Articles

Faith Journey Led This American to Study Hinduism, Head Vedanta Center

by Rosalyn Dailey Shareef
Faith And The City E-Letter
Volume 1 Issue 8
November 8, 2002

Although Swami Yogeshananda, 79, has reached the spiritual home that he sought for many years, the journey of faith continues for this teacher who describes himself as an American, a monk, a Vedantist, and a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ, among others. "I'm always a seeker. Still seeking greater understanding," he explained. "As long as I live, I think I'll be a seeker."

Many people recognize Hinduism as the primary religion of India and one of the world's leading faiths. Fewer people are familiar with the term, "Vedanta," which describes the underlying philosophy of Hinduism. In the metro area, this principle is studied and taught at the Vedanta Center of Atlanta, where Yogeshananda serves as spiritual leader.

Yogeshananda's journey began in a Presbyterian home in Washington State. He studied speech and Sanskrit at the University of California at Berkeley. After college, he was a Quaker for five years. "I didn't find in the mainline churches the sufficient depth for a spiritual life and the means to practice it," he explained. "How do you find a faith or a practice which is both wide and deep?"

So, the faith journey continued for Yogeshananda, who encountered a turning point in his life in the mid 1940s. In Philadelphia, Penn., he met an imposing figure, Swami Yatiswarananda of India. "He proved to be the most wonderful man I had ever met," explained Yogeshananda. "He was able to quote from the Bible, the Quran, from all the scriptures of the world, and he also was an expert in meditation."

Yatiswarananda became a mentor to Yogeshananda, teaching him the applications of meditation. During his mentor's seven-year stay in the United States, the student embraced knowledge and skills such as: controlling his own mind and learning to endure changes inside the body or in external temperature, for example; rising above problems and anxieties; experiencing closeness to God; and mental agility and serenity.

Many Vedantists use the yoga system of mind and body training. Swamis become masters of yoga, as did Yogeshananda in his apprenticeship with Yatiswarananda. The student became a novice in the order after his mentor returned to India. Later, Yogeshananda traveled to India for more training under him and other swamis and experienced yoga in the land of its birth.

Today, Yogeshananda counsels and teaches at the Vedanta Center of Atlanta. Slightly more than two dozen people, of various faiths, regularly attend the Sunday morning service. During the weekly Tuesday and Thursday scripture classes, books on Vedanta are read and studied in group discussions, with yoga often incorporated in the sessions. According to Yogeshananda, the center's mailing list includes approximately 55 names, but the overall intent is not to solicit members. "It's not a converting movement or a proselytizing movement," he explained. "We believe that you can be a Christian, you can be a Jew and still benefit."

Yogeshananda considers the Atlanta Vedanta Center an interfaith effort, in which many of its members remain with their chosen religions. Tom Couch, for example, has studied the Vedanta system under Swami Yogeshananda for five years. Couch and his wife regularly attend an Episcopal church in Atlanta. A longtime Christian, Couch finds strength in yoga and Vedanta.

"Prayer and meditation are things that you enter into in the privacy of your heart," said Couch. "You can do this with Jesus Christ, you can do it with Buddha, you can do it with Muhammad."

In 1996, Swami Yogeshananda published Waking Up: Ten Short Chapters on the Vedantic Way, an introduction and reference guide that answers basic questions about Vedantism.

For Yogeshananda, the journey of faith and life continues -- and the respect for his teachings is evident. "He is the Real McCoy," said Couch. "There is a steadfast goodness about this man."

The Vedanta Center of Atlanta, in operation 26 years, is located at 2331 Brockett Road in Tucker, Georgia, 30084. For more information, call 770-938-6673 or visit the website at http://www.vedanta-atlanta.org.

Rosalyn Dailey Shareef, a freelance writer in the Atlanta area, can be reached at yomashareef@hotmail.com.