with Ravi Ravindra
Saturdays, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. CDT
[Please note one-hour time change in North America on November 6]
October 29 - November 19 (4 classes)
The non-canonical Gospel of Philip says, “Christ came not to make us Christians but to make us Christ.” The same call can be found in remarks Christ quoted in some canonical gospels as well as in some remarks of St Paul. Many spiritual texts, such as the Philokalia, Theologia Germanica, and The Cloud of Unknowing, also endorse the call of Christ to become his own brothers and sisters, children of the common Father, creator of the whole universe, the ONE beyond description—“begotten not by blood, nor by carnal desire, nor by man's willing, but by God,” as said in John’s Gospel. Many great sages, such as John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, Angelus Silesius and others, were also striving to follow the esoteric teachings of Christ. For example, Meister Eckhart said, “Every Christian is called to be Mary and give birth to the Word.”
This spiritual birth is the real meaning of virgin birth, which is not to be taken literally. Like all other serious spiritual teachings, Christ’s teaching requires a radical transformation of our whole being so that we can be free of our ego-driven conditioned Self. As quoted in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Unless you leave your self behind, you cannot be a follower of mine.”
In order to be a disciple of Christ, we need to practice the strenuous teaching taught by him, for as the Gospel of Thomas quotes Christ saying, “He who is near me is near the fire. He who is far from me is far from the Kingdom.”
TS members: $65 • Nonmembers: $80
Registration includes on-demand access to recordings of all the classes, which can be viewed for two weeks following the date of the last class.
Late registrants will receive recording links to all missed sessions for on-demand viewing.
Register here: https://www.theosophical.org/program/webinars/5379-exploring-the-esoteric-teachings-of-the-christ
Program Format
This is a live, interactive online program that will also be recorded for on-demand viewing. Our goal is to send recordings to you within two business days, often sooner. Recordings will be available for on-demand viewing for two weeks following the date of the last class.
Software Platform
Zoom for Windows, Mac, or mobile device; minimum recommended network bandwidth 1.5 Mbps. Please download Zoom for free at zoom.us/download, and test your connection at zoom.us/test. New to Zoom? Check out www.theosophical.org/FAQ. Please emailwebinars@theosophical.org for further information.
Ravi Ravindra will offer a two-week course on
Under the aegis of the International Theosophical Society
In Adyar, Chennai, India
From January 9 to 20, 2023
For details of the of the course and for registration please go to
https://www.ts-adyar.org/event/necessary-journey-self-transformation
Under the aegis of the London Branch of the Scientific and Medical Network
On February 20, 2023; 7:30-9:30 p.m. (British time)
In this talk we will explore not what usually gets classified as ‘science’ or as ‘religion’. The emphasis will be more on the goals, intentions, attitudes and practices of the people engaged in scientific research and how they are similar to or different from those engaged in spiritual search. The purpose of spiritual search is a radical transformation of the searchers in order for them to be free of their egotistic self for discovering their essential unity with the Highest Reality variously called God, Brahman, Absolute or simply That. The assumption in the spiritual teachings is that the whole cosmos has been created or emanates from energies or forces at the highest level of consciousness. As a consequence, as spiritual searchers evolve, they naturally exude compassion, love, sense of service, and a feeling of unity with everyone. In the enterprise of scientific research, the effort is to get more and more accurate knowledge of the laws governing the external universe based on the assumption that everything in the cosmos has evolved from matter without consciousness. In scientific research the person needs to be out of the way and 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.
For more information and registration please visit
https://scientificandmedical.net/events/prof-ravi-ravindra-scientific-research-and-spiritual-search/