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Swami Vivekananda
"O Lord, the different paths which men take ... all lead to Thee." Proclaiming the oneness of all religions at the first Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893 the young Swami Vivekananda became an overnight sensation, and travelled across America and the world inspiring many with his message of toleration and unity.
Bengali born and educated in the British India of his day, Vivekananda promoted the teachings of Yoga and Vedanta which he had learned from the Hindu saint, Ramakrishna.
On the 150th anniversary year of his birth, the award winning Australian playwright Alex Broun has written Oneness: Voice Without Form to be performed at the Sydney Opera House with an international cast on September 17th & 18th.
RN listeners can showcase their creative flair by illustrating any of RN's 60 programs with a hand drawing or painting, and posting their work on Instagram, tag #rngraphic. The winners will receive passes to Radio With Pictures, which is part of the Graphic Festival at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday 6 October.
- Image: Shaheb Chatterjee as Vivkananda, Sydney Harbour Bridge
- Image: Shaheb Chatterjee as Vivekananda at the Sydney Opera House
- Image: Shaheb Chatterjee, Bengali actor and singer of stage, Tollywood Bangla and Bengali TV Media.
- Image: Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of the World's Religions 1893
Supporting Information
Track: Raga Sindhi Bhairavi; Artist: Ravi Shankar; Album: The Living Room Sessions Part 2; Composer: trad.; CD details: East Meets West Music; Duration: (excerpt 6.50)
Track: Call to the Divine remix; Artist: Sacred Earth; Album: Call to the Divine; Composer: Sacred Earth; CD details: Independent release SE 006; Duration: 6.16
Track: Within You Without You; Artist: The Beatles; Album: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; Composer: Harrison; CD details: EMI 0946 3 82419 2 8; Duration: 5.03
- Mr Robert Grant
- Manager of the Ramakrishna Society Sydney.
- Mr Alex Broun
- Award winning playwright and screen writer based in Sydney.
- Mr Shaheb Chatterjee
- Based in Calcutta, India, Shaheb is a Bengali Indian male actor and singer of Tollywood Bangla and Bengali TV Media. Shaheb plays Swami Vivekananda in Alex Broun's play, Oneness.
- Ms Dana Dajani
- Muslim and based in the UAE, Dana is a stage and film actress. In Alex Broun's play Oneness, she is Sister Nivedita (Margaret Elizabeth Noble, 1867-1911) an Anglo-Irish devotee of Vivekananda.
Further Information
- JD Salinger and Ramakrishna & Vivekananda Center NYC
- The Center's notice of mourning the passing of JD Salinger
- Swami Vivekananda Day Conference at Sydney University
- International speakers featured at a workshop on Swami Vivekananda
- Oneness: Voice Without Form, the Extraordinary Life of Swami Vivekananda
- Play by Alex Broun at the Sydney Opera House 17-18 September
- Indian Insight: Medicine, Profit and Dharma on Encounter
- A remote rural hospital run by followers of Swami Vivekananda
- Presenter
- Rachael Kohn
- Producer
- Rachael Kohn / Geoff Wood


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Many of you know that I am a huge Patriots fan. Over the years the haters have mostly been soft spoken because we dominated their teams over and over. However, this year's Super Bowl loss was painful and the haters have come out of the woodwork to make their comments. I admit it's hard to shake off the loss but I can't imagine how much more so for Tom Brady. First he missed that pass early in the game on that trick play only to have Nick Foles do the same play and catch for a touchdown. Then on their closing drive, Tom was sacked for the first time in the game causing him to fumble the ball and ultimately lose the game. You don't shake that off very easily.
I'm sure that we have all had moments in our life that were devastating to us – even bigger than losing the big game. I know the feeling of "shaking it off" and then waking up the next morning and remembering the pain of the moment. Sometimes we can seemingly shake it off, but do we really get over it? We hang onto the emotion, the pain, the depression, the unforgiveness, maybe anger, resentment, and the fear of it happening again.
Some of us have been chewed up and spit out by a boss or co-worker. Maybe it was an intimate relationship gone bad. A business transaction that went south. A ministry opportunity that backfired. Maybe you took a stand for something and you ended up taking heat for it. We may "shake it off" but on the inside it's hard to get over.
Look at what Paul said to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 4:7-9; 13-18)
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Paul is telling us that we are but simple vessels – fragile, inferior, temporary, expendable even. Yet what we carry in us contains and coveys a message. Here we are, these "earthen vessels", ordinary, imperfect, easily cracked – yet the God of the universe chose to give us the treasure of His Son Jesus. Those of us who believe, we now have a priceless treasure in this jar of clay.
We are still vulnerable, still fragile, still imperfect. The difference now is, the pressure doesn't crush us, the uncertainties of life don't squeeze the hope out of us, the harassment of the enemy doesn't mean that we've been orphaned. We may get knocked down, make mistakes and fail, but our failures are not fatal or final!
These words, born out of persecution and hardship, became a means of encouraging fellow believers in their journey of faith. Paul turned his focus inward and upward—inward to where God was daily renewing him, and upward to where his sufferings for Christ's sake were continually increasing his eternal reward. With these words, he exhorted the believers at Corinth to do the same.
1. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. What is our "trouble" was really an opportunity for us to trust God and let Him prove Himself strong? Explain how you could or couldn't live with that.
2. What if rather than praying for God to take away our "trouble", we asked Him for strength to GROW through it? What are the things in your life right now that you can potentially do that with? What could be the potential outcome?

subset: commoncrawl


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Your FREE guide to the firefighter interview.
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Spend 10 minutes reading this PDF and learn:
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Citing Strong Financial Performance in 1995, Carnival Raises Dividend
Carnival Corporation's board of directors has voted a 20 percent increase in the regular quarterly dividend from 7.5 cents per share to 9 cents per share for the fourth quarter ending November 30, 1995. The increased dividend is payable December 14, 1995, to shareholders of record on November 30, 1995.
"We are pleased to be able to provide our shareholders with an increased dividend," said Carnival Vice Chairman Howard Frank.
"This action reflects our strong financial performance during fiscal 1995 coupled with management's optimism in the future of the cruise industry, and Carnival's preeminent position within the industry," he added.
Carnival Corporation is comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Windstar Cruises, and Seabourn Cruise Line (25 percent owned), which combined, operates 22 ships in the Caribbean, Alaska and other worldwide destinations. The corporation introduced two new ships last year and has seven more ships slated to begin service over the next four years. Carnival Cruise Lines introduced its 70,000-grt Imagination in early July It has three more 70,000-ton vessels under construction. The first of those, Inspiration, is scheduled to begin service in the spring of 1996. Two more as-yet-unnamed vessels are slated for delivery in February and November of 1998. It also has under construction Carnival Destiny, which will be the largest passenger ship ever built when it is introduced in late 1996. A sister to Carnival Destiny will enter service in 1999. Holland America's new 1,266-passenger Ryndam began service in October 1994. The company has contracted for an additional 1,266-passenger Holland America ship, Veendam, scheduled for delivery in the spring of 1996. Another, at 62,000-grt, will begin a new vessel class for Holland America Line.
Delivery of this vessel is expected in the fall of 1997.


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Saturday, May 24, 2008
Lessons From an Unlikely Source
Last week I caught an older episode that had me laughing out loud repeatedly. What you have to understand if you've never watched the show is that Gene Simmons is not the same character he was in the 70s and 80s. He's a putz. He's the only one in the family without a wicked sense of humor, and most of the time he's actually the butt of the jokes being told. As his daughter describes him, he's usually in his "onesie" by 7 p.m. and asleep by 8. He could easily be the most un-fun person on reality television, who just happens to be surrounded by people who are really fun.
So, this episode I caught saw Gene and Shannon go to Vegas to attend her sister's wedding. First they all attended a show by the comedian (and I use that term loosely) Carrot Top. When the show was over, the girls had a bachelorette party and Gene went backstage to hang with Carrot Top.
I need to interject something first. I haven't seen Carrot Top in a good decade or so, and when he appeared on this episode, I almost threw up. Here is a man in his mid-40s wearing gobs of makeup and so grotesquely muscular in the chest and shoulders area that he looks like a clown on steroids. The more I looked at him, the more I felt certain he was going to go into a 'roid rage and turn into the clown from It. Just when you think the freakish can't get freakier…
Gene and Carrot Top cavorting around were as funny as watching paint dry. Perhaps the two unfunniest people in the same zip code had teamed up to entertain reality T.V. watchers, and for some reason, the camera operators didn't fall asleep while on assignment. But then, something happened that I like to think was unscripted because it was hilarious.
Carrot Top was creating one of his dumb props, which he said was supposed to represent Paris Hilton in jail. It was comprised of steel bars and he was attaching long, silver vibrators to them. Dumb. But Carrot Top walked away, and fluffy-headed Gene wandered over and picked up one of the vibrators. A moment later we all find out that this vibrator has epoxy on it and it is now glued to Gene's hand.
Twenty or thirty years ago, this would've been a good shot of a gratuitous lifestyle epitomized by a rockstar who helped define the sex, drugs, & rock 'n' roll era, but this is 2008, and he is so far removed from being a cool, hip, wild rockstar that seeing him holding a vibrator was funny enough, but to know one was adhered to the palm of his hand was hysterical. They'd show him standing there, annoyed, insisting it be referred to as a "back massager", whining about the pain of his skin being stuck to this sex toy, and the dead-pan delivery of it was so convincing that I can think of no one worse for this to happen to. That's how unfunny this guy has become. However, he could not get the vibrator off his hand. The hotel nurse tried to pick away at it, but he whimpered about the pain so she gave up. The next day he had to attend Shannon's sister's wedding with his jacket held over his arm because the vibrator was still stuck to his hand, and what's worse was he didn't want to tell Shannon about it because he thought she'd be furious. How does someone as unfunny as Gene Simmons hide from the world the humiliating fact that he's accidentally glued a vibrator to his palm?
Anyway, he finally came clean with Shannon and ended up at his plastic surgeon's office to have it removed.
I wouldn't have even mentioned how funny that episode was if it wasn't for the fact that the one I saw before that one was so incredibly moving. I never would've imagined this silly show would be so emotional.
Sophie had a paper due on the military, and after a pathetic and unsurprising look at how Gene performed in some bootcamp exercises, he and Sophie visited a veterans hospital, where Gene talked with some of the patients to hear their stories and thank them for their service. The stories were absolutely heart wrenching. One soldier said he volunteered to serve in the military so no one in his family would ever have to, and here he sat in a wheelchair in a VA hospital. I was choked up just listening to their stories, and then Gene started talking to an older guy who was a veteran of the Vietnam War, and in an attempt to thank him for everything he gave and everything he did, Gene started to cry and had to take a moment to collect himself.
By then I was sobbing because I was thinking of how seldom these people probably hear any kind of thanks for their service, and no matter where the motivation to do this came from, Gene seemed to be genuinely moved by how very much it costs each individual who joins the military. You hear statistics about how many people have been killed or wounded in the War in Iraq, but you don't get to see what those numbers mean, which I think is largely a political ploy to ensure support of the war. Seeing the aftermath is a whole different experience, and while I know plenty of people who have served in various branches of the military, they've all managed to come through intact. However, there are plenty who don't, who won't ever live normal lives again, and it's difficult to think about what that means to them.
As much as I hate to admit it, this episode really got me thinking about how forgotten the wounded soldiers become and how much they sacrificed to answer an honorable call.
Here we are, about to enter Memorial Day Weekend, which is more about grilling out than remembering and paying tribute, and I'm thinking it's about damn time I stand up and say something.
Thank you to all the folks who are currently in the military and all the folks who have been in the military. Thank you for your sacrifice, for your service, and for doing all of this despite the lack of appreciation you receive from most of the civilians. Thank you to the families of servicemen and servicewomen who support their loved ones and take care of one another in their absence so that they can do this job that is too great for the rest of us to do. Thank you to the doctors and nurses who could make a lot more money in the civilian world, but choose to devote their careers to helping our military when they need it. And as weird as this sounds, thanks to Gene Simmons for bringing this home to some of his shallower fans, who might never have thought about what a huge commitment it is or what it can cost people, and to his non-fans who sometimes forget all this.
7 comments:
Izzy's brother served in Iraq and you could feel the tension in the house while he was away. Every day they were so sad because they didn't know if he was still alive or not. Every call he made was like someone had just given his family $100,000,000. We all went to greet him when he and his men returned from Iraq. Everyone was silent and breathless, impatient for the Marines to enter the All-State arena. Then, the lights started flashing and the announcement came....Everything went black, but the floor was rumbling, the walls were trembling...not because of machines, but because of the CHEERS of the people. I burst into tears right then and there because thee weren't Americans proud of their country...these were families finally whole again. Every time I think about it, which is often, is so moving to me.
And about Vietnam. y dad was a Veteran, and do you know what disturbed him most? It wasn't the final escape from Vietnam, it wasn't the terrified fleeing refugees who were screaming for a spot on the helicopters, it wasn't the rush on incoming helicopters that he had to help push off the ships because there was no space for them. No, it was how he was received when he returned home. People threw eggs and things at him and called him baby-killer even though he was in the navy and had nothing to do with that massacre. Americans hated him just because they could, and forget about what war does to a person! I think the Vietnam Veterans have even more to despair about because they were never heroes, even though they were fighting a war that ought to have never been.
- May 24, 2008 at 8:08 AM
- Gardenbuzzy said...
My neice's husband (my nephew-in-law?) has been in Iraq since last August, I believe. He's getting a couple weeks of furlough and will be coming home, I think, this week. They live in Colorado Springs, so we won't get to see Josh, but I'm just so glad he's getting to come home and be with Katie for awhile.
And I also say, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all our soldiers and vets. We really need to make Memorial Day more about remembering and less about grilling.
- May 24, 2008 at 5:31 PM
- BeckEye said...
Any time I'm able to afford it, I usually donate to the Disabled Veterans. It seems like one of the most worthy causes out there.
- May 24, 2008 at 11:38 PM
I saw the VA hospital episode last year when it first aired and I sat there and cried along with Gene. Thanks for mentioning it. It was what made me really like Gene Simmons.
And HV? You're welcome! I'm glad you were one of the people I was protecting for 22 years.
VA sends
- May 25, 2008 at 4:13 PM
My 'play son' called me yesterday from Iraq. There is so much that I want to ask him but I can't since security is an issue. All I talk about is home and that seems to be enough.
God watch over Manny and all of the children at war.
- May 26, 2008 at 7:18 AM
gene simmons son of holocaust survivors comes from israel to live the american dream. as much as his sexist attitudes toward his conquests of groupies annoys me i got much respect for a guy who makes it due to his sheer work ethic.
rock on gene.
- May 26, 2008 at 10:26 PM
- Magnoire La CHouette said...
Get the audiobook to Shannon Tweeds Kiss and Tell. Gene reads the foreward and Shannon reads her book. It's really funny in parts ans she's lead an interesting life.
I recommend it!
I, too, give to Disabled Veterans like my late Daddy did.
- June 17, 2008 at 4:52 PM