Shannon
Regan
CSOCS
3452
Professor
Laura Douglass
October
21th, 2012
The Ramakrishna
Vedanta Society Center of Boston
Yoga has many limbs of practice that involves varying
interests such as philosophy, religion, sports and meditation. While
contemplating the endless possibilities for my midterm I felt like I wanted to
explore the philosophy of yoga more in depth. Learning the fundamentals and
less “Americanized” form of yoga interests me greatly. I wanted to find a
center that has been around for a long time and has strong historical roots. The
Ramakrishna Center in Boston seemed to be a perfect fit to learn more about the
philosophy behind some yoga principles and to become immersed in part of the
culture.
The
Ramakrishna Vedanta Society Center is a unique gem within the bustling
metropolis of Boston. Starting in 1910, the Vedanta Society used to practice in
a much smaller location on St. Botolph Street in Boston, but in 1941 the
society moved to the Deerfield Street location when the society expanded. Once
again, the Vedanta Society has outgrown the current building and is undergoing
the “Temple Project” (Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, 2000). The
goal of the Temple Project is to have two separate facilities; one for
religious worship and meditation, and the other for more lecture based
teachings.
The third oldest Vedanta Society center in New England is
the Ramakrishna Center in Boston, started by Swami Paramananda
(Ramakrishna Vedanta Society). The center focuses on his teachings which enlighten
and help people seek the universal truth through many different facets. The
Center has daily classes that range from meditation, Satsang, study groups, and
lectures. Swami Tyagananda also leads classes at the center, Harvard and MIT.
There are many theologists, philosophers and Swamis from the numerous
Boston/Cambridge colleges that lecture and teach at the center (Ramakrishna
Vedanta Society, 2000).
The Vedanta Society has strong roots in New England, and
specifically within Boston’s history. In
1893 Swami Vivekananda came to Boston to spread his insight and philosophy. Swami
Vivekananda (1863-1902) main purpose was to study and spread Indian culture,
and Vedantic philosophy. He was a pacifist and helped make peaceful
interactions internationally, specifically between America and India. He is
still admired in both countries for his peaceful manner and insightful
teachings. In America he became India’s spiritual ambassador. In his homeland he
was seen as the “patriot saint of modern India and an inspirer of her dormant
national consciousness” ("Swami vivekananda," 1953). After he passed
away his teachings still inspired many centers that started during and after
his life. Swami Vivekananda teachings revolved around five major principals:
see God in all, God is within you, preserver in your search for God, trust
completely in God, and love of God is Essential. ("Swami vivekananda," 1953)
I attended Satsang, on October 14th. The lecture
specifically focused on “God the Mother, the Mother of God. “ It was comprised
of prayer, meditation, and reflection. The lecture was led by Francis X.
Clooney. Francis is a Professor of Divinity and Comparative Theology at Harvard
University. His works have focused on Sanskrit, traditions and theology of
Hindu India. He has studied a number of world religions and has a deep
understanding in ancient Indian traditions ("Francis x. Clooney S.J"
)
The Ramakrishna Center is nestled behind trees with ivy
growing over the structure, which looks like an old brick house. I was anxious
to walk up the stairs and step inside. Thankfully, right as I was about to ring
the doorbell a middle aged woman approached me and asked me if I was new (I
guess I was that obvious). She took me under her wing and informed me about how
Satsang was executed. She brought me to a little spot in the center and told me
we had to take our shoes off first. That was definitely a new experience.
Coming from a Catholic background, wearing no shoes actually felt freeing. After
we took our shoes off she lead me through the house and explained to me that
there would be an opening hymn, a song, a brief meditation and then a guest
speaker. I took a seat next to her and took in my environment. I think she
realized how intensely I was trying to understand everything in my
surroundings, so she took the opportunity to explain what everything meant. There was an alter in the front of the room
with a lot of flowers surrounding a statue of the “Om” symbol. On the sides of
the alter there were four pictures of holy people of the Vedanta tradition.
There was a candle, flowers and incense on each frame of the pictures. She also
brought my attention to scripts that were lining the walls. She told me that
each script represented a religion (Islamic, Catholic, Judaism...etc.). She
said the center was welcoming of every religion and grows from every new person
who enters. The Center serves everyone who is willing to partake. The room was
filled with many different ethnicities and there was a large range of ages.
During the Sunday I attended, the majority of the people taking a part in
Satsang were Indian. Being so young, and belonging to a different culture made
me feel a little intimidated at first, but I knew I had to acknowledge, and let
go of those feelings if I was going to fully experience this service. The last piece of advice she gave me was to
try to make the hand symbol of “Om” during meditation and prayer. She told me
when your hands are held this way it helps open your mind and connects your
body and soul. She said hold your hands like water is flowing down your
fingers. Having her to explain the process of Satsang and to watch over me
helped ease my nerves and let go of external stresses.
The book of prayers had the original Sanskrit text, the
pronunciation of the Sanskrit, and an English translation. The set up was
similar to the Hatha Pradapika book we have to read for class. Also, the
opening hymns were the same ones we use when we begin the yoga portion of
class. This familiarity helped me settle into my surroundings a little deeper. The
service started with a song that centered on the “Mother”, which was a nice
introduction to the lecture that would follow.
After opening hymns we had about ten minutes
of meditation. The focus was on finding God in your heart. I found during meditation all my anxieties
surfaced. I could not quiet my mind enough to just be in the moment. Meditation
is still hard for me, so being in an unfamiliar environment made it even more
challenging. Thoughts surfaced stemming from my many insecurities. My mind
started to think “Am I bad for attending another church if I’m confirmed
already as a Catholic?”, “Are people judging me because I am a new comer?” Even
though I had loving and accepting people around me I couldn’t get my inner
critic out of my head. In a place of peace, I was still self-judgmental.
After
meditation, more people filed in. The woman next to me told me that people will
wait until after meditation to come in if they are late, because meditation is
one of the most important parts of Satsang. When the service ended people went
in the other room for coffee and cookies. Someone told me this was meant to be
a sacrifice from the temple to us. While people were getting food, a few people
took the opportunity to pray at the alter, or say their thanks to Father Clooney,
the guest speaker. The whole service was welcoming and open-minded. Everyone
had such great respect and manners. To have so many people help me learn the
ways of Satsang was such a blessing. I do not believe I would have been able to
be as aware and engaged if I did not have a supportive community around me, due
to my inner critic. While parts of the service were still challenging for me,
the overall experience was enlightening.
The lecture part of Satsang was given by Francis X Clooney.
At Satsang I learned Francis X Clooney is a Roman Catholic priest, and has
traveled to India numerous times. He met the current Swami in India twenty
years ago and they both currently exchange information and teachings between each
other. Father Clooney was invited to speak about God the Mother, Mother of God
to aid reflection in preparation for Dura Puja that is taking place on October
twenty-first. He was also invited to speak on this topic because he just
published a book about the Mother of God from a Hindu and Catholic perspective.
He guided the discussion with a set of perspectives and universal questions
that pertained to three hymns he provided. His main purpose was to create a
harmonious thread between religions using the Gospel of Ramakrishna, and the
New Testament in the Catholic Bible.
The first hymn he discussed was called “For the Divine
Mother”, from the Gospel of Ramakrishna. In this hymn it shows that the Divine
Mother can be seen in a broad and uncharacterized way or in a very humanistic
form. No matter how you see her she is accepting and all humble. It also talks
about reality, and what is real to the Divine Mother. She is all reality. In
the hymn it describes her as the “kali, Tara, fish, and the avatars” (gospel)
She is a type of unity between every level of reality.Father Clooney described
the way the Gospel beautifully wrote this hymn in a way to introduce the Divine
Mother in a broad sense, and then kept adding layers on to each section to dive
deeper into the more specific view of the Divine Mother. Each person has their own view or truth of
what the Divine Mother looks like and what she encompasses. The Divine Mother
is composed of the whole universe.
The second hymn we took a look at was from Swami
Abhedananda, called “For Sarada Devi.” He chose this hymn to analyze because it
showed the relation between Ramakrishna and Sarada or “The Mother.” In only one
section of the hymn did the Mother ask for anything in return of her acceptance
and sacrifice. She just asked for her followers to watch out for their peers,
and love. Father Clooney showed how selfless She is, and how interrelated
Ramakrishna and Sarada are. When one is praying or praising Ramakrishna, they
are also thanking Sarada.
The
last hymn was a medieval hymn from Stabat Mater called “For Mary at the Cross.”
I learned something interesting from Father Clooney from this hymn. He talked
about how almost every religion acknowledges and sometimes even praises Mary
because of her deep love and sacrifice for her son, Jesus. This specific hymn
exemplifies her love for Jesus. Father Clooney suggested that we use this hymn
as part of a meditation to experience the universal selflessness these holy
Mothers possessed. He told us to imagine Mary in front of the cross watching
her son dying for everyone’s sins, and weep along with her. When we weep for
the pain of someone passing, we are weeping with Mary. He also recited the
story of Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin that was pregnant at the same time Mary was.
Mary took care of her cousin during her pregnancy doing seemingly small chores,
yet those routine tasks made all the difference. He compared the story to one’s
faith. All of the prayers and good deeds are what makes your faith stronger and
deeper.
Father Clooney did a fantastic job of articulating the
important points in each hymn and creating a collective story between all of
the religions. He not only wanted to show how each Mother is similar, but how
alike religions are. He said that to grow in your faith one must not close the
doors on other practices, but be willing to experience and contemplate. I feel
as though Father Clooney is a perfect example of someone living that principle.
Although he is a Catholic Priest, his whole life has been filled with studying
other cultures and religions and finding common ties between them all. Growing
up Catholic, I was always taught that you were to praise one god and follow one
religion, so it was refreshing seeing someone step out of the “safe zone” that
religion sometimes creates. I have always been curious and looking for new
things to explore so it was extremely enlightening to hear Father Clooney talk
about the numerous aspects of various religions. To experience such an
accepting community was refreshing.
I feel like this experience really exemplified Swami
Vivekananda’s five major teachings especially “see God in all” and “God is
within.” The meditation was meant to help people feel God within their heart
and open their minds to see God in all. The lecture Father Clooney gave focused
on the idea that God is seen universally in many similar ways and has many
different faces. To experience such a rich service gave me a greater
understanding of what the Vedanta Society exemplifies. I plan on returning to
more Satsangs and maybe even a few meditations to push my comfort zone. For a
good portion of my life I have been trying to find a place that is accepting
and open to new ideas and people. I feel as though I would have never
experienced anything like this at my church back home. Although many Catholic
churches tell people to welcome newcomers, they subliminally mean accept them
in the hopes that they will convert to the faith on Catholicism. I have never
seen a “priest” figure from another religion in my church to offer his insight.
My struggle with religion started about eight years back when I lost my Great
Grandma and continued throughout the years as I lost many other family members.
These set of events created distance in the practice of my religion. Attending
the Ramakrishna center turned out to be much more emotional than I intended,
and helped me find a sense of inward peace. While Catholicism has the same
enlightenment/highest truth principle it puts many limitations of their
followers. How can one grow if they do not question and experience?
References
Francis
x. clooney, s.j. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.hds.harvard.edu/people/faculty/francis-x-clooney-sj
Ramakrishna
Vedanta Society. (2000). Vedanta temple
project. Retrieved from http://www.vedantasociety.net/index.asp
Swami
vivekananda. (1953, January 5). Retrieved from http://www.ramakrishna.org/sv.htm
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