The
Vedanta Society of Southern California, with its headquarters in Hollywood, was founded in 1930 by
Swami PrabhavanandaSwami Prabhavananda was an Indian philosopher, monk of the Ramakrishna Order, and religious teacher.-Biography:...
. The society is a branch of the
Ramakrishna OrderRamakrishna Math is a religious monastic order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was set up by Swami Vivekananda to follow the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna...
, and maintains subcenters in
PasadenaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
,
Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, San Diego, and Trabuco Canyon. It also maintains an
archiveAn archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
of important materials relating to the society's history and to the early years of the
VedantaVedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
movement in America.
History
Swami Prabhavananda came to
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1929 from
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, and formally established the society as a non-profit corporation in 1934. Prabhavananda led the society until his death in 1976.
Swami SwahanandaSwami Swahananda , a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order of India, is the minister and spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of Southern California since 1976. He also leads the Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely, and the Vedanta Center of Greater Washington, DC...
took over as head of the society in 1976, and continues as its head to date.
Activities
The society offers lectures and classes, and also public pujas. Through its publisher,
Vedanta PressVedanta Press is the publishing wing of the Vedanta Society of Southern California. It publishes a number of important books in Indian philosophy and the Vedanta tradition, both original works and translations of Sanskrit scriptures. Vedanta Press published the bimonthly Vedanta for the West from...
, it publishes a number of books. It maintains three websites. The society attracts college students from all over America to experience monastic life first-hand, study vedanta, practice
meditationMeditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, and research the lives of
Sri RamakrishnaRamakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...
and Vivekananda, through its student program.
Branches
The society's branch in
South Pasadena, CaliforniaSouth Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in in the West San Gabriel Valley...
preserves a house in which
Swami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
lived for six weeks in 1900. There is a monastery at Trabuco Canyon, 60 miles south of
LALos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, which is also home to a sculpture of Vivekananda. There is a convent in
Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, a small monastery in San Diego, and a small retreat at Pinon Hills.
External links