Vivekananda: The Infallible Discerner

By G. L. Krishna

Christmas Eve is a special day for the admirers of Vivekananda and the Mission he built. It was on this day in 1886 that would-be monastics of the Ramakrishna Order firmed up their resolve to organise as a brotherhood.

Baburam's (later known as Swami Premananda) mother had invited her son's friends - Narendra (later, Swami Vivekananda) and others - to Antpur, their native village. One December evening, the friends gathered in a temple there, lit a sacred fire, and immersed themselves in deep meditation. An overwhelming spirit of renunciation filled the air, and the youthful Narendra spoke movingly about the life of Jesus Christ. They all decided that their lives would thenceforth be dedicated to the realisation of two goals: self-realisation and service to the world. Ātmano mokṣārthaṃ jagad-hitāya ca. The young men discovered later that it was the night of Christmas Eve and were pleasantly surprised.

It is evident from the above episode that Vivekananda and his brother-monks held Jesus Christ in high esteem. Even to this day, the centres of Ramakrishna Mission have a tradition of observing Christmas Eve with solemnity and fervour. Vivekananda's fondness for Jesus is exemplified by another fact. Wherever he travelled, he made it a point to carry two books. The Bhagavad Gita was one; the other was The Imitation of Christ!

A Prostitute as Guru

By G. L. Krishna

An introspective involvement with the sensate is often the gateway to the spiritual. Feeling the ugliness of evil is perhaps the surest way to get rid of it. Here is the story of a prostitute whose life exemplified this truth. Krishna narrates it to his beloved friend Uddhava in the Bhagavata.

Pingala spent her evenings looking for mates in the busy streets of Videha. "Ah...he's my amour," she would think, casting longing glances at handsome passers-by. Whenever someone got enticed, she would spiritedly chase him - only to discover, at the end of the liaison, that the experience was superficial and unfulfilling. "Had, having, and in quest to have extreme," she would thus chase man after man.

One fine evening, a strange weariness came over her. She had grown tired of endlessly looking for the right man - a man who would satisfy her needs of both love and money. The search was tiring, but so were superficial liaisons. Coupled with the weariness was remorse about the life she had lived.

The Holy Lure of Sri Ramanashramam

By G. L. Krishna

I have been a regular visitor to the ashram of Sri Ramana Maharshi in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu (South India). Spending about 4–5 days in the holy precincts of the Ashram has become a cherished biannual ritual for me. 

I have often reflected on what pulls me toward this sacred place. As devotees of Arunachala would attest, while the pull is deep and real, its full nature defies definitive description. A devotee is like Matthew Arnold’s poet, who feels that sharing the deepest truths is challenging: 

Some secrets may the poet tell, 

For the world loves new ways; 

To tell too deep ones is not well 

It knows not what he says. 

I cannot, I am afraid, fathom those deeper aspects of Arunachala’s pull. So, this piece will focus only on those “secrets that I may tell.” 

Tell the Truth, with Love

By Dawn Raffel

In October, I attended Swami Yogatmananda’s talk at Divya Dahm in Queens, NY. I had gone to this temple twice before, both times to hear Swami speak. The first time, I entered tentatively. As someone who does not come from a Hindu background, I was somewhat taken aback by all of the deities—dozens of them, all throughout the temple. Initially, it felt overwhelming. Yet as I continued to sit, what I had tried to understand intellectually began to sink in: There were so many deities that, paradoxically, they had to be One, with many aspects.

This time, I entered the temple eagerly. It was the month of the Durga puja, and Swami’s talk centered on the divine feminine and Holy Mother. The lecture was beautiful, and yet it was an exchange during the question and answer period that has continued to reverberate most powerfully in my mind. The question was posed in a language I don’t understand. Perhaps the specifics of the question don’t matter, because Swami’s answer, in English, is universally applicable: “Tell the truth, with love.” To this, he added, “because the truth is love.”

Lessons from a Recent Train Ride

By Dawn Raffel

In August I rode the train from New York to Vedanta Society of Providence for Krishna Janmashtami. My plan was to reach Providence by early afternoon the day before the festival, but my train was beset by engine troubles. An anticipated brief delay became longer and longer until, in the end, I arrived four hours late.

Fortunately, I reached the Vedanta Society in time for the evening meditation. This was followed by Swami Yogatmananda’s remarks to the children who were enjoying their final evening of residential camp. As one would expect, these comments were invaluable to the adults present as well. Swami posed this question: If you are on a train from New York to Providence and while onboard, you keep running in the direction of New York, where will you end up? The answer is obvious and the analogy demonstrates that everything is up to God.

Complaints Unraveled

By An Aspirant

Complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction with a situation and an unwillingness to accept it, exacerbated by the inability to endure the resulting discomfort or to put in the effort required to adjust it to meet our preferences! Digging further into that feeling makes it evident that the situation is not absolutely unchangeable, but we'd rather not take on that responsibility because we don't trust the strength/longevity of the driving preferences! Thus, complaints reflect an evasion of personal responsibility and a tendency to blame external factors. Simply put, complaining is a demonstration of one's cowardice!

This deep-rooted trait requires introspection, effort and immense Grace to overcome. Awareness that this malady is "in" us and not a problem outside transforms us into an active and willing patient in the treatment process. Some efforts that I find helpful are:

1. Acceptance:
Initially, "don't complain" amounts to bottling up the emotions, which leaves little room for the intellect to operate effectively. Instead, we have to first accept that we are dissatisfied without justifying it.

What Is "Real" Worship?

By Dawn Raffel

While traveling in Italy, I visited several sacred sites—some of them archeological ruins and others active places of worship. In Paestum, south of Naples, three massive Greek temples built some 500 years BC stand largely intact; the goddesses Hera and Athena were worshipped here. A few hours north is Pompeii, an ancient city whose life was extinguished almost instantaneously when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, burying everything under lethal ash while at the same time preserving buildings, their contents, and even some bodies for thousands of years. Every day, throngs of tourists make their way through what’s left of what were once remarkably sophisticated homes and public places. Here, too, one finds temples erected for the worship of Greek and Roman gods who, unlike their ancient counterparts in the Hindu and Jewish religions, are now “extinct.”

Standing amid the remains of Pompeii's temple of Apollo—the god of music, song, dance, and poetry—I overheard a tour guide explain to her group that these pagan gods often behaved in ways that were reprehensible, and that worship of them was extremely transactional. (And yet, I thought, don't many people continue to pray in a transactional manner, requesting a particular worldly outcome, bargaining with God?)

“Love, Love–That’s The One Thing”

By Dawn Raffel

On a recent visit to Vedanta Society of Providence, the morning’s reading was from The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda—specifically, the ending of a lecture given at Kumbakonam in 1897. As I listened, I was again reminded of how, even when addressing “current events” of the nineteenth century, Swami Vivekananda’s words seem urgently pertinent today. The lecture, titled “Mission of Vedanta,” begins by elucidating the spiritual underpinnings of Indian society, and goes on to stress the whole world’s need for awareness of the universality of religions and the oneness of all things.

The latter part of the lecture speaks to the topic of social reform in India. “Personally, I have no fault to find with these reformers,” he said. “Most of them are good, well-meaning men, and their aims too are very laudable on certain points; but it is quite a patent fact that this one hundred years of social reform has produced no permanent and valuable result appreciable throughout the country.” The error, he explained, is that real change can’t be affected by “platform speeches” and “denunciation.” It comes about only through spiritual progress, through love.

"Keep a picture of yourself from high-school days"

By "Supposed to be a devotee"

"Keep a picture of yourself from high-school days," says my Mom,
but, what does that do?

A snapshot of a person, when dreams were dreamt,
the path lay ahead to be tilled,
sown with seeds of virtues, patience and forbearance,
fertilized with restraint,
watered with discipline and good habits,
to grow the flower of  love for the higher Ideal,
along the beautiful pathway;

But all I see now is a snapshot of a person, who would
flit from desire to desire,
not stopping to think ahead or introspect.
The path traversed overgrown with weeds,
of expectation and entitlement, of arrogance and egotism;
now, bearing the deep scratches of anger and hurt,
for the pathway was instead weathered by the passing seasons of life;

Was that self of mine carefree or careless?
All that rings in my ear anymore,
"she looked like a demon when she was angry."
Inspiration it can't become,
reminder it can serve, of a life wasted!
"Keep a picture of yourself from high-school days," says my Mom,
but, what does that do?

Kumbha Mela 2025 – Part 6, Departure

By Teresa Guerra

Jan 31st - We had meditation at 5:00a.m. Afterwards, I finished packing my belongings, getting ready to leave.  There was delicious upma for breakfast.  It felt like the days had passed too fast. I was at the camp from Jan 26th evening to Jan 31st morning. Part of me didn’t want to leave. The noise of the trains, cars, etc; the music, chanting 24 hours a day, and the low temperature after sunset and before sunrise, were also part of the experience. During these days, I met new people, including devotees and sadhus. I didn’t speak Hindi and many of the devotees didn’t speak English, however, we figured it out. For the most part, smiling was enough. When I got stuck, I asked people nearby to help with translation. Something was obviously common to all, to everything. So many blessings!!! 

My angel, Srilatha very kindly told me to continue using her extra SIM card for the rest of my trip, so I didn’t have to worry about it.

Kumbha Mela 2025 – Part 5, Meetings with Sadhus and Devotees

By Teresa Guerra

Jan 30th - The air was very polluted. Last night I was coughing and congested. Many other women in the tent were also coughing. When I went to the Shrine at 5:00a.m., I couldn’t believe how densely foggy it was. I was not able to see anything in front of me.  It stayed like that for a while. The amazing part is that the fog didn’t stop devotees and other people to engage in their routines! Groups of people continued walking towards the sacred rivers.

At breakfast, Srilatha gave me a cold medicine, which helped me feel better. After breakfast, Yugal, Srilatha and I went to see a mataji who was staying very close to our camp. To my surprise, it was Lalita Mataji from Gangotri. I had seen a video about her, sent by Marcela, which impressed me very much because of her simplicity and detachment. She welcomed us in her room, which was very simple.  She talked to us emphasizing that “we are not our body, we are not our thoughts”. The atmosphere was very peaceful. She was so sweet and loving, she was really “up there”; I started to cry.

Kumbha Mela 2025 – Part 4, The Mahasnan (The great bath)

By Teresa Guerra

Jan 29th – I could hardly sleep last night because of the excitement, the loud chanting in the street, and jetlag…Women in the tent started getting ready before 2:00a.m.

At 3:20a.m., the swamis and nuns were lined up. That was a scene to be seen! What a joy!!! So uplifting!  One of the swamis applied vibuthi (ashes) on the other swamis’ foreheads.  The matajis did the same and also applied on the devotees’ foreheads, including us. The procession began. Many were chanting Hara Hara Mahadeva! Srilatha and I were next to each other. At that time in the morning the crowd was huge!