Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Dear Geetha We are forwarding your message to our list and we are sure someone on our list will be able to give you the information you seek............jay Vivekananda Centre London -----------------Information requested - Geetha Arumugam geetha04 vivekananda Monday, April 05, 2004 04:42 Questions: Inspired Talk Pranams. Currently I'm reading through a book entitled " Inspired Talk " . While reading through the Chapter entitled " My Master " by M.C.F., it was stated that Swamiji was enquiring the author about a lady disciple who later work hand in hand with Sister Nivedita to form the school for girls/women in India. As such, I humbly would like to seek kind indulgence of the gurubhais and/or gurubhaginis browsing through this mail to assist me to clear the following doubts which keeps lingering in my mind as I'm still at my infancy stage:- (1) The identity of the lady disciple refered to by M.C.F in the said chapter; and (2) The identity of M.C.F him/herself and brief information about her/him. Thanks and with pranams. Geetha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Reply received on 'Inspired talks' - Gayatriprana Vivekananda Centre Monday, April 05, 2004 05:16 Re: Questions: Inspired Talk Dear Geetha, I am not sure which version of Inspired Talks you are reading. The versions I have seen do not contain the information you mention. However, I am quite sure that the M.C.F you refer to is Mrs. Mary C. Funke, a lady from Detroit who arrived at Thousand Island Park with her friend Christina Greenstidel near the beginning of Swamiji's stay there in the summer of 1895. Mrs Funke and Christina had attended the swami's lectues in Detroit the year previously and were so attracted to him that they decided to come to Thousand Island Park, even without an invitation. Swamiji was delighted to see them and they became part of the " family " he had gathered around him. You can get more information about Mrs Funke in Marie Louise Burke's (Sister Gargi) books on Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries. Thousand Island Park is discussed in Volume 3, where quite a bit about Mrs Funke has been unearthed by Gargi. She was a little older than Christine and Swamiji and played the role of mother to both of them. She was rather mature and was able to give Swamiji the freedom to be spontaneous and his playful self, so he loved her very much. Another source you might want to look at is Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda published by Advaita Ashrama. There you will find Mrs Funke's reminiscences in full, and also those of Christina herself. Christina is the woman who answered Swamiji's call and went, several years later, to India to work with Nivedita as Sister Christine. Swamiji was very close to her and confided in her many things one does not see anywhere else. In particular, Christine was struck by Swamiji's search for the woman who could educate and raise the women of India. She draws a pen portrait of him at Thousand Island Park, almost madly on fire to find the woman who had the intelligence, education and character to take up the work that was so close to his heart. He told his close disciples of how he had met several women who at first he thought might be the person he was looking for, but all of them failed in one respect or another. Mrs Funke was there also, of course, and I think it must be in her reminiscences that she mentions this part of Swamiji's work. As a very close friend of Christine, she was deeply interested in what happened later, when her friend took the momentous step of going to India from her traditional, Germain-American home. At that time, of course, Swamiji had not yet met Sister Nivedita. He would meet her a few months after his stay at Thousand Island Park. While he recognized her stature and ability, he made her wait nearly three years before coming to India. The rest is well-known history. It is interesting to see through Christine and Mrs Funke's eyes Swamiji's search for Nivedita and the intensity with which it was carried out. With best wishes, Gayatriprana - -----------------Information requested Questions: Inspired Talk Pranams. Currently I'm reading through a book entitled " Inspired Talk " . While reading through the Chapter entitled " My Master " by M.C.F., it was stated that Swamiji was enquiring the author about a lady disciple who later work hand in hand with Sister Nivedita to form the school for girls/women in India. As such, I humbly would like to seek kind indulgence of the gurubhais and/or gurubhaginis browsing through this mail to assist me to clear the following doubts which keeps lingering in my mind as I'm still at my infancy stage:- (1) The identity of the lady disciple refered to by M.C.F in the said chapter; and (2) The identity of M.C.F him/herself and brief information about her/him. Thanks and with pranams. Geetha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Message from Swami Yogeshananda - " Swami Yogeshananda " <yogeshananda " Vivekananda Centre " <vivekananda Monday, April 05, 2004 09:45 Re: Fw: Questions: Inspired Talk > Dear Geetha, > Mary C. Funke is the name you are looking for. She was Sister Christine's > best friend and was with her when they met Swamiji. The Sister was Sister > Nivedita's close associate in operating the girls' school. You will find > information about Mrs. Funke in the Introduction to INSPIRED TALKS > published by Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, India. and in the book SWAMI > VIVEKANANDA IN THE WEST: New Discoveries, Part 1, His Prophetic Mission. > See the Index. > Swami Yogeshananda > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 > > > (1) The identity of the lady disciple refered to by M.C.F in the said chapter; and > > (2) The identity of M.C.F him/herself and brief information about her/him. > Namaste, M.C.F. were the initials of Mary Caroline Funke, of Detroit (Michigan,USA). There are numerous references to her in all the 6 volumes of Mary Louise Burke's " Swami Vivekananda in the West. " Regards, Sunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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