Sri Ramakrishna and Renunciation

By Charlie Feldman (Prana)

Yesterday, in the course of a few minutes, multiple examples of Sri Ramakrishna’s renunciation occurred to me, and I thought I would share them with you:

We know he renounced lust because he never consummated his marriage, and he would at times be so caught up in samadhi that his cloth would slip off, and there was no sexual significance in that. It is said he was like a child in this respect.

We know he renounced wealth and greed, because one time when the authorities told him he had to leave his home at Dakshineswar, he got up without a second thought and started to leave, although he had no place to go. Also, as a youth, he had no use for a bread-winning education.

We know he renounced anger, because when someone at Dakshineswar kicked him because the person thought he was faking his ecstatic states, Sri Ramakrishna not only didn’t retaliate, but forbade anyone to tell Mathur Babu, because he didn’t want the person to get in trouble.

We know he renounced pride, because when Naren told Sri Ramakrishna he shouldn’t care about him so much, Sri Ramakrishna didn’t argue, but asked the Divine Mother if it was true. Also, Sri Ramakrishna did not like anyone to call him Guru, and he didn’t like anyone to write about him in the newspaper.

I have been aware of all of these incidents for a while, but when you take them together, I think they prove the point that Sri Ramakrishna lived a life of great renunciation.

www.vedantaprov.org

All in a Day’s Drive!

By Prasoona

A journey that began at the onset of dawn,
Like a puppy enjoying a jolly-ride.
Through the fresh morning mist,
The heart afloat in serenity,
Buoyant with faith
Of a promised day, nay moment.
A moment that’s fresh, as fresh as a dew drop on a crisp green leaf.
A moment not tarnished by the dead past or the mythical future.
The heart was cleansed, setting the stage
For the soul to reverberate with Mother Nature, in that moment, and experience  its innate freedom.

The drive bore on…the moment, where, what?

The day light broke, business around.
The soul was getting shrouded…
Unconsciously, yet surely, a tad too quick for the senses to capture.
Now, “I” wasn’t living in the moment;
The mind was busy evaluating the  remainder of ( today plus the many tomorrow-s minus the multitudes of yesterday divided by me vs. the world).

Before I knew, the Sun had made its rounds, or well, did the Earth do so?
No time had been spent to stop and think,
No time had been saved to savor the most important thought,
No time had been spared to realize the moment, a moment of Truth.

All too soon the day would end.

As darkness descended, the soul once pristine, even if only for a moment, had been shrouded in the dirt and grime of selfish means and motives.
From the depths of darkness, the soul calls out,
A feeble wimper, yet cannot be dismissed,
“Live the moment, as a gift, merged with Mother”…
And the helpless heart yearns, for yet another dawn!

www.vedantaprov.org

Professor Mathew Pugh

by Swami Yogatmananda

“Hmmm … . Interesting!”

He expressed, by the tone and by facial gesture, his disapproval and disagreement of my opinion about rebirth, after asking me some pointed questions. I knew, my answers were far from convincing for a learned Professor of Philosophy at Providence College, imbued with Western ideas about life, body, soul etc.

He was Prof. Mathew Pugh. It was sometimes towards the end 2001. I had come to the US from India just about 5-6 months ago; Prof Mathew too had come to teach Philosophy at Providence College around the same time. He showed a good knowledge of and interest in Vedanta, life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, Mysticism, meditational practices etc and attended the classes and lectures regularly. The use of ‘interesting’ to convey disagreement, without being disagreeable, was the first of the many, many important and very useful things that Prof. Mathew taught me.

We started having many interesting (not in the above-mentioned sense) conversations about Sri Ramakrishna’s Samadhi-experiences, about fine points in Vedanta and Buddhist philosophy, Karma and reincarnation, the ideas of body-mind-soul in Vedanta and many other related issues. He liked to sit long hours in meditation and also attend the Indian classical music concerts. One day, I expressed my desire to get some courses in Western philosophy from him. After coming to the USA, I felt the need to have a better understanding of the various important strands in ancient and modern Western philosophy. When I requested Prof Mathew, he agreed to tutor me and thought of a plan to give me some broad but brief outline of Western philosophy. What a memorable time I had, learning the ideas of Parmenides, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. He also gave a few classes on Thomas Aquinas, and then on Kant. I saw a new, immensely varied world opening before me. There was of course a good exchange of ideas between Indian and Western philosophical tenets. ‘So, Swami, what is the take of Vedanta on this?’ – He would ask after explaining some of the doctrines of a great philosopher and that would lead to a crisp discussion.

But the real gems he gave were from the study of Plotinus. I am greatly indebted to him for introducing and expertly guiding me into the Enneads of Plotinus. The sublime spiritual insights which came up as the churning of Enneads progressed were very special. He also suggested that I should study St John of Cross. It opened up another spiritually charged study.

We shared another common interest: Indian classical music. His knowledge and profound feel for music was rare. He was a connoisseur of Western music too. When I decided to give a Sun talk on ‘Appreciating Music’, he loaned me a dozen superb books with very useful suggestions. Two of the books helped me much even beyond this talk, one was by the famous  composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and another by Hazarat Inayat Khan.

He had multiple health problems. Severe diabetes, tendency to form blood clots, and sleep apnea were the more prominent ones and he had to be hospitalized a few times. He did survive some serious, life-threatening bouts of illness. 

In 2011-12, he also went to India to speak at the International Seminar on Vedanta during Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture.  During this trip, he extensively toured many different historic and holy places too. 

He passed away on Oct 9, 2015, after a series of illnesses for over six months. In spite of the crippling sickness, he was mentally alert and smiling.

I feel his astral presence at hand when reading Plotinus or St. John of Cross and when a wonderful music concert is going on at Vedanta.

www.vedantaprov.org

Religion-Science Discussion

by Srikanth

This post is a summary and some additional thoughts on the distinction between Religion and Science, based on what Swami Yogatmanandaji presented in class on Jnana Yoga on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015.

Religion
Science
Personal verification of truth is the ultimate goal of religion. It begins with belief, but it should and will never get stuck there.
Science is belief on what other scientists have proven is acceptable. So it gets stuck in belief.
Religion has already shown to the world what its goal is and how to achieve it. Further, it lays claim that some people have actually achieved this goal.
The ultimate goal is not given in science, nor there is any effort to do so. The cause and effect relationship that governs it is endless, as a cause for a particular effect was earlier an effect of another cause and so on.  Also, the particular effect now would be a cause for another future effect, ad infinitum.
Religion is a life-transformation. The followers of religion are expected to adhere to the disciplines to better their lives – thereby becoming more peaceful and contented.
Science does not demand any change in one’s life. Having a scientific temperament at an intellectual level with no bearing on life is sufficient and in fact it is encouraged.
Religion deals with the subject (knower) itself rather than the object (known). Although it begins with God as an object to be known, it matures into an understanding of God being the subject itself and everything else as non-existent or dependent on God.
Science deals with the object (known). The knower is always scrupulously told to keep separate from the object studied. However, despite his or her best efforts, the knower is bound to have some influence on the known during this interaction.
Great sages and samaritans, who bring peace to the world, are inspired through religion. Religious groups run many charitable organizations.
Science is not known to cultivate great people who are a blessing to the world by bringing peace and happiness to everyone. Although many scientists may be charitable, they rarely take the plunge in helping the world.
Pursuit of religion brings everlasting peace and happiness.
Scientific discoveries and inventions can only bring intellectual happiness and physical comforts in life.
Religion creates a lot of bloodshed in this world, mainly due to differences in how one views  God and performs religious practices. Usually, the actual motive of religious conflict is for power to control a large population with zero regard for God, but religion is used as the prop to further the agenda of these power mongers.
Have you ever heard of scientists killing each other just because they have different views of their field or do experiments differently to reach the same goal? Sadly, many so-called “sane” and “intelligent” people, even if they are scientists, fall into that trap when it comes to religion.
The charlatans in religion create scandals that bring shame not only to themselves, but also to the religion. Unfortunately, their sincere followers may get disgusted with religion itself.
The charlatans in science bring disrepute only to themselves. Somehow science itself never gets blamed for their malpractices, unlike in religion. Also the followers of such charlatans are not very emotionally traumatized when the charlatans are exposed, as seen in the case of religion.

www.vedantaprov.org

Thoughts on Reading the Book Jewish Meditation – A Practical Guide by Aryeh Kaplan

by Charles Feldman (Prana)
On page 55, it says: When one repeats a mantra over and over, the mind also becomes habituated to it. Eventually, one becomes able to say it without the words registering in the conscious mind. . . . It is therefore a highly effective psychological means of removing all thought from the mind.

I have often wondered about the psychological means of one-pointedness leading to God-realization. The above paragraph indicates that when one becomes habituated to the mantra, it becomes automatic, and one can enter into samadhi through losing track of the mundane world altogether.
On page 95, it says: The most difficult thing [in having a conversation with God] is to begin. Rabbi Nachman advises sitting down in the place where you meditate and saying to yourself, “For the next twenty minutes, I will be alone with God.” This in itself is significant, since it is like the beginning of a “visit.” Even if there is nothing to say, it is a valid experience since you are spending time alone with God, aware of His presence. If you sit long enough, says Rabbi Nachman, you will eventually find something to say.

The above paragraph let me know that I am not alone in often not knowing what to say to God, and that it is possible to develop a relationship, just as you would with a person with whom you at first feel shy.

On page 123, it says: The Zohar explains the existence of evil with a parable. A king once wanted to test his son to see if he would be a worthy heir to the throne. He told his son to keep away from loose women and to remain virtuous. Then he hired a woman to entice his son, instructing her to use all her wiles with him. The Zohar then asks the rhetorical question: Is the woman not also a loyal servant of the king?

This is a good analogy of how both good and evil come from God, because God is everywhere.

On page 142, it says: Think for a moment of the greatest love you ever had in your life. If you have ever been deeply in love, you know that there is a stage where the mind becomes almost obsessed with the one you love. . . . All other pleasures are secondary to the pleasure of being in this person’s presence.

 It is possible to love God in this manner, and with even greater intensity. There is a level of love at which one constantly yearns and longs for a closeness to God. . . . True love for God can surpass even the greatest passion that can exist between man and woman.

The above two paragraphs made it clear to me that the idea of love for and yearning for God are present across religious lines. The idea that yearning for God is to be sought is not just the philosophy of Sri Ramakrishna alone, but is a natural part most likely of every religion. 

Reading Jewish Meditation – A Practical Guide has made me realize that while different religions have different philosophies, mythologies and rituals, they do indeed have an inner core that is common to them all, and we can learn from them all.
www.vedantaprov.org