With the Lamp of My Soul

Jelena Bango (aka Helene Kvajic Rochstein), grew up in the land of the crossroads of cultures. She was born in Belgrade, in 1939, former Yougoslavija, at the beginning of the Second World War. During the war, Jelena’s father, a Makedonian, disappeared. Almost immediately, her mother being from Croatia, moved the baby Jelena into Legrad, a small village in her native country. There, Jelena grew up sheltered by the Catholic nuns of the village church and by the quietness of the almost mystical surroundings of the rivers Drava and Mura. Jelena’s heart was always wide open to God, while at the same time, her mind was open to learning about other cultures and other religions. Under the guidance of the hidden hand of God, Jelena relocated to Paris, France, and shortly after to Montreal, Canada. There she married into the Eastern Orthodox religious culture. She could never understand the reasons for religious separation of the churches and this was a hidden pain of her heart. Several years later, the family moved briefly to New York and then to the East Coast of Florida. Jelena continued her search for God and for the meaning of life. She became an enthusiastic student of the Ancient Wisdom and philosophy. The hidden Hand of God then thrust her into the Jewish mystical and cultural environment. This gave Jelena the opportunity to open deeper the path of Light at the call of her soul. Today, Jelena understands more profoundly other peoples’ struggles for Light, and she appreciates more deeply her own religion. Poetry writing was the means of her heart’s language. Poetry could easily open the gates of the muses. The entire universe became Jelena’s garden filled with flowers of many forms and of delightful colors. Jelena is grateful to all and to everyone who graciously contributed to the growth of her soul into light.