Vedanta for the Neighborhood Portland sangha members have long considered placing something in front of the ashram to hold schedules and other literature.  After moving to the Hawthorne district in 2012, we noticed that some houses in our neighborhood had craftsman style miniature houses on posts with books of various kinds in them.  These seem to represent a low key …

From Empty Room to Sacred Space  SRV Reopens Official Hawai’i Shrine For 10 years, the official Hawaii shrine has been lovingly cared for by Babaji and Loke Ma in their little house on the slopes of Mauna Kea.  Last June, the large room across the hall in our Waimea center became available to us.   History of the SRV Hawai’i …

At Play in the fields of the Dharma December, 2017 Today is Holy Mother’s birthday, a fitting day to construct a message for Mundamala — Her necklace of human heads, like egos, of various races and colors.  Living beings, in all realms, are all various types of necklaces around the Divine Mother’s lovely neck.  Some beings form a cheap necklace …

SRV’s First Audio BookHoly Mother’s Song of Wisdom The Sri Sarada Vijnanagita, Holy Mother’s Song of Wisdom, is poised for release as an audio book through Audible.  Published recently as a beautiful hardback book, the Sri Sarada Vijnanagita has already become a source of inspiration for many. “I have found the Sri Sarada Vijnanagita to be an inexhaustible source of …

Mother Claps – Niranjan’s initiation In an earlier introduction of a new SRV initiate for this newsletter, we noted how in chapter 6 of the Bhagavad-Gita Sri Krishna teaches that it is most difficult to obtain a birth in which one is born into a family of wise yogis. The boon in such a birth is that “he regains the …

Seattle Retreat Reflection In this retreat we studied the second of the seven Goddess Upanishads, the Sita Upanishad, in which the Gods asked Prajapati (the teacher of the Gods), “Who is Divine Mother and What is Her Form?”  His answer begins: “She is Sita…” Prajapati went on to describe Her in full, and with every class, as we followed the …

Guru Sishya Seminar Notesfrom a student’s notebook The Supreme Pathway to Eternal Moksha (The chart by this name can be found in A Quintessential Yoga Vasishtha, by Babaji Bob Kindler, p.37) Moksha, liberation – realize that this is ever-present and thereby raise yourself to that perfect state.  Whoever got inspired by thinking of oneself as a sinner? Ordinary scriptures should …

Summer Retreat Notes, 2016 Shifting consciousness A seminal theme in Babaji’s presentation of Indian dharma concerns how consciousness shifts whereas Consciousness is unmoving.  Every teaching from any school or perspective can be said to be intent on explaining the existence of higher awareness and its stages, or freeing people from obstacles in their minds that prevent them from shifting to …

Pilgrims to India Beginning mid December, SRV Sangha members will go with Babaji to Mother India.  There are plans to visit and sometimes stay at Sri Sarada Math, Belur Math, and Master and Mother’s birthplaces, as well as to meet and have satsang with several monks of the Ramakrishna Order in Delhi, Varanasi, and Kolkata. Throughout, Babaji will give classes …

Swami Vivekananda’s Western Antaranga Swami Vivekananda introduced the West to the universal principles of Vedanta beginning in the United States in 1893. Although hundreds and thousands attended lectures and were awed by him, a small group of dedicated people came forth to devote themselves to the principles of Vedanta and to help Swamiji spread its universal message.  Among his closest …