Download flyer or year schedule SF=San Francisco, PD=Portland Morning MeditationSF — 6 to 7am daily.PD — please call for times.Arati Satsangs @ 7pmSF — July 8, 11, 12 [F, M, Tu]PD— July 29 [F] Classes @ 9:30am, SvetashvataropanisadSF — July 9 & 10 [Sat, Su]PD—July 23, 24, 30 & 31 [Sat, Su]SRV Pujas on SaturdaysSF — July 9 @ 7:00pmPD …
God as Mother
Today is May 7th and we are blessed with the presence of four beautiful children, ages 6 to 10 years, in the SRV San Francisco ashram. The children’s class on spirituality will be centered on the aspect of God as Mother. Respect of Mother, Love of Mother — the Mother of the Universe! It is an auspicious teaching all in its own, for after all tomorrow is Mother’s Day.
Satsang with Babaji
Student: What is relative free will?
Babaji: Most people have a hard time with this. They think in terms of choice. Ramana Maharishi says there is no free will. Relatively speaking, there is no free will. There may be choice based upon relative free will, but the problem with choice is that it is all wound up with karma and samskaras. Anyone who does not believe in reincarnation cannot adequately explain cause and effect.
Spring 2011
Class Notes from Babaji’s May visit to California and Oregon
Purifying the Mind
Mind, when it ceases to vibrate, is Brahman. Sri Ramakrishna has said that pure mind is God. Lord Buddha states that pure mind is Buddha Mind. Ordinary mind is finite….but “from the infinite the finite has come….”
Faster than sound is light. Faster than light is the speed of the mind, of thought. But Brahman “outstrips all that runs…”
We must tune this mind to be swift, to return to Original Mind, Buddha Mind. If pure mind is God, then it must be that impure mind is not God. Therefore, impure mind is the only thing standing in our way. So we have to purify the mind. This is where sadhana comes in, a great necessity. When you purify the mind then it is nothing more than Pure Consciousness.
Wisdom in Practice
Preparation Sarada is sweeping.Thatch to shoo the monkey mind; nonsense of the day.Split reed to break the cycles of habit; layers of boundaries; years of doubt.Golden stick to strike fear and desire; feelings alive in the darkest corner.She does her hardest work there. from Suprema
Upcoming Retreat
2011 Summer Retreat with Babaji 12th Annual (at least!) American River Retreat – July 15 – 21Dharma, Svadharma, & Beyond DharmaAn ongoing tradition in the SRV fold, which has seen many souls, young and old, partake of its rare gifts, the summer retreat near the American River in Forest Hill, California, will again bless us with wisdom teachings correlative to …
Seminar 2011: The Upanisads are Vedanta
Spring Weekend Seminar with Babaji Bob Kindler
Student’s Reflection and Notes
One of the indelible parts of this retreat for me was to learn that many of the 97 “minor” upanisads (out of 108) in the Vedas incorporate what we have come to know as Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. Many are given the names of the Deities and some Incarnations as well, suggesting an element of Tantra. As Babaji stated in classes this visit, the rishis had a deep love of Yoga.
Excerpt from Reclaiming Kundalini Yoga
This excerpt is taken from Chapter 3, “Poisons and Nectars – Aids and Impediments in the Kundalini Yoga System.”
rkstories: toc
An Extensive Anthology of Sri Ramakrishna’s Stories Table of Contents Introduction xxiii Part 1—Eternal Principles I Brahman 3II Shakti 37III Ishvara 53 IV Maya 75V Guru 95 VI Truth 127VII Grace 131VIII Samadhi 139IX Unity 175X Divine Love 183XI Universality 199XII Form and Formlessness 213XIII Predestination and Auspicious Timing 227XIV Karma and Reincarnation 239XV God and the World …
Excerpt from Lesson #61
STUDENT: “I have been contemplating the nature of sadhana as a means of dissolving past karma rather than a means of achieving self-realization. In the book, The Avadhut, you mention that goal-oriented and process-oriented sadhana are less than ideal. I had thought that sadhana is a means of quieting the mind in order to achieve a single focus, and ultimately …