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APRIL 2007- PRESENTERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON:
Saturday: April 1rst, 2006: (10am - 4pm)
Introduction to the scope and
purpose of the series...
A guided tour of the Shastras, the Smriti and Sruti, that form the
verbal basis of Hinduism – the Vedas, the Puranas and the Epics are
classified either as Sruti [revealed] or Smriti [ remembered ie; composed]
texts. The revealed texts-- the Veda which include the Upanisads and
Gita-- have more ' spiritual weight' than the 'remembered' or written,
story texts, which include the Puranas and Epics . It is essential to
remember that Hinduism began, and to a certain extent continues, as an
oral tradition. " Religions ofThe Book " are mostly a western
tradition.
It is also important to remember that 'Hinduism' is a vast family of
varied spiritual traditions from which Buddhism and Jainism and Sikhism
originated and into whose home Early Christian groups - perhaps even the
direct disciples of Jesus- were accepted as honored guests. Jewish
communities have been living in India since the Babylonian Diaspora and
Zoroastrians since the Muslim invasions of Persia in the 6th century.
Pre-Vedic religions have continued worship in India with full freedom, for
thousands of years, until this very day. The Tibetian Buddhist Diaspora,
and the home of HH The Dalai Lama is currently centered in Dharmasala,
India.
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Saturday: May 6th, 2006: (10am-4pm)
Swami
Vivekananda...
A look at the aspects of Hinduism taught by Swami Vivekananda in the
West around the end of the nineteenth century – mainly the philosophy
underlying Hinduism, its view of the world, the goal in life and the paths
that take us towards this goal; the four paths or yogas (as they are
called) being Raja Yoga (the royal path of meditation), Jnana Yoga (the
path of knowledge); Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion or love); and Karma
Yoga ( the path of action) |
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Saturday: June 3rd, 2006: (10-4pm), and Saturday: July 1rst:
(10am-4pm)
Study of the Bhagavad
Gita...
We will study, during June and July, a principal text of the Hindu
faith – the Bhagvad Gita. It is a dialogue between Sri Krishna (the Divine
Avatar) and Arjuna (representing man or the soul.). The Gita was Mahatma
Gandhi's favorite text and formed a principle inspiration for his
non-violent resistence movement. Every major exponent of Hindu philosophy
has written a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita and its adherants include
both dualists and nondualists. Hundreds of varied commentaries are
presently in print testifying to the central role of Gita Shastra in Hindu
thought. Chapters from the Gita are chanted on many occasions and it is
often memorized in entirety by students. Audio cassets of the Gita will be
available to borrow or purchase and each Gita class will feature
traditional methods of recitation at the beginning and end of the class.
Students will be requested to commit to memory a few key verses that
epitomise essential themes of Hindu teachings. |
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Saturday : August 5th, 2006: (10am-4pm)
The
Upanishads...
The Upanisads are Wisdom Teachings, several thousand years old, that
are found at the end of the Four Vedas. Together with the Bhagavad Gita
and the Vedanta Sutras of Vyasa, certain of the Upanisads form the 'Prasthana-traya',
or the three pillars of traditional Hindu learning. We will study selected
passages from several major upanisads and attempt to form a 'bird's
eye view'of this all important corpus of learning.
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Saturday: September 2nd, 2006: (10am-4pm)
Denominations...
An overview of some major denominations within Hinduism; Shaivism
[varieties of Shiva worship], Vaishnavism [Avatars of Vishnu ie; Krishna
and Rama] Shaktas [those who worship the Divine Mother].
The several
philosophical worldviews of Hinduism are almost always expressed from
within the context of one of these demoninations. This day will give
emphasis to the Shakta tradition which emphasises the importance of deity
as The Divine Feminine. |
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Saturday: October 7th, 2006: (10am-4pm)
The Ramayana and The
Mahabharata...
A one day study of the two epics that form the cultural current of the
river of Hinduism throughout the ages
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Saturday: November 4th, 2006: (10am-4pm)
Teachers...
India is unique in its emphasis on the importance of the Guru, [the
spiritual preceptor], and the lineage of Gurus that transmit spiritual
teachings in an unbroken chain of succession. We will examine the lives of
some of these teachers past and present. India is also remarkable for the
importance it gives to visiting holy places of pilgrimage which are found
in great variety and abundance from the mouth of the holy river Ganges in
the snowy Himalayas to the temple of Goddess Kanya Kumari at the
southernmost tip of India, where the Indian Ocean meets the Pacific.
Pilgrimage has an unusually important place in Hindu devotional life,
comparing favorably with that of medieval Christian Europe. Leading the
class on pilgrimage will be veteran Tirthati, Mrs Vichitra Nayar
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Saturday: December 2nd, 2006: (10am-4pm)
Sri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Swami
Vivekananda & Sannyasini Gaurima
One of the recent traditions of Indian Spiritual teachings begins in
Calcutta in 1886 with the birth of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and his
Feminine counterpart, Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother. An important
disciple of these two was Swami Vivekananda who is one of the first
exponents of Hinduism to the west and who in 1893, represented Hinduism
at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago. Equally important was
Ramakrishna's first monastic woman, Sannyasini Gaurima, who was commissioned
to dedicate her entire life to women and children, establishing the
first womens convent in 1895, known as the Sri Saradeshwari Ashram,
in Calcutta, India. We will dedicate this day to the study of the Ramakrishna/
Sarada Devi/Vivekananda/ and Sannyasini Gaurima tradition.
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Pilgrimage to India...dates
will be announced,
This guided tour of India is an optional feature [a really great one!]
and will focus on visiting Tirthas [Holy Places] in India. Cost is
aproximately $3,000.00 depending on airfare and lodgings; visa and valid
passport required.
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Each session during the course will begin and end
with student participation in sanskrit chanting and traditional rituals
which, for millennia, have formed part of a students learning experience
in India. Students will receive audio tapes and transliterated romanized
chanting texts for home study of essential ancient texts. A DVD
of simple traditional worship techniques will be available to those
who wish to learn Hindu worship.
Each session will also include traditional Hindu
devotional singing [ kirtan, bhajans, ] led by Mira Kerr a disciple of
Swami Satchidananda who taught Integral Yoga and was the founder of
Yogaville in Virginia. Ms. Kerr will also give several sessions in Hatha
Yoga training during the year. [see wwwbigyoga.com] Students are required
to do certain minimum readings and to submit short essays of 3-6 pages on
each section of the course. These papers will be read and comented upon-
but not assigned grades- by at least three staff members. Writing down
ideas and opinions is an important part of the learning process. Graduates
of the nine month program will recieve a Certificate of Completion in a
Nine month study of Hinduism .
Cost- $450.00 for the entire nine month, mentored program --
payments are acceptable-- some scholarships are available for those
with a demonstrated need.
20.00 for non students to audit any afternoon programs:
Staff include [not an exhaustive list] the following; Program leader
Srimati Indra Makhija Phd, Monastics: Sannyasini Gaurima Puri Devi,
Swami Tapasananda, Swami Atmalokananda, Sannyasini Shivavrata, Sannyasini
Shaktivrata, Sannyasinni Yogabrata, Dr. Sripada Raju of the Lansing
Temple, Dena Blay-Stroba OCDS- Director of the Institute/World Religions,
Herb Hoster- disciple of Swami Bhashyananda, Ruth Harring PhD, Srimati
Vichitra Nayar, Mira Patricia Kerr and Dr. Partha Sinha, plus occasional
special guest speakers: www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info.
To Register Call:
(269) 543-3951, or email Swami Tapasananda at: tapas@accn.org or Mrs. Makhija at: (630)
655-8822.
FOR DISTANCE LEARNERS-- COMPLETE VIDEO AND AUDIO RECORDINGS CAN
BE MAILED and essays exchanged between staff and
students. |
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