Fall 2008, SRV San Francisco

Class Notes from Babaji’s Fall Visit

Saturday, October 25, 2008
Kali Puja Day – Teachings on the Divine Mother

Babaji presented the following charts:
Waves in the Ocean of Mature Universalism
The Purusharthas – the Four Fruits of Life

There are two distinctive features of Sri Ramakrishna’s advent. He was a paragon of universality. He practiced all the religious systems of India, Christianity, and Islam. This had never been done before, at least not in the full view of humanity. Sri Ramakrishna once said to someone, “I have practiced the disciplines of all paths, each for a few days. Otherwise I would have had no peace of mind. I respect the Shaktas, the Vaishnavas, the Vedantists, and also the modern Brahmajnanis. Therefore, people of all sects come to me. And every one of them think that I belong to his school.” – Sri Ramarkrishna

Upcoming Schedule Highlights

SRV Portland – Call 503-774-2410: Babaji returns for 4 weekends of classes, satsangs, and worship. Complete Portland Schedule Dec. 7, Sun., 9am-2pm, Older Childrens’ class. Dec. 13, Sat., 9:30am, Babaji’s First Teaching. Dec. 17, Wed., 7pm, Special Class with Babaji: Sri Sarada Vijnanagita Dec. 20, Sat., 6pm, Holy Mother’s Jayanti Puja. Dec. 24, Wed., 7pm, Special Class with Babaji: Christ’s …

Wisdom in Practice

Transformation of Mind and Transcendent Action

Dear Babaji,

I’ve just returned from three days in Honolulu attending our annual conservation conference.  It was a good conference.  As usual there was a lot of disturbing information being shared about the plight of Hawaii’s native species.  So many are critically endangered or have already gone extinct.  It’s pretty alarming.

India Flood Relief

DevastationAs you may recall in September, we received a call for help from the Ramakrishna Headquarters, Belur Math, regarding a devastating flood in the western part of India. Sanga members contributed to this fund in answer to the plea for food, supplies, and medical relief. The following letter was sent to us upon receiving our donation.

Message from SRV’s Spiritual Director

Greetings to all the devotees, students, and participants of SRV Association’s movement and its events – and aloha from Hawaii:

In the wake of our previous gathering in October, and in anticipation of our next meeting over Christmas and New Year’s, I hereupon take this welcome opportunity to write words of both appreciation and encouragement to all of you.  Here in our world, in Saradaramakrishna Loka, we are fortunate to be able to live an extraordinary life of sadhana and service, each of these accomplished selflessly and meticulously under the Brahman-banner of dharma and its incomparable tenets.  What a great and gracious boon this is!  It has been conferred upon us by the Mother of the Universe Herself, She who came to earth again as Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother, gracing the world of name and form as recently as the 1920’s.  And She came as both the Universal Mother in Her own right, and as the consort of the Avatar, Sri Ramakrishna, Himself an incarnation of Mother Kali and the manifestation of Ram and Krishna conjoined.  To quote Swami Vivekananda, a paragon of Truth and truthfulness himself:

Nectar Update

nectar24Nectar of Non-dual Truth

Advaita-Satya-Amritam

A Journal of Universal Religious and Philosophical Teachings

Welcoming the new Nectar!

Nectar has entered a whole new phase. As we send out this newsletter, our small staff is preparing issue number 24, coming out this Winter, which will be almost twice the size of prior issues. This alone — the opportunity to offer so many inspiring articles in the spirit of true Universalism — is the cause of very high spirits!

Fall 2008, SRV Oregon

Notes from Babaji’s classes in Portland

Saturday, September 27, 2008
Durga Puja Day: Teachings on the Divine Mother Durga Puja 2008

Babaji presented 3 charts:
Waves in the Ocean of Mature Universalism
The Three Gunas of Nature
Prakasha Shakti, The Revealing Power

In true spiritual life one must be able to switch gears — from the Advaitic to the Tantric, from inward yoga to external karma. A car doesn’t run smoothly if one fails to shift speeds accordingly. So, you should be able to step from Advaita, the nondual perspective that detaches from all name and form, to Tantric deification of form — without skipping a beat. And know that form can give way to formlessness — this also should be “substitutable.” Sri Ramakrishna expressed his ideal of universalism using the analogy of cows out in the pasture. There, they all mix together in a friendly manner, but at night they each have their own stall. He therefore meant that His devotees should be able to live with those of all spiritual traditions. Still, you have your own stall. That means you have your own Ideal. But it doesn’t mean you can’t partake of the wisdom of other ideals. “Share the Road” as the signs say in Portland, Oregon. In true universalism, the Deities become interchangeable. There is the personal Deity, and then there is Its nondual or formless “counterpart” that is identical with those of all other deities: Shiva/Paramashiva; Vishnu/Mahavishnu; Shakti/Mahashakti, who is one with Brahman; who dances on Shiva. The Great Master stated, “If I hadn’t searched for God in every religion, then I wouldn’t have had any peace of mind.”

Making a Lasting Impression

Older Children’s Retreat in the Portland Ashram

When our older SRV children were very young we taught them through rituals, stories, drama, and art. Core philosophical and dharma teachings were expressed in that manner. Now, as they are entering the later grades of elementary and middle school, they are naturally interacting in a more intellectual way with the external world (the bhutakasha) and having more involved social interactions as well. In our secularized society it is essential for the children of dharmic families to have friendships with other children whose home life is also based in dharma, otherwise they feel out of step with their peers. For the children of parents who follow Vedanta, this can be a real challenge, since we are not a large group in any city. Therefore, at SRV’s Portland ashram, we work hard at finding times our children can come together for formal spiritual instruction in the ashram, and have fun in the process.

Autumn Satsangs 2008

Satsang Notes from Babaji’s Autumn Teaching Visit to the SRV Mainland Ashrams

What is the difference between Babaji’s classes and satsangs?  From our notes it is not so obvious, to be sure.  During weekend classes in the ashram, Babaji delivers 3 hours of teachings.  We ready ourselves for this and practice concentration.  In the early days it seemed very difficult to take in so much indepth knowledge in one sitting (with a break!), but over time we became acclimatized to it.  We learned to accept as much as we could receive and trust the rest would work its way into our understanding.  Babaji calls this the “sponge method.”  Repetition is the salt of spiritual life.  Anyone who has studied years with a teacher ends up being grateful for all the repetition, for it creates links, unseen at first, in our minds, and as more teachings come over the months and years, they link up with these certain foundational links.  Sometimes a link will sit there for years until the perfect auspicious moment when a situation or train of thought suddenly brings it to the surface of consciousness and a new plateau of understanding is revealed.  We call Babaji’s three-hour classes a “pleasant austerity” and delight in the intense Wisdom atmosphere we experience in them.

Satsangs, on the other hand, are more informal and are an opportunity for students to ask questions about what we heard in class, what we have studied on our own, or even questions arising from daily life.  SRV satsangs are generally held after arati, an evening devotional service where elements, senses, and our minds and hearts are surrendered to God and we offer the traditional arati hymn, Om Hring Ritang, to Sri Ramakrishna.  Then we retire to the back of the shrine room.  Babaji opens with a brief and spontaneous discourse to help set the atmosphere for peoples’ questions.  The notes below are highlights from these short discourses and his responses to questions.