Pre-Internet Brain

Remembering to seek that still small voice of God in our daily meditation practice may be the hardest challenge facing modern spiritual seekers. Perhaps our reliance on electronic devices has become so en grained that it over shadows our need for a relationship with God. Our meditation practice squeezed out between our busy lives and new instantly accessible information. Our electronic devices, a buzz with rampant activity, a dizzying distraction of sound bytes that have little lasting meaning. Yes! Some days I do miss my Pre-Internet brain. It can be very challenging to be a spiritual being in an age of distraction. Therefore, we must set aside time and silence our personal electronics. Vow to unplug them for the weekend and form a lasting connection with our true divine nature. That understood, I whole heartily believe we can use the World Wide Web to the glory of the Supreme Godhead. Digital media is the future and it's here to stay. It's not going away! Its value being one of the first ways many of today’s young people will ever hear the harmonious message of Vedanta. Prompting some to take action and reach out in face to face fellowship with other devotees. Some may be drawn to learn meditation, read spiritual ebooks, hear a lecture online, or even attend a puja at their local Vedanta Society. Through Internet and its power to inform and transform our spiritual universe expands exponentially. May the new digital media be used to the glory of Brahman!

The Supreme Connection

Lecture by Pravrajika Virajaprana

Artist and writer Douglas Coupland (see photo) probes the way that contemporary life and digital technologies affect our understanding of the world around us.

Swami Sarvadevananda

I bow down to the Sadguru

The spiritual teacher who dispels the darkness of ignorance.

Who is the embodiment of Brahmananda

The inexpressible absolute bliss of Brahman.

Who bestows that supreme joy on others.

Who stands alone entirely unattached.

The very personification of spiritual wisdom who has gone 

Beyond the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, 

Heat and cold, that characterize relative existence.

Who is vast as the sky.

Who is indicated by the great Vedic phrase of the Mahabharata, "That thou art."

Who is one without a second, eternal, stainless, and immovable.

The witness to all that arises who has gone beyond all states of mind 

And is free of the three gunas: tamas, rajas, and even sattva.

To him the true Guru do we bow down in adoration.

Om, shanti, shanti, shanti

The Gurus Role in Our Lives

Lecture by Swami Sarvadevananda

Do You Need a Guru?

Lecture by Swami Shantarupananda

Guided Meditation 
Swami Sarvadevananda

Vivekananda's Influence on Modern India

The Darling of Modi's Spiritual Heart

Swami Vivekananda Influences India's Prime Minister - Read Article

India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi has let it be know through social media his great reverence for the words and teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Publicly proclaiming Vivekananda's message of religious harmony, Modi encourages the young Hindu movers and shakers to emulate the forward inner change they want to see in their world. Swami Vivekananda is credited with bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion following his grand appearance at the 1893 Chicago Parliament of Religions where he planted the first seeds of the modern day Yoga movement. For years Swami Vivekananda lectured successfully throughout America bringing Eastern philosophy to the Western World introducing such Vedic ideas as Karma, Bhakti, Raja, and Jnana Yoga. “Every nation has a message to deliver, a mission to fulfill, a destiny to reach. The mission of India has been to guide humanity.” At Kanyakumari Swamiji realized India’s purpose- its message of spirituality, its mission to teach human beings the science of life- a destiny of wearing the crown of a world leader. He spent his entire life in spreading this message. And so it is fitting that Vivekananda's teachings have recently become societal main stream speaking points between contemporary world leaders. The latest exchange on the subject of "Yoga" being recently discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama, with hopes of leading today's youth to an ever expanded global oneness of body and mind. This could truly be the realization of Swami Vivekananda's dreams and India's pre-ordained destiny for the betterment of humankind. As an American and a Vedanta Society devotee, I pray this will be the case.  :)
My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation, out of them will come my workers. They will work out the whole problem, like lions. - Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda His Life and Work

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda

Swami Vivekananda and the Unity of Mankind

Lecture by Swami Atmajnanananda

Read Narendra Modi's views on Swami Vivekananda

Obama Commends Modi in WTO Deal

Divine Incarnation

Jesus in the Light of Vedanta - Lecture by Swami Bhaskarananda

In the Bhagavad Gita an ancient religious text, Krishna tells Arjuna:

"Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness then I send forth Myself. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being from age to age."

The Hindus refer to such people as Avatars – divine incarnations or divine manifestations. The word itself is derived from the Sanskrit Avatara and is translated as descent. Every so often an avatar is born to relight the flame of religion in the heart and to reinvigorate truth and righteousness. There have been many such avatars in the course of world history and there will surely be many more to come. They usually appear at times of stress or crisis in the world or in a particular society, during times of social and political upheaval or tension. It is extremely important that we respect each others Gods and that we treat with great respect, tolerance and sensitivity the religious beliefs of all people. Let us respect each others Gods. Let us respect each others Avatars.

Transit of Venus

Everyone enjoys a rare celestial show!

Hindu holy men used cardboard glasses to watch from the banks of 

the Ganges River in Varanasi, India on June, 6, 2012.

Next showing: December 2117 and 2125

Photos by: NASA/SDO & Rajesh Kumar Singh

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120611.html

"Each soul is a star, and all stars are set in that infinite azure, that eternal sky, the Lord.  There is the root, the reality, the real individuality of each and all. Religion began with the search after some of these stars that had passed beyond our horizon, and ended in finding them all in God, and ourselves in the same place."  

- Swami Vivekananda -

Ramakrishna Puja

An essential part of puja for the Hindu devotee is making a spiritual connection with the divine. Most often that contact is facilitated through an object: an element of nature, a sculpture, a vessel, or a painting.  This icon is not the deity itself; rather, it is believed to be filled with the deity's cosmic energy. The objects are created as receptacles for spiritual energy that allow the devotee to experience direct communication with his or her gods. Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals. Sat Chid Ananda Guru. Happy Birthday Ramakrishna!