Posts
Mandodari: the wife of Ravana
by Gloria Arieira
All of us humans have much of both Rama and Ravana within us! What makes the difference is the capacity for viveka and vairagya—perceiving one's own impulses and blind spots and having the decision and strength to act appropriately according to one's highest values of respect and non-aggression.
Learning from Vedanta
by Abraham B Sicsu
It used to be a whole week. For many years, it was always at a retreat in a pleasant location in contact with nature. Now it's three days, a very concentrated immersion. You learn a lot. It makes you reflect deeply on the lessons that give meaning to existence. It's called Intensive in Vedanta, and it took place this September.
.jpg)
Gloria Arieira's Yoga sutras of Patañjali
by Ricky Toledano
Seating herself at her podium, our beloved teacher stated with uncharacteristic dryness, “Yoga Sutras. Ok. Fine. Let’s go.” Without the ceremonious preliminaries, the singing the traditional invocations, the class had already started jarringly enough, even before Gloria Arieira abruptly opened her book and added, “But you have to know that this is not Vedanta”.
The life of Brahmana | Pandit Ravichandran and Shubha Ravichandran
The lecture is in English and translated to Portuguese by teacher Gloria Arieira.
Pandit Ravichandran, was born in ManjaKudi, India, and has been doing rituals at the Asha Vidya temple for years. He and his wife, Shubha Ravichandran, who also comes from a Brahmana family tell us how a Brahmana lives and what they do in their daily lives.
Some rituals are discussed.
The lecture, held on March 20, 2018, coincided with the passage of the history of the Mahabharata, told by teacher Gloria Arieira, where Arjuna in disguise as Brahmana wins the race to marry Draupadi. The Kshatriyas who were also fighting are outraged and protest. Arjuna and his brothers flee taking the girl. The King, Draupadi's father, is very concerned and sends his son to check who are these supposed Brahmanas who took his daughter. He says to his son: - go back and listen to what they are saying and what they are doing.
So we may ask: How does a Brahmana live?
Bridges to be crossed
Gloria Arieira
September 2019
Throughout our lives we have bridges to cross, changes to make, learning to complete.
Brahman, however, is one and unchanging. It does nothing. It is through Maya Shakti that Brahman manifests the universe in all its beauty and logic, and intelligent order in great detail that is cohesive and functioning.
The knowledge of Brahman that is Ishvara
Gloria Arieira
August 2019
The knowledge of Brahman is the main topic of the knowledge that is called Vedanta. But knowing Brahman, however, includes knowing Íshvara, which is Brahman through Maya, the power that makes everything happen. This power is said to be 'na satyam, mithyá iti', 'not real, apparent or apparently real', but it has a reality that cannot be denied. This power, called Maya, cannot be asserted as asat, non-existent. To understand it is to understand the entire universe, which is to understand jiva, the individual.