the sambodh society inc. USA

Established in 1998, the Sambodh Society has been working steadily towards the goal of creating a center and its U.S. headquarters. In 2000, The Sambodh Society acquired 32 acres of rolling woodlands on the outskirts of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Swami Bodhananda gave the forest its name, “Sambodh Aranyam,” meaning “The Forest of Enlightenment.” Pujya Swamiji proposed the name for the center to be developed there, “Sambodh Center for Human Excellence" (SCHE), and leads and guides it activities and functions to bring in an inclusive space of people, ideas and selfless work based on the teachings of Vedanta, Yoga and Meditation.

Weekly programs at SCHE include Meditation, Chanting, Vedanta classes, discussions etc. apart from the annual grand events like the Maha Rudrabhishekam, Mantra Sadana, and Seminars/Dialogues on a variety of topics. Every year for one month the intensive study of the major Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita taught by Pujya Swamiji is organised.

Read: SCHE Vision & Mission (Excerpts from 2007 SCHE Inaugural Event Commemorative Book)

Guided by the vision and teachings of our Guru, the aspiration is to nurture a community of spiritual seekers who work selflessly for the spiritual uplift of humanity, learn from the best of both eastern and western traditions, and are steeped in Vedanta, a vision which sees the world as one family and all paths as leading to the same Truth. The Sambodh Society, Inc. is based upon a combination of the following aims: To promote the vision and teaching of our Paramacharya Swami Bodhananda Sarasvati, and understanding of India’s ancient spiritual heritage, through the teaching of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras and the Vedantic philosophy of the Indian philosopher Sankaracharya, To activate the inner spiritual power of individuals via instruction in meditation, and, To turn this power towards active and constructive social service.

The range of topics HH Swami Bodhananda addresses extends from human potential development, managerial excellence and leadership studies to the experience of "absolute peace in the midst of dynamic activity".

THE MISSION

WISDOM PEARLS

• Failure is not a problem

  Lack of effort is the problem. When you make one step forward, God takes ten steps towards you.

• hindu dharma for the 21st century

  To create pedagogic strategies to disseminate that corpus of wisdom among the Hindu youth growing up in the United States.

• spiritual musings

  Who cares? The Story of Brahmachari Visvabandhu

VIDEO GALLERY

The Sambodh India and Sambodh Society YouTube channels are in the process of making Pujya Swamiji's lectures available online and for free access.

SAMBODH EMBLEM

The logo of Sambodh is constituted by three arcs and three birds: two trapped within and one flying out. The motto of the logo reads uttishtata jagrata nibhodata - arise awake and realise. The three arcs represent three bodies - gross, subtle and causal, identifying with which the infinite consciousness has become finite.

The finite consciousness is represented by the two birds trapped in samsara, the world of change, and struggling to come out. The trapped birds are a symbol of all kinds of duality: the seeker and the sought, the god and the world, body and soul, good and bad, matter and spirit. The bird flying out into the infinite space of consciousness stands for the enlightened and integrated person who has solved all kind of duality, and who has disidentified with the three bodies as well as the three gunas such as the sattva, rajas and tamas. The motto of the logo uttishtata jagarata nibhodata is taken from the Katopanishad. The exhortation is to awake from material slumber through a process of inquiry and discrimination.