[Advaita-l] On Ramana

[Vasu Raghavan]

Pranaams to the learned members of this group and specifically to Sri.
Girish

I am writing this response not with the intention of getting into a debate
or argument with anyone but only with the intention of presenting some
facts.

RKM as we find it today, is doing a lot of things that are inimical to the
Sanatana Dharma in the short and long run, the foremost of these being the
endorsement of the abrahamic faiths and extolling these tamasic / asuric
cults to be at par with Sanatana Dharma. On top of it, they had even gone
to the Supreme Court with a plea to recognize them as a "minority sect" as
their "way" is distinct from mainstream Hinduism. There is
considerable evidence to show that the RKM hierarchy has been infiltrated
by the church and by elements vulnerable to the influence of gulf / oil
money

RKM is primarily focused on spreading the teachings of Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa, who was essentially a Kali Upasaka and from whatever we read
from the stories seen in the books published by RKM itself, he used stories
and parables to talk about God / Eashwara / the Supreme Being etc. and
provide certain Dhaarmic messages, but these can not be classified as
Vedanta or Advaita Vedanta strictly speaking. RKM itself promotes
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as an Avatara Purusha, someone worthy of being
worshipped as GOD / Eashwara (and not as a Guru coming in the traditional
Guru Parampara)... thus rendering itself to be a cult of sorts.

The Advaita Ashrama, a branch of RKM is what specializes in the spread of
Advaita philosophy and this is not their mainstream focus...from what I
have seen, they speak the language of Advaita where it suits them but take
the cover under "sarva dharma sama bhaava vada pav" at other instances.

My apologies for digressing from the main purpose of this group, being the
discussion of Advaita Vedanta and not a critique on any establishment, but
sometimes facts can be hurtful...

With warm regards

Vasudevan Raghavan



On Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 12:36 PM Girish S V <girishsv at gmail.com> wrote:

> In Swami Vivekananda's own words, "If I have told you one word for truth,
> it was his (Ramakrishna’s) and his alone, and if I have told you many
> things which were not true, which were not correct, which were not
> beneficial to the human race, they were all mine, and on me is the
> responsibility." (Source:
> https://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_3/lectures_from_colombo_to_almora/the_sages_of_india.htm
> )
>
> So a statement that "The "advaita vedanta" flavour that RKM dishes out
> nowadays must be attributed to Swami Vivekananda and it does not have its
> origin in Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa himself" seems to be flawed. Please
> correct me if I am wrong and you have a source that states otherwise.
>
> Also, perhaps it's just me,but calling it a "flavour that they are dishing
> out" seems to be fairly condescending in my view.
>
> Sincerely,
> -G
>
> On Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 3:00 PM Vasu Raghavan via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
>> The "advaita vedanta" flavour that RKM dishes out nowadays must be
>> attributed to Swami Vivekananda and it does not have its origin in Sri
>> Ramakrishna Paramahamsa himself.
>>
>> In fact, the RKM as we know it today is an institution founded by Swami
>> Vivekananda and a few other disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
>>
>> With warm regards
>>
>>
>> Vasudevan Raghavan
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 9:44 AM Jaldhar H. Vyas via Advaita-l <
>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>
>> > On Thu, 24 Jun 2021, Girish S V via Advaita-l wrote:
>> >
>> > > You state " rAmakrishna paramahaMsa he can be an inspirational figure
>> but
>> > > not a traditional teacher"
>> > > Can you please elaborate on why you think Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
>> was
>> > > not a traditional teacher?
>> > >
>> >
>> > Perhaps Bhaskar is refering to an earlier conversation we had once
>> where I
>> > said that Ramakrishna was a traditional Bengali Tantrik.  Which is
>> > similar to Advaita Vedanta to be sure but nothing like the full-blown
>> > interpretation of Advaita Vedanta espoused by his followers in the
>> > Ramakrishna Mission.
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
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