscence on the occasion of her 100th birthday celebration.

 

Graza Doyle, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda, began attending the Portland Vedanta center in 1974.  Born in Poland, Graze moved to the United States in 1964, raised a family, worked in the corporate world, and owned her own business.  She currently lives in Hawaii.

 

Vera Edwards, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda, began her association with Swami in

1955.  She resided in Holy Mother’s House for two decades and remains a supporter of

the Portland center.

 

Barbara Elsasser was initiated by Swami Aseshananda after spending eighteen years at Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, Ramagiri Ashram.   Living in the Sarada Devi house for the last ten years of Swami’s life, she saw Swami twice daily and felt irrevocably blessed.  

 

Fontaine Epler (Santi), a disciple of Swami Sarvagatananda, spent five weeks at Belur Math during the presidency of His Holiness Shrimat Swami Vireswaranandaji, lived and worked at the Ganges monastery for two and one half years during the lifetime of Swami Bhashyananda, and is an Associate of the Episcopal Order of St. Anne.

 

Richard F. Epstein, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda and writer on religion, visited

Swami Aseshananda numerous times over a twenty-year period.  

 

Carmen Farmer (previously Jackie Farmer), a disciple of Swami Aseshananda since

1979, resided in the Portland center’s women residences for nearly a decade.  She works

for the National Indian Child Welfare Association in Portland, OR.  

 

James Ferguson, MD, attended Swami Aseshananda at the Vedanta Society of Portland for the last eighteen months of Swami’s life.  Dr. Ferguson spoke at Swami’s memorial service.

 

Eric Foster, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda since 1974, lived as a candidate for the monastery first at the Scappoose retreat, then in the Portland center until 1979.  He also resided in the Berkeley Vedanta center, at that time led by Swami Swananda.   He currently lives in San Francisco and works as a software engineer.

 

Kathe Fradkin, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda, has been a Vedanta devotee in Southern California and Portland for over thirty years.  She also served as a Sunday school teacher at the Portland center for over a decade.

 

Gayatriprana  (Dr.  Jean  MacPhail),  formerly  a  member  of  the  convents  in  San Francisco and Hollywood for a total of thirty years, began her association with the Ramakrishna Order in 1969 at the New York Vedanta Society under the direction of Swami Pavitrananda.

Robert  Geib,  a  disciple  of  Swami  Prabhavananda,  visited  Swami  Aseshananda numerous times from 1976 through 1994.

 

Swami Harananda, a monk at the Vedanta Center of Portland, maintained a continuous association with Swami Aseshananda, his guru, from 1955 through 1996.

 

Jane Wintermute Gille first met Swami Aseshananda in 1968 and continued a 30-year association with him. In her volunteer work with seniors and hospice patients, Jane strives to remember Swami’s example of always being as present as possible.

 

Pat Harris and her husband Jim Harris, disciples of Swami Aseshananda, began their association with the Portland center in 1972.  Pat taught at the children’s Sunday school for many years.

 

LeNoir Kali Hayward and her husband Harold, disciples of Swami Aseshananda from 1974, resided in the Portland area.

 

Jane Harrison-Hohner first met Swami Aseshananda in 1971.  Initiated in 1983, Jane has been a nurse practitioner and member of the Vedanta Society of Portland since that time.

 

Terrance Hohner, a student of Swami Aseshananda since 1982, served on the board of the Vedanta Society of Portland for two decades.  Trained as an optometric physician, Terrance is currently compiling Swami’s teachings for publication and creating multi- media presentations on various aspects of Vedanta philosophy.

 

Alex S. Johnson, the son of long-time Vedanta devotees, became a disciple of Swami Aseshananda in 1986.  A professor and author, Alex resides in the Los Angeles area.

 

Bessie Keens, a disciple of Swami Prabhavananda, lived in one of the women’s residences  belonging  to  the  Portland  Vedanta  center  for  approximately  three  years during the 1980s.

 

Alice Levine, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda from 1970, lived in both women’s residences belonging to the Portland Vedanta center for a total of twelve years.  She currently lives in Santa Barbara, CA, where she works as a senior corporate accountant.

 

Thomas Lifschutz, daughter Rose, and son Andy first came to the Portland Vedanta society  around  1990.    They  have  always  cherished  the  teachings  of  Vedanta,  the company of the swamis and devotees, the temple, and the Scappoose retreat.

 

Sandra (Raley) Longmore, artist, teacher, and disciple of Swami Aseshananda, resided in Holy Mother’s House with her first child for seven years during the 1970s. Sandra cites Swami’s spiritual perspective and approach to daily life as an ongoing reminder of the higher ways of approaching her day-to-day life.  Sandra and husband Tom reside in Washougal, WA.  

 

Gale Loof, Ph.D, has been a disciple of Swami Aseshananda since the early 1980s.  She lives in Malibu, CA, where she devotes her time to caring for her elderly mother and playing with her grandchildren.

 

Swami Manishananda is a monk at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington and lives at the Society’s retreat 45 miles north of Seattle.

 

Gisela Manley began her association with Swami Aseshananda in 1962 as the child of devotees Ingrid and Keith Voget.   Initiated in 1986, Gisela describes her ongoing connection with Vedanta as life-enriching beyond measure.  Gisela resides in Redding, CA.

 

Mataji Gauribrata Puri Devi is President and Spiritual Leader of the spiritual headquarters of Sri Saradeshwari Ashram, known as "Mothers Trust Mission Ashram," serving women and children in Ganges, USA and India since 1973.

 

Doug Meddaugh and his wife Priscilla Meddaugh, disciples of Swami Aseshananda, began their long association with the Portland Center in 1971.  Priscilla served as a Sunday school teacher there for over 20 years.

 

Charlie K. (Krishnadas) and Sita Mitchell are disciples of Swami Prabhavananda. They visited Swami Aseshananda annually for about twenty years.  Charlie is the vice- president and general counsel of the Vedanta Society of Southern California.

 

Anna Monday (Urvasi) has been a member of a Vedanta Society, depending on where her husband’s career took them, since 1970.

 

Doretha  Stuart  Moore,  a  disciple  of  Swami  Aseshananda,  lived  at  the  Vedanta

Society’s retreat and women’s residence, and was active at the center between 1974 and

1989.

 

Michael D. Morrow (Vijnana), a monastic disciple of Swami Swahananda, resided in the Portland Vedanta monastery from 1978-1980.   His subsequent professional life included teaching ecologically-oriented landscape architecture and urban planning.  His writings include Ecological Design Criteria and Non-Dualism, A New Experiment in Living (A Regenerative Model for Personal, Inter-personal and Ecosystem Transfor- mation).

 

Sreemati Mukherjee, Ph.D, is a Reader in the Department of English at Basanti Devi College, Kolkata.  In addition to numerous academic articles, she has also published in Prabuddha Bharata, American Vedantist, and the Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture.

 

Bill Parmenter, Ph.D, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda from 1977, visited Swami for extended stays through about 1990.  A teacher of English and previously professor of journalism, Bill currently is affiliated with the Hollywood Vedanta Center.

 

Bill Pearson, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda, resides in Eastern Washington.

 

  Marlina Rinzen first met Swami Aseshananda in the early 1950s when he served as 
  assistant minister of the Vedanta Society o f Southern California. She also visited him 
  several times at the Vedanta Center in Portland Oregon after he had assumed 
  leadership there. Swami Aseshananda continued to be a spiritual friend to Marlina 
  throughout his life.

 

  Mikele Rauch, disciple of Swami Asheshananda from 1980, is a psychotherapist and   

  a writer living in Boston.

 

Marina Sanderson  and  her  husband  James  Sanderson,  disciples  of  Swami Aseshananda, began their association with the Portland Center in 1958 and lived at the Scappoose retreat for approximately two decades.   Marina continued her contact with Swami until 1996 and contributed to this collection at age 90.

 

Pravrajika Sevaprana, a disciple of Swami Prabhavananda, lived in Holy Mother’s House, Portland, for a year before entering the San Francisco convent in 1976 and received brahmacharaya vows from Swami Aseshananda.  She lived and worked in the Ramakrishna Mission Sevashram in Varanasi, India.

 

Joan Shack, a Vedantist in the Ramakrishna tradition since 1979, was initiated by Pravrajika Mokshapranaji of Sri Sarada Math.  Joan co-founded the Sri Sarada Society as a nonprofit organization in 1992.

 

Ken Shores began attending the Vedanta Society of Portland in 1957 and was initiated by Swami Aseshananda shortly thereafter.   Ken is highly regarded for his innovative work in the field of ceramics.  

 

Barbara Smith, a disciple of Swami Bhaskarananda, saw Swami Aseshananda in Portland and Seattle several times beginning in the early 1980s. A long-time member of the Vedanta Society of Western Washington, Barbara is also dedicated to supporting the work of women Vedantists in the West.

 

Gopal Stavig is the Vedanta Historian at the Vedanta Society of Southern California.

 

Ralph Stuart, a disciple of Swami Prabhavananda, visited Swami Aseshananda numerous times between 1974 until shortly before Swami's passing.  Ralph considers Swami Aseshananda his secondary guru.

 

Mary Tamraz (Archana) became a disciple in 1974 of Swami Shraddhananda, the minister-in-charge of the Vedanta Society of Sacramento, and continues to be an active member of the center.

 

Swami Tathagatananda, spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of New York, first met Swami Aseshananda at the Portland center in 1977.  They subsequently met many times at Vedanta centers and functions in the United States.  

 

Coral Tilton, daughter of Portland center members Julie and Bob Collins, considers herself “born into” Vedanta.  She began her life’s experience with Swami Aseshananda in 1958, when Swami came to bless her arrival on the day of her birth. She currently resides in Trout Lake, Washington with her husband Dave. They have one daughter, Brittany.

 

Swami Vedananda, a senior monk at the Vedanta Society of Northern California, first met Swami Aseshananda in 1972 and received Brahmacharya vows from him in 1980.

 

Ingrid Voget lived in Germany during World War II and after immigrating to the U.S. began attending the Portland Vedanta society in 1959.  All five members of the Voget family were initiated by Swami Aseshananda.  Ingrid currently lives in Hawaii.

 

Keith Voget, a disciple of Swami Aseshananda, began attending Vedanta center in 1959. All five members of his family were initiated by Swami.  Keith currently lives in Yreka, CA.

 

Esther  Warkov,  Ph.D,  initiated  by  Swami  Aseshananda  in  1975  while  a  college student, regards Swami Aseshananda as the most precious influence in her life.  A member of the Vedanta Society of Western Washington, she resided in Portland with her husband and younger daughter from 2006-2009.

 

Swami Yogeshananda was a novice at the Trabuco Canyon monastery when Swami Aseshananda was assistant minister and “novice master” for the monks.