Vedanta Society of Toronto (Ramakrishna Mission) 120 Emmett Ave. Toronto, ON M6M 2E6 CANADA Tel.: 416-240-7262; Email: [email protected]; Website: www.vedantatoronto.ca Newsletter November 2019 Words to Inspire “Before proceeding to America, I wrote to Mother [Sri Sarada Devi] to bless me. Her blessings came, and at one bound I cleared the ocean.” --- Swami Vivekananda My mission in America was not to the Parliament of They stood my friends even when their own priests were Religions. That was only something by the way, it was only trying to persuade them to give up the “dangerous an opening, an opportunity, and for that we are very thankful heathen”—even when day after day their best friends had to the members of the Parliament; but really, our thanks are told them not to stand by this “unknown due to the great people of the United States, the American foreigner, may be, of dangerous character.” But they are nation, the warm-hearted, hospitable, great nation of better judges of character and soul—for it is the pure mirror America, where more than anywhere else the feeling of that catches the reflection. brother-hood has been developed. An American meets you And how many beautiful homes I have seen, how many for five minutes on board a train, and you are his friend, and mothers whose purity of character, whose unselfish love for the next moment he invites you as a guest to his home and their children are beyond expression, how many daughters opens the secret of his whole living there. That is the and pure maidens, “pure as the icicle on Diana’s temple,” character of the American race, and we highly appreciate it. and withal with much culture, education, and spirituality in Their kindness to me is past all narration, it would take me the highest sense! Is America then full of only wingless years yet to tell you how I have been treated by them most angels in the shape of women? There is good and bad kindly and most wonderfully. everywhere, true—but a nation is not to be judged by its I have heard many stories about the American home: of weaklings called the wicked, as they are only the weeds liberty running into licence, of unwomanly women smashing which lag behind, but by the good, the noble, and the pure under their feet all the peace and happiness of home-life in who indicate the national life-current to be flowing clear and their mad liberty-dance, and much nonsense of that type. vigorous..... And now after a year’s experience of American homes, of And then the modern American women—I admire their American women, how utterly false and erroneous that sort broad and liberal minds. I have seen many liberal and of judgment appears! American women! A hundred lives broad-minded men too in this country, some even in the would not be sufficient to pay my deep debt of gratitude to narrowest churches, but here is the difference—there is you! I have not words enough to express my gratitude to danger with the men to become broad at the cost of religion, you. “The Oriental hyperbole” alone expresses the dept of at the cost of spirituality—women broaden out in sympathy Oriental gratitude—“If the Indian Ocean were an inkstand, to everything that is good everywhere, without losing a bit the highest mountain of the Himalaya the pen, the earth the of their own religion. scroll and time itself the writer,” still it will not express my Nowhere in the world are women like those of this country. gratitude to you! How pure, independent, self-relying, and kind-hearted! It is Last year I came to this country in summer, a wandering the women who are the life and soul of this country. All preacher of a far distant country, without name, fame, learning and culture are centred in them..... wealth, or learning to recommend me—friendless, helpless, There are thousands of women here whose minds are as almost in a state of destitution—and American women pure and white as the snow of this country. befriended me, gave me shelter and food, took me to their From the book ‘Swami Vivekananda on Himself’ pg 133- homes and treated me as their own son, their own brother. 135. KARMA YOGA ACTIVITIES It is a great opportunity to provide your services to the Vedanta Society of Toronto. Kindly come forward and volunteer time towards maintaining and managing the facilities. If interested in volunteering, kindly contact Abhijit Bhattacharya on 416- 569-9401, indicating the Services that you are interested in and days you can be available for volunteering. THANK YOU!! Three Levels of Reality We have understood that Brahman appears in different Brahman is the substratum supporting this apparent forms in association with upadhis, though He is not experience - the laws of nature support the mirage. subject to any limitation and cannot be described at the Though the three levels of reality are conceded by the speech and mind level. The truth at the supreme level Shastra, the Paramarthika Satya is the supporting (paramartha) is the only Reality, while what is observable Reality for the Transactional Reality and the Apparent at the transactional or relational level is not the reality. Reality. As much as the Apparent Reality is unreal with However the common experience of people is to respect to the Transactional Reality, so is the recognize the body / mind level experiences as reality. Transactional Reality is unreal with respect to the Keeping this in mind, the Vedanta recognizes three Supreme Reality. levels of reality as follows; Brahman, though is the Karana for the Jagat, is different 1. Paramarthika Satya or Supreme Reality from Jagat, in that the Jagat is Jada and Brahman is 2. Vyavaharika Satya or Trancactional Reality consciousness. Vedanta's approach in explaining 3. Pratibhasika Satya or Apparent Reality. Brahman, obviously, must be, to take the student from These three levels of reality can be better understood the known to the unknown. Jagat is the known, Brahman through an example. An image of an object can be is the unknown. The Vedanta takes the seeker from the captured on a screen through a lens. The clarity of the Jagat, through the Maya to the Brahman. The first image is dependent on the distance between the lens experience to the seeker is the Brahman with upAdhis. and the screen, the orientation of the screen, lighting Then the seeker experiences the Lakshanas of Brahman conditions etc. This image is available to everyone's -Satyam, Jnyanam and Anantam. Here the seeker experiences. Under other circumstances, an apparent understands the Supreme Reality of Brahman. He image of the object (virtual image) can be seen, by a understands that the Transactional Reality (Jagat) and select few in some specific orientation (This will not be the Apparent Reality are nothing but the Supreme Reality the experience of all, as in the lens image above). that is Brahman. The Adhyaropa that Brahman is the It is not possible to capture this image and cannot be a intelligent cause of Jagat, and the Jagat is different from transactional experience, though can be seen (think of a Brahman is negated (Apavada) and establishes himself creative artwork, which at an angle, will look something in Brahman, the Supreme Reality, beyond speech and differently). In this example, the object is the mind. Paramarthika Satya, the lens image is the Vyavaharika -- When the ego functions, it associates with a wide Satya and the apparent image is the Pratibhasika Satya. variety of objects. The ego, by itself, is a neutral entity. In the backdrop of this example, we can understand the But this neutrality ends in the field of operation. The ego three levels of reality in the philosophical plane. has to identify with something, or else it cannot express Brahman is Real is the Paramarthika Satya. This is the itself. For example, the ego has to identify itself with the statement of shrutis. The experience of the sense organs body. Then I say, “I am healthy,” or “My height is six feet.” keeps changing from time to time or person to person; When I say, “I am thinking,” my ego has associated itself what is changing can only be the experiences of the with the mind. When I say, “I am angry,” the emotion of sense organs as Science has demonstrated to us. Even anger is the object of association. in ordinary experiences this is true - like the change in The ego in action changes from moment to moment. This the musical speed can only be determined with respect moment it is linked with a certain function of the body, to a metronome. Brahman is beyond sense organs and and the next moment with a state of the mind or an is unchanging and is the Supreme Reality. external circumstance. There is no limit to the objects or The Jagat is constantly changing and this change is ideas with which the ego can connect itself. When we experienced by the five sense organs. This change is the speak of ethical or cultural life, the ego is also there. It common experience of all (without defects in sense has only changed its center of identification. It now organs). The knowledge thus established through the associates itself with ethical qualities such as virtue, sense organs is the basis of all transactional activities. truth, and purity, or with some cultural values such as The Shastra classifies this changing Jagat experienced poetry, science, democracy, resulting in the by all and being the basis of all transactions as corresponding assertions: “I am virtuous”; “I am truthful”; Vyavaharika Satya.