Free Jiva has an article about how Huston Smith was recently honored at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. But you may not know that Huston has a long history with Vedanta in America. Huston had discovered Vedanta through Gerald Heard, and then met Swami Satprakashananda from the Vedanta Society of St. Louis. In fact Huston played a big part at the St. Louis Center, and it is because of him that the current building that houses the society was able to be purchased.

The poem entitled "The Hymn of Creation" by Swami Vivekananda has been added to the Poems section of the site.

This particular poem was written by Swami Vivekananda as a translation of the Nâsadiya-Sukta, Rig-Veda, X. 129

The Vedanta Society of Northern California is hosting the Ninth Annual Youth Forum on Spiritual Values at their retreat property in Olema, CA. The topic of this year's Youth Forum is "Living an Ideal Life in a Real World", and is geared towards people from 16 to 30 years old.

The main day of the event is Saturday April 14, 2007, and runs from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm with lunch and supper being provided.
Guest speakers on this day will be:
• Reverand Elizabeth River — The Chaplaincy Institute
• Suleiman Ghali — Islamic Society of San Francisco
• Professor Ron Epstein — Dharma Realm Buddhist Association
• Swami Prabuddhananda — Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco

There is no charge for the event, but advance reservations are required. Also, there are additional programs on Friday evening and Sunday for those who wish to stay at the retreat during the night.

If you live around the San Francisco/Bay Area, or are visiting during this time, this is a wonderful event to attend. You can contact the Vedanta Society of Northern California for more information and to register at: society@sfvedanta.org, or by phone: 415-922-2323.

It is with sadness that I heard this past weekend of the passing away of Swami Gokulanandaji. He passed away on Saturday March 31st. The Swami was the head of the Ramakrishna Mission in Delhi.

I first met Swami Gokulanandaji when I visited Delhi in 1996. He was very loving and hospitable, and made me feel right at home. Several years later in 2004, the Swami visited the United States where I was able to meet him again.

The photo below of the Swami was taken on his trip to Seattle in 2004. You can see the Vivekananda Hall at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington's Tapovan Retreat in the background.

The Calendar of Holy Days page has been updated for the next year. This calendar lists holy days according to the lunar calendar. In addition to the regular list of days, you can also see the calendar in a monthly format, and subscribe it as an RSS feed or as a WebCal (.ics file).