The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
Clare Giles
Harvard Divinity School
The Changing Shape of Vedanta Societies in America
Table of Contents
The main focus of this study is to address how Vedanta Societies in the United States have changed in recent years. Vedanta Societies have witnessed many changes in the last fifteen years. This study attempts to understand how one specific group, a group with a history in the United States but an intimate link with the Indian 'homeland' of many new Indian-Americans, has evolved with the changing nature of America's religious landscape. Although many of the changes are due to the influx of immigrants from India, the study does not conclude that this is the only reason for significant changes within the movement. There are many factors that contribute to the growth and development of a religious movement. The changes outlined below documented through field research as outlined in the section on methodology. The term 'change' is intended to remain neither positive nor negative but rather to indicate a difference in the present state of Vedanta Societies, in comparison with the previous state as observed and remembered by members of the Vedanta Societies communities, and as outlined in secondary sources where referenced.
The Teachings and History of Vedanta Societies
Conclusions
As I began my research on the Vedanta Societies of the States, my initial idea for a research project was to identify how the Vedanta Societies of America differed from their counterparts at the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in India. My questions soon identified, however, that there had been many changes within the US movement and that very few of these changes had been documented or discussed. My research took form as I began to simply ask devotees, "do you think that the Vedanta Society has changed at all in recent years?" I soon came to know that this was a loaded question and the Vedanta Societies in most areas of the country have been struggling to find a positive balance between the Vedanta Societies that grew from the foundations of Swami Vivekananda into small, committed, spiritual communities, and the infiltration of devotees of Ramakrishna from India who have been immigrating to the States since 1965 and look to the Vedanta Societies for traditional spiritual guidance in their new American context. Each Vedanta Society is different, and each devotee has a unique perspective that is entirely his or her own, the changes outline in this paper are themes that I heard repeated over and over by Swamis and devotees alike, from all over the country.
I have gone to great lengths to convey the voices of the movement without allowing my own voice to become part of the dialogue. However, I would like to emphasize that I felt very welcome at all the centers I was able to visit, and I am especially indebted to all the Swamis who took time to talk with me. I would also like to thank all the devotees who gave me their time, whether at their private homes, at their center, or via email. I greatly appreciate the level of personal reflection and depth that went into many of our discussions.
Although some of this research documents the struggles Vedanta Societies are facing due to the changes of the last twenty years, much of this research focuses on changes that are positive reflections of the actions of the lay and religious leadership of the movement. For example, increased interfaith activities and community service efforts demonstrate a definitive outreach to the community. The relationships made through these efforts have made many devotees more comfortable in the community at large. Vedanta Societies are outreaching, they are diverse, they are growing with immigration, they are teaching first-generation Americans the traditions of their distant second homeland, they are organizing the movement as a whole, they are building pan-Hindu bridges by creating ritual festivals for Hindu devotion, they are holding onto a loving family of devotees. The Vedanta Societies in the States are growing and changing but have found a new home in America's new and diverse religious landscape.
The following text and web resources were used to supplement the field research.
Banddyopadhyay, Dr. Sansaka Bhusan. "Formulation, Foundations and Evolution of the Ramakrishna Mission and the Contribution of the Monastic Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna." In Prabuddha Bharata, Vol.103, January 1998.
French, Harold W. The Swan's Wide Waters: Ramakrishna and Western Culture. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1074.
Gupta, Mahendranath. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, trans. Swami Nikhilananda. Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math Printing Press, 1942.
Isherwood, Christopher. Ramakrishna and his Disciples. Calcutta: Union Press, 1965.
Jackson, Carl T. Vedanta for the West: The Ramakrishna Movement in the United States. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1994.
Radhakrishnan, S. The Principle Upanishads. New Delhi: HapperCollins Publishers India, 1994.
Swami Adiswaranda. "Sri Ramakrishna 1836-1886." On Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York homepage. New York: www.ramakrishna.org, 1999.
Swami Mumukshananda ed. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume VII. Calcutta: Swapna Printing Works, 1964.
Swami Saradananda. Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master Volume II, trans. Swami Jagadananda. Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math Printing Press, 1952.
Swami Tejasananda. A Short Life of Swami Vivekananda, Calcutta: Trio Press, 1995.
Swamy, N.V.C. "The Ramakrishna Ideal and the Ramakrishna Mission." In Vedanta Kesari, Vol. 86, April 1999.
Websites:
www.ridgely.org - Vivekananda Ridgley Retreat, Stone Ridge, NY.
www.vivekananda.org - Ramakrishna-Vedanta Society of Boston.
www.vedanta.org - Vedanta Society of Southern California.
www.vedanta-dc.org - Vedanta Society of Washington, DC.
www.sfvedanta.org - Vedanta Society of Northern California.
www.vedantasociety-chicago.org - Vedanta Society of Chicago.
The Teachings and History of Vedanta Societies
The Vedanta Societies of the States are branch centers of the Ramakrishna Mission of India. This section is intended to outline for the reader a background of the movement, as seen through the eyes of a devotee or member of a Vedanta Society. The following will serve as an introduction to the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, his disciple Swami Vivekananda, the founding and history of the movement within India, and the early history of the movement in America.
Sri Ramakrishna, his Life and Teachings
Sri Ramakrishna was born Gadadhar in the West Bengali village of Karampukur. Before his birth in 1836, his parents both had visions and powerful spiritual experiences relating to their future child. (Isherwood 1965, p.16) Rejecting formal education, Gadadhar began his mystical experiences as a child and in his teens he became increasingly in religious pursuits, striving for an education that would "produce right knowledge enabling man to truly achieve the real aims of life." (Swami Saradananda 1952, p.126) As a Brahmin, he served as a priest at the Dakshineswar temple in Calcutta, where he practiced acts of renunciation, meditation, and devotion to the goddess Kali. His ability to function in everyday ritual duties diminished as he delved deeper into his Sadhana, or spiritual practice. (Bandyopadhyay 1998, p.119) Ramakrishna adopted several types of practices, including devotional bhakti, and tantric or esoteric practices. (Isherwood 1965, ps.76-102) Later, Ramakrishna adopted the path of Advaita Vedanta, or Non-Dual Vedanta, upon which he entered nirvikalpa samadhi, the highest state in which all sense of individual identity is overcome; the realization of his identity with Brahman, the Absolute. (Gupta 1942, p.27) This realization, the core teaching of the sacred texts the Upanishads, is the basis for Advaita Vedanta. Stressing the unity of existence, this philosophy embraces everything as simply a manifestation of this Oneness. The Upanishads outline the lack of distinction between Brahman, the Ultimate Reality and the Atman, the Self. (Radhakrishnan 1994, p.77) Ramakrishna emphasized the Divine within each person; instead of identifying people with their body, mind, and ego, he saw people as perfect, pure, and divine.
Contemporary devotees of the Ramakrishna Mission and the Vedanta Societies in the States worship Sri Ramakrishna as their Gurudev, or Divine Teacher. He is understood to be both human and divine, an incarnation of God that lived on earth. Through devotion to Sri Ramakrishna, devotees are able to abandon their egos and attachments and realize God. However, this is not considered to be the only path to God. Ramakrishna himself practiced elements of Islam and Christianity in his lifetime. He concluded that the goal of all religions, despite their different paths, is one and the same: union with the divine. This teaching, known as Harmony of Religions, is not "uniformity; it is unity in diversity . . . not a fusion of religions, but a fellowship of religions based on their common goal." (Swami Adiswaranda 1999, p.2) This common goal Sri Ramakrishna describes as being the highest of all spiritual goals and he describes it as God-Realization or God-Consciousness.
Swami Vivekananda and the Beginning of the Movement
As Ramakrishna became increasingly well known in West Bengal, his future disciples began arriving at Dakshineswar. One of these followers was Narendra Nath Datta (later to be known throughout the world as Swami Vivekananda). He was highly educated with a great interest in Western philosophy, which led him to question many aspects of the Hinduism of his childhood. However, there was always a part of him that "longed for the unknown, hungered for the realization of the Reality." (Swami Tejasananda 1995, p.22) It was this religious sentiment that first brought Narendra to visit Sri Ramakrishna. He was taken with Ramakrishna's state of being. Ramakrishna described the state to him as a realization of God, and this marked the beginning of the relationship that shaped the future Ramakrishna Order. (Swami Tejasananda 1995, p.26-27)
Although Narendra hesitated at first, he eventually grew closer and closer to his new spiritual teacher and he saw Sri Ramakrishna as the highest ideal of spirituality. After Ramakrishna's death in 1886, he began wandering all over India, contemplating the teachings of his guru and the state of India around him. Based on the teachings of Ramakrishna, he adopted the path of "service to man, knowing him to be the manifestation of God . . . [allowing] an aspiration to realize himself as part and parcel of God-Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute." (Swami Tejasananda 1995, p.36) Narendra developed a stand rejecting the traditional concept of asceticism as the spiritual ideal. He instead had a vision of monks, aware of the divine within each person, worshipping their God through serving their fellow Indians and through devotion to Sri Ramakrishna having abandoned all selfish notions of personal salvation. (Swamy 1999, p.148) Upon his return from the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Swami Vivekananda began to organize a socially active monastic order. The monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna were still living in close contact with Sri Sarada Devi, Ramakrishna's Divine consort and wife, but were dispersed throughout India. Upon Swami Vivekananda's return from the States, he called all the monks together and formed the Ramakrishan Math (or monastery) and began to organize the social service aspect of his vision into the Ramakrishna Mission. He explained that the Vedanta teachings of Ramakrishna must be applied to life, which became known as Practical Vedanta: the worshipping of the divine through the abandonment of selfish desires by serving humanity. Many disciples eventually left Calcutta to found new branches of the Ramakrishna Mission in India and the rest of the world.
In modern India, the Ramakrishna Mission remains in conjunction with the Ramakrishna Math embracing the twin ideals of Self-Realization and service to the world. The Ramakrishna Mission and the Ramakrishna Math are distinct form each other as the Math emphasizes devotion, religious ritual, and spiritual teachings, while the Mission focuses on social work with a spiritual outlook. They receive separate funding from both government and private sources but both are have headquarters in Belur (near Calcutta) and are run by the monks of the order. These headquarters have direct authority over all individual centers worldwide.*
*Information pertaining to the state of the movement in modern India is based on research I conducted in Indian in the spring of 1999 for a project entitled "The Ideal of Service at the Ramakrishna Mission." Much of the background information was also collected at this time through various interviews with monastics of the order.
In 1893, Swami Vivekananda first came to America as representative for Hinduism at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. His success at this event, and his charismatic appeal to the people of America were the beginning of the history of the movement on US soil. Seeing a great opportunity with this success, Swami Vivekananda stayed in the States and began touring the country giving lectures and meeting with people. Although his talks varied in subject, he discussed the standards of living in India and the work of Christian Missionaries in India. However, his main focus, especially in his later talks, were the teachings of Vedanta philosophy and how these teachings could be incorporated to the lives of Westerners. Swami Vivekananda knew his audience in America and worked to make the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads accessible to the American people; he presented "a Hinduism that was reasonable, philosophical, universal, and even scientific." (Jackson 1994, p.33)
These teachings became very popular with upper-middle and upper class Americans, especially in New York where he established the first Vedanta Society in 1894. This Society, and the other Vedanta Societies that would follow, were based on Swami Vivekananda's model of a "division of functions between Indian authorities and local followers, with the swami and Ramakrishna Math in India exercising spiritual control and American devotees responsible for financial and administrative matters." (Jackson 1994, p.35) Swami Vivekananda himself also established the Western-style public talk or sermon given by the swami at a Sunday service that continues throughout modern Vedanta Societies in the States.
The number of centers and their members was unsteady in early years but grew through the nineteen twenties, at which time the movement changed very little. More centers opened after 1930 but growth leveled out again by the fifties, settling at thirteen centers. The various centers generally operate independently of each other being linked in a direct line of authority with headquarters in India, although they enjoy a sentiment of community and connectedness.
The activity and growth of the movement remained stable from the early fifties until 1965 when changes in the immigration laws of the United States began to change the American Vedanta Societies. Since 1965, immigration from Asia to the States has risen drastically due to the Immigration and Nationality Act that re-opened immigration opportunities to the peoples of Asia. According to the US Census, in 2000 there were 28.4 million foreign-born residents in the United States and 1.3 million of them are from South Asia. This figure does not include first generation Americans, born in the States to immigrant parents and being culturally connected to the land of the parents' birth. The most recent census also indicates that immigration continues to flourish; between 1990 and 2000, 11.2 million people entered the US.* The immigrant communities from South Asia have built Hindu temples, started cultural societies, and thrived in their new home. But what does this new influx of practicing Hindus and their various forms of Hinduism mean for a Hindu tradition that has been in the States since the turn of the last century?
*The statistics in this section are according to the US Census 2000 on their website at www.census.gov.
The research for this project was conducted between May, 2001 and September, 2001. The main portion of the research comes from interviews. I was able to interview five Swamis or monastic leaders of Vedanta Societies. Many other interviews were conducted which were fundamental in understanding the changes that have taken place over time. Of these interviews many were conducted with devotees at the centers who are both extremely involved in their respective center and have been for many, many years. Two gentlemen I interviewed have been involved at their respective centers for over forty years, and have watched the modern history of Vedanta Societies in the United States evolve. Although I was able to talk with a number of female devotees and Indian immigrant devotees on the East Coast, I feel that perhaps these are the voices that I was least able to accurately represent in this project; however, the female devotees and monastics from the West Coast responded very positively to an email questionnaire that I sent out, and many of the Swamis that I interviewed are in fact themselves immigrants from India.
Although my research was conducted mainly on the East Coast of the United Sates, as mentioned above, I was able to send a questionnaire to certain contacts on the West Coast for input and insight addressing the question of how they have seen Vedanta Societies change in the last twenty years. I was not able to interview or correspond with any devotees or monastics from the Mid-West, however, and emphasize that many of the issues discussed in this project vary even from center to center. There are extremely strong communities in Chicago and St. Louis, as well as in Kansas City, and new groups are forming in Texas and other areas.
Another important part of my research was my observations from visiting the centers, attending religious services, visiting retreat centers, having lunch with Swamis and devotees, both at the centers and at their homes. This type of research involves talking to people but also listening and observing. This type of research led me to a better understanding of pilgrimage and of the retreat centers, both important new developments in American Vedanta Societies and important summer activities.
Although the movement in the United States has a long and complex history and any short study of contemporary Vedanta Societies in the US cannot claim to present the whole picture, there were two background factors that contributed greatly to my understanding of the Ramakrishna Mission and its transplant and growth on American soil. The first of these factors is my own experience doing research on the Ramakrishna Mission in India which involved the visiting of many monasteries, temples, and pilgrimage sites in India including the headquarters of the movement in Belur, and the birth villages of Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi, today important pilgrimage sites, all in West Bengal. This background not only provided me with the necessary understanding of the movement but also allowed me to build stronger relationships with both devotees and monastics during my research.
The Growth of Vedanta Societies Since 1965
Although all religious leaders and community members agreed that the membership of Vedanta Societies had grown considerably since the late sixties, no community could really provide concrete figures. Swami Adiswarananda of the Vedanta Society of New York explained that counting how many people and what kinds of people come to the center is not important. Many religious leaders pointed out that Vedanta Societies have never attempted to recruit members for their community and the people will come when they are ready to hear the message of Vedanta. Due to post 1965 immigration, the membership of American Vedanta Societies has increased but the authorities in Belur have been hesitant to open new centers for logistical reasons. Despite new communities forming unofficial groups all over the States, the general trend was "cautious expansion along previous lines with membership growth largely confined to existing societies." (Jackson 1994, p.109) Although the growth of communities in cities where a Vedanta Center already existed was accommodated within those centers, five new centers have opened since the sixties.
I was able to visit two of the new centers, the Vedanta Society of Washington, DC in Silver Spring, Maryland and the Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely Center in Stone Ridge, New York. These centers were both opened in the nineties but represent two different aspects of the movement's growth in the States. The center in DC is the accomplishment of a dedicated group of devotees that has been meeting together for informal services for many years. Several attempts were made previously to open centers in the DC area but received little support and were short lived. The new center in Silver Spring has a temple and living space for resident Swamis and enjoys a thriving community. The DC community is mostly comprised of Bengali Indian immigrants who were followers of the Ramakrishna movement in India, and represents the culmination of a great deal of hard work on the part of area devotees who were determined to open a temple and have their own Vedanta Society instead of just being an informal group.
The Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely is a very different center. Located in the Catskill Mountains in New York State, the center functions primarily as a retreat center for members of Vedanta Societies all over the country, especially the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic areas. The retreat center also has weekly activities for the local community, both devotional services and Vedanta classes.
Although pujas, or festivals of ritual worship to a specific Hindu deity, have been held at Vedanta Societies for as long as most of the devotees I talked to could remember, but all described the pujas as having changed dramatically in the last fifteen years. Each Vedanta Society has celebrations for movement specific figures, such as the birthday of Sri Ramakrishna or his wife and divine consort Sri Sarada Devi, but each center also celebrates certain days in honor of other deities. Each Vedanta Society holds several pujas a year, the larger centers often organize one or two large scale pujas per year. The Ramakrishna-Vedanta Society of Boston, MA holds a Krishna Puja every year at the retreat center in Marshfield, MA that it shares with the Vedanta Society of Providence, RI. This event is a festival celebrating the birthday of the god Krishna and takes place in August. This event attracts large crowds of non-members. Swami Tyagananda explains that pujas are devotional rituals that people who do not ordinarily partcipate in the activities of the Vedanta Societies are attracted to attending. Vedanta Societies are not temples in the way that most Hindu temples are, as there are no priests to perform rituals. Swami Tyagananda noticed that "many Indians are not happy at Vedanta Societies but are more at home at the Sri Lakshmi Temple" in Ashland, MA. That temple performs daily pujas to its murtis or divine images. However, when a Vedanta Society holds a puja, like the one for Krishna in August, a large crowd of people gathers for the celebration. Both Vedanta Society members and those that feel "more at home" with traditional temple worship can participate in these pujas.
Attendence at pujas has grown tremendously since the influx of immigration from India. One devotee who has been involved at Vedanta Societies on the West Coast for many years described the changes of pujas in the following way:
large groups of Indians come for the special worship services (called pujas). Pujas used to be a very quiet, serene time when it was easy to meditate and enter into the spirit of the worship. Now at these pujas many, many Indian families come. The children all run around and babies cry and grown-ups greet each other and talk.
The large numbers of Indian-Americans now attending pujas was a common observance. Many devotees described them as festivals and times where religious worship and socializing with friends come together. Pravrajika Vrajaprana, a nun at the Vedanta Society in Santa Barbara, explained that for pujas, many India-American families for as far away as Los Angeles come to celebrate, and that these same families are never seen at the weekly activities of the Vedanta Society.
During an interview at Ananda Ashrama, the retreat center in Marshfield, MA, Swami Tyagananda explained that many of the India-American families that come to pujas are "disappointed" with Vedanta Societies and their weekly activities noting that the centers "will never be a substitute for a temple." Because the Swamis are monastics and not priests, Vedanta Societies do not hold marriages or funerals, and Swami Tyagananda also adds that there is less emphasis on social life. He says that most "Indians turn to Vedanta Societies for spiritual guidance." The pujas are a place where many from the Indian community in the States come together for worship and social time, but many also come to pay their respects to the Swamis. A larger gathering at times of community puja than at weekly services is also very common in India. It differs drastically, however, from the way Vedanta Societies have run pujas for the many years before the influences of immigration.
Pilgrimage is an important aspect of Hinduisms in India, and with the growth of modern Hindu movements, this importance has not been lost. To followers of Ramakrishna, making a pilgrimage to his birthplace holds great significance, similar to other traditional pilgrimages such as bathing in the holy Ganga in Benares. Pilgrimage to the Hindu does not just consist of visiting the sacred place but of participating in the divine presence of the place. I had the privilege of accompanying a group of devotees of the Ramakrishna Movement on pilgrimage to West Bengal in the Spring, 2001. We not only visited Karampukur and Joyrambati, the birth villages of Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi, but also went to various sites in Calcutta where Swami Vivekananda lived or was present. Since Swami Vivekananda spent a great deal of time in the States, there are many pilgrimage sites in America. Although some of these places have been owned and used by Vedanta Societies since Vivekananda's time, there has been an increased emphasis on pilgrimage at these and other places associated with Swami Vivekanada.
Swami Atmurpananda outlines the four major places of pilgrimage in America, each of them on land owned by the Ramakrishna Order. The first is his own center, The Vivekananda Ridegley Retreat, in Stone Ridge, NY that is owned by the Vedanta Society of Southern California and is where Swami Vivekananda stayed as the guest of the Ridely family for what is known as the Great Summer, the summer of 1999. The second is Vivekananda Cottage in Thousand Island Park which belongs to the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York and is where Vivekananda "spent much of the summer of 1895, teaching a select group of disciples." The third is the Vivekananda House in Pasadena, CA "where Swamiji spent several weeks in 1899-1900. That belongs to the Vedanta Society of Southern California." The fourth is Shanti Ashram in Northern California. "For many decades it has seen very little activity: no one stays there, and there is only one celebration there a year when many people go for a one-day retreat. But in the early 1900s it was quite an active place, and for that reason holds a very special place in the hearts of the followers of Vivekananda . . . [and] it remains an important place of pilgrimage." Modern devotees of the movement, especially Indian-Americans, visit these places associated with Swami Vivkenanda on pilgrimage, and connect with their American home as a sacred land.
While I was visiting the Ridgely retreat, an Indian-American family from New Jersey arrived. They brought with them relatives from India who wanted to see the place where Swamiji (Swami Vivekananda) spent the 'Great Summer.' The retreat center has the couch that Swami Vivekananda sat on as its centerpiece in the front hall. Pilgrims come from all over the world to see the couch and Ridgley. Swami Atmarupananda estimated that around 200 people come on pilgrimage to Ridgely every year, and this does not include the people who come to the center on retreats. The Swami described the reasons people go on pilgrimage as follows:
they want to see places associated with their spiritual heroes . . [to] see what the places look like so that their readings and meditations will take on life; it is believed that very great people leave something of themselves in places where they have stayed - their imprint. So people go with the idea that it is possible to commune with such beings in an especially intense way. For instance, we believe that Swami Vivekananda left something of his presence here at Ridgely, so people come both to see where he lived, and to feel his presence. It is further believed that the visit of many people to a site such as this, trying to commune with someone like Vivekananda, gradually intensifies the atmosphere and his presence.
This understanding of pilgrimage in the US has only really developed after 1965. Although these centers were used as retreats and gathering places, intensified influences from India have brought a new and growing understanding of pilgrimage in the Vedanta Societies of the United States.
Changing Demographics at Vedanta Societies
The Vedanta Societies in America have changed a great deal in the last thirty years and although many new members joined and some old members left, there remain many devotees that have been members at their Vedanta Societies for a great many years. In both Boston and New York, I was able to interview two long-standing veterans of the movement. The two men have been involved in their respective Vedanta Societies for fifty-four years and forty-five years. The devotee from Boston described the community of attendees when he first joined the center in Boston as an "academic community." He described Swami Akilahnanda, the first leader of the Boston center, as an "intellectual," saying his purpose was to bring Swami Vivekananda's Vedanta to Western people. He remembers that Swami Akilahnanda held dinners once a week for students from India that attended MIT or Harvard but "didn't encourage them to come" to the center for services or lectures.
The Boston member outlines that the center now is very different. He estimates that the congregation is "eighty percent upper and middle class Indians" that immigrated to the States, and adds that "this is the dominant culture" of the center. Most of the changes in demographics at the Boston center took place with the increased immigration after 1965. Today, the Ramakrishna-Vedanta Society of Boston is one of many places where Hindus can go to for worship and religious community, but the center was already well established and attending the services was easy. Other Hindu temples, such as the large Sri Lakshmi Temple in Ashland, were built by the immigrant community only after many years of organizing, fundraising, and patience. Swami Atmarupananda explained that many of the Indian-American families that now belong to Vedanta Societies, especially in big cities, were also part of the Ramakrishna movement in India. He also noted that many have a relative that is a monastic of the Order in India, or were either themselves initiated disciples or the children of disciples.
In New York, the veteran devotees I interviewed described similar changes in the demographics of the community as in Boston. When asked if he had noticed any recent changes at the center, he sighed and reflectively answered, "things have changed a great deal." He explained that when he first became involved in the movement forty-five years ago, there were a couple of congregants from India that lived in New York and were a part of the community. He explained that now Indian-Americans "are by far the majority" and that this is a major difference. He estimated that the congregation was at least twice as many Indian-Americans as Euro-Americans and African-Americans, where as research conducted by the Pluralism Project in 1994 at this particular center documented the congregation as being only fifty percent Indian-American.
Swami Adiswarananda of the New York center says he "does not distinguish between Indian and non-Indian" and that the message of Vedanta is the same for all peoples. He did say, however, that he has noticed that fewer "Americans," by which he meant non-Indian Americans, are coming to the services. He noted he did not know why or how to attract more to the center, but they reiterated that "it is important not to focus on numbers, especially in terms of ethnicity." I talked with two other devotees in New York, both who have been involved in the movement for thirty years. The first was a woman who said, "the demographics have changed, but the Swami still holds the lesson of Truth." She was the only non-Indian American, aside from myself, who attended the 'questions' session with Swami Adiswarananda upstairs after the service. The other devotee, an immigrant from India, also said he noticed that "less Americans" were coming to the center, but said that this has not changed the message of the Swami, emphasizing that this was the most important thing.
On the West Coast, the changes taking place vary depending on the location of the center. All contacts from centers in the West described Vedanta Societies in big cities as having changed drastically in terms of demographics. The community of nuns in Santa Barbara, however, has seen their community grow but little has changed in terms of the ethnicity, background or age of the regular membership (attendance at pujas has changed a great deal as discussed in pervious section). Others on the West Coast expressed a similar increase in India-American attendance due to immigration. One devotee said that the "numbers of Americans are dwindling" and she thinks, "that isn't what Swami Vivekananda would have envisioned." Many devotees were concerned that Swami Vivekananda had sought to bring the message of Vedanta to Westerners that needed spiritual guidance, but that now the centers serve a largely Indian-American membership, with fewer and fewer 'Westerners' attending each year.
Sense of Community Atmosphere and Vedanta Societies as Cultural Centers
Wendell Benway, a devotee at the Ramakrishna-Vedanta Society in Boston for over fifty years, described the community when he first joined in 1948 as an academic and intellectual community. Today, he explains that the community is about eighty percent Indian or India-American, saying that the "Indian culture is the dominant culture" at the center. He also describes the atmosphere at the center as "very Indian," noting that this is a change since the time he first joined the center. In New York, other devotees described similar changes. One devotee at the Vedanta Society of New York said the increased membership of Indians and Indian-Americans at the center "has changed the dynamic of the center and the service." This devotee has been involved for forty-five years and described the present state of the Vedanta Society as "more of an Indian immigrant cultural center." He acknowledged that many non-Indian Americans hold positions of lay leadership at the center, but described the interactions between the two groups as limited. Swami Atmarupananda also said that Vedanta Societies in big cities can "seem like Indian cultural societies." He said he understands why some "Westerners might feel uncomfortable," and emphasizes the importance of the role of the Swami to ensure that the community has a sense of unity in the teachings of Vedanta.
Wendell Benway explains that "a Vedanta center is a reflection of the Swami in charge," as the Swami is the center of the community. In this way, the Swami has the responsibility to ensure that all members of the center feel at home at his Vedanta Society. Swami Atmurpananda said that "headquarters in Belur is aware of the problem" of a divisive community atmosphere at certain centers in the States and "make a careful choice of Swami." He outlined that a Swami must make room for everybody and not cater to particular populations within the community. Swami Atmarupananda, as one of two American-born Swamis, also noted that this task is especially challenging for Swamis from India, as they feel so comfortable with Indian customs. He explains that there has been a general reluctance in Belur to appoint American-born Swamis because many leave the monastic life and because there is no formal structure for training in the West. However, he says this is changing and two American-born Swamis have been appointed as leaders of new centers in the last five years. These monastics have to spend a number of years training in India, studying scripture and language, and so are often able to connect with all members of the community, making all feel at home. Both Swami Atmarupananda and Benway also pointed to Swami Tyagananda, a young Indian Swami, of the Ramakrishna-Vedanta Society in Boston as an example of a Swami who manages to create a cohesive community from a diverse congregation.
When asked to provide concrete examples of things that made them uncomfortable, almost all of the Western devotees I talked to immediately turned to language. A majority of the Indian and Indian-American members of Vedanta Societies are from West Bengal and speak Bengali as their mother tongue. In addition, all Swamis must go through at least some training at the headquarters in Belur, which is in West Bengal, and all of them inevitably learn Bengali. Many Western devotees explained that Bengali is often spoken around the center, and since they do not understand it makes them feel left out. A devotee from the Vedanta Society of New York said he thinks most Western devotees at the center no longer join the Swami upstairs for questions and answers after the Sunday service because so much of the session is conducted in a language they do not speak. Swami Tyagananda in Boston also identified language as something he sees as fundamental to building a sense of community at his center. He said he always speaks in English, even if he is asked a question in Bengali. He also said he tries to explain all Sanskrit terms that come up in discussing the teachings of Vedanta, even though most of the congregation from Indian descent would already know what the term meant. He also adds that as the children of Indian immigrants grow up in the States, often with English as the language with which they are most comfortable, the community will become more unified.
Other Western devotees pointed to preparing food and the music of the service as things that have changed and now make them feel like outsiders. Both Swami Tyagananda and Swami Atmarupananda also explained that the Indian customs of making pranam, or bending down to touch the feet of the Swami as a sign of respect, often makes Westerners, unfamiliar with Indian customs, uncomfortable. Many of the non-Indian female devotees used to help prepare food for the community and the Swami but no longer participate in this way because they don't know how to prepare Indian food and many of the Indian women in the community feel very passionately about cooking as a way of connecting with the Swami. One Indian woman explained to me that for her cooking is like a sacred ritual, a way of getting closer to the Swami and serving him. For many Western devotees the cultural implications of being able to prepare food are different.
Music was another change that devotees pointed to, saying that now there was far more Indian music in the services and at some centers there was no Western music anymore. At a service I attend in New York, there was one Western style hymn accompanied by a piano and several Indian style bhajans accompanied by an accordion and a tabla, an Indian drum. Although many Western devotees feel that because previously there was more Western music, the service has become very 'Indianized,' the whole service, in comparison to similar services at centers in India, is very Westernized being based on the Protestant Sunday Church service.
The ritual of pranam or the touching of a Swamis feet is expected behavior in India as a sign of respect. However, Swami Tyagananda observed that this custom often makes non-Indians feel uncomfortable because they are not sure if they should also touch the feet of the Swami. He said that if he sees people seeming uncomfortable or with anyone new to the community he simply stretches out his hand so that the Western devotee can feel comfortable shaking hands. He also emphasized that is very important for Indian devotees to be able to make pranam as this is what makes them feel comfortable. There is a balance that must be created and all Swamis understand the importance of preserving the traditions of India for the Indian community settled in America. However, while many non-Indian devotees have embraced the increase in the Indian cultural influences at the center and many have described powerful cross-cultural incidents that have led to life-long friendships, most Swamis also recognize that an increased sense of the Vedanta Societies as Indian cultural centers can isolate non-Indian devotees that have been involved in the movement for most of their lives and have made the center their spiritual home. Each Swami has the difficult task of creating a unified community at his center.
Community Service at Vedanta Societies
The Ramakrishna Mission of India is one of the most socially active religious organizations in the country. The whole Order places a great deal of emphasis on serving others not only as way of improving society but also as a path to God. This path of service allows its follower to let go of the ego as the act of serving others is a form of devotion to the divine within each person. Swami Vivekananda outlined this path as the most practical and productive path to Realization of the Divine, the highest Spiritual goal. (Swami Mumukshananda vol.7 1964, p.69) Why then was service almost entirely absent from the movement in America for so long? Swami Atmajnanananda in Washington, DC explained that centers in the States were started by Swami Vivekananda because he saw the need in the West was not a material one but rather a spiritual one; he started the US centers to spread the spiritual teaching. Swami Atmajnanananda also stressed that although in recent years, leaders of the movement in the States understand that there are also people in need of material things such as food, clothes, and shelter in America but that here there are so few people involved at each center. Centers in India have many Swamis, so some are able to devote themselves to organizing the service activities of the center, whereas in America, Swamis are often so busy with the practical matters of running the center. There is also more redtape involved in large-scale service projects, such as schools or clinics, in the States where licensing, insurance, and legal matters would also have to be accommodated.
Swami Atmajnanananda and some devotees in Washington, DC have started some small community service projects in the area. For many immigrants from India, the service is an important aspect of the movement that was missing at their new centers in the States. One a Saturday a month, Swami Atmajnanananda and about twenty volunteers serve meals at the So Others Might Eat soup kitchen in Washington, DC. Even more people volunteer during the holiday season, and on the Saturday I was able to join the group, all enjoyed serving people together. Members of the Vedanta Society of DC are also involved in a program called ASSISST that serves elderly people in the DC area. Volunteers are matched one-on-one with persons in need and are able to serve them in a variety of ways. Swami Atmajnananda and fifty - sixty members from the center take part every year as a 'team' in the Walk for the Homeless organized in partnership with the Fannie Mae Foundation. Although devotees from India living in the area founded the Vedanta Society and make up almost ninety percent of its membership, the congregation actively participates in serving the DC community regularly.
Swami Atmarupananda of the Ridgely center described service as "an important part of Swamji's message" but said that many of the first Swamis to come from India saw no need for social work in America compared to India. He says that this is changing, and began an in-depth description of a vast array of service activities in which various centers are involved. He explained that service also "helps people who are doing the serving" by providing them with a "meaningful Karma Yoga" or path to God through action or service. When Swami Atmarupananda was head of the San Diego center, he organized trips to Mexico bringing school supplies and clothing to community schools. The nuns of Santa Barbara and the Boston center have also begun to serve food at local soup kitchens. Some of the lay devotees from the Hollywood, CA center have formed an organization called ASTI which stands for American Service to India and provides medical supplies for the hospitals of the Ramakrishna Mission in India. Community service for devotees of Ramakrishna is spiritual work, and is growing at Vedanta Societies in the States.
Interfaith Activities of Vedanta Societies
Vedanta Societies have a long history of interfaith dialogue in the States. Swami Vivekananda came to America to participate in the World Parliament of Religions, and he emphasized that Hinduism did not claim to be the only true path to God but rather brought Ramakrishna's teachings on the Harmony of Religions. Swami Tyagananda explained that since Vedanta Societies were among the first 'Eastern' religious centers in the States, the monks also acted as ambassadors for Buddhism and Islam, because there were so few opportunities to learn about non-Western traditions. The early Swamis in America often discussed the teachings of Vedanta in comparative terms to make them more accessible to devotees in the West, as most of them had grown up in various Christian traditions.
The legacy of the interfaith work of early Vedanta Societies continues today, but the breadth of the dialogue has expanded with America's new religious diversity. Swami Tyagananda continues the tradition of the Ramakrishna-Vedanta Society of Boston by serving the as the student communities of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In previous years, the Boston Swami acted as an educator about non-Western traditions and an advocate of inter-religious dialogue. Today, however, Swami Tyagananda acts more as a Hindu representative for the campus ministry. He has also built relationships with the South Asian student associations and attends cultural events and religious festival celebrations as their guest.
At other centers, swamis have to build new interfaith relations from the ground up. Swami Atmajnanananda has begun to instigate interfaith work at the new center in Washington, DC. He describes the center as having close relations with the Chinmaya Mission in the area. He says he has spoken at colleges and universities, both in classes and to student groups; he has also spoken at an area Buddhist temple and plans to become more involved in the active interfaith community in Washington, DC. Swami Atmarupananda has been the leader of two new centers. The first was in San Diego where he was the co-founder of Inter-Religious Council of San Diego. He describes the Hollywood center as being very active in interfaith work as a member of the Los Angeles Inter-Religious Council. The Hollywood center also participates in a Hindu-Catholic dialogue in Los Angeles. Swami Atmarupananda explains that most of these activities are on more of a social level, so that religious communities can better understand each other and relieve social tensions.
Swami Atmarupananda participated in a Hindu-Jewish conference called "Om-Shalom" held at Elat Chayyim, a Jewish retreat center. He co-led the weeklong series of classes with a Rabbi he met while giving a talk at Sufi Books in New York. The Rabbi described himself as a great devotee of Sri Ramakrishna and organized the interfaith conference. Swami Atmarupananda has also participated in the Snowmass Conference that was founded in 1984 by Father Thomas Keating. He describes the conference as a "group of mystical practitioners from different traditions" that meets together every year "to share the depths of spiritual life." The interfaith meetings are closed so that the participants can speak freely and personally about their practice. Last year the meeting was held at the Vivekananda Ridgely Retreat. Although each center and each Swami participate in interfaith activities at their own discretion, many Swamis are becoming more involved and with more diverse partners.
Children and Youth at Vedanta Societies
With the changing demographics and more families from India becoming members of Vedanta Societies, children and youth became more present at Vedanta Societies in most cities. As the children of immigrants from India grow up as Americans, the Vedanta Society takes on an important and unique role as a place in the States where first generation Indian-Americans can learn about and relate to the Vedanta teachings of India. Swami Atmajanananda of the Vedanta Society of Washington, DC said that there are not many young children regularly attending the services at the center. Rather he described the younger members of the congregation as youth, and has set up a youth group that meets once a month. The DC congregation is eighty to ninety percent Indian-American, and the teenage children of immigrants from India are becoming active members of the community. The center acts as a cultural as well as religious connection for these youth, as they struggle to find the balance between the traditions of their parents and their contemporary American lifestyle. The youth group provides them with a positive peer group and an intimate sense of community.
The Ramakrishna-Vedanta Society of Boston holds a Sunday school for children every Sunday when the parents are attending the service. The Boston center, much like the Vedanta Society of New York, has many families in its community and the children attend events along with their parents. Every summer at the Ananda Ashram retreat center in Marshfield, MA, the Ramakrishna-Vedanta Society of Boston holds a weeklong summer camp. The camp provides young children, a majority of them children of immigrants from India, the chance to retreat to the ashram and learn from Swami Tyagananda. Every year the camp has a theme. Swami Tyagananda emphasizes that the camp is taught from an interfaith perspective. Last year the theme of the camp was Islam. During the camp, the children learned prayers in Arabic and studied about Islam as well as learning about Vedanta. The year before the theme was the Buddhist concept of Mindfulness. Swami Tyagananda explains that this approach allows children to fully understand Sri Ramakrishna's teachings of the Harmony of Religions, and develop tolerance and respect for all religious traditions. They also learn that Vedanta is not in conflict with other religious traditions and that the Truths of Vedanta can be shared by all people.
Swami Tyagananda looks to the children of the community to build strong ties in the future. Although he feels that many times relations between Indian and non-Indian members of the community are strained, he said that the children would ease these tensions. He looks to a time when children will grow up "to close the gaps" within the congregation. Children of immigrants from India are growing up in America, most of them without ever having lived in India, and are able to be both Western and Indian simultaneously. Swami Tyagananda focused on his hope for future generations of the Vedanta Society congregations to consolidate a whole sense of community for every Society member that will make each center stronger.
Organized Events for all Vedanta Societies in the States
Although traditionally all of the Vedanta Societies in the States took direct authority from the headquarters in Belur, India, today there is a growing organization within the US movement. Many of the new centers take their leadership from the Vedanta Society of Southern California. These initiatives to open new centers began took hold with the opening of the center in San Diego and have expanded to include the DC center and the Ridgley retreat. These centers look to Southern California as their headquarters, instead of following the usual chain of command through India. Swami Atmarupananda explained that there are many communities looking to open a center but the Ramakrishna Math in Belur is extremely busy and skeptical about opening more centers in the States because of the great cost of opening a center in America. Swamis from different centers travel from center to center, giving teachings and visiting the different centers of America. These factors contribute to the growing number of events organized for multiple Vedanta Societies. During the Summer of 2001, the Vedanta Society of Chicago hosted an event at their retreat center and monastery in Ganges, Michigan. The event was called Vedanta in the West. The event was a weekend retreat where devotees could go to listen to Swamis from all over the States and the World talk. There were activities fro youth and devotional rituals. The focus of the event was how to apply the teachings of Vedanta to the modern American context, a theme that many Swamis mentioned as a possible topic for their weekly teachings. Different Swamis spoke on different variations of theme, allowing devotees a wide array of sessions to attend. The event was also a time of spiritual retreat and community. Devotees from around the country attended.