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Life Beyond Death by Swami Abhedananda
Life Beyond Death Lectures of Swami Abhedananda A Great Yogi and Direct Disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Life Beyond Death – lovingly restored by The Spiritual Bee An e-book presentation by For more FREE books visit the website: www.spiritualbee.com Dear Reader, This book has been reproduced here from the Complete Works of Swami Abhedananda, Volume 4. The book is now in the public domain in India and the United States, because its original copyright has expired. “Life beyond Death” is a collection of lectures delivered by Swami Abhedananda in the United States. Unlike most books on the subject which mainly record encounters with ghosts and other kinds of paranormal activities, this book looks at the mystery from a soundly rational and scientific perspective. The lectures initially focus on providing rational arguments against the material theory of consciousness, which states that consciousness originates as a result of brain activity and therefore once death happens, consciousness also ends and so there is no such thing as a life beyond death. Later in the book, Swami Abhedananda also rallies against many dogmatic ideas present in Christian theology regarding the fate of the soul after death: such as the philosophies of eternal damnation to hell, resurrection of the physical body after death and the belief that the soul has a birth, but no death. In doing so Swami Abhedananda who cherished the deepest love and respect for Christ, as is evident in many of his other writings such as, “Was Christ a Yogi” (from the book How to be a Yogi?), was striving to place before his American audience, higher and more rational Vedantic concepts surrounding life beyond the grave, which have been thoroughly researched by the yogi’s of India over thousands of years. -
Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
UNIT 6 HINDUISM : SWAMI VIVEKANANDA AND SRI AUROBINDO GHOSH Structure 6.2 Renaissance of Hi~~duis~iiand the Role of Sri Raniakrishna Mission 0.3 Swami ViveItananda's Philosopliy of Neo-Vedanta 6.4 Swami Vivckanalida on Nationalism 6.4.1 S\varni Vivcknnnnda on Dcrnocracy 6.4.2 Swami Vivckanar~daon Social Changc 6.5 Transition of Hinduism: Frolii Vivekananda to Sri Aurobindo 6.5. Sri Aurobindo on Renaissance of Hinduism 6.2 Sri Aurol>i~ldoon Evil EffLrcls of British Rulc 6.6 S1.i Aurobindo's Critique of Political Moderates in India 6.6.1 Sri Aurobilido on the Essencc of Politics 6.6.2 SI-iAurobindo oil Nationalism 0.6.3 Sri Aurobindo on Passivc Resistance 6.6.4 Thcory of Passive Resistance 6.6.5 Mcthods of Passive Rcsistancc 6.7 Sri Aurobindo 011 the Indian Theory of State 6.7.1 .J'olitical ldcas of Sri Aurobindo - A Critical Study 6.8 Summary 1 h 'i 6.9 Exercises j i 6.1 INTRODUCTION In 19"' celitury, India camc under the British rule. Due to the spread of moder~ieducation and growing public activities, there developed social awakening in India. The religion of Hindus wns very harshly criticized by the Christian n?issionaries and the British historians but at ~hcsanie timc, researches carried out by the Orientalist scholars revealcd to the world, lhc glorioi~s'tiaadition of the Hindu religion. The Hindus responded to this by initiating reforms in thcir religion and by esfablishing new pub'lie associations to spread their ideas of refor111 and social development anlong the people. -
In the Name of Krishna: the Cultural Landscape of a North Indian Pilgrimage Town
In the Name of Krishna: The Cultural Landscape of a North Indian Pilgrimage Town A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Sugata Ray IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Frederick M. Asher, Advisor April 2012 © Sugata Ray 2012 Acknowledgements They say writing a dissertation is a lonely and arduous task. But, I am fortunate to have found friends, colleagues, and mentors who have inspired me to make this laborious task far from arduous. It was Frederick M. Asher, my advisor, who inspired me to turn to places where art historians do not usually venture. The temple city of Khajuraho is not just the exquisite 11th-century temples at the site. Rather, the 11th-century temples are part of a larger visuality that extends to contemporary civic monuments in the city center, Rick suggested in the first class that I took with him. I learnt to move across time and space. To understand modern Vrindavan, one would have to look at its Mughal past; to understand temple architecture, one would have to look for rebellions in the colonial archive. Catherine B. Asher gave me the gift of the Mughal world – a world that I only barely knew before I met her. Today, I speak of the Islamicate world of colonial Vrindavan. Cathy walked me through Mughal mosques, tombs, and gardens on many cold wintry days in Minneapolis and on a hot summer day in Sasaram, Bihar. The Islamicate Krishna in my dissertation thus came into being. -
Swami Vivekananda
Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 9 Letters (Fifth Series) Lectures and Discourses Notes of Lectures and Classes Writings: Prose and Poems (Original and Translated) Conversations and Interviews Excerpts from Sister Nivedita's Book Sayings and Utterances Newspaper Reports Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 9 Letters - Fifth Series I Sir II Sir III Sir IV Balaram Babu V Tulsiram VI Sharat VII Mother VIII Mother IX Mother X Mother XI Mother XII Mother XIII Mother XIV Mother XV Mother XVI Mother XVII Mother XVIII Mother XIX Mother XX Mother XXI Mother XXII Mother XXIII Mother XXIV Mother XXV Mother XXVI Mother XXVII Mother XXVIII Mother XXIX Mother XXX Mother XXXI Mother XXXII Mother XXXIII Mother XXXIV Mother XXXV Mother XXXVI Mother XXXVII Mother XXXVIII Mother XXXIX Mother XL Mrs. Bull XLI Miss Thursby XLII Mother XLIII Mother XLIV Mother XLV Mother XLVI Mother XLVII Miss Thursby XLVIII Adhyapakji XLIX Mother L Mother LI Mother LII Mother LIII Mother LIV Mother LV Friend LVI Mother LVII Mother LVIII Sir LIX Mother LX Doctor LXI Mother— LXII Mother— LXIII Mother LXIV Mother— LXV Mother LXVI Mother— LXVII Friend LXVIII Mrs. G. W. Hale LXIX Christina LXX Mother— LXXI Sister Christine LXXII Isabelle McKindley LXXIII Christina LXXIV Christina LXXV Christina LXXVI Your Highness LXXVII Sir— LXXVIII Christina— LXXIX Mrs. Ole Bull LXXX Sir LXXXI Mrs. Bull LXXXII Mrs. Funkey LXXXIII Mrs. Bull LXXXIV Christina LXXXV Mrs. Bull— LXXXVI Miss Thursby LXXXVII Friend LXXXVIII Christina LXXXIX Mrs. Funkey XC Christina XCI Christina XCII Mrs. Bull— XCIII Sir XCIV Mrs. Bull— XCV Mother— XCVI Sir XCVII Mrs. -
Conversations with Swami Turiyananda
CONVERSATIONS WITH SWAMI TURIYANANDA Recorded by Swami Raghavananda and translated by Swami Prabhavananda (This month's reading is from the Jan.-Feb., 1957 issue of Vedanta and the West.) The spiritual talks published below took place at Almora in the Himalayas during the summer of 1915 in the ashrama which Swami Turiyananda had established in cooperation with his brother-disciple, Swami Shivananda. During the course of these conversations, Swami Turiyananda describes the early days at Dakshineswar with his master, Sri Ramakrishna, leaving a fascinating record of the training of an illumined soul by this God-man of India. His memories of life with his brother-disciples at Baranagore, under Swami Vivekananda’s leadership, give a glimpse of the disciplines and struggles that formed the basis of the young Ramakrishna Order. Above all, Swami Turiyananada’s teachings in the pages that follow contain practical counsel on many aspects of religious life of interest to every spiritual seeker. Swami Turiyananda spent most of his life in austere spiritual practices. In 1899, he came to the United States where he taught Vedanta for three years, first in New York, later on the West Coast. By the example of his spirituality he greatly influenced the lives of many spiritual aspirants both in America and India. He was regarded by Sri Ramakrishna as the perfect embodiment of that renunciation which is taught in the Bhagavad Gita Swami Shivananda, some of whose talks are included below, was also a man of the highest spiritual realizations. He later became the second President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. -
Tantra Yoga Secrets (385)
A Tantra Yoga Workshop from a Master Teacher Tantra Yoga Secrets empowers readers to overcome emotions, gain new knowledge, and live a more fulfilling spiritual lifestyle. "Takes one beyond the illusionary misunderstanding that tantric practice/sadhana is about sexuality and raises it to its full value as a powerful way to wake up to the Self of all." -GABRIEL COUSENS, MD, DD, diplomat of Ayurveda, acknowledged Kundalini and Shaktipat master; author of Conscious Eating and Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine Considered to be the highest and most rapid path to enlightenment, Tantra Yoga is a practice of transformational self-healing. While many are drawn to Tantra on the promise of an enhanced sexual practice-longer orgasms, increased stamina-the real Tantra aims to awaken Kundalini, the dormant potential force in the human personality. Master teacher and author Mukunda Stiles invites readers to participate in a tradition that includes a vast range of practical teachings that lead to the expansion of human consciousness and the awakening of a primal energy. Stiles explains this incredibly intimate and life-changing practice with grace, structure, and clarity. "These lessons provide a system of practices that con open doors into rewording perceptions of reality." -ROBERT SVOBODA, B.A.M.S., ayurvedic physician, author of Aghora; Ayurveda: Life, Health, and Longevity; Prakruti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution; and Ayurveda for Women "Anyone seeking self-awareness will benefit by following the step-by-step asana and meditation practices from this ancient path." -MA JAYA SAT! BHAGAVATI, Kashi Ashram, founder of Kali Natha Yoga "Tantra Yoga Secrets is an invaluable manual for students ready to progress beyond yoga postures to expanded states of awareness." -LINDA JOHNSEN, author of Daughters of the Goddess: The Women Saints of India "Tantra Yoga Secrets provides an insightful view of this fascinating yet misunderstood topic of how to bolance the male and female energies of Shiva and Shakti within us to achieve swastha (the harmony of health with the inner Selij." -DR. -
Vedanta's Message for Our Time: Man's Need for the Eternal
Vedanta’s Message For Our Time: Man’s Need For The Eternal Philosophy By Swami Tathagatananda Since the advent of Shri Ramakrishna on the spiritual horizon of mankind, a new epoch of spiritual fraternity had been steadily unfolding. The West has been evincing its keen interest in the ancient truth of India’s heritage. Shri Ramakrishna demonstrated the reality of Divinity by realizing the Truth in his own life. This re-authentication of the ancient truths in the life of Shri Ramakrishna is a great example of hope and inspiration. Shri Ramakrishna proclaimed the fundamental unity of all religions to a world plagued by hostility, disharmony and persecution, all in the name of religion. Swami Vivekananda broadcast that teaching to the world when religious truths and the subjects of God, Soul and immortality had lost their reality and made a mockery of religion. Various dogmatic theologies with their anti-rational and anti-humanistic attitudes had denigrated the image of religion, which was ultimately abandoned in the modern period. In that bleak, hostile world, Swami Vivekananda preached the sublime truth of Vedanta that speaks of man’s spiritual depth and dimension. He taught about a new image of man as potentially Divine. According to Marie Louise Burke, “As Swamiji later wrote to Swami Ramakrishnananda, ‘I am careering all over the country. Wherever the seed of his power will fall, there it will fructify—be it today, or in a hundred years.’ . Throughout his life, wherever he was and whatever he was outwardly doing, he permanently lifted the consciousness of all with whom he came in contact. -
Paper Code: Dttm C205 Tourism in West Bengal Semester
HAND OUT FOR UGC NSQF SPONSORED ONE YEAR DILPOMA IN TRAVEL & TORUISM MANAGEMENT PAPER CODE: DTTM C205 TOURISM IN WEST BENGAL SEMESTER: SECOND PREPARED BY MD ABU BARKAT ALI UNIT-I: 1.TOURISM IN WEST BENGAL: AN OVERVIEW Evolution of Tourism Department The Department of Tourism was set up in 1959. The attention to the development of tourist facilities was given from the 3 Plan Period onwards, Early in 1950 the executive part of tourism organization came into being with the appointment of a Tourist Development Officer. He was assisted by some of the existing staff of Home (Transport) Department. In 1960-61 the Assistant Secretary of the Home (Transport) Department was made Director of Tourism ex-officio and a few posts of assistants were created. Subsequently, the Secretary of Home (Transport) Department became the ex-officio Director of Tourism. Two Regional Tourist Offices - one for the five North Bengal districts i.e., Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, West Dinajpur and Maida with headquarters at Darjeeling and the other for the remaining districts of the State with headquarters at Kolkata were also set up. The Regional Office at KolKata started functioning on 2nd September, 1961. The Regional Office in Darjeeling was started on 1st May, 1962 by taking over the existing Tourist Bureau of the Govt. of India at Darjeeling. The tourism wing of the Home (Transport) Department was transferred to the Development Department on 1st September, 1962. Development. Commissioner then became the ex-officio Director of Tourism. Subsequently, in view of the increasing activities of tourism organization it was transformed into a full-fledged Tourism Department, though the Secretary of the Forest Department functioned as the Secretary, Tourism Department. -
Recent Biographies of Ramakrishna – a Study
RECENT BIOGRAPHIES OF RAMAKRISHNA – A STUDY RUCHIRA MITRA Research Scholar, PP ENG 0054 Rayalaseema University, Andhra Pradesh (INDIA) [Ex HOD, English, Shadan Degree College for Boys, Hyderabad Ex Lecturer, Post Graduate College, OU, Secunderabad] (AP), INDIA. The spiritual giants are the most tangible form of divinity through which people find solace in difficult times. Their biographies perpetuate their memory as well as promote devoutness and spirituality. Biography of saints is again becoming popular nowadays. It also throws light on the problems in writing a biography of a saint because most of the drama of a saint’s life is lived within; and charting the inner dimensions of a saint has always been a challenging task. Such studies are often inspired by veneration instead of deep understanding. On the other hand, there may be a biography written by a detractor in which sublime ideals and transcendental thoughts are trivialized. This becomes evident if we do critical appreciation of some famous biographies. Ramakrishna, who, more than a century after his death continues to dominate secular Hindu consciousness, was a key figure in what is considered to be the Hindu Renaissance of the 19th century. His biographies will be used to show the wide range of perspectives - from abjectly critical to totally objective to rank idolatry - – taken up by the authors. A big problem in interpreting a person’s character arises when the biographer belongs to a different culture. Two foreign interpreters of Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita Malcolm McLean and Jeffrey Kripal fall under this category. In Kali’s Child Kripal takes to the hermeneutic of suspicion as he claims to reveal the secret that has been hidden for over a century: that Ramakrishna was a conflicted, unwilling homoerotic Tantric. -
Introduction to the 'Message of the Upanishads'
Swami Ranganathananda Introduction to The Message of the Upanishads THE CHARM AND POWER OF THE UPANI$ADS Table of Contents The Principal Upanisads...................................2 From Obscurity to Prominence...........................5 What the Upaniads Contain..............................7 Satyasya Satyam............................................8 Inquiry into the 'Within' of Nature.....................10 Science and Religion.....................................11 Sruti versus Smrti.........................................14 The Message of the Upanisads [Published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai] is a study, verse by verse, of three of the principal Upanisads, namely, Isha, Kena, and Katha. The first contains eighteen, the second thirty-five, and the third one hundred and nineteen verses. Though constituting a small portion of the total Upanisadic literature, they yet con- tain a lucid exposition of all the essential ideas of this im- mortal literature. Scholars are divided as to the date of the composition of the Upanisads. Many of them are agreed, however, that most of the principal Upanisads belong to the period prior to the advent of Buddha in the seventh century before Christ. There are over two hundred Upanisads, many of them sectarian in character and palpably post-Buddhistic and even post-Sank- aracarya. The Message of the Upanishads – Swami Ranganathananda The Principal Upanisads The principal Upanisads are accepted to be those which Shankaracarya (A.D. 788-820) chose to comment upon; they are ten in number and are enumerated in the Indian tradition as follows: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, MandUkya, Taittirlya, Aitareya, Chandogya, and Brhaddranyaka. According to some scholars, Sankara also commented on an eleventh Upanisad, the Svetashvatara. In his commentary on the Brahma-Sutra, he refers to four more, namely, Kausi- taki, Jabala, Mahanarayana, and Paingala. -
Reflections at the Intersection of Science, Religion, and Development
The Lab, the Temple, and the Market This page intentionally left blank THE LAB, THE TEMPLE, AND THE MARKET Reflections at the Intersection of Science, Religion, and Development Edited by Sharon Harper KUMARIAN PRESS © International Development Research Centre 2000 Published in Canada by the International Development Research Centre po Box 8500, Ottawa, on, Canada K1G 3H9 http://www.idrc.ca/books/ Published in Europe and the United States of America by Kumarian Press Inc. 1294 Blue Hills Avenue, Bloomfield, ct 06002, usa http://www.kpbooks.com/ All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. All paper used in this book is recycled as well as recyclable. All inks and coatings are vegetable-based products. Canadian Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: The lab, the temple and the market : reflections at the intersection of science, religion and development / edited by Sharon Harper isbn 0-88936-920-8 ccg cat. no. E97-7/2000E 1. Economic development — Religious aspects. 2. Technology — Religious aspects. 3. Religion and science. I. Harper, Sharon, 1965- . II. International Development Research Centre (Canada) HD75.L33 2000 338.9 C00-901336-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The lab, the temple, and the market : reflections at the intersection of science, religion, and development / edited by Sharon Harper. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. isbn 1-56549-116-5 (alk. paper) 1. Economic development—Religious aspects. 2. Technology—Religious aspects. -
Christian and Hindu Swami Ranganathananda Moulding Our
358 MARCH - APRIL 2011 Monastic Spirituality: Christian and Hindu Swami Ranganathananda Moulding Our Lives with Sri Ramakrishna’s Teachings Swami Bhuteshananda Divine Wisdom MASTER: "Once a teacher was explaining to a disciple: God alone, and no one else, is your own.' The disciple said: 'But, revered sir, my mother, my wife, and my other relatives take very good care of me. They see nothing but darkness when I am not present. How much they love me!' The teacher said: 'There you are mistaken. I shall show you presently that nobody is your own. Take these few pills with you. When you go home, swallow them and lie down in bed. People will think you are dead, but you will remain conscious of the outside world and will see and hear everything. Then I shall visit your home. "The disciple followed the instructions. He swallowed the pills and lay as if unconscious in his bed. His mother, wife, and other relatives began to cry. Just then the teacher came in, in the guise of a physician, and asked the cause of their grief. When they had told him everything, he said to them: 'Here is a medicine for him. It will bring him back to life. But I must tell you one thing. This medicine must first be taken by one of his relatives and then given to him. But the relative who takes it first will die. I see his mother, his wife, and others here. Certainly one of you will volunteer to take the medicine. Then the young man will come back to life.' "The disciple heard all this.