Inner Search in a Global Culture
Monthly Meetings with Ravi Ravindra
Course Details
Spiritual wisdom is trans-religious, trans-cultural and trans-national. It is not confined either to the Abrahamic traditions pervading the West or the Indian traditions dominant in the East. How we live, what we aspire for, what we believe or imagine will happen to us when we die and all other important aspects of our life are influenced by our cultural background willingly and intentionally or unwillingly and unknowingly. In our contemporary world there are increasing cross-cultural interactions, very much influenced by technological developments enhancing travels and communication. How do we interact with and learn from the insights of the great seers in other cultures?
In the eleven monthly meetings in 2023 we will try to explore the common aspects of the understanding of spiritual wisdom both in the East and the West, and also the radical differences between their philosophical and theological expressions. Then we will explore what we can learn from the great seers and teachers in the past, such as the Buddha, Christ, Krishna, Patañjali, Eckhart, John of the Cross; and some modern ones such as Krishnamurti, Ramana, Gurdjieff, none of whom were restrained by the priests, clerical officials or philosophers around them. Their main concern seems to be to follow, and encourage others to follow, the relevant practices which will make a searcher come closer and closer to union with the One embodying and radiating truth, love, beauty, delight, awareness and sense of service.
Ravi Ravindra will be leading these Monthly Meetings on Zoom. Each meeting will begin with a guided meditation assisting the relaxation of the body, some quieting of the mind, a feeling of gratitude for the mysterious forces and energies which have created me in this vast universe, and a sense of wonder about the purpose of my existence. Then, there will be an exposition of the features of a particular stage in the journey followed by a close exchange with the participants.
In order to bring focus to these meetings, the topics suggested for exploration during 2023 are listed below. Ravi will suggest some task or exercise to be tried until the next meeting. Recordings of the Meetings shall be made available to all subscribed students, which shall be available up to 3 months.
We will be organising informal Fellow-seekers Exchange over zoom, two weeks after each Meeting, to help participants share their findings, experiences and raise questions. This is optional for the participants to attend but highly recommended. Break out meeting rooms shall be created to have small groups so that the exchanges are close and effective. We will be sharing more details.
We have also created an online private Online Community Page will be available for the group members to share with others and keep in touch in an ongoing manner.
2023 – Meeting Topics
1. Jan: Spiritual Wisdom is Free of Time and Space
2. Feb: Common Features of the Abrahamic and Indic Traditions
3. Mar: East is East and the West is West
4. Apr: Oneness and Uniqueness: Is Dog the same as God?
5. May: Highest Divinity is Masculine and Feminine and Neuter
6. Jun: A Hindu will Die as will a Christian and Everyone else
7. Jul: Are You Sinful or a Child of Eternal Life?
8. Aug: The Eyes of Flesh and the Eyes of Spirit
9. Sep: A Sage Does Nothing, but Nothing is Left Undone
10. Oct: Sacrifice as the Support of Love
11. Nov: Search for Truth, Love and Joy
For more details and registration, please go to the link below:
Ravindra will teach a course at the Krotona Institute of Theosophy on
The Necessary Journey of Self-Transformation
On site and Zoom
Eleven mornings 10-noon (Pacific Time)
March 14-17 and 21-24 Tuesday-Friday,
March 28-March 30 Tuesday -Thursday
The one single lesson of all the scriptures and sacred writings is that unless searchers undergo a radical transformation of the whole of their being, they cannot come to the Truth or God or the Real. Although the description of the demands of transformation vary, in general the transformation leads not to freedom for myself but to freedom from myself. For example, a remark of the Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, “Unless you leave yourself behind, you cannot be a follower of mine.”
We have a spiritual nature as well as a carnal nature. Most of the world is driven by the bodily fears and desires. In order to be free of my usual ego-driven self, it is essential to engage in an impartial self-inquiry in order to understand the self of which I need to be free and the Self which I need to understand and follow. The Self is a part and parcel of the Highest Reality and the call is for each one of us to become an instrument of the Divine will or the Cosmic Intelligence pervading the vast universe, bringing our own unique talent of service.
A searcher soon becomes deeply interested in the long but adventurous journey of self-transformation rather than the destination which always remains a Mystery. Drawing from the traditional sacred literature, Theosophical writings and the teachings of some modern sages, we will explore the voyage of the necessary inner transformation.
Single session $15 Series $150
Please go to the following link for registration:
https://www.krotonainstitute.org/downloads/the-necessary-journey-ofself-transformation/
Ravi Ravindra will give four webinars on
Science and the Sacred
Under the aegis of the Theosophical Society of America
Saturdays, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. CT (8:00-9:30 p.m. IST)
June 3 – 24 ( 4 classes)
This course is intended for anyone interested in the two major needs of the human soul, namely meaning and knowledge.
The purpose of spiritual search is a radical transformation of the searchers themselves. The assumption in spiritual teachings is that the whole cosmos has been created, or emanates, from energies or forces at the highest level of consciousness. Therefore, as spiritual searchers evolve, they naturally exude compassion, love, a 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. For some great scientists, scientific research itself has been a spiritual path.
Join us for an exploration of the goals, intentions, attitudes, and practices of people engaged in scientific research and spiritual search.
It is not necessary, but it can be helpful if the participants read the book Science
and the Sacred by Ravi Ravindra. A course syllabus can be found below.
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.
For registration please go to
https://www.theosophical.org/program/webinars/5550-science-and-the-sacred
TS members: $70 • Nonmembers: $80
For course syllabus click here.