The Vedanta Kyokai New, Updates and Miscellany from the Vedanta Society of Japan June 2004 - Volume 2 Number 6 _____________________________________________________________ In this issue: ¥ Thus Spake ¥ Monthly Calendar ¥ May Retreat Part I Talk by Cyril Veliath, S.J., on the Buddha, Jesus Christ and Sri Ramakrishna ¥ Thought of the Month ¥ May Retreat Part II ¥ Swami Gives Talk in Manila ¥ A Story to Remember ¥ Special Announcements _____________________________________________________________ Thus Spake "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid." ... Jesus Christ "Why should you be frightened? Hold fast to God. What if the world is like a forest of thorns? Put on shoes and walk on the thorns. Whom should you fear?" ... Sri Ramakrishna _____________________________________________________________ Monthly Calendar ¥Kyokai Events¥ Annual Public Birth Celebration and Symposium in Ikebukuro, Tokyo Swami Vivekananda - 142nd Birth Anniversary The Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi - 150th Birth Anniversary Date: SUNDAY JUNE 13 from 2~5:30 p.m. Venue: Toshima-Kohkaido 1-19-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo Phone: (03) 3981-1009 Welcome address: Swami Medhasananda Symposium on Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi's Life and Teachings Participants: Ms. Yasuko Yamada, Prof. Kathy Matsui, Ms. Ajanta Gupta Moderator: Prof. Tsuyoshi Nara Release of the 'Universal Gospel' (Special Issue), CD on Guided Meditation and speech on Swami Vivekananda by His Excellency Sri Manilal Tripathi , Ambassador of India Master of Ceremonies: Ms. Kuniko Hirano The Programme also includes a short guided meditation, devotional songs by Japanese and Indian devotees, and a slide show on Sri Sarada Devi. Exhibition: Books on Hinduism, Meditation, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda in Japanese and English; CDs and Cassettes of devotional songs; Photos; Incense sticks, etc. Admission Charge: Free - All will be treated to a light refreshment. Complete information with map available online: http://www.vedanta.jp/ _____________________________________________________________ May Zushi Retreat - Part I The Buddha, Sri Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ On May 16, the Vedanta Society of Japan celebrated the birth of Sri Buddha at it's monthly retreat in Zushi. The Society's long-time friend, Professor Cyril Veliath, S.J., from Sophia University in Tokyo, was kind enough to give a talk on The Buddha, Sri Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ on this occassion. Father Veliath, a native Indian, teaches courses on Indian Thought and Culture, Indian Mysticism, and Myths and Legends in Indian Artistic History at the university, and is also a member of the Society's Vivekananda Birth Celebration Committee and often a panelist at this yearly event. The morning session began with Vedic prayer and readings from Buddha's teachings in Japanese and English. Swami Medhasananda then led the congregation in the chant of a Buddist Sudra starting with "Buddham Saranam Gachchhami". After a brief introduction by the Swami, Professor Veliath gave his talk in Japanese in order to cover his prepared material in time for the lunch break. He began his remarks by saying that the 6th century BC was a truly remarkable period in world history. "In different parts of the world a number of eminent people were born. Some were great philosophers, some were thinkers, and some were founders of great religions." "In Greece we had Parmenides, Empedocles, Pythagoras and others; in Israel we had the prophet Isaiah; in Persia we had Zoraster, the founder of Zoroastrianism; in China we had Confucius, the founder Confucianism, and Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism; in India we had Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, and finally, Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, also known as The Buddha." The professor then explored the variety of names attributed to the Buddha in Buddhist scriptures and discussed various points of interest about his life, his enlightenment and his message, before turning to some comparisons of the three eminent subjects of his talk. "When we compare the Buddha with Sri Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ," he continued, Òwe notice that all three have certain things in common and certain things that are different. All three of them based their teachings on love, and all three used parables and stories when they communicated the people. These stories were told in a very similar manner and some have become world famous. We have, for instance, Ramakrishna's tale of the blind men and elephant; Jesus Christ's story of the prodigal son; and the Jataka stories of Buddhism, all of which give us an idea of the nature of God." "All three of them had friends among the very rich and the very poor. Among the fervent disciples of Jesus Christ was the prostitute Mary Magdalene, and among the great disciples of the Buddha was the prostitute Amrapali. Both of these were wealthy women who donated all they had to their respective Masters. Similarly, among the disciples of Ramakrishna there were many who had been rejected by society." "All three had many eminent disciples. Among the disciples of Jesus, St. Paul became a great scholar and one of the founders of Christianity. Among the disciples of Ramakrishna we have Vivekananda, whose relationship to Ramakrishna was similar to that of St. Paul to Jesus Christ." The professor then discussed these relationships and the far-reaching accomplishments and worldwide impact of these two prominent disciples in spreading their Masters' messages. He concluded his remarks with, "Another important point to notice is that Buddha, Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ were all Asians. Christianity for various historical reasons became a religion of western nations, but Jesus Christ himself was an Asian. Concerning this, Mahatma Gandhi remarked that it was Jesus' disciple, St. Paul, who carried Christianity to the West. And once it reached the West, it became the religion of kings and emperors. Had it not gone so early to the West, Christianity would probably have been no different from Buddhism, or even some schools of Hinduism." (End Part I) _____________________________________________________________ Thought of the Month A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him. (unknown source) _____________________________________________________________ May Zushi Retreat - Part II The Afternoon Session After a delicious lunch of both Indian curries and Japanese dishes and some rest, reading, and socializing time, the remaining friends and guests began to congregate in the main shrine room for the afternoon session at 3 p.m. Although Professor Valiath had already taken his leave, Swami began the session by again offering his thanks and gratitude to him for the interesting and informative presentation of the morning session. With regard to the similarities of the Buddha, Jesus Christ and Sri Ramakrishna noted in the earlier session, the Swami sought to point out one more distinct similarity of these three preeminent religious figures; that being the profoundness of their renunciation. Then in response to a question addressing the point that God is never actually mentioned in Buddhist philosophy the Swami said, ÒThis is a common mistake of interpretation made by many scholars and philosophers. Buddha was never an atheist, and he realized the highest spiritual truth. Buddha decried and discouraged all debates and philosophical speculations; such are the pastimes of scholars. Buddha was interested not in theory, but in the practice of spirituality.Ó In this connection Swami quoted a renowned composition from Shankaracharya that says, Worship Govinda (the Lord), worship Govinda, worship Govinda Oh foolish man! Your scholastic pursuits will not save you when death comes! ÒSuppose an arrow is launched; does it make such distinctions as to cast, philosophical view, man or woman before it pierces the target. The BuddhaÕs religion showed a practical way to solve the real physical, mental and spiritual problems of life. He communicated his ideas in a new way, but there are many commonalities and identical teachings of Buddha to be found in other religions, especially in Hinduism, into which he was born and raised.Ó ÒDoes devotion have a place in Buddhism?Ó the Swami asked rhetorically. ÒWithout devotion, no progress can be made in spiritual life. Faith and love are interconnected. Just look at the tremendous devotion of the disciples of the Buddha, Jesus Christ and Sri Ramakrishna.Ó ÒThe fact is that devotion has four aspects; first is faith and confidence in oneself; second is faith in and devotion to the teacher; the third is faith in the scriptures; and the result is faith and devotion to God. After his death devotees began to offer prayers and devotion to the Buddha, and generations later likenesses were crafted with devotion and devotees worshipped the Buddha as God Himself. This is how prayer and devotion found natural expression in Buddhism.Ó ÒThe Buddha was also a symbol of compassion; not only to humans, but to animals as well. Animal sacrifice in the name of religion had become rampant in Hinduism. The Buddha was critical of this, declaring that it was not necessary for religious experience. As a result of the BuddhaÕs influence, the popularity of animal sacrifice deminished substantially.Ó The session ended with the Swami leading a guided meditation in Japanese. _____________________________________________________________ Maharaj Delivers Lecture in Manila (Contributed by Enrico Colombo in Manila) Swami Medhasanandaji paid his third visit to Manila on invitation by some devotees. It was a very short and hectic stay: Maharaj reached Manila with a JAL flight at about 9.45PM on Friday May 7, 2004 and stayed there less than 48 hours, leaving on a JAL flight back to Tokyo on Sunday May 9 at about 2.30PM. On Saturday May 8 in the afternoon Maharaj delivered a lecture about the theme: ÒThe mind and its controlÓ attended by some forty persons, mostly Filipinos, but including also three Indian and three Italian citizens living in Manila. About half of the audience had attended the two previous talks delivered by Swami Medhasananda in year 2002 and 2003, the remaining persons were newcomers who had heard about the talk from various sources, including an article and an announcement published by the ÒManila BulletinÓ, the main daily newspaper of the Philippines. This year the talk was held in a spacious room normally used for various courses, such as dance and physical yoga. The room seemed more adequate than the hotel function rooms used for the talks held in the past two years. Maharaj spoke for about one hour and fifteen minutes catching the attention of audience also by using illuminating examples and interesting stories. The talk was followed by a short tea break and right after that by a lively session of questions and answers. The program carried on with a guided meditation. This lasted about 45 minutes and received the full attention of the participants, most of which followed MaharajÕs example sitting on the floor. The program was concluded by the chanting of the Universal Prayer (Maharaj intoned it in its original Sanskrit version and the audience followed with the English translation). The event was no doubt a success with the highest attendance registered so far by MaharajÕs talks in Manila. The lecture lasted some three and a half hours altogether. He joined however a group of about twenty persons for a dinner at an Indian restaurant nearby. The Indian food preparations were met with widespread approval and Maharaj expressed his special appreciation when he learned that the cook was not an Indian but a Filipino. The small, but growing, group of Manila devotees are very thankful to Maharaj for his third visit and lecture here and hope to see him again in the Philippines soon. ____________________________________________________________ ¥ A Story to Remember ¥ A Farmer's Request A farmer requested a Tendai priest to recite sutras for his wife, who had died. After the recitation was over the farmer asked, "Do you think my wife will gain merit from this?" "Not only your wife, but all sentient beings will benefit from the recitation of sutras," answered the priest. "If you say all sentient beings will benefit," said the farmer, "my wife may be very weak and other will take advantage of her, getting the benefit she should have. So please recite sutras just for her." The priest explained that it was the desire of a Buddhist to offer blessings and wish merit for every living being. "That is a fine teaching," concluded the farmer, "but please make one exception. I have a neighbor who is rough and mean to me. Just exclude him from all those sentient beings." ... Buddhist Tradition ____________________________________________________________ ¥ Special Announcements ¥ 1) All regularly scheduled programmes will be suspended in June due to the Annual Birth Celebration and Symposium in Tokyo on June 13. 2) A new CD in Japanese on Guided Meditation According to Hindu Spiritual Traditions will be released during the Celebration noted above. ____________________________________________________________ Issued by: The Vedanta Society of Japan (Nippon Vedanta Kyokai) 4-18-1 Hisagi, Zushi-shi, Kanagawa-ken 249-0001 JAPAN Phone: 81-468-73-0428 Fax: 81-468-73-0592 website: http://www.vedanta.jp email: info@vedanta.jp