Last October, at the Durga Puja celebrated in San Francisco, we welcomed the first of our SRV youth as an initiated brother of our sangha. Max Hopson received the name Vedanti, “follower of Vedanta.”
Vedanti’s spiritual search began the summer before his freshman year of high school when he discovered and became fascinated with energy work and astral projection. Shortly thereafter, his good friend Logan Fansler (Yogin), mentioned Vedanta in a conversation. Vedanti describes the result of this gentle introduction, “…I was impelled to do some research on the subject. After doing so, I realized I needed to expose myself to the Upanisads if I wanted the unadulterated expression of Vedanta. The very words dissolved boundaries in my mind, and pushed me to ask questions like ‘who is it that is thinking my thoughts?’ or ‘what is it that moves through me?’ The reductionist views of the West were not an option for me after reading these teachings.”
When asked about what led him to ask for initiation, Vedanti replied, “Initiation is one’s birthright, and once one has seen the light in this life, he must pledge to follow it. That light burns bright in my guru. The fire of his yoga is unwavering, and it invokes a sense of great pride in having been blessed with a human body-mind mechanism. Not the egocentric kind of pride, but more like an appreciation for the divine taking form. I aspire to build that kind of spiritual strength with my sadhana.”
Since attending his first retreat and classes at the American River about 5 years ago, Vedanti and his mother have hosted a couple youth classes with Babaji in Sacramento. He has also attended many weekends at SRV San Francisco when Babaji is there, along with most of our California-based SRV youth. These weekends are a rare opportunity for young people in Vedanta, the next generation of our sangha, to inspire each other to deepen their commitment to dharma and spiritual life. “The last time I was at the San Francisco ashram, I was able to spend time with most of the sangha members that are my age. It was such a blessing to speak with them about spiritual matters in such a finely tuned atmosphere as the Healing Center [which houses SRV San Francisco].”
Currently, Vedanti is in college studying horticulture with the intent to further study ecology and biology. He loves gardening and learning about plants and nature.
“Vedanta is my sanctuary. Whether it is before work or school, I’m disciplining my mind with mantram. I can always rely on the practice of meditation and japa to shift my mind back into balance; its truest state.”