Religious Experiences in America

I came across this blog titled Vedanta in Practice by Swami Vimokshananda the President of Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa in Durban. Quite expectedly the blog talks heavily about the philosophy of the Sri Ramakrishna Parahamsa and Swami Vivekananda but to see something written about Buddha came as a little surprise to me.

“He was the only man who was ever ready to give up his life for animals to stop a sacrifice. He once said to a king, “If the sacrifice of a lamb helps you to go to heaven, sacrificing a man will help you better; so sacrifice me.” The king was astonished. And yet this man was without any motive power. He stands as the perfection of the active type, and the very height to which he attained shows that through the power of work we can also attain to the highest spirituality… I wish I had one infinitesimal part of Buddha’s heart,” writes Swamiji on the blog.

The latest post on the blog is about the First nine days (21st to 29th May) visit of one of the Vice-Presidents of the world-wide Ramakrishna Order, Sri Swami Smarananandaji Maharaj. The blog features pictures of Swamiji’s visit and interactions with local African people and how they are being wooed into the Ramakrishna order. It is indeed heartening to note that so much is being done by this spiritual group to spread the message of Indian culture, spirituality and philosophy and bring about a harmony and unity among people of all faiths.

I am truly impressed by the work of Swami Vimokshananda and the Ramakrishna Centers across the world.