Mrs. Coomaraswamy

In America, Shri Nathji met a lady, a certain Mrs. Coomaraswamy. She wanted to see Shri Nathji especially and warn him. She had come to know that Shri Nathji was a genuine spiritual preceptor. "Go away from this country," she said to Shri Nathji, "sincere people like you cannot exist here. They destroyed my husband. They will destroy you, too!" Her implication was that if Shri Nathji stayed long enough in America he would become like other spiritualists, that he would lose his spirituality in the false glitter of materialism, that he would be exploited by unscrupulous men who would become his devotees for material gain. This had happened in the past. Some relatively simple spiritual men had fallen a prey to the devices of gangs of exploiters who attached themselves to the holy men and built up their images, established centres and ashrams, purely for the comfort of an easy life, where money would flow in with the minimum possible effort. The Indian gurus, yogis and swamis who sought to exploit the gullible American often found that the gullible American was not so gullible. What resulted in the end was a partnership of mutual benefit. The gurus got what they wanted after they had sold their spiritual values, and the devotees got the kind of gurus they wanted. Mrs. Coomaraswamy realised soon enouh that Shri Nathji’s spiritual values were not for sale. Not all the wealth in the Universe could purchase God. He had stopped the Rosboroughs from passing the plate around, after his sermons, saying: "If you do that, I shall cease to meet anyone! My son’s earnings are sufficient for me!"

As Shri Nathji began speaking to Mrs. Coomaraswamy, her tormented soul began experiencing a sensation of immense peace and happiness. Shri Nathji told Mrs. Coomaraswamy a very interesting parable. "Oh, that is one of the most delightful spiritual stories I have ever heard!" she said, "Please write it down when you have time and give me a copy of it!" Shri Nathji never found time to write it down, unfortunately. The parable is of Shams Tabrez and Maulana Rumi which is given in Mahagranth – God Incarnate Part one on the pages – 1115 -1117.

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Mrs.  Coomaraswamy  - Doña Luisa Runstein, was the third wife (His first wife was British and second American) Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (22 August 1877, Colombo, Ceylon − 9 September 1947, Needham, Massachusetts) who was a Ceylonese philosopher and metaphysician, as well as a pioneering historian and philosopher of Indian art, particularly art history and symbolism, and an early interpreter of Indian culture to the West. In particular, he is described as "the groundbreaking theorist who was largely responsible for introducing ancient Indian art to the West. Coomaraswamy made important contributions to the philosophy of art, literature, and religion. He wrote many famous books like - The Dance of Shiva. He served as curator in the Museum of Fine Arts, and was significant in bringing Eastern art to the West, until his death in Needham, Massachusetts in 1947.

She was a professional photographer before her marriage to Ananda Coomaraswamy. On November 18, 1930, Coomaraswamy married Argentine-born woman of Jewish descent Luisa Runstein, who was 28 years younger than him. She was working as a society photographer under the professional name Xlata Llamas. They had a son,  Rama Ponnambalam, who became a physician and author of Catholic Traditionalist works. After Coomaraswamy's death, Doña Luisa Runstein, acted as a guide and resource for students of his work. She returned his ashes to the holy Ganga after his death and later bequeathed instruments to institutions like the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

 She got the good fortune to be blessed by Shri Nathji in 1964

This is photo of Dona Luisa Coomaraswamy with their dog in the garden of the Coomaraswamy home in Needham, a suburb of Boston  in Norfolk County, Massachusetts.