What Would Vivekananda Do?

Swami Vivekananda's Practical Vedanta

Lecture by Swami Sarvapriyananda

After long searches here and there, in temples and in churches, in earths and in heavens, at last you come back, completing the circle from where you started, to your own soul and find that He, for whom you have been seeking all over the world, for whom you have been weeping and praying in churches and temples, on whom you were looking as the mystery of all mysteries shrouded in the clouds, is nearest of the near, is your own Self, the reality of your life, body and soul.
- Swami Vivekananda




READ ONLINE: 
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda

Behold, it comes in might,

The power that is not power,

The light that is in darkness,

The shade in dazzling light.

It is joy that never spoke,

And grief unfelt, profound,

Immortal life unlived,

Eternal death unmourned.

It is not joy nor sorrow,

But that which is between,

It is not now nor morrow,

But that which joins them in.

It is sweet rest in music;

And pause in sacred art;

The silence between speaking;

Between two fits of passion --

It is the calm of heart.

It is beauty never seen,

And love that stands alone,

It is song that lives un-sung,

And knowledge never known.

It is death between two lives,

And lull between two storms,

The void whence rose creation,

And that where it returns.

To it the tear-drop goes,

To spread the smiling form

It is the Goal of Life,

And Peace -- its only home!

- Swami Vivekananda

Ocean of Love: Glimpses of Swami Vivekananda

Lecture by Swami Mahayogananda

"I do not come", said Swamiji 

on one occasion in America, 

"to convert you to a new belief.

 I want you to keep your own belief; 

I want to make the Methodist a better Methodist; 

the Presbyterian a better Presbyterian; 

the Unitarian a better Unitarian. 

I want to teach you to live the truth, 

to reveal the light within your own soul." 

Vivekananda's Life Message

Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

As soon as a man stands up and says he is right or his church is right, and all others are wrong, he is himself all wrong. He does not know that upon the proof of all the others depends the proof of his own. Love and charity for the whole human race, that is the test of true religiousness. I do not mean the sentimental statement that all men are brothers, but that one must feel the oneness of human life.

So far as they are not exclusive, I see that the sects and creeds are all mine; they are all grand. They are all helping men towards the real religion. I will add, it is good to be born in a church, but it is bad to die there. It is good to be born a child, but bad to remain a child. Churches, ceremonies, and symbols are good for children, but when the child is grown, he must burst the church or himself.

We must not remain children for ever. It is like trying to fit one coat to all sizes and growths. I do not deprecate the existence of sects in the world. Would to God there were twenty millions more, for the more there are, there will be a greater field for selection. What I do object to is trying to fit one religion to every case.

Though all religions are essentially the same, they must have the varieties of form produced by dissimilar circumstances among different nations. We must each have our own individual religion, individual so far as the externals of it go.  

A man may believe in all the churches in the world, he may carry in his head all the sacred books ever written, he may baptize himself in all the rivers of the earth, still, if he has no perception of God, I would class him with the rankest atheist.

And a man may have never entered a church or a mosque, nor performed any ceremony, but if he feels God within himself and is thereby lifted above the vanities of the world, that man is a holy man, a saint, call him what you will.   - From The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda

In the Glow

Vespers at Santa Barbara's Vedanta Society Altar

Video of Sri Ramakrishna Arati (Vespers Service) Belur Math, India

Silence.... Is the beginning and end of yoga meditation work. Sitting in silence enables us to begin to know the symphony that is present inside ourselves. Really there is no silence as we will learn when we try to sit in meditation. Our heart beats, respiration, nervous, digestive and circulatory systems all create a myriad of sounds, a mini celestial orchestra, that we can become aware of through silence. Listening is an active activity, as opposed to hearing which is a passive activity. Listening involves using our ears as an organ of consciousness to discriminate between the sounds around us. By sitting in silence it enables us to empower the act of listening. When we sit in this manner we also become aware of natures external sounds, birds chirping, wind blowing, dogs barking, clocks ticking or the hum of electrical sounds. But it is through the simple act of sitting silently in meditation and tuning into the inner world of sounds that we truly change the way our everyday perceptions and brainwaves work. In meditation we learn how to detach ourselves from the sense organs. Meditation is the time to look and listen to understand our suffering. Finally we experience an openness that helps us to realize our interconnectedness to all things.  

Swami Vivekananda writes:
"First sit for some time and let the mind run on. The mind is bubbling up all the time; it is like the monkey jumping about. Let the monkey jump as much as he can, simply wait and watch; knowledge is power, says the proverb, and that is true; until you know what the mind is doing, you cannot control it. Give it the rein. Many hideous thoughts may come into it, you will be astonished that it was possible for you to think such thoughts, but you will find that each day the mind’s vagaries are becoming fewer, and less violent; that each day it is becoming calmer. In the first few months, you will find that the mind will have a great many thoughts; later you will find that they have somewhat decreased, and in a few more months you will find they are fewer and fewer, until at last the mind will be under perfect control. But we must patiently practice every day."

This is where Arati/Vespers comes in handy. From my own experience, I find Vespers a very effective way to transition from my busy work day into the contemplative state of evening meditation. While sitting in the silence of the temple, I listen to the Santa Barbara Vedanta Society Nuns sing three beautiful Sanskrit hymns and become a watchful witness to the closing ritual of dusk. This allows my soul to unload much of it's hurried material world burdens and relax in the loving unity of the oneness. 

The Power of Silence lecture by Swami Chetanananda

Meditation Alters Genes

The Power of Silence 

Article by Pravrajika Bhavaprana 

GPS = Guru Positioning System

Swami Yogatmananda of the Vedanta Society of Providence, RI, 

braved a snowy blizzard to give a retreat on 

"Meditation: The Inner Journey to the Final Destination".

"In meditation we learn to transcend the appearances of life and realize our true nature." said Swami Yogatmananda during a recent retreat at the Santa Barbara Vedanta Temple. "Relentless determination to complete our daily meditation practice is the bridge between the awareness of the material "I" and the inner "I" of God awareness and unity. We learn to transcend the names and various forms through meditation. Proper posture is very important, head, neck, and backbone in a straight line. Results happen with the very first practice of meditation! Progress may not be visible to you, but looking back you will see that the shore is far behind you now. As we interact with people that united awareness that meditation brings can be felt and experienced throughout the day, all day long! Our destination is our "true divine nature," God realization! Hold onto God and the transitory world will become less important, then you will see the world as the bondage it is, restricting your freedom, then you will see the truth: GOD ALONE IS REAL. Life as a spiritual journey is the primary goal of human life. Material possessions are not pertinent to the goal of the journey. These material desires make us suffer veiling the unity of oneness from our eyes. Discernment is necessary on this journey. Keep the discerning faculty always alert and then the journey will reach its destination and go beyond this material world and become all pervading, we will be everywhere, no boundaries, ultimate unity! We have the promise that all beings one day over many lifetimes will reach this GOAL of ONENESS. We are guaranteed to reach this goal as Vedanta is a SCIENCE. Looking for happiness is fruitless, looking inside is where the treasure is hidden, inside the lotus of the heart. Eventually, temptation for material desires and attachment to sweet fruits subsides, strength and wisdom is gained after we analyze reality and the reflection of life's daily experiences. Soon a steady transformation will begin, moving ahead, giving up life's illusions we will merge with the higher consciousness. GOAL of "ONENESS" - should be our only goal! Then we HAVE ARRIVED! Knowledge of God through Vedanta philosophy is the very goal of life. By eliminating negative and impossible thoughts, all wisdom and knowledge is possible on this journey. Be immersed in that oneness!!! Freedom, happiness, peace, truth and love are the fruits of oneness. Our beloved spiritual teacher or guru will help guide our way along our chosen path. By guiding our awareness the guru helps to sharpen our meditation practice by diligently encouraging a one pointed focus on our chosen ishta, without fail, spiritual fruits will manifest. We will progress from ignorance to knowledge, from the unreal to the real. Arise, Awake, stop not till the goal is reached. Wake up to your true nature. And then start walking on the path shown by the great teachers. We may shed many tears on the journey. Difficulties and pains of life are still unavoidable on this path. Never give up! We should be patient and persevere, do not let yourself revert back to your old habits and ways! Always joyful stay true to your path and keep walking ahead though it certainly maybe a challenge and always very interesting. Remember... to seek counsel with your GURU when ever you have a question or concern. GPS = Guru Positioning System"   :) 

Guided Meditation - Swami Yogatmananda
34min

There is None Except the Divine

Swami Vivekananda 
Ramakrishna Monastery Trabuco Canyon

The soul has neither pain nor pleasure. It is the witness of everything. The eternal witness of all work, but it takes no fruits from any work. To work properly you first must give up the idea of attachment. Hold yourself as the witness and go on working. Everything is evanescent and changeful. Knowing this the sage gives up both pleasure and pain and becomes a witness of the panorama of the universe without attachment for anything. He sees the world as a picture knowing that nothing affects him. Then he enjoys its beauty. Whenever there is any bliss, there is a spark of the eternal bliss, The bliss that is the Lord himself. The essence of our own soul. He's the light and life of the whole universe. He's the eternal witness of the universe. O Lord and Mother of the Universe, Thou flowing stream of nectar, How many forms and aspects does thou play in manifestation. The soul has neither pain nor pleasure. Hold yourself as the witness, then behold nature's beauty.

Believe that you are the children of God, the heirs of infinite strength and bliss. Believe that your body and mind are sacred temples. Believe that God pervades every man, and every woman. He pervades every tree and creeper, every sentient and insentient being. The presence of God must be realized everywhere. He is the personal and impersonal, with and without form. He dwells in all beings. He pervades land and waters. He pervades hills and valleys. He pervades the sky and stars. He pervades all things. There is none except the Divine in the entire universe. See God in the blue of the sky, the waves of the sea. See God in the face of a friend, in the simplicity of a child. See God in the horrors of death, in the steadfastness of the saint. There is none except the Divine in the entire universe.

-- Except from "Vivekananda Oratorio 150 : His Ministry" a classical oratorio by Swami Atmavidyananda, composer and lyricist, of the Vedanta Society of Southern California and a monk of the Ramakrishna Order of India. The lyrics he derived from "Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda."

Listen to Vivekananda Oratorio 150 Recording