The spiritual idealism, eternal wisdom, and hallowed example of the great luminaries---Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda--- ever ignite the divine spark in sincere and noble aspiring souls, wherever they may be. The silent creative minds have had to be inspired and nourished with lofty spiritual ideas in order to live in wisdom and dedicate their lives to the service and cause of Vedanta. The noble Genêt family---Jeanne, Rolande, and their mother, Maman---living in the West, was one such example of supreme dedication and devotion to Vedanta. 

The two sisters, Jeanne, and Rolande, were born in Ottawa, a year apart in a well-to-do French Canadian family, in 1906 and 1907, respectively. A good government position held by the father kept the family prosperous and comfortable. As was customary at that time, the two sisters boarded in a Catholic convent school and immediately felt a pronounced love and admiration for the convent life. By nature, Jeanne was introspective, reserved, silent, and Rolande jolly, self-reliant, fearless, and zealous. Both were cherished by the nuns, who deemed them perfect for the contemplative, self-sacrificing convent life. Their father passed away while they were still young, and their mother, Maman, apprehensive of the influence of the convent nuns upon her daughters, removed them from that school, moved to Montreal, and had them privately tutored. In 1932, at the age of fifty, Maman moved the family to New York, for better career opportunities.

Gifted in piano and violin, Jeanne pursued a musical vocation, while Rolande became an expert dancer. But despite Maman's progressive and well-informed intentions, Jeanne and Rolande were destined to lead ideal spiritual lives. Amidst the glamor, their noble minds yearned for Truth. Rolande was now inexorably led to Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda when the book, Prophets of New India, by the French author Romain Rolland, came into her hands. Rolande and Jeanne were now profoundly moved and inspired to discover for themselves the eternal soul of India, radiant, calm and majestic, with a "unifying, pacifying love for all beings." The genuine truth of Divinity and the intuitive experience of that Truth in Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda entered the souls of the two sisters and their inner transformation momentously and radically was begun. Steadily and securely, they were transformed, and wholly accepted the broad principles of Vedanta as exemplified in the hallowed lives of Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. After only one year, they came to The Vedanta Society of New York.

In 1933, Jeanne and Rolande came to the Vedanta Society of New York to hear their first lecture on Vedanta by Swami Bodhananda, a disciple of Swami Vivekananda. Their acquaintance ripened into a soul-enriching friendship. The Swami (who had come to New York the same year of Jeanne's birth) became their true spiritual father, their best friend, philosopher and guide. The girls became close devotees and took part in the activities of the Society. They joined the Swami's Sanskrit class. Every night before retirement, Jeanne would invariably write some sentences or words, as the time permitted, in Sanskrit script. Her handwriting was beautiful. They both took part in the Sanskrit dramas staged by Swami Bodhananda. After some years, when the Swami was passing through hard days, the family moved from the East side of Manhattan to the West side, to be nearer to the Society. They later moved to the same block as the Society itself and with each move, their luxury was reduced. The Genêt family now began to show in great depth, their nobility and their motherliness. Rolande was the first to respond wholeheartedly. Around 1949, for several months, she cooked and brought food for the ailing Swami, then she came to live in the basement of the Society and cheerfully assumed responsibility for all his personal care and for the entire household. This revealed the first glimmer of her selfless dedication.

In 1950, Rolande had to accompany Swami Bodhananda to the hospital, where he passed away at age eighty. But Rolande stayed on, feeling there was never enough she could do to show her eternal gratitude to the Source of the spiritual fulfillment she had found in Vedanta. In 1951 Swami Pavitrananda, a disciple of Swami Brahmananda, the first President of the Ramakrishna Order, was sent from India to serve as the spiritual leader until 1977, when he breathed his last. At his invitation, Maman and Jeanne came to live with Rolande in the basement of the Society. So that Rolande and Maman could freely and fully serve the Society and in order to support the family, Jeanne gave her piano away to charity and assumed a full-time job as a receptionist in a large corporation. This was the first and only job she ever had. The experience proved invaluable for Jeanne, for later in 1957 she became the Secretary to the Society, a post she devotedly and efficiently held to her last day. It may be remembered that the Genêts always supported themselves and rendered free service to the Society.

Life in Vedanta Society of New York

When Rolande came to live in the ground level of the Society, it was not at all a comfortable place to live in. Common bath, distasteful floors, a camp cot for a bed, a primitive kitchen and rods hanging overhead were all very disappointing, if not frustrating. She was confronted with and buffeted by many unpleasant experiences. It seemed she had put her hands into a cluster of bees. Many and arduous tasks were demanded upon her devotion. In those days, her love for Swamiji's work, like a lamp growing brighter and brighter, inspired her heroic self-sacrifice. Rolande's serene fortitude in the face of unpleasantness and chagrin, and her indomitable capacity to ignore them, speak volumes of her genuine devotion to her mentor and his work. Her devotion was enduring and consuming enough to merit the grace of the Divine.

Rolande's love for and faith in Vedanta inspired her to step out of and break from the comfortable family life. Sincere spiritual life does not allow us to hug the dull habit of religious pursuit; it is inspired living. She wanted to live the immediate moment of a life of service by being accessible to, as well as serviceable for, the Society and the Swamiji. She was at that time, a person of one love and of single concern. Does not emotion fertilize the roots of action? The zenith of her character lies in her courage.

It may be borne in mind that the two sisters and their mother were used to a comfortable life. Around 1953, Jeanne and her mother came to live in the Society. In spite of tremendous hardship, they enjoyed their new life. In due course, their exposure to idealism and their struggle for a spiritual life became highly rewarding. It enriched their personalities, elevated their minds and gave them insight about divinity. They lived simply but fully, enjoying contentment at heart.

After the arrival of Swami Pavitrananda, the situation was changed. Their life was a little better.

Maman, their mother, was a very resourceful lady. She was an affectionate mother. She, in her advanced age, shared the privation and discomfort with dignity and grace. Most probably, she became a widow in her thirties. She did not remarry, she herself told Jeanne in later years, only for the sake of her daughters. With wide experience on two continents, she had come in contact with a variety of people. She, it can be said, had warmed both her hands before the fire of life. She became a grandmother to many friends of the Society. Her zest for life, her unstinting courage and good cheer, put many younger persons to shame. She was active till the end of her life.

An idea of the nature of the services freely given by the Genêt family is given here. As housekeepers they had a vast range of meaningful duties. Answering doorbells on the ground and first floor levels, alone kept them ever on their feet. They answered the telephone, received and entertained guests, kept the entire Society's premises meticulously clean and prepared for all events, shopped for food and prepared all the meals, sold books and did the accounting; they purchased, maintained and replenished all household supplies as well as the household's major equipment and machinery, renewing contracts for the general maintenance of the building, to name only a few. Those with a facile wisdom and shallow convictions would be shattered under the impact of such challenging and exacting housekeeping tasks, leaving them cynical and sour. Not so the Genêts.

Friends, especially workers, were always few and far between. Courtenaye and her husband, George Olden, came to the Society to hear the very first lecture of Swami Pavitranandaji in 1951. Courtenaye from the beginning became acquainted with the Genêt family, and in a short time this ripened into close friendship. Genêts' service to the cause of Vedanta touched her perceptive heart. She felt the dire necessity of giving them a little comfort by taking them out for shopping and fresh air in her car. George also was especially sympathetPavitranandath the Genêts. But all three could not go at the same time, as one would have to remain to keep house. Hence, the sisters would go out every alternate week. Thus came Divine Grace to light their faith and lighten their burden.

In 1960, Rolande passed away at the Society on Good Friday with full consciousness. She was fifty-three. Naturally, it was a great shock to Jeanne, but her nobility enabled her to meet the bereavement with courage. With broken heart she did pursue her daily chores and comforted her mother in every possible way. She perhaps remembered the passage of Maeterlinck (1862--1949) that soothed and energized the depressed mind of Miss MacLeod after Swamiji's passing away: "If you have been greatly influenced by anyone, prove it in your life, not by tears."

In 1962, Jeanne took an early retirement to stay with her mother and render services to the Society. Maman passed away in the hospital in May 1977. She was quite fit even at ninety-five. She was briefly hospitalized and died within two days. Jeanne was informed at night about her mother's death. From the Society, she requested the hospital to make all arrangements for cremation. Jeanne quietly spent the night in prayer, yearning mental security of a spiritual nature. Sincere prayer has invariably given insight about the mystery of life, comfort to the grief-stricken, consolation to the frightened, and hope to the depressed, anguished and bereaved. I came to the Society on the fifteenth of February, 1977. 1 saw their mother, Maman Genêt, a few times in the corridor. But I lived with Jeanne all these years intimately. She was free from the terribly weighted burden of ego that we all bear. She developed a mystic kinship with all. She merely lived. A gentle cheerfulness there was about her always, and a lurking sense of humor which made it possible to talk to her. Her warm personality and the intensity of her vision enabled her to work ceaselessly. She never complained. She never traveled, as she was tied with the work of the Society. Once, at my earnest request and importunity she boarded a plane for the first time. She was accompanied by her close friend, Mrs. Block. They flew from New York to Boston to attend the Krishna festival at Marshfield. After spending some time there, they returned to New York. Another time, both of them flew to Washington, D.C. and spent a few days there. That's all. 

From 1933, Jeanne had been attending the services regularly, in the Chapel. In spite of that, she never felt bored or disinterested. Once, on March 7, 1995, Jeanne had to go to the hospital for an entire day to undergo cataract surgery. She arrived early in the morning, patiently waited several hours for her surgery to be performed, underwent the surgery, had a poor and meager hospital lunch, and after the required post-operative observation, returned to the Society at 8:00 PM in the evening, after twelve hours in the hospital, just in time for the evening discourse. She never attended to her understandably personal needs, but went straight to class---on time. Some years before, on a Friday night, again a class night, she had to go the hospital. She took with her the Svetasvatara Upanishad that was to be expounded in the class and read the entire Upanishad before going to sleep. Such was her dedication, her devotion and love for the class. Such devotion furnishes a luminous commentary on her character.

The worth of the Genêt family is forever recorded in time by their lives of devotion, self-denial, self forgetfulness, courage, fortitude, and dedication in their myriad duties and responsibilities cheerfully assumed and performed. Their quiet modesty and certain faith allowed them to remain in the background always, steeped in their devotion while outwardly fulfilling their daily chores. Their lives are singularly captivating in this regard.

Miss Jeanne Genêt---As I Understand Her

Miss Genêt passed away on the 28th of August, 1998. She was almost ninety-three. She lived and worked in the Society premises for almost half a century. What a saintly life she lived! Her value should not be measured by the years she has lived or by the work she has done. Her value can be partially estimated by her spiritual attitude behind her life and work. What a magnificent epic of devotion to Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda we saw in her life! That unswerving devotion illumined her mind and glorified her life. Her devotion motivated her to do everything pertaining to housekeeping with a joyful mind. She never regarded herself as a captive chained by duty. Work was her worship, she never lost her perspective.

Her entire life, as it appeared to me, was one of complete humility, self- effacement and an ungrudging labour of love. She was to me, a lovely flower of unswerving devotion to the spirit of the Society. She had a very balanced life, she was never impulsive. She was fragile physically, but mentally Herculean. Behind her gentle nature, suavity, loving service and genial personality there was a steel frame of discipline and steadfast loyalty. Her daily routine life was never the outcome of dull habit. She had never lived an embittered, immolated, resentful and self-pitying life. On the contrary, she was consciously and intelligently committed to the philosophy of work as spelled out by Swami Vivekananda. She committed her life in unreserved obedience to him. It is conspicuously different from the mild, conventional religious life known to us all. She lived an amazingly simple life with a singleness of purpose. She had no feverish strain, no dissatisfaction, no grievance. Her beaming face, pure and loving heart, calm mind and noble character reflected the beauty of her devotion, and sincerity of aspiration. She has left behind a shining example of courage to accept the hardships of a dedicated life cheerfully. Her devotion to her vocation will inspire and endure. It is indeed an inspiring testament to her integrity of character. In twenty years of my life I never saw even one occasion when she raised her voice, lost her temper, or gave expression to her reaction through her facial gestures. I never saw in her the least stress of depression. The rich grain of wisdom that can be garnered from her life may be told in simple words: She lived for God. She pressed into her life, centuries of devotion to God and man. She perfumed the pages of time with her noble deeds and their lasting impact.

Most of us follow the path of God with many minds, hardly one-pointed, and with varying degrees of intensity. Giving up hearth and home, friends and society and even possessions are all important for a genuine spiritual seeker. But the renunciation of the self is the most difficult task. Jeanne, I think, achieved a high degree of joyful self renunciation. The crux of spiritual living lies in our capacity to surrender---a relentless, inexorable divine standard. Her humble life, lived with integrity, serenity and resignation, is an ever widening arc of inspiration.

Miss Genêt just lived her humble life nobly, though obscurely, but the significance of her living is very valuable to all of us. She merely lived her silent life, but we read the message from her life. Silence is creative, just as dewdrops falling on a flower, help it to bloom. She was honest and truthful. None can cast aspersion about the integrity of her noble character. She loved her vocation, she never felt bored or lonely. She was a loving soul, she loved Truth as well as human beings. She lived a life of dedication without any other thoughts that normally distract us. She was one-pointed to her cherished ideal as she was whole. There was perfect harmony between her thought and deed. Reason and emotion never created any disharmony within her. We suffer more from the aches of amputated beliefs than from amputated limbs, from schism of the soul rather than schism of the maimed limbs.

She was rooted in deep faith in the Divine. It was unshakable -- with serene confidence of deep and abiding conviction she lived her humble life. This faith in and reverence for God is far greater than any comforts of life which she sorely lacked. Faith in unselfish and loving dedicated service was the secret of her happy life. Her entire world revolved around Ramakrishna and Vivekananda as pivot, with abiding faith as the motive power, and with both peace and contentment as constant companions. Contentment comes as the infallible result of great humility. She was always very humble and never stood in someone's way, be one a child or adult.

Her prayerful inner life, her silent communion with Shri Ramakrishna and her intense longing to beseech his grace profoundly and gradually changed her mind. Her serenity, her facial and bodily repose, her sweetness of character and her unassuming nature are all an outcome of her worshipping spirit. Due to her spiritual maturity and absolute dependence on God, I believe, she achieved a rare harmony between her mind and spirit. That gave her frail body, shortened stature and stooped head a spiritual luminosity and unshakable vitality. She commanded respect from one and all.

Such deep conviction of God's acceptance of our selfless work is the most valuable asset in prosperity, a safe refuge in adversity, and abiding joy in old age. This priceless wealth of the spirit that she possessed was the real source of her happy life. She enjoyed her life at all stages, even in sickness. Her nobility lies in her non-complaining attitude, in her loving forgiveness and in her detachment. We never saw her complaining for anything, even when her aides neglected her during her final sickness.

Our world is mysterious and vast but illusory. We are but tiny specks on this changing planet. But our creative mind, our integrity of character, our goodwill and unselfishness will never be lost. Her shining character is a real force, as real as heat or light, and therefore, her genuine love for God and man, her breadth of vision, her self-immolation at the altar of idealism will certainly survive. Force of character is indestructible.

She was born with a mind thoroughly purged of its dross, its inherent weakness and foibles. She was endowed with excellence innumerable. Her very texture of mind was simple and innocent and was transmuted by her purity of character and a burning love for divine life. The glow of her spiritual fire might have consumed most of her frail desires. Her deep conviction of truth was conspicuously different from an abstract framework of belief in supernatural reality, a concept or dogmatic faith. Her conviction of divine presence within her made her most revolutionary in shaping her life-style.

We all know she was exposed to the life-giving message of Ramakrishna--Vivekananda when she was just twenty-six, in 1932. She was fascinated and thrilled. From that time they became the cry of her life, song of her soul. Ramakrishna--Vivekananda lit a beacon of hope for her. She took firm determination and stern resolve to follow the idealism of these twin stars in the firmament of modem life. How is it possible for a young girl of alien culture to be deeply interested in their teachings? I believe it was destiny. She was possessed by them for their work. She did commendable service to the cause of Vedanta. Shri Ramakrishna is the incarnation of the synthetic genius of philosophy and religion in the modem age. His intoxicated divine life, his spiritual ecstasy, his famous message---"There are as many paths to the Divine as there are points of view" cast a deep spell on her pure mind.

Swami Vivekananda dominated the century as much by his purity of vision and strength of character as by his genius. He was a man who had gone beyond the frontiers of his culture and became truly universal. Swamiji's message---"Whoever gives up this life for His sake, finds the life immortal"---gave her conviction, courage, fortitude, steadfastness, strength to endure and patience to wait. Lighting that lamp of faith, in her pure heart she lived her life.

Jeanne fully understood the significance of Swamiji's message of "renunciation and sacrifice." To Swamiji, the highest and best law in the universe is the law of sacrifice. That is the life-blood of humanity.

It is assumed that she must have been permeated, charmed and taken captive by the spirit of Swamiji. She took that noble principle to live by, to be inspired with. It became her whole being from the core to the periphery. Acceptance of such idealism is invariably commensurate to a life of self- abnegation. Jeanne, by her transparent sincerity and unswerving loyalty alone, proved her mettle.

I lived with her all these twenty years. Now that she is no more physically with us, I think of her noble and beautiful life. What can be the secret of her sweet disposition, serenity and peace? I have seen her day in and day out, her untiring patience, endless work, wonderful detachment, contentment and joy. She must have had some spiritual experience that transformed her entire outlook, widened her horizon, enlarged her vision and endowed her with power to translate her aspiration into action. Her depth and the quality of her inner joy was never articulated to us. From the early age she found a goal and followed it sincerely. Work was her daily worship. She looked upon the building of the Society as the body of Swamiji. She said that many a time, to me. Every work in the Society was her loving offering at the feet of the twin Masters.

Meditation is the real key of sustained peace. Meditation is nothing but continuous communion with the Divine. Deep, sincere, and sustained meditation can transform the base metal of human life into the pure gold of virile divine wisdom. Real meditation is the flame which keeps the lamp of daily living burning, as intensely as we orient our mind in the thought of God. Meditation is like a boat for crossing the river of life -- a river frightfully agitated with emotional storms and egoistic conflicts.

I had seen, like others, there was no trace of stagnation in her daily routine life, her eyes were indicative of silent prayers and shone with the luster of her divine spirit. As her life became more exalted and humane, her eyes became brighter by their contact with her inner divinity. Her heart was filled with the divine water of the ocean of love. The redeeming power of her contemplative life had its matchless beauty that made the agitated quiet, the immodest sober and the ill-tempered gentle. Alone for the most part in her quarter, she had to tackle many undesirable persons quite often, both in the day and at night. Her very presence would breed in them temperance and self-control.

Her soul force was remarkably reflected in her face. This suffused and saturated her entire personality. Her daily living, her interpersonal relationship, will testify to the remark. Her motherly affection even to an erring person, the beauty of her serene and calm life in the midst of jarring sensations, overflowing benevolence, her halo of wisdom and brilliance of courage were all happily blended in her character. She lived with us, she looked like any of us, her mode of life was known to us only superficially. Her spiritual dimension of life was hidden from most of us.

Goodness inspires, brilliance attracts, beauty fascinates, luster breeds envy, power alienates, scholarship charms, but a truly peaceful loving life conquers us and encompasses us. Jeanne's peaceful and loving nature can give perspective and understanding to the troubled, uncertain and perplexed people. In any society, such a person is a living rebuke to our lives of restlessness.

She was to me, a sweet and lovely rose quietly radiating the fragrance of her graceful life. Grace, like radium, penetrated her entire personality, giving a halo of unknown beauty. Hardly do we find in our life one who is so sweet, so motherly, so gentle and humane. By her genial temperament and loving nature she endeared our home in the Society, sweetened our interpersonal relationship and unconsciously gave us an insight to have deep admiration and reverence for God's work. She always carried peace in her pure heart. An extraordinary serenity and meditative calmness breathed through her life. Her life has a lasting divine influence and persuasion on us.

No wonder most of us addressed her as 'Mother Jeanne," as we found in her the manifestation of motherhood, which of course, is divine in nature. The word, "Mother," is extremely suggestive of our intimate relationship. It stems from our most loving experience and has an aura of meaning.

Her modesty was remarkable---she was covered, as it were, by the garment of modesty. Apart from her other commendable virtues of head and heart, she was a unique person to my mind. She read one book only, found her goal and followed that goal throughout her life.

People are like green grass that grows everywhere. Some special flowers are found in some areas only. Jeanne, to my mind, was such a special flower.

"It is long since the cedar has fallen
but its fragrance endures, and will forever
seek the four corners of the earth."