VEDANTA — 1938 1 Publisher's Note We are pleased to share with you this reprint of the second of two volumes of VEDANTA, the quarterly journal published by Swami Yatiswarananda from Switzerland in 1937 and 1938—before his departure for Sweden and thence to America, following the hostilities that broke out in 1939 Europe. The reader will find excerpts from the Swami's class-talks to Eu- ropean spiritual aspirants, since his arrival at Wiesbaden in 1933, as well as a superb selection of inspiring compilations and quotes from the great spiritual traditions, which bear witness to the reality and universality of spiritual experience, and the world-wideness of the methods that lead to revelation of the Reality — Personal and Impersonal — through absorption of the ego into its source. The material was scanned from the cyclostyled A4 originals, kindly shared with us by Kurt Friedrichs of Hamburg, a disciple of the Swami. The Swami’s Class-notes that appear in VEDANTA were pub- lished, among other Class-notes, in THE WAY TO THE DIVINE, by Sarada Sevika Mandali, Bangalore (1968, with 2nd edition 1989). —Publisher— Vedanta Study Circle, Athens, Greece. April, 2003. Published as a service by: John Manetta Beles 28 117 41 Athens, Greece Phone:[+30] 210 923 4682 E-mail: [email protected] VEDANTA — 1938 3 C0NTENTS of Volume 2, 1938 HINDUISM Upanishads: Follow the Path of Self-Realisation.................................................7 The Path leading to Self-Realisation ............................................61 The Effects of Self-Realisation ..................................................111 The Man of Steady Wisdom (Gita) .............................................161 Sri Ramakrishna: The Importance of Spiritual Practices...........................................16 Some Teachings...........................................................................29 Words ...........................................................................................63 Self-effort, Divine Grace and Realisation ...................................112 God-Realisation and its Means ..................................................162 Sri Saradadevi [Holy Mother]: Spiritual Striving and Self-Realisation ........................................116 Swami Vivekananda: The Necessary Qualifications for Spiritual Life.............................20 Real Worship ................................................................................21 The Cup........................................................................................23 Hymn to Sri Ramakrishna.............................................................29 Questions and Answers................................................................67 Sadhanas or Preparations to Higher Life ...................................120 Swami Shivananda: Conversations ..............................................167 Sri Aurobindo: The true Foundations of Yoga ....................................................124 The Basis of Divine Life..............................................................174 Sri Ramana Maharshi: Control of the Mind .......................................................................26 Self-Realisation ...........................................................................78 Control of the Mind and Destruction of the Mind ........................172 Mahatma Gandhi: Fearlessness ................................................................................81 Tolerance, i.e., Equality of Religions ..........................................178 Bhagavatam: Restraining of the Passions:.........................................................70 The Way to true Devotion.............................................................71 Tulsidas: Sayings............................................................................75 Namadeva: From the Abhangas ......................................................................24 Two Songs....................................................................................25 Ekanatha: From the Bhagavatam ...................................................25 Dadu: A Psalm ................................................................................28 Kabir, a verse..................................................................................29 Vaishnava Mystics: Some Psalms ..................................................73 Soor Das: Song.............................................................................177 A Song to the Divine Mother .........................................................180 4 VEDANTA — 1938 Jñanadeva: A Prayer (Jñaneswari)...............................................160 Pravachana Sara of Kunda-kunda Acharya....................................58 CHINESE WISDOM Confucius: Sayings .........................................................................30 Mencius: Teachings ........................................................................33 BUDDHISM Refuge — Sir Edwin Arnold ............................................................82 Anguttara Nikaya Topsy-Turvy .................................................................................83 Ananda ........................................................................................84 Causes .........................................................................................84 Dhammapadam The Saint ......................................................................................85 Craving .........................................................................................87 The Ignorant ...............................................................................181 The Training of the Monk (Samannaphala) ..................................128 The Pith of the Matter (Majjhima Nikaya)......................................182 The Two Paths (Samyutta Nikaya) ...............................................182 The Land of Bliss (Amitayur Dhyana Sutra)....................................89 Buddha: Sayings.............................................................................94 Dropped off .....................................................................................90 Tung-shan: A Poem ........................................................................90 Maya (Astasahasrika) .....................................................................90 Emancipation ..................................................................................92 Szu-hsin: A Sermon ........................................................................93 The Importance of Realisation ......................................................133 Pai-Le-T’ien of T’ang.....................................................................185 The Song of Mahamati (Lankavatara Sutra).................................186 Wutsu: A Sermon..........................................................................186 OLD TESTAMENT Psalm 139 ......................................................................................94 Wisdom (from Proverbs) .................................................................94 JEWISH MYSTICISM Maimonides: The Nature of God........................................................................96 The Vision of Truth .......................................................................97 Moses of Coucy. The Two Natures of Man...................................134 Philo: The City of God...................................................................134 Vanity of Human Pleasure ............................................................135 Solomon b. Gabirol: Prayer...........................................................187 CHRISTIANITY Diego de San Cristobal-Estella: The Yoke of the Lord ...................34 VEDANTA — 1938 5 Richard Rolle: Of the Setting of Man’s Life ..........................................................36 Ihesu that died on the Rood for the Love of Me .........................190 Of Prayer ....................................................................................192 Of Reading .................................................................................193 Sayings.......................................................................................201 Walter Hilton: Some Pages from the Scale of Perfection ...............39 Julian of Norwich: I It Am That Is Highest .....................................135 Tauler: The Control of the Senses and the Perfection of Poverty of the Spirit .......................................137 Jan van Ruysbroeck: Self-Love Is the Mother of All Deception ....................................140 Of Detachment ...........................................................................141 A Christmas-Carol (In Exelcis Gloria) ...........................................191 The Effect of Contemplation (Cloud of Unknowing)......................194 The Birth of Christ (St.Luke) .........................................................189 Hebrews 1.1 (Epistle of St.Paul) ...................................................191 Juan de Avila: Spiritual Instructions ..............................................197 Simon Dach: A Song.....................................................................200 SUFISM AL-Ghazzali: The Mind.......................................................................................41 The Parable of the King................................................................42 Annihilation of Self......................................................................145 Some Stories and Parables