Dilip-da and his friend Yogi Krishnaprem

When Dilip Roy was staying in Lucknow in 1923, he met a young English Professor named Ronald Nixon and they instantly became very close friends. Nixon had a deep love of spirituality and specially of Lord Krishna. When he took initiation from his spiritual Mother, he received the name Krishnaprem. Krishnaprem became a great devotee and Sri Aurobindo appreciated him highly. Sri Aurobindo said his third eye was open and he had all kinds of spiritual marks.

Dilip-da and Krishnaprem exchanged numerous letters over the years. And when Dilip-da's love and devotion disappeared, Krishnaprem used to scold him and force him to get back his love for Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. He was a true, divine friend. He came only once to the Ashram, in November 1948.

Dilip-da brought Krishnaprem for Darshan Day. On that day, we young boys had to carry the shoes of two thousand disciples from the entrance to the exit. Disciples entered into the main Meditation Hall, and from there they went upstairs. I happened to be near the exit and I saw both of them go upstairs.

Both of them had red tilaks on their foreheads and they were wearing japa beads. Dilip-da had a single, long, loose strand of small beads around his neck. Krishnaprem had dark, thick, round beads and he had wound them twice around his neck. I remember that Krishnaprem was very tall and thin.

How did he come to accept his spiritual Mother? It is a story at once amusing and illumining. One evening the Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University invited this English Professor to come and dine at his place. As soon as Nixon saw the wife of the Vice-Chancellor, he fell down at her feet and said, "You are my spiritual Mother!" Everybody was so embarrassed. The wife herself was so embarrassed. But he said, "No, no, you are my Mother!"

He was such a highly educated Professor, a distinguished graduate of Cambridge University, and she was the Bengali wife of the Vice-Chancellor, a very aristocratic lady. Her name was Monika Devi. She never prayed or meditated, but she had a mystic personality and tremendous hidden depths.

The Vice-Chancellor himself was deeply embarrassed. He could not show his face to others. But finally he said, "All right. I can see that your devotion is so sincere. You can worship her."

So Nixon became a great disciple of this lady. She had never cared for spirituality. But, seeing the devotion of this young Englishman, she started praying and meditating.

After teaching for a few more years, in Lucknow and Benaras, Krishnaprem gave up and practised spirituality full-time at Almora under the aegis of his Guru. She took the name Yashoda Ma. Because of him, many, many disciples came to her. They could see that Krishnaprem was so highly advanced. Finally, her husband surrendered and he also became her disciple. He saw such beautiful, spiritual qualities in his wife.

Between Krishnaprem and the husband there was a great difference of age, but they became close friends. They were both disciples of the Vice-Chancellor's wife. Can you imagine!