Vedanta Society Is a Term

Vedanta Society is a term used to define the groups that emphasize and study the practice of Vedanta, which is a Hindu philosophy that focuses on specific Veda texts called the Upanishads. The primary philosophy is rather complex, but uses the concept of Brahman -- or the eternal, self-existent, and transcendent reality which is the goal of every individual being -- with Vedic traditions helping to form the pathway towards enlightenment. Hinduism, rather than being a "religion" with a single dogma and central organization, is a series of beliefs that roughly follow a philosophic path, but have various divergent practices (Vedanta Society of Northern California, 2012). One way for Westerners to understand this is from the point-of-view of one of the Vedanta Yogis (Holy Men): Imagine looking at the world you live in, and recognizing divinity in everything you see and everyone you meet. Imagine facing every situation in your life with the unwavering strength and delight that come from the certainty of the divine presence within you" (Bhaskarandada, 2002).

The Vedanta Society has locations globally, but the one visited is located in San Francisco on 2323 Vallejo Street. Between July 1 and September 7 the Society is on Summer Recess, and there are no formal lectures or classes, but there are meditations and vesper times on Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. The first impression one has of the center is one of striking simplicity, overt calmness and beauty. The outside is built using light colored stone and the architecture blends well into the geography since this is built on an uprising hill. This particularly society was founded in 1900, with the building structure built between 1904 and 1906. It was quite interesting that Swami Trigunatia, the focal inspiration for the building, noted that each section of the structure had a specific inspiration, "This temple may be considered as a combination of a Hindu temple, a Christian church, a Mohammedan mosque, a Hindu math or monastery, and an American residence" (Vedanta Society). This is evident in the way the architecture blends into the cityscape, even a century later, and retains the characteristics of a blending of philosophies and ideas, but all focusing on contentment, peaceful energy, and cooperation.

The basis for Vedanta is taught through a series of lectures and classes in which he swamis explain the principles and give the largely Western audience an insight into using Vendic spirituality within modern life. The Vedanta view believes that all religions are actually one in that they lead to the same goal. All the great prophets (Mohammed, Jesus Christ, etc.) are respected as great philosophical leaders who have truth that is adaptable to the needs of their particular culture at their particular time -- and their views adapted to different times and different peoples. Religion is universal, and the architecture and temples within the building are designed to celebrate that universality of human kind -- the spiritual path that the individual can realize God -- one goal through many paths.

Moving through the temple are a number of informational areas (brochures, explanatory documents, posters, artistic representations, etc.) that all point to the four primary paths focused upon by Vedanta: the path toward knowledge, the path of devotion, the path of service (selfless action) and the path of concentration. These sound extremely familiar to the books in the New Testament, but for Vedanta, the way to move toward enlightenment is to follow one or more of these paths through the guidance of a teacher (Swami) -- and then one can discover the way to merge the issues of the soul, body and mind into one. It was interesting to note that this principal is taken to mean that even negative or positive thoughts have power, for instance the monthly reading noted that "We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary, thoughts live and travel far" (Vedanta).