The Vedanta Society

                                                        

Pranam brothers and sisters. Thanks to my illustrious cousin, I visited the Vedanta Society in the upper west side of NYC last night for a session of their weekly Gita discussion. Places led by Swamis such as these often borrow much from Hinduism but do not have representations of God on the premises, and so I have no issue with it but as a loving devotee of Bholenath it does not make sense for me to return unless there is some pressing business need to do so. I think spiritual teachers are great, but as my time on this Earth grows dearer each day, I have no wish to spend any of my life essence worshipping other human beings when I could be dripping in the bliss of Bholenath and Mother Parvati. Respecting and honoring human teachers is great, but worship? Nah. This is the same reason why I had to hit eject on the Self-Realization fellowship and even (for the most part) my childhood path, Shanti Mandir. Among these SM is certainly more truly religious, as the organization actively celebrates Shivratri, it is where I learned the Sri Rudram, and the tripund on the masters' foreheads will tell you that they are Shaivites. Anyway, on to the Vedanta visit.

Swami Sarvapriyanada gave a beautiful talk on the Gita. It was a little boring and philosophical at times, but overall very pleasing to observe and impactful.

He related the story of St. Francis of Assisi, who was the lowest of the saints and yet the greatest among them, his life a testament to spiritual power. This is something similar to what I will do, hopefully in this lifetime alone. Rising through the entirety of Maslow's hierarchy in one lifetime can only be possible with the power of Bholenath, and devotees will rejoice.

In the Gita, Sri Krishna says "The firm person, Arjun, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is alone fit to realize the Immortality of Brahman." (2.15)

Swamiji expounded on this shloka, describing how the soul of a spiritual master is so magnified in consciousness and disassociated with the human experience, that the sensations we experience as important pain and pleasure become wholly insignificant trifles, as if you were watching the drama of your own life from outer space. From my read of the Upanishads thus far, this existence can be likened to one of deep, dreamless sleep.

Swamiji also shared that we should be grateful for extreme temperatures that make us uncomfortable, and for our enemies who hurt us physically and emotionally, because these experiences are a blessed form of tapasya (spiritual austerity) which removes our obstacles to the Supreme.

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