In the Spirit: the Life and Work of Lex Hixon
Ramakrishna and Swami Nikhilananda
Ramakrishna
Poster depicting the goddess Kali, Ramakrishna, his wife Sarada Devi and student, Swami Vivekananda, undated. Marvin H. Pope papers, RG 345, Box 34P, Folder 2. Divinity Library Special Collections
Hixon graduated from Yale in 1963. During his undergraduate studies, he married his first wife, Margaret, and had a daughter, Alexandra. The couple moved to Hawai'i, where Hixon taught at the Hawai'i Prepatory Academy. Their marriage ended, and Hixon left teaching.
After leaving Hawai'i, Hixon and his second wife, Sheila, relocated to New York City. The Hixons lived in Greenwich Village, soaking up the energy of the counterculture movement of the mid-1960s. During this period, Hixon rediscovered the Gospel of Ramakrishna, which he had first encountered while at Yale. In a talk about Ramakrishna in 1972, Hixon wrote, “I was interested in the description, and I read a little of it, but all I can remember now was the incense inserted throughout the book and the fragrance…I can remember lying in the grass, with my face in the book, breathing it in.”
Ramakrishna is depicted here with his wife, Sarada Devi, and student Swami Vivekananda, who in 1893, introduced the teachings of Ramakrishna to the west as the Hindu delegate at the Parliament of World’s Religions, held in Chicago, Illinois. Above them floats Kali, the Divine Mother and goddess of death and destruction. Behind her are images of the Darkshinewar Kali temple, in Kolkata, India.
Hixon wrote often of his first experience with the Gospel of Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna introduced him to the concept that all religions are true and the concept of the Divine Mother. “The first words I saw were: ‘God is Mother.’ They leapt off the page…In America, we have a general Christian/Jewish culture. These traditions have no reference to the Motherhood of God. I had never personally thought of calling God “Mother.” It never even once crossed my mind.” Hixon would return to the idea of the divine feminine throughout his writing. In her remembrance of Hixon, “Goodbye to An American Vedantist,” Cassia Berman, Hixon’s longtime friend and secretary wrote:
“Lex felt very strongly that Sri Ramakrishna’s life and teachings prepared the way for the spiritual expansion we are experiencing today, as well as for the rise of the feminine spirit. Lex often said that the woman’s movement, in both its political and spiritual manifestations, is the most important movement on the planet today, and he was enthusiastic in his support of emerging leadership by women in the various religions. It could be said that all his work was involved in uncovering the core of feminine wisdom hidden at the heart of all ancient sacred traditions.”
In the teachings of Ramakrishna, Hixon discovered the idea that all religions offer paths towards enlightenment. This teaching would ground Hixon’s foray into several religious practices at once, becoming in his words a “joint citizen in parallel spiritual worlds”.
In 1993, Hixon travelled to India after writing his book Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna. Lex Hixon is pictured here with Bob Kindler, performing infront of a large painting of Ramakrishna. Courtesty of Sheila Hixon
Lex Hixon meets with members of the Ramakrishna Order in India, 1993. Courtesy of Sheila Hixon.
The Gopsel of Ramakrishna translated by Swami Nikhilananda. 1958. https://search.library.yale.edu/catalog/9947148173408651
Swami Nikhilananda
A 1968 photograph of Swami Nikhilananda, courtesy of Sheila Hixon
Photograph from Vivekananda Cottage, Thousand Island Park. Sheila Hixon pictured second from right, with Lex Hixon behind her in white, circa 1960s-1970s. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 8, Folder 5. Divinity Library Special Collections
Upon reencountering the Gospel of Ramakrishna, Hixon traveled to the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York, in the hopes of meeting the translator of the Gospel, Swami Nikelananda. Swami Nikhilananda was a direct disciple of Sarada Devi, Ramakrishna’s wife. In 1933 he founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York. A gifted translator and lecturer, Swami Nikhilananda attracted prominent writers, artists and intellectuals to the center. Hixon entered a deep discipleship with him, learning Advaita Vedanta, which teaches that the individual self is not separate from the ultimate reality of the universe. Their relationship was significant. Swami Nikhilananda was the godfather of Hixon’s children, and he advised the Hixons to relocate from Greenwich Village in lower Manhattan to Riverdale in the Bronx.
Letter to Lex Hixon from Swami Nikhilananda, February 20, 1966. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345 Box 8, Folder 5. Divinity Library Special Collections
After meeting Swami, Hixon describes a steadying of his life. Reflecting on this period, Hixon wrote:
“We made a special meditation room in our house. Life became more mellow. We spent almost every summer at a retreat with Swami on the St. Lawrence River. Worldly friends wandered away and spiritual friends appeared…The insight was deepening. A natural ease was arising. There was simplifying of speech and thought. The Sanskrit word for a holy man, “sahdu” ethnologically means “straight” as in straight to the goal. There was an alienation from the hip world, which some of my friends have yet to appreciate. Suddenly from being a pejorative term, the term “straight” had new significance.”
Letter to Lex Hixon from Swami Nikhilananda, June 21, 1966. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 8, Folder 5. Divinity Library Special Collections
Photograph of Lex and Sheila Hixon with their three children after moving to Riverdale, the Bronx, circa 1960s. Courtesy of Sheila Hixon.