Ramakrishna Sarada Vedanta Society of NSW www.saradavedanta.org

PH: 0408 029 336 Email: admin.saradavedanta@bigpond.com

Vedanta Hall, 15 Liverpool Road, Croydon NSW 2132 P.O Box 817, Strathfield NSW 2135

Vedanta News Donation: $25.00– 2 years 8 issues Payable to: RSV SOCIETY OF NSW

D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 8— F e b r u a r y , 2 0 1 9

Issued by the Pres ident of the Ramakr ishna Sarada Vedanta Soc iet y of NSW

Vedanta News

www.facebook.com/VedantaSocietyofNSW

A bad habit never disappears miraculously; it ’s an undo-it-yourself project.

–Abigail Van Buren

S HIRLEY M ACLAINE

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. -Earl Weaver

The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.

W E become evil by attempting to hide from ourselves .

– M . S c o t t P e c k , P e o p l e o f t h e L i e

W h e n a m a n i s w r a p p e d u p i n h i m s e l f h e m a k e s a p r e t t y s m a l l p a c k a g e .

— J o h n R u s k i n

THE one important thing I have learned over the

years is the difference between taking one’s

work seriously and taking one’s self seriously.

The first is imperative and the second is

disastrous. - MARGOT FONTEYN

When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be overrun with nettles .

–Horace Walpole

YOU mold your own life by the nature of the words you speak; and remember, you hear every word you speak.

-W.EDWARD HARRIS

From: 1001 Pearls of Life-Changing Wisdom Compiled by Elizabeth Venstra

Contents

2 News: In Brief, Kerala Floods Report

3 Tributes in America to Swami Vivekananda

4—5 Coming Events

5 Wisdom of the Gita: Renunciation & Conservation

6 Spirituality Today: Excerpts from the Centenary edition

of ‘Vedanta Kesari’

7—8 Book News: Nicole Barker—, Why I Am a Hindu: Shashi

Tharoor

8 Vedanta Answers: Q & A with

Swami Smarananda,

The kingdom of God cometh not with obser-vation. Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you. LUKE, XVll. 20–21

The form of the Self is not an object of vision; No one can behold Him with the fleshy eye; One can know Him when, by constant meditation And free from doubt, He is revealed by the heart. Those who know thus become im-mortal. KATHA UPANISHAD, Vl.9

Life-Changing Wisdom

The President & the Management Committee of the Society wishes all our members and friends

a Holy Christmas and a Happy, Peaceful New Year.

PAGE 2 VEDANTA NEWS

In Brief

Interreligious Dialogue Pravrajika Gayatriprana along with Betty Yeoh and Nandu Mehta participated in a high level Meeting in Sydney with delegates from the Vatican Pontifical Council. The meeting, held on 17 September, was organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and hosted by Archbishop Christopher Prowse, Chair of the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission for Inter-religious relations.

Over afternoon tea, representa-tives of different faiths “raised is-sues of common concern” and oth-er topics in discussion with mem-bers of the Pontifical Council. The importance of inter-religious dia-logue was explored in a short ad-dress by the delegation’s leader, Bishop Ayuso .

Vedanta Hal l Renovations continue with the retiling and straightening of the roof. Grimy dust has been removed and the double noise and climate control measures of sarking and insulation installed. Next up is the installation of disabled access.

Adela ide Vis i t Attendances at the 2 parlour talks and 1/2 day retreat during Prav-rajika Gayatriprana’s bi-annual visit to Adelaide have increased with up to 40 attending the retreat held in the home of Adelaide hosts for the visit, David and Nermalla Koo. All look forward to the next visit sched-uled for late May next year.

Baha ’ i Discussions Round Table discussions explor-ing ways of achieving greater social cohesion in Australia were held at Sydney’s University of Technology in October and November. The dis-cussions are an initiative of the Ba-ha’i’s Office of External Affairs and chaired by their Director of Public Discourse, Ida Walker. Robert Grant was invited to participate and attended 2 discussions.

Kerala Floods Relief Work Report

A big thank you for the generous response to our appeal for donations supporting the ongoing Kerala flood relief work by the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission in Kerala. Over $24,000 has be donat-ed from our funds and your donations.

Pravrajika Ajayaprana, Vice-President of Sri Sarada Math & Ra-makrishna Sarada Mission, (Pictured seated above) who is sta-tioned in the Math’s Centre at Trivandrum in Kerala, has provided a report on the relief work. See extracts below:

In the month of August 2018, Kerala was very badly affected by heavy rains and dreadful floods. Countless families lost almost eve-rything and became homeless and many lost their lives. In this ad-verse situation, the Sarada Math and Mission Centres of Kerala also came forward to do relief & rehabilitation work. We requested our Centres outside Kerala and also to devotees inside and outside In-dia for help. The response was more than expected. We were really excited when the inmates of Head Quarters including the Most Revered President Mataji sent us contributions. Many Centres sent money from their accounts and also collected from the devotees. Devotees sent donations individually also. Even students and poor people from our Centres contributed according to their capacity.

We started our relief work by the 1st week of September, co-ordinating the five Centres, {in Kerala}. First, a thorough survey was done in the areas around each Centre with the help of devo-tees, to find out the worst- affected families. Thus 300 such families were selected by each Centre. Most of the materials to be distribut-ed were ordered whole-sale for all the Centres together.

Each family received the following things: 1. One kit containing food materials such as rice, dal, gram, oil, sug-ar, spices etc. 2. One kit containing clothes.(blanket, nighty, towel, mat, lungi, inskirt etc.) 3. One kit containing bucket, mug , kitchen vessels, plates and glasses. Apart from this we distributed 40 water tanks of 500 litre capacity in an area where there was a severe problem of storing drinking water.

In this first phase of relief work we spent about Rs.12 lakhs. Still donations are coming and an organization in U.K. has sent Rs.25 lakhs to the Head Quarters for this purpose. In the second phase we are thinking of some long-lasting help such as supplying build-ing materials like doors,windows etc.to the affected families to re-build their broken houses.

We express our heart-felt gratitude to all who extended their helping hands to the noble cause.

May Sri Ramakrishna shower His blessings on all of us.

PAGE 3

With September 11, 2018, marking the 125th Anniversary of the of opening of the World Parlia-ment of Religions in Chicago, tributes have flowed to Swami Vivekananda recalling his historic speech at the event.

“The young Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) warned against the forces of sectari-anism and bigotry,” observed Dr.Veena Howard, trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. The Parliament’s Communications Director, Holly Moran, says: “His message echoes in so much of what we do 125 years later, each time we seek to bring people of difference together, whether it be for understanding, reconciliation and change, or to tally round a common goal.”

The State of Illinois also marked the anniver-sary declaring September 11, 2018, as Swami Vive-kananda Day. The proclamation, issued by Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner, observes that in “an in-creasingly networked and organic community” Swami Vivekananda’s message is “extremely rele-vant in such a globalized world.”

In their Celebration of the Anniver-sary the Vedanta Society of Berkeley staged an event in the Unitarian Church, Oakland, in Califor-nia—the very Church where Swami Vivekananda delivered 8 lectures in 1900. The Church has pre-served the chair on which Swami Vivekananda had sat and has kept it on display on the stage.

See pictures opposite

Tributes to Swami Vivekananda

PAGE 4 VEDANTA NEWS

Coming events Dec 2018—Feb 2019 Sundays 11am—12 noon

December 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 January 13, 20 February 10, 17, 24 Spiritual Reading & Silent Meditation

Program: Hari Om Ramakrishna Chant, Daily Readings - Wisdom from around the world & Silent Meditation.

Monday 24 December—6.30pm—9.00pm

Christmas Eve Celebration

Arati Songs, Silent Meditation, Carols by Candlelight, Talks by Gerard Brennan & Pravrajika Gayatriprana. Concludes with distribution of offered sweets.

Bring some sweets or savouries for offering.

Friday December 28 6.30pm—9.00pm

Holy Mother’s Birthday—At Sarada Tapovan Arati Songs, Silent Meditation, Reading by Pravrajika Gayatriprana. Concludes with distribution of offered sweets.

Tuesday 1 January, 2019—6.30pm—9.00pm

Kalpatharu Day Celebrating the day that Sri Ramakrishna arose from his sick bed to bless his house-holder disciples. Commences with Arati & Silent Meditation followed by a reading by

Pravrajika Gayatriprana. Concludes with distribution of offered sweets.

Sunday 6 January, 2019 From 10.30am—concludes with lunch.

Holy Mother’s Birthday Public Celebration

Hari-Om Ramakrishna, Silent Meditation, Vedic Chants, Devotional Songs: Talks by Dr.Carmelita Maitra & Pravrajika Sridharaprana.

Sunday 27 January, 2019—6.30pm—9.00pm

Swami Vivekananda’s Birthday —At Sarada Tapovan

Arati Songs, Silent Meditation, Reading by Pravrajika Gayatriprana. Concludes with distribution of offered sweets. Bring some and sweets or savouries for offering.

Sunday 3 February, 2019 —From 10.30am—concludes with lunch.

Swami Vivekananda’s Birthday Public Celebration

Spiritual Music, Hari-Om Ramakrishna, Silent Meditation, Vedic Chants, Panel Exploring: Vivekananda as the Turning Point Panellists: Dr.Uma Srinivasan, Dr.Sankar Karunanithi & Robert Grant

Talk by Pravrajika Gayatriprana

Sunday 3 March, 2019 From 10.30am—12.30pm

Shivaratri Celebration

(Shivaratri falls on Monday 4 March). Program: Spiritual Music, Hari Om Ramakrishna Chant, An offering to Shiva: Group Chanting of Om Namah Shivaya 108 times, talks by

Nandu Mehta & Pravrajika Gayatriprana. Concludes with distribution of of-fered sweets. Bring some and sweets or savouries for offering

PAGE 5

events December 2018—February 2019

T h e whole of ethical life is concentrated in two principles: renunciation and service. Re-nunciation of what? This self-centred ego or self. That has to be renounced. The larger Self must manifest. Then every ac-tion becomes service. That is why renunciation is the preced-ing value. The succeeding value is service. You can’t do service without some form of renuncia-tion. If I want to help somebody, to that extent I must give up my own self-interest. And so, re-nunciation and service are what is meant by this concept of yaj-nã. A ritualistic concept of the Ve-das thus became transformed

Renunciation & Conservation

Join our fortnightly Bhagavad Gita Class/ Discussion Led by PRAVRAJIKA GAYATRIPRANA and

focusing on the commentary of Swami Ranganathananda, (Books provided to every student). The Swami was a world thinker, traveler and lecturer.

into a highly ethical principle, making for integration of hu-man beings with other human beings in society, and of the hu-man being with nature outside. Therefore, Sri Krishna says here that this infinite and imperisha-ble reality of Brahman finds ex-pression in every act of yajnã that we do. What a wonderful idea it is! That apparently far away Brahman is close to you when you convert your action into yajnã. Protection of animal species, plant species, and hu-man beings—we have responsi-bility for all of them, only be-cause we have the brain power to destroy all of them or to pro-tect and nourish all of them. If

the human being doesn’t dis-charge this responsibility by expressing one’s actions in terms of yajnã, he or she will ruin everything and will ruin oneself also. That is why it is said here that everything is cen-tred in yajnã, sacrifice—not rit-ual, but work with this sense of dedication. A large Self feeling its oneness with all, oneness with nature, oneness with other human beings and expressing it in service.

P.277/8 Vol.3 V.16 *From The 3 Vol Set: Universal Message of the Bhagavad Gita, published by Advaita Ashrama Available from Vedanta Book Agency, Hbk, 12.50 per volume.

Friday 8 March, 2019—6.30 to 9.00pm

Sr i Ramakr ishna ’s Bir thday - At Sarada Tapovan

Program: Arati, Silent Meditation, Reading by Pravrajika Gayatriprana. Distribution of offered sweets. Bring some sweets or savouries for offering.

Sunday 10 March, 2019, From 10.30am concluding with lunch

Sr i Ramakr ishna ’s Bir thday Publ ic Celebrat ion

Program: Spiritual Music, Hari Om Ramakrishna, Silent Meditation, Vedic Chants,

Live Music by Dr.Kim Cunio & Heather Lee

Panel Exploring: Joy of Spirituality in the Light of Sri Ramakrish-na’s Life & Message Panellists: Walter Mason, Sankar Chandrasekharan, Pravrajika Sridharaprana. Facilitated by Robert Grant Talk by Pravrajika Gayatriprana

Invitation and finalized Programme to be sent later.

PAGE 6 VEDANTA NEWS

Spirituality Today

An Overview of Contemporary Trends in

Spiritual Living and Essentials of Spirituality

A Vedanta Kesari Presentation—Centenary Celebration Edition

extracts from this special Cen-

tenary issue of the Ramakrishna Order’s monthly journal now pub-lished in book form. Available from Vedanta Book Agency: $11.25.

The greatest help to spiritual life is meditation (Dhyana). In meditation we divest ourselves of all material conditions and feel our divine nature. We do not de-pend upon any external help in meditation. The touch of the soul can paint the brightest colour even in the dingiest places; it can cast a fragrance over the vilest thing; it can make the wicked di-vine—and all enmity, all selfish-ness is effaced.

Swami Vivekananda p.38

The Global Spiritual Movement

If we look around at the world today, what comes first to our no-tice is likely to be the enormous increase in crime, violence against women, terrorism, immorality, corruption and other social evils. Exaggerated accounts of these appear in newspapers which give rise to a somber picture of the world. But if we look beyond these shadows we begin to notice a brighter world of universal thought currents. Apart from the enormous increase in high-rise buildings, shopping complexes, cell-phones, electronic gadgets, consumer goods and other exter-nal things, great changes are tak-ing place in world thought, in the collective thinking of humanity.

Megatrends What is really happening is not

merely the development of innu-merable ideas, concepts and inno-vations but a basic change in man’s attitude and response to life and reality. This has given rise

Presenting the attainment of maturity and autonomy of the human mind in determining it own course of de-velopment. One of its chief char-acteristics is that it is supported by science and technology.

—

The support of science to spir-ituality comes from the fact that the common ground between the two has been found. The common ground is consciousness. Con-sciousness studies have now be-come an integral part of several disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, even quantam mechanics.

From the article: Global Spiritu-al Movement and Swamiji’s Ve-danta by Swami Bhajanananda. P.128-131 .

Spiritual but Not Religious

A 2010 USA Today survey re-vealed that 72% of the nation’s young people self identify as ‘more spiritual than religious’. Of those aged 18 to 35, three in 10 say they are not affiliated with any religion, while only half are ‘absolutely certain’ of God’s exist-ence. The actual numbers may be significantly higher. As col-umnist Tina Dupuy observes:

When it comes to self-reporting religious devotion, Americans cannot be trusted. We under-estimate our calories, over-state our height, under-report our weight, and when it comes to piety we lie like a prayer rug.

...Whether I see myself as reli-gious or spiritual, the truth is that I am what I am. Labels don’t mat-ter...What matters is who I am. Am I free from hatred, anger, jealousy, fear and selfishness? Do I love others with no thought of self-interest? If yes, the I can go ahead and call myself either spiritual or religious or neither of the two.

From the article: Spiritual but Not Religious by Swami Tyagananda. P.284/5 & 292/3

to several megatrends in world thought. Some of these mega-trends are:

• Knowledge revolution which is bringing into existence a ‘knowledge society’ in which knowledge is the main force driving economy.

• Concern for the environment.

• Neo-humanism which stresses human rights, especially the rights of marginalized people.

• Moral relativism: changes in the norms of moral conduct.

• Rise of the global spiritual movement.

...The present spiritual move-ment in the West is quite different from the earlier spiritual move-ment which originated in America in the 1960s and ‘70s under the influence of oriental ideas and under the impact of the sudden influx of yogis, gurus, lamas, kinds of spiritual and other teachers. In that early phase, spirituality often got mixed up with occult matters, healing, past life regression, rise of psychedelic drugs etc. It was anti-intellectual, anti-science, anti-establishment...It never became part of the mainstream of society.

By contrast, the present-day spiritual movement belongs to the main stream of social life and world thought. Its followers are normal, successful individuals holding responsible jobs. ...It is a response to a genuine need for a spiritual perspective, a higher, holistic view of life and reality, and a saner, more meaningful way of life. It is not a passing fad but appears to be the result of the natural psycho-social evolution of human consciousness. It marks

Vedanta News PAGE 7

Shashi Tharoor ⚫ US Pbk ⚫ 295 pages ⚫ $28.25

re-examination and overview of Hindu-ism by a leading public intellectual, for-mer Under Secretary of the United Na-

tions, literary award winner and declared to be a ‘Global Leader of Tomorrow.’ Tharoor describes himself as a ‘passionate follower of the thoughts and speeches of Swami Vivekananda.’

Currently serving as a politician in India, in the second part of the book Tharoor delves into the unfolding and disturbing politicization of Hinduism. From the book:

A RELIGION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

In the twenty-first century, Hinduism has many of the attributes of a universal religion—a religion that is personal and individualistic, privi-leges the individual and does not subordinate one to a collectivity; a religion that grants and respects complete freedom to a believer to find his or her own answers to the true meaning of life; a religion that offers a wide range of choice in religious practice, even in regard to the nature and form of the formless God; a religion that places great emphasis on one’s mind, and values one’s capacity for reflection, intellectual enquiry, and self-study; a religion that distances itself from dogma and holy writ,

December 2018—February 2019 Booknews & New Titles

V edãnta BOOK AGENCY

A that is minimally prescriptive and yet offers an abundance of options, spiritual and philo-sophical texts and social and cultural practices to choose from. In a world where re-sistance to authority is growing, Hinduism imposes no authori-ties; in a world of networked individuals; Hinduism proposes no institutional hierarchies; in a world of open-source infor-mation-sharing, Hinduism ac-cepts all paths as equally valid; in a world of rapid transfor-mations and accelerating change, Hinduism is adaptable and flexible, which is why it has survived for nearly 4,000 years.

Page 272

The Cauliflower I n

Why I am a Hindu

PAGE 8 Vedanta News

Vedanta Answers

Selections from question and answers sessions be-tween the young and old and Swami Smarananan-da—President, Ramakrishna Math and Mis-sion.

nal) .

QUESTION:

A N S W E R :

QUESTION:

A N S W E R :

QUESTION:

A N S W E R :

QUESTION:

A N S W E R :

QUESTION:

A N S W E R :

To be continued.

Joy of Spirituality In the Light of Sri Ramakrishna’s Life & Message

Pbk 329 pages $7.25 Studying the life and

teachings of Sri Rama-krishna makes you won-der and ponder and smile and laugh too because with Sri Ramakrishna spirituality is full of joy.

A book of 26 articles where numerous contributors share their varied ideas, ex-periences and suggestions.

Who is Greater?

48 pages $6.50

Vibrant full colour comic style book draw-ing on the story given by Swami Vivekananda in his Karma Yoga talks.

The Way to Women’s Freedom According to Vivekananda

By Anjana Gangopadhyay Pbk 64 pages $2.75

Presents two contrasting pic-tures:(1) On the status and chal-lenges, the degree of personal ex-pression and opportunities for present—day women, particularly in India. Includes discussion about women’s liberation, the nature of true freedom and the confusion over what is a woman’s true and permanent identity. (2) Swami Vivekananda’s view of a truly free woman, and the way to achieve that free-dom.

‘What stands before their eyes is a blurred picture. On the one side is the tradition—bound suppressed figure of a woman, and on the other, the modern face freely flaunting herself, and in between come different shades of mixture partaking from both sides. They em-body in themselves in varying degrees both the states of subjugation as well as independence in a strangely confounding way.’ Page 18