by Russell Atkinson There is a Hindu doctrine that the universe and life are the outcome of a joyful creative spirit at play. Evolution is play and our human life is too. They call it the Ras Lila—divine play. I suppose it must seem, at best, a poetic piece of fantasy...
by John Schlenck Proponents of the play (Lila) theory of the universe are sometimes accused of not taking evil and suffering seriously enough. In The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna[1], a young visitor to Ramakrishna[2] protests, “But this play of God is our death.” The...
Swami Prabuddhananda, Minister-in-Charge of the Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco since 1970, passed away on July 2, 2014 at the age of 84. He was born in Karnataka state, India, in 1929, and joined the Ramakrishna Order in his early 20s. Before...
American Vedantist remembers with gratitude the service Beatrice Bruteau rendered as co-editor and contributor from the journal’s inception in 1995 until 2007. Beatrice was one of the most significant spiritual philosophers of our time. She passed away on November 16....
by Uma Majmudar, Ph.D. No other book or scripture influenced Gandhi, shaped his character, and transformed his life as profoundly and permanently as did the Bhagavad Gita. Among the many books he read, “Gita” alone became an unfailing source of strength and solace to...
by Joanne Kilgour Clementine Rigby was with us for 102 years. Her final months were filled with the clear belief that it was time for her to finish her work on earth. She intimated that she prayed unceasingly for Mother Sarada to release her from her earthly coil....
by Amrita M. Salm Jean Ayars Pohli, known as “Vandana” in Vedanta circles, passed away peacefully on Monday, May 19, 2014. She was a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the only child of Robert and Gertrude Ayars, both of whom were professors at the University of...
by Swami Tathagatananda Review by John Schlenck Book info: Vedanta Society of New York Paperback $5.00 69 pp. 2014 This short biography of Swami Vivekananda’s South Indian disciple Alasingha Perumal will be of particular interest to Swamiji’s...
Virtual Dream I am a pixel. Dancing energy potential Blinking/Replaced In Kaleidoscopic pattern. Ever changing hologram. I am the ocean out of which All arises. The wind, the rain, my breath. Vast the screen, Small the illusion— Light, dark flickers of duality. Life...
Issue 68 From ancient times, spiritual culture has been largely transmitted through poetry and storytelling. Didactic religious prose didn’t even arise until the Axial Age, c. 900—300 B.C.E. And even then poetry and storytelling continued to be important vehicles for...
