Vedanta Society of Western Washington

Vedanta Society of Western Washington
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The Vedanta Society of Western Washington presents illuminating talks on Vedanta, the timeless philosophy that teaches the divinity of the soul, the unity of existence, and the harmony of all spiritual paths. This podcast brings together lectures from our resident swamis of the Ramakrishna Order alongside guest speakers dedicated to exploring spiritual Truth. These talks draw from classical Hindu scriptures as well as universal spiritual principles shared across religious traditions. You’ll hear reflections on the nature of the mind, the art of meditation, the search for meaning, navigating suffering, cultivating love and wisdom, and discovering inner freedom. The tone of the series is contemplative, thoughtful, and practical. Rather than offering quick fixes or slogans, these lectures guide listeners toward inner transformation through discernment, devotion, selfless service, and meditation. For seekers who value depth, clarity, and authenticity, this podcast offers a steady voice grounded in a living spiritual tradition. If you are looking for thoughtful spiritual insights and a richer understanding of yourself, one that respects your intelligence, supports your inner life, and points toward the highest Truth, you’ll find this podcast an open door into the world of Vedanta.

  1. 12/31/2012

    Sri Sarada Devi: Love Personified — Swami Bhaskarananda

    Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on December 30, 2012. In this lecture, Swami Bhaskarananda presents Sri Sarada Devi as the embodiment of universal, unselfish love and explains her place within the Vedantic understanding of divine incarnation. Beginning with reflections on the unique nature of maternal love, he describes how a mother’s care seeks no return and is grounded entirely in the well-being of the child. He then extends this idea beyond ordinary human relationships, introducing Sri Sarada Devi as one who regarded all beings—human and non-human alike—as her children. Though outwardly simple, she is presented as a spiritual figure whose life revealed the motherhood of God, complementing Sri Ramakrishna’s mission and giving concrete expression to divine compassion. Swami Bhaskarananda illustrates her universal love through numerous incidents from her life: her care for devotees of every background, her tenderness toward animals, her refusal to reject those who had erred morally, and her ability to transform lives through acceptance rather than judgment. He emphasizes her humility, her lack of any sense of personal authority as a teacher, and her insistence that God alone is the true guide. The talk concludes by highlighting her enduring message—that peace comes from seeing one’s own faults rather than those of others, and from regarding the whole world as one family—inviting listeners to reflect on love as a spiritual force that reveals awareness of inherent divinity in all.

    1h 4m

  2. 12/23/2012

    Hindu Appreciation of Christ — Swami Bhaskarananda

    Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on December 23, 2012. In this talk, Swami Bhaskarananda reflects on Jesus Christ from a Hindu perspective and explains why the Ramakrishna monastic tradition reveres him as a divine incarnation. Drawing on the Hindu teaching that divine incarnations are innumerable, he distinguishes between God’s equal presence everywhere and the varying degrees to which divinity is manifested in different beings, emphasizing compassion, unselfishness, and spiritual awakening as marks of an incarnation. He recounts Sri Ramakrishna’s acceptance of Jesus through a vivid spiritual experience, and presents Christ as a “window” through which one may perceive the same divine Reality honored in other sacred lives. The lecture also highlights Jesus’ teachings on purity of heart, love, and inner perfection, relating them to Hindu ideals of seeing divinity in all. Swami Bhaskarananda discusses Christ’s humility, moral courage, and sense of justice, including his response to those who sought to punish others harshly. He then offers a Hindu interpretation of the resurrection in terms of a profound yogic state, underscoring the transformative spiritual power attributed to divine teachers. The talk concludes with an invitation to the Society’s Christmas Eve worship and a prayer for harmony and peace.

    1h 1m

  3. 12/16/2012

    Philosophy: Greek and Indian — Swami Manishananda (Philosophy Series, Part 2)

    Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on December 16, 2012. In this second talk of the series, Swami Manishananda examines the lives and philosophical contributions of Plato and Aristotle, presenting them as the first Western thinkers to develop comprehensive philosophical systems. He outlines Plato’s background, his formative relationship with Socrates, and the development of his thought during years of travel and teaching. Plato’s philosophy is presented as fundamentally transcendental, emphasizing the distinction between the changing world of appearances and a higher realm of enduring forms. Through discussion of the allegory of the cave, Swami Manishananda explains Plato’s view that human beings live amid appearances shaped by habit and ignorance, and that disciplined inquiry and moral refinement can lead the mind toward truth, justice, and lasting fulfillment. The lecture then turns to Aristotle, highlighting both his intellectual brilliance and his sharp disagreements with his teacher. Aristotle’s philosophy is shown to be grounded firmly in observation, logic, and life within the world, rejecting Plato’s separate realm of forms while affirming an ordered universe governed by reason. Swami Manishananda explains Aristotle’s conception of God as the unmoved mover and his ethical teaching that happiness is achieved through moderation, virtue, and participation in community life. The talk concludes by comparing these perspectives with Vedanta, noting its agreement with Plato regarding a transcendental goal while also affirming the practical value of Aristotle’s ethical emphasis on balance, responsibility, and disciplined living within society.

    56 min

  4. 12/09/2012

    Philosophy: Greek and Indian — Swami Manishananda (Philosophy Series, Part 1)

    Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on December 9, 2012. In this first talk of a two-part series, Swami Manishananda introduces major themes of Greek philosophy and places them in dialogue with Indian philosophical traditions from a Vedantic perspective. He begins by noting a fundamental methodological difference: Indian philosophy generally arises from spiritual experience and reflection on realized truth, whereas Greek philosophy develops largely through rational inquiry and speculation. With this distinction in view, he surveys the pre-Socratic thinkers, including Thales, Anaximander, Heraclitus, Xenophanes, Parmenides, and Pythagoras, highlighting their efforts to explain the nature of reality through observation, reason, and principles drawn from the material world. Particular attention is given to the Greek shift from mythological explanations toward inquiry into the “what” and “how” of existence. The lecture then explores key philosophical questions addressed by these thinkers, such as the origin of the universe, the nature of change and permanence, and the possibility of an underlying order or law governing reality. Swami Manishananda draws thoughtful parallels and contrasts with Indian philosophy, especially Vedanta, noting similarities in ideas about unity, moral order, and the limits of sense-based knowledge, while also clarifying important differences. The talk concludes with a discussion of Socrates as a pivotal figure whose emphasis on self-knowledge, ethical inquiry, and intellectual humility laid the groundwork for later Greek philosophy, and whose life exemplified fearlessness grounded in reflective understanding.

    58 min

  5. 12/02/2012

    Life Beyond Death — Swami Bhaskarananda

    Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on December 2, 2012. In this lecture, Swami Bhaskarananda examines the question of what happens after death from the perspective of Vedanta, drawing extensively on the Upanishads and traditional philosophical reasoning. He begins with the story of Nachiketa from the Katha Upanishad, where death is explained as the discarding of a worn-out garment rather than the end of existence. The body, he explains, is temporary, while the true individual is the indwelling soul, which neither is born nor dies. He then addresses modern doubts about life after death, clarifying that direct proof belongs to personal experience, while philosophical inquiry relies on valid means of knowledge such as perception, inference, comparison, postulation, non-perception, and reliable testimony. Swami Bhaskarananda goes on to describe what survives physical death according to Vedantic teaching: the soul accompanied by a subtle body consisting of vital energies, senses, mind, and intellect. Guided by the quality and tendencies of the mind shaped by past actions, the departed soul moves to subtler planes of existence, known as lokas, where it experiences the results of its karma before returning to earthly life through rebirth. He recounts traditional accounts and verified cases of past-life memory to illustrate continuity of existence. The talk concludes by emphasizing that freedom from repeated birth and death comes through spiritual discipline and direct awareness of the divine reality that is one’s own deepest nature.

    55 min

  6. 11/25/2012

    How to Get Along with Others Using Ancient Hindu Wisdom — Swami Bhaskarananda

    Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on November 25, 2012. In this talk, Swami Bhaskarananda explains why human relationships can be difficult and offers a Vedantic framework for understanding personality and behavior. Drawing on the Sankhya philosophy of Sage Kapila, he describes the three gunas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—as subtle forces present in everyone’s mind and nature. When sattva predominates, a person tends toward clarity, calmness, unselfishness, and spiritual inclination; when rajas predominates, restlessness, ambition, craving, and the desire to dominate become more visible; when tamas predominates, lethargy, confusion, depression, and impulsive negativity may arise. Because these tendencies can shift, he emphasizes the need to account for time, place, and a person’s prevailing disposition, and also the importance of learning to manage one’s own mind before trying to handle others skillfully. Swami Bhaskarananda then applies this understanding to practical situations—especially family and workplace relationships. He highlights self-sacrifice and thoughtful timing as keys to harmony in marriage, offering examples of how spouses can respond wisely to changing moods and temperaments without escalating conflict. He distinguishes sincere praise from flattery and suggests that recognizing real strengths in others can reduce friction, particularly with supervisors or strongly rajasic personalities. Throughout, he stresses that these principles are not meant to create perfect circumstances, but to make relationships more peaceful, workable, and grounded in empathy, patience, and steadiness of mind.

    1h 12m

  7. 11/18/2012

    Meditation According to the Bhagavad Gita — Swami Bhaskarananda

    Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on November 18, 2012. In this lecture, Swami Bhaskarananda explains meditation (dhyāna) as presented in the Bhagavad Gita, beginning with Patanjali’s definition: an unbroken flow of the mind toward its chosen object, like a steady stream of oil poured into a bowl. He notes that while the earliest Vedic texts say little about meditation, the Upanishads strongly affirm it—often as contemplation of the indwelling Divine Self (Atman)—and the Gita is regarded as the essence of that Upanishadic teaching. He clarifies the Gita’s use of dhyāna and yoga, describing advanced meditation as the stilling of mental modifications and the gradual merging of the thinker with the object of contemplation through sustained practice. Swami Bhaskarananda then summarizes the Gita’s practical guidance: Karma Yoga purifies the mind through selfless work, preparing it for meditation; success requires steady effort, dispassion toward sense objects, moderation in eating and sleep, and a quiet, clean, solitary place for practice. He addresses common obstacles—restlessness, distraction, and fluctuating mental states—and emphasizes repeatedly bringing the mind back to the Divine within. Finally, he reassures listeners that sincere spiritual striving is never lost: even if full success is not attained in one life, the impressions of practice remain and support continued progress toward knowledge of the Self over time.

    1h 2m

  8. 11/11/2012

    The Glory of Motherhood — Swami Bhaskarananda

    Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on November 11, 2012. In this talk, Swami Bhaskarananda reflects on the glory of motherhood as honored in the Vedantic tradition. Beginning with traditional chants to the Divine Mother, he explains why the scriptures place Matri Devo Bhava—“regard your mother as God”—as a primary instruction. He relates this reverence to the Vedantic understanding of the Divine as beyond form, time, and limitation, while also showing how the human mind naturally approaches the formless Reality through personal relationships such as mother, father, friend, or beloved. From this perspective, viewing God as Mother becomes a way of expressing love and intimacy with the Divine, without claiming that the Infinite is literally confined to human categories. Swami Bhaskarananda illustrates the unselfish power of maternal love through stories and examples, including the instinctive sacrifice of a mother protecting her young and the tradition’s insistence that a mother does not forsake her child even when faults are present. He also draws on the lives of great spiritual figures—especially Sri Sarada Devi, revered as the Holy Mother—to portray universal motherhood as compassion that embraces all, without distinction. The lecture concludes by emphasizing gratitude toward one’s mother, the spiritual value of honoring womanhood, and the aspiration to cultivate purity, humility, and awareness of inherent divinity through this sacred ideal.

    1h 5m
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About

The Vedanta Society of Western Washington presents illuminating talks on Vedanta, the timeless philosophy that teaches the divinity of the soul, the unity of existence, and the harmony of all spiritual paths. This podcast brings together lectures from our resident swamis of the Ramakrishna Order alongside guest speakers dedicated to exploring spiritual Truth. These talks draw from classical Hindu scriptures as well as universal spiritual principles shared across religious traditions. You’ll hear reflections on the nature of the mind, the art of meditation, the search for meaning, navigating suffering, cultivating love and wisdom, and discovering inner freedom. The tone of the series is contemplative, thoughtful, and practical. Rather than offering quick fixes or slogans, these lectures guide listeners toward inner transformation through discernment, devotion, selfless service, and meditation. For seekers who value depth, clarity, and authenticity, this podcast offers a steady voice grounded in a living spiritual tradition. If you are looking for thoughtful spiritual insights and a richer understanding of yourself, one that respects your intelligence, supports your inner life, and points toward the highest Truth, you’ll find this podcast an open door into the world of Vedanta.

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