Essay on Maya and Illusion, Chapter 3 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

by Charles Feldman (Prana)

Maya is "what we are and what we see around us." The mind cannot go beyond the limits of time, space and causation. The world exists only in relation our minds. Our life is "a contradiction, a mixture of existence and non-existence." We are torn between our impulse toward selfishness and the morality of unselfishness. All aspects of our life have one end - death. We cling to life due to Maya. We each think we will get the golden fleece, due to Maya. Attempts at reform bring new evils in their place. The strong prey upon the weak, and this is Maya. The more we progress, the more we are open to pain, and this is Maya. Maya is a statement of fact that "the very basis of our being is contradiction . . . that wherever there is good, there must also be evil, and wherever there is evil, there must also be some good. . . . Nor can this state of things be remedied." Vedanta says that at some point, we will laugh at our being afraid to give up our individuality. We do good because it is the only way to make ourselves happy, and the only way of getting out of this life of contradictions. Desire increases through our attempts at enjoyment, as when butter is poured on a fire. Chastity is the life of a nation. Vedanta is neither optimistic nor pessimistic, because "our evil is of no less value than our good . . . ." Life is a search after the ideal. All religions struggle toward freedom. Vedanta has found something beyond Maya, and the Personal God is only the beginning.

Essay on the Necessity of Religion, Chapter 1 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

by Patrick Horn ("Rishi")

Religion is etymologically related to the Latin word religare, "to bind." This is similar to the older Sanskrit word yoga, "to yoke." Both words imply union. Religion, when it is pure, is the quest for transcendence of limited embodiment and absorption in the freedom, joy, and peace of absolute Existence.

Swami Vivekananda suggests that religion originated from 1) ancestor worship, which is the attempt to extend the life of a body after death, and also from 2) awe of the natural world. In the former, the idea of a soul separate from the life of the body is inferred from the dream-state; it was assumed that if the mind is active while the body is inert, then something lives through the body that is not dependent on the body and therefore immortal. The latter idea, of nature worship, when explicated further, explains the birth of various traditions as Truth was transmitted from India into China, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Jewish mysticism, and the Roman Initiatory Schools that became Christianity.

Essay on The Real Nature of Man, Chapter 2 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

by Charles Feldman (Prana)

With death, "The hopes of a lifetime, build up little by little . . . [and] vanish in a second." So we need to ask: What is real? All religions hold that man is a degeneration of what he was, as in the story of the fall of Adam and Eve. Mythology contains nuggets of truth. Evolution seems to contradict the idea of degeneration, yet Hindu mythology reconciles these with the idea of cycles of rising and falling. Whatsoever has form requires something to move it, which is ultimately traced back to the Atman, which, being beyond time, space and causation, must be infinite. We may be happy one moment and unhappy the next, but the infinite spirit never changes. We don't want to give up our individuality, yet the body changes, and we may give up bad habits. The true individuality is beyond all changes - the infinite. The fear of death goes when we realize that we are one with everything. Ethics is based on self-abnegation. Religion cannot be measured in terms of material profit, but it is ultimately practical. We cannot see evil and sin in the world unless we see it in ourselves. Sin is based on weakness, and we need to see ourselves as divine in order to overcome it.

Essay on The Necessity of Religion, Chapter 1 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

by Charles Feldman (Prana)

Religion has the strongest bonds of loyalty of any human institution. Religion originates because "the human mind, at certain moments, transcends not only the limitations of the senses, but also the power of reasoning."  Yet religion is not contrary to reason. All religions have "an Ideal Unit Abstraction, which is . . . either in the form of a Person or an Impersonal Being, or a Law, or a Presence, or an Essence." There is a search for infinite power and pleasure, through renunciation, which is the basis of ethics. Religion must be universal and not sectarian. Religions that look upon other religions with contempt have done more injury than good. Religions need to have a fellow feeling with all other religions, as they stand or fall together.

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.

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).

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.