Whose Karma - Mine or Donkey's?

By Dawn

This past July, I spent a few weeks leading a writers’ workshop on the island of Lamu, Kenya. With no paved roads and no cars, the narrow, twisting streets are filled with donkeys. Most buildings, including the hotel where we met, are made of dead coral, and since there is no window glass, you hear everything going on outside, from the early morning call of the muezzin to late-night street fights.  

One particular noise was inescapable. It came from the yard next door, where we could see a lone donkey kept in a tiny cage day and night, braying piteously. On Lamu, the donkeys are work animals, carrying heavy loads during the day and allowed to roam free at night, except for this one isolated creature. As the days went by, the plight of this donkey began  to weigh on me. Tony, my teaching colleague who lives in Nairobi, told me not to let it get to me, but I could see that it was starting to get to him too.

Finally, Tony decided to walk over and find the donkey’s owner. From the hotel, we could all hear the ensuing, increasingly heated argument in Swahili. Tony returned and said angrily, That guy is barely even feeding the donkey. He doesn’t care if it’s suffering, he just wants to sell it and be rid of it.

Keeping Score

By Dr. Tilak Verma

Evening Vedanta class at the Vedanta Society of Providence was about to begin, and Chuck (not his real name) asked if I might give him a ride home later.

I said yes, quite readily, perhaps eagerly. Because I am keeping score.

Chuck is a perfect student of Vedanta. He takes copious notes and has already filled some 800 pages. He extracts a notebook and pen from a bag and starts writing, single space, and by the end of class has filled several more pages. He makes thoughtful comments and asks probing questions. 

Another thing he is known for are his ear-splitting sneezes that can rouse you out of reveries, drifting mind, or slumber, and yet have enough energy left to shatter a window. On the drive home, he gives precise directions, which include helpful pointers and alerts on traffic signs and lights and locations of pedestrians, etc.

Decades earlier, I recall being in a similar situation--that of needing a ride.  

Passing Show: Thoughts on two Sunday talks at Vedanta Society of Providence, Part 2

 By Dr. Tilak Verma

(Continued from Passing Show 1...) I am ready to take the first-ever drag from my just-purchased, "Passing Show" cigarette!  And that’s when I spot him, or should I say, he spots me.

Jindoo Ram! Our pot-bellied, rotund cook, maker of the choicest curries, renowned for his koftas with cashews embedded on the inside and for perfect, evenly cooked, puffed rotis.

“Having fun and enjoying, I see.” He observes and moves on, disappearing into the crowd before I can think of an excuse, offer an explanation, or plead for secrecy.

Oh boy! I fling the Passing Show aside and head home weighing my options, the best being, I decide, the truth. For my confession I choose my aunt. She is smart, lovely, elegant, and educated in the US, Boston, at a prestigious, renowned all-girl’s college, on a full scholarship no less, and at a time when it was unheard of for women to travel overseas for education. She should be favorably inclined, I imagine.

Passing Show: Thoughts on two Sunday talks at Vedanta Society of Providence, Part 1

By Dr. Tilak Verma

Nachiketa, a young boy in search of knowledge and truth is in conversation with Yama, the god of death.

When a person dies, there exists a doubt:
“He still exists,” say some; “he doesn’t not,"
say others. I want you to teach me the truth.

Swami Yogatmananda-ji is speaking on this over two carefully crafted talks entitled, "Much Ado about Nothing" and "Choosing Wisely."

Yama is unmoved.
“This doubt haunted even the gods of old,” he says, adding, "Ask me something else.” He offers, instead, immense wealth, longevity, and even a kingdom to rule over--and all the pleasures of life one can ask for.

Is Sri Ramakrishna an Avatar?

By Charles Feldman (Prana)

I have been involved with the Vedanta Society for about 19 years now. But one thing I have never been able to feel confident about is: How do we know for sure that Sri Ramakrishna is an Avatar?  After all, he is not as well known as Krishna, Buddha, Shankaracharya, or Chaitanya, and some Gurus who are alive now are regarded by their followers as an Avatar. Once I asked someone from India if they had heard of Sri Ramakrishna, and they said they had not. I know that Sri Ramakrishna might in the future become as well known as these others, but I have always asked myself: How do we know for sure? 

I concluded just the other day that I can regard Sri Ramakrishna as a spiritual authority, but I couldn't be sure he is an Avatar. But then, I read an article by Swami Tyagananda in Chicago Calling, the e-magazine from the Vedanta Society of Chicago. Swami Tyagananda had the kind of confidence that Sri Ramakrishna is an Avatar that I wished that I could have. Then a thought occurred to me: If Sri Ramakrishna is not an Avatar, who is? And I realized that I couldn't think of anyone else who could qualify to be an Avatar for today, at least not for me. This thought totally changed my outlook. There is no one I could regard as an Avatar other than Sri Ramakrishna. Now, I can feel confident that Sri Ramakrishna is an Avatar, at least for me, and for others who regard him as such. My qualms have been resolved.

At Belur Math, Part 2

By Swapna Ray

Oftentimes we have small furrows of conditioning that make us reluctant to accept what is desired of us. So, the gap remains – between what we know and what we follow! But God has His own little ways of making us do what He wants us to!

The moment I completed my breakfast at Belur Math, a strange realization dawned upon me that unknowingly I had broken the convention that I had held on to for so many years – of not having any food prior to my visit to temple! But here I was, succumbing to His wishes without my knowledge! If my Thakur was smiling or not, at having check-mated me in this wonderful way, I wouldn’t know but I did realize for the first time in many years that He shows us what is right when the time comes!
 
I headed towards the Math not far away from the Guest House. The nearer I approached my destination, the faster became my heartbeat! It was an ethereal feeling mixed with joy unbound, a nameless feeling that can only be felt deep within. Each heartbeat I skipped resonated with the culmination of emotions that had bundled within me in these six years that I hadn't had the chance to come here. The closest I could think of was the feeling that I had experienced years ago when I had my first homecoming from my stay abroad after my marriage. 'Homecoming' would perhaps be the most apt name for this feeling of waves of unbound emotions!

At Belur Math, Part 1

By Swapna Ray

I know you not; never before
And yet, my soul seeks you.
Within your infinite, I join my dots;
We build our lives anew. 

--Rabindranath Tagore

The years 2021 and 2022 have been devastating for most of us. With horror in our eyes and unimaginable grief in our hearts, we have counted the deaths of our most near and dear ones succumbing to COVID! There is this thing about tragedy – that fine line between feeling it and experiencing it – up close, and personal! From miles and miles away, we could only grapple with the feeling of personal losses, with the lump of regret lodged in our throats - of not having the power to embrace the grief with our personal experiences! No wonder I did not feel the urge to return to my roots.  But as luck would have it, I did have to visit my homeland around the end of January 2023 due to some personal work.

My younger sister had come to receive me at the airport. As the car left the gates of the airport and its wheels rolled into the city, I told myself to embrace the new reality and set free the bird that had longingly clung to the memories of a long-lost childhood! So, instead of choosing to head towards my ancestral home, I chose to stay in the empty house of a friend. There were the pictures of Sri Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada Devi placed at my bedside table. Discovering them beside me, within moments, my soul discovered familiarity in the hitherto unknown place.