Being a Spiritual Seeker in a Material World
Monthly Meetings in 2026 with Ravi Ravindra
Each searcher periodically wonders why I have been created on this small planet earth in the vast universe and only for a few decades. What is my responsibility during my transient existence in the material world. All the sages call us to be free of our usual occupation with me-my-mine and to cultivate a quality of being that will relate us more and more with the mysterious Divine forces of Truth, Love, Consciousness, Delight and sense of Unity and Service.
Each of the sages, ancient ones as well as the modern ones, express their insights and instructions uniquely and emphasize some different aspects. Our wish and effort in the context of the Monthly Meetings is to explore how we can apply their teachings in our contemporary context and actually try to practice them in daily life. We will take some recommendations or instructions of the great classical spiritual teachers and texts and some modern teachers.
There will be eleven Monthly Meetings which will be held on zoom during the last Sunday of the month, from January through November 2026. We will explore the following remarks:
January: "In the beginning arose Love
Which was the primal germ cell of the mind."
--Rig Veda X. 129.4
February: Who am I? Whence is this
widespread cosmic flux?
These, the wise should inquire into diligently,
Soon --nay, now.
--Mahopanishad IV, 21
March: "You don't love yourself enough, the Self that wishes and needs to emerge."
--Jeanne de Salzmann, in Heart Without Measure
April: "Transformation into a new state of being is the result of the fullness of the unfolding of the inherent potential of Prakriti."
--Patañjali in Yoga Sutras 4:2
May: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
--St. Paul in Galatians 5:14
June: "Christ may be born a thousand times in Galilee; but all in vain until he is born in me."
--Angelus Silesius
July: "There is one thing that, when cultivated and regularly practiced, leads to deep spiritual intention, to peace,
to mindfulness and clear comprehension, to vision and knowledge, to a happy life here and now, and to the
culmination of wisdom and awakening. And what is that one thing?
It is mindfulness centered in the body."
--Gautama Buddha ((Anguttara Nikiya, sutta I, 21)
August: "Those who say that we first die, and then are resurrected, are wrong. Whoever is not resurrected before
death knows nothing and will die.”
–Gospel of Philip
September: "Those who seek nothing, neither honour nor profit, nor inwardness, nor holiness, nor reward, nor heaven,
but who have renounced all this, including what is their own – in such people God is glorified.”
–Meister Eckhart
October: “Whoever departs from this world without having realized their own inner world, to them life has been of no
service; it remains unlived, like the unrecited Vedas or any other undone deed.”
--Brahadāranyaka Upanishad I.4.15
November: Stages in the Journey of a Searcher.
Recommended Readings:
The Yoga of the Christ by Ravi Ravindra [Also published as The Gospel of John in the Light of Indian Mysticism]
The Bhagavad Gita: A Guide to Navigating the Battle of Life by Ravi Ravindra [Shambhala Publications; also published by Jaico Press in India].
The Wisdom of Patañjali’s Yoga Sutras by Ravi Ravindra [Also published by the Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar].
The Dhammapada: Sayings of the Buddha [Any publication of this great text will do].
Heart Without Measure: Gurdjieff Work with Madame de Salzmann by Ravi Ravindra.
Krishnamurti: Two Birds on One Tree by Ravi Ravindra [Also published in India by Pilgrim Press]
Blessed by Mysterious Grace: The Journey of a Pilgrim by Ravi Ravindra.
Centered Self Without Being Self-Centered: Remembering Krishnamurti [Also published by the Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar].
Please contact https://www.journeyswith.in/ravi-mm-lp4 for additional information and registration.
Journey of Spiritual Search: Weekend Retreat with Ravi Ravindra
- Saturday 12 September 10:00 - 18:00 (In-person only)
- Sunday 13 September 10:00 - 17:00 (In-person only)
- Sunday 13 September 17:50 - 19:00 (Hybrid meditation shared on Zoom)
This weekend retreat is meant for searchers rather than believers. Together, we will explore the various stages of the seeker’s journey as expressed in the sacred texts and in the teachings of the sages of various spiritual traditions. In our discussions, we will see how an understanding of the various stages can help us progress along our own path, each of us in our own unique circumstances. To help us along, two periods of guided and silent meditation will be included each day. As well, participants are encouraged to bring their own insights to our discussions especially as we learn to recognize and face the obstacles that stand in our way. (Note: the meaning of ‘Mara’ in Pali and ‘Satan’ in Hebrew, is ‘obstacle,’ which means ‘that which stands in our way.’)
Admission by ticket, Cost: £70 for the two days with optional £10 per day for lunch
Location: Colet House, 151 Talgarth Rd, London W14 9DA
Spiritual Search & Scientific Research
Ravi Ravindra, a respected and experience spiritual leader, academic, & educator is coming back to teach a few special workshops at Karuna this year. Join him on Friday, October 9th for a discussion on Spiritual Search & Scientific Research as well as a workshop on Saturday, October 10th. Practice of Yoga for Freedom from the Ego-Self.
Karuna Center for Yoga and Healing Arts
25 Main Street, #341
Northampton, MA 01060
Workshop
Spiritual Search & Scientific Research
Join this public talk with Ravi Ravindra at the Karuna Sanctuary.
The emphasis in this talk will be on the goals, intentions, attitudes and practices of the people engaged in scientific research or spiritual search. The purpose of spiritual search is a radical transformation of the searchers in order for them to be free of their egoistic self for discovering their essential unity with the Highest Reality variously called God, Brahman, Absolute or simply That. In scientific research the quality of being of the scientist is irrelevant. Some highly regarded scientists have been wonderful human beings and some quite self- centered and fearful. And for some great scientists, scientific research itself has been a spiritual path. Precisely because of their large knowledge of the cosmos, they are able toappreciate the limitation of scientific knowledge and feel the call to be free of being excessively attached to our usual transient self. Here is a remark of Albert Einstein, certainly in harmony with all spiritual sages: "The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self."
Friday, October 9, 2026
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM (120 min)
Workshop
Practice of Yoga for Freedom from the Self
Join Ravi Ravindra on October 10th for these workshops.
In all spiritual teachings, the strong suggestion is that in order to be blessed by the mysterious spiritual energy coming from the Divine Source I need to be free of my attachment to me-me-me. This gets expressed in several different ways such as 'leaving your self behind', 'freedom from my fears and desires', 'dying to my attachments', 'dying to my ego-self', etc. In the Yoga Sutras the great sage Patañjali says: "Yoga is for cultivating samadhi and for weakening the hindrances... Samadhi is the state when the self is not, when there is awareness only of the object of meditation." [Yoga Sutras 2:2,3:3]. In this workshop we will explore in detail how the practice of Yoga can lead to freedom from our ego-self.
Saturday, October 10, 2026
This talk has 2 parts....
PART 1: 9:30 AM - 12 PM
PART 2: 1:30 PM - 4 PM
PART 1: 9:30 AM - 12 PM
PART 2: 1:30 PM - 4 PM
Please register for these talk and/or workshops here.
