Date: 08/19/2018
Occult, profound comes all experience,
Marvel is ever new, miracle divine. Savitri II:VI
In this talk, we will look at the Mother as the inheritor of Western occult lineages, which passed to her from her teacher in France, Max Theon. Theon was the co-founder of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor and the Cosmic Movement, two Western esoteric orders which traced their descent back through Rosicrucian, Freemasonic, Jewish, Hermetic and Egyptian mystery traditions. All these were intimately involved in the evolution of magic as a spiritual discipline in the West. To see the Mother in this light is to realize that she carried within her the accumulated wisdom of Western magic, which resonates wonderfully well with the tantric wisdom Sri Aurobindo incorporated into his own synthesis of yogas.
Stephen L. Julich is a graduate of the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), receiving a PhD in East-West Psychology in 2013. He is currently the EWP Program Manager at CIIS and adjunct professor at the University of Philosophical Research (UPR) in Los Angeles, where he teaches courses on topics in Jungian Psychology.
Date: 08/26/2018
Inspired by divine revelations, Sri Aurobindo synthesized various yoga traditions, naming his formulation “Integral Yoga.” In the process of writing, Sri Aurobindo would silence his mind, allowing himself to become an instrument of the higher divine force and scribing the divinely-inspired writings as they flowed through him. Given this process as well as Sri Aurobindo’s training in Victorian English, his writing can be difficult to follow and comprehend. His disciple, Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri, who presented Integral Yoga in a lucid manner without simplifying his ideas, beautifully filled this gap. In addition, Dr. Chaudhuri made his own unique contributions to Integral Yoga, adapting it to western audiences. Based on Dr. Chaudhuri’s book Integral Yoga, this talk outlines some of his renditions on Integral Yoga and celebrates his profound contributions to what has come to be known as “The San Francisco Renaissance.” This is a continuation of a talk given in June this year. Specifically, we will be focusing on chapter three “The Synthesis of Yogas.”
Kundan Singh, PhD, is a scholar-practitioner of Integral Yoga and a professor who teaches Transpersonal Psychology, Integral Psychology and Philosophy, Cultural and Cross-Cultural Psychology, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The intersection of postmodern and postcolonial thoughts, including postmodern philosophy of science, with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Integral psychology and philosophy of Sri Aurobindo is a motivational area of academic interest for him.
Date: 09/02/2018
Date: 09/09/2018
Rosh Hashanah is considered to be the Birthday of the World, while Yom Kippur is called the Sabbath of Sabbaths, the holiest day of the year. The 10-day period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is known as the Days of Awe and the 10 Days of Return (Teshuvah). It is a time of soul-reflection and repair, of relationship mending, and of mystical at-one-ment—a time to realign with the Source and reconnect with our fellow human beings and with all creatures. We will discuss powerful teachings and practices developed by the Rabbinic Sages and Kabbalists for healing and transforming self, relationships, and world.
Dr. Charles Burack is an award-winning professor, poet, and writer, as well as a spiritual counselor and creativity/career coach who is active in interfaith/integral education, counseling, and arts. A former rabbinical student, he teaches interdisciplinary courses in Consciousness and Transformative Studies at John F. Kennedy University.
