(no subject)

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

I'm a new member of this list and thank God for it. I was initiated into

Vedanta in 1974, at the age of 40, by Swami Swahananda of the Sri

Ramakrishna Order of India and have remained close to him every since.

With his help and encouragement, and that of his monks at the Vedanta

Temple of Hollywood, I established my own ashram in Hermosa Beach,

California in 1978, where I taught for 20 years as a kind of "secular

monk." Two years ago I retired from teaching to devote myself to my own

spiritual practice.

 

I am, of course, and have been for many years, celebate and a

vegetarian. I live with my grown, adopted son, our two dogs and four

cats in the San Fernando Valley. I have a Ph.D. in Jungian Studies and

Comparative Religion and have published a few papers on the subject in

scholarly journals. Over the years I have taught frequently at the

Vedanta Temple of Southern California, where Guruji is Head Minister. I

do formal meditation less often than I used to, but the fire is lit and

the match is no longer needed.

 

Like Sri Ramakrishna, over the past 50 years I have studied, been

initiated into and practiced the four major world religions: Judaism,

Vedanta, Christianity and Islam. (I also sat ZaZen for a year, but never

took initiation.) I received the names Yakov Leib HaKohain, Kali Dass,

John, and Aziz Mehemet Effendi in each religion, respectively. However,

Advaita Vedanta remains the core of my spiritual practice.

 

After reviewing what I just wrote, I want to make it clear that I'm not

some kind of "saint." I'm an ordinary man who does ordinary things in,

perhaps, a less-than-ordinary way. My goal in life is to leave it

knowing God. I expect that my experiences on this list will help me

along in that direction.

 

Kali Dass