Day 5 – Monday
Ramakrishna Vedanta Society with Swami Tagyananda
Meet with Ki Mahoney Humanist Chaplain
Lunch and shopping at Faneuil Hall
New England Holocaust Memorial
King’s Chapel Crypt Tour
Dinner at Sri Lakshmi Temple
Conversation with a Brahman Priest of Sri Lakshmi Temple
I feel as if the more I learn about religion, the more confused I am about who I am, and who I wanna be, how I want to show up in community, and what role religion has in my life. But I choose to keep learning. -Aurora
At the Holocaust memorial, there was a sign that said it is here to help people understand the terrible actions of the Holocaust so it never happens again. Then I began to realize, if humans never learned from their mistakes, so many terrible things might happen again… If humans never learned, the world would not be like it is today. That’s why it’s so important to learn. -Henry
I’ve never been sure about what I believe, and there has been no spark inside me that has wanted to find out. Today, I began to think, why are we here? What is my purpose in this world? Is there a purpose? Where will I go next? These questions allowed me to explore my inner self, the so-called eternal being inside me. I still don’t know for sure what I believe, and I don’t expect myself to, but I do think that there’s a reason we’re here, a place we came from, and a place we will go. -Eleanor
When we visited Swami Tyagananda this is when I realized community may be important, your physical self may be important, but the invisible part, the stuff no one can see, the something else, is what God intended us to find, work on, and share. -Caroline
I found it interesting when Ki [the Humanist chaplain] was talking about how she does not consider Humanism a religion, and that she is an Atheist… For me it’s brought up the question, what defines a religion anyway? The connection to a transcendent being could be part of it, but you can do that in many ways. For example, listening to music. But music isn’t considered a religion, right? Well, whatever the case, the classification clearly has its faults. -Lena
Four AM: I opened the door ready to explore the outside world. Never mind. Instead, I sat down on our balcony chairs and tried to do my own awareness practice. I struggled trying not to fidget and get distracted by my thoughts. I get pulled away, my thoughts rushing in, as I finally recognize the frigid air. -Asha
With Swami Tyagananda I had a question, “Do you believe in reincarnation?” His answer was yes. If we were born once, why can’t we be born again. Simple. Why can’t we? This REALLY made me think. What if we have memories of our past lives, and humanity is just the first species of rebirth in a long line? -Cooper
At the Holocaust memorial I am reminded of countless atrocities perpetrated by humans. It makes me think: how can a good god, one that loves and cares, exist if terrible things happen and keep happening. -Esme
Today was overall very fun. I especially liked the Humanist chaplain. It was a nice break from all of the far out God stuff. I wanted to ask about how she felt about people who only do good things because their religion tells them to, and not because they actually wanted to. -Reine
When we went to the Holocaust memorial, it reminded me how to glued to their phones people are, so they don’t even understand where they are. They walk by, passing through the structures, not giving a second glance towards the memorial for the people who had been imprisoned or killed. It showed me how dull the world has become. -Amir
I was expecting something philosophical from the Humanists, but instead Ki kept her answer short and simple, saying that being human simply means having imperfections, accepting them, and just trying to be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be. That, for me, is exactly what it means to be human. -Oliver
Swami Tyagananda said Om was the sound of the universe, and the priest at Sri Lakshmi Temple backed that up. If Sanskrit is the sounds of the universe [in written form], then so is Om. Then, if anyone is speaking Sanskrit, they are becoming a deeper part of the universe. -Solen
