Our Guru Lineage
As an Ashram and spiritual fellowship, we are a part of the family tree of the great Master, Paramhansa Yogananda.
Yogananda’s vision for brotherhood colonies, or Spiritual Villages, is our spiritual heritage, inspiration, and joy – not merely because He spoke of this, but because this immortal ideal is rooted in the universal truth and purpose of being a human, as designed by the Creator of all.
As the brothers and sisters of Camano, we continue the guru-disciple lineage of Yogananda, stemming from Jesus Christ of the West, and the deathless Master Babaji of the East; From Babaji to his disciple, the great Kriya Yoga Master, Lahiri Mahasya; to his disciple, a Guru of Wisdom, Sri Yukteswarji; to Yukteswar’s foremost disciple, Yogananda, a great Guru of Love, who came to America in 1920 as a shared mission from all of the above.
This lineage took birth in the Pacific Northwest through Yogacharya Mildred “Mother” Hamilton, a direct disciple of Yogananda, who Realized and taught the essence of Christ, and the universal way of the Cross. Before her Mahasamadhi, on Jan 31, 1991, she passed her mantle onto Yogacharya David Hickenbottom, her disciple and a contemporary Master of our times, and of Camano Island, whose own Mahasamadhi was on Aug 12, 2019.
Today this lineage continues, through those who are yet called to serve one another in that highest culmination of all relationships: the Guru-Disciple friendship.
At the Ashram we do not have a formal, organizational model, but rather we operate on the natural-person, friendship model. If you would like to know us, learn more about our life, or if we can assist you in any way with your spiritual journey, we simply ask that you reach out, in the timeless spirit of friendship.
Beyond our immediate Lineage, we also keep the company of countless patron Saints of inspiration.
Saint Francis and Saint Clare are perhaps our primary models for leading a life of reformation and devotion, both on the inside and the outside, in Italy of the 1200’s.
Saint John of the Cross and Saint Theresa of Avila, likewise, balanced incredible work of leading outer reforms, with inner transformation, in the 1500’s of Spain.
Masanobu Fukuoka is perhaps our most revered guru of God’s green earth – applying his realization to actual farming methods and the timeless human-relationship to Nature as God.
Abraham Lincoln, George Washington Carver, and Luther Burbank fill our halls as our most beloved American Saints.
Mother Mary, Papa Ramdas, and Mataji Krishnabai of Anandashram in Kerala, India, also deserve mention as true models and guides for how to love and serve God in one another.
Suffice to say, we love all Saints. We don’t adhere to sectarian separatism, which Yogananda called churchianity. To be at the ashram, is to be dedicated wholly to the Quest and Vision of God, within and without.
May all be inspired by the lives of all true Masters and Saints as we continue to be.
