Vedanta Society

Vedanta Society is the name for organizations that have been established around the world to promote Vedantic ideas. Vedanta or the “end of the Vedas” refers to the time in India between 500 and 200 BCE during which several schools of thought developed, often by way of commentary on earlier sutras. For example, commentaries on Badarayana's Vedanta Sutra or Brahma Sutra led to the three major forms of Vedanta as expounded by Shankara (about eighth century CE), Ramanuja (about 11th century CE), and Madhva (about 1197 to 1276 CE). More recent movements that have advanced interest in Vedanta are the Arya Samaj and the Brahmo Samaj.

Shankara's nondualism or Advaita Vedanta has perhaps attracted more attention from Western observers in comparison with Ramanuja's qualified nondualism or Madhva's dualism. In North America, the Ramakrishna movement, advocated by Ramakrishna's disciple Swami Vivekananda, has led to the formation of the better known societies seeking to practice in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta. This is not the only Vedanta Society or Vedanta Centre, as may be seen in another group known as the International Vedanta Society, founded on a central figure known as Bhagavan.

In the 2 years following Swami Vivekananda's attendance at the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893 in Chicago, he spoke to groups around the United States, which led to the establishment of a Vedanta Society in New York in 1894 and eventually a network at other locations in the United States and Canada and headquartered in India in 1897. Usually structured as twin legal entities, the Ramakrishna Math is the monastic organization, and the Ramakrishna Mission is for devotees who provide social and community services, including a free soup kitchen. Sunday school moral and spiritual education is also provided to youth through initiatives such as the Vedanta Vidya Mandir in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Vedanta Press in southern California has been an active publisher of printed materials on relevant topics.

The purpose of life in the context of Vedanta is to find God. There are many paths to finding Truth, and there is no intent to proselytize. From the perspective of Vedanta, one's affiliation with other religions or organizations is not material to the spiritual journey. The discipline requires unselfishness, service, and self-sacrifice rather than selfassertion. Actively accepting divinity in all forms, one is required to discipline one's mind and actions with an attitude of humility and reverence.

The International Vedanta Society, of which Bhagavan (meaning “God”) is the central figure, is of more recent vintage. Its international headquarters is at Amingaon, Guwahati, Assam, India, and [Page 1348]can also be found on Facebook (see “Bhagavan,” accessed May 3, 2010) and YouTube (see http://in.youtube.com/ivstube, accessed May 3, 2010). In his teachings, Bhagavan advocates realization of Truth through Love. The slogan adopted by this organization “Man Is God” is a restatement of the awareness that the individual and God are in reality indistinguishable. By analogy, and consistent with Advaita Vedanta, although one can differentiate between the individual waves and the ocean, they are in fact, one.

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