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: The Eyes of Flesh and the Eyes of Spirit
4. Apr: A Hindu will Die as will a Christian and Everyone else
5. May: East is East and the West is West
6. Jun: Is Dog the same as God?
7. Jul: Highest Divinity is Masculine and Feminine and Neuter
8. Aug: Are You Sinful or a Child of Eternal Life?
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:
Ravi Ravindra will give a talk on
Scientific Research and Spiritual Search
Under the aegis of the Consciousness Perspectives Forum
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/