You are cordially invited to join a spiritual retreat on July 4, 2025, at the Vedanta Society Berkeley (2455 Bowditch St, Berkeley, CA 94704). This event offers an enriching opportunity to explore the profound legacy of Swami Vivekananda, a pioneer of Vedanta in the West. To be part of this inspiring program, please click “Continue reading” to register in the next page (free). We look forward to seeing you there.
4th July at Vedanta Society Berkeley
2455 Bowditch St, Berkeley, CA 94704
5th July at San Ramon
3271 Montevideo Drive, San Ramon, CA-94583
To attend the event, please click here (Free).
Our esteemed seven speakers will speak on different facets of Swami Vivekananda’s life and teachings in the Bay Area. Those are: Swami Vivekananda in San Francisco, The Impact of Swami Vivekananda’s Personality in the Bay Area, Swami Vivekananda’s Lectures in the Bay Area, The Legacy of Swami Vivekananda in the Bay Area, What Makes Swami Vivekananda’s Visit to the Bay Area Special? The Impact of Swami Vivekananda’s Visit to the Bay Area, Notable Incidents During Swami Vivekananda’s Visit to the Bay Area.
Swami Vedananda – Swami Vivekananda in San Francisco
Swami Vedananda, a senior monk of the Vedanta Society of Northern California in San Francisco, is well known and respected for his contribution to interfaith dialogs and to guiding students in Vedantic philosophy and religion. Before taking monastic vows to renounce the world and become a monk in 1970, he earned a Ph.D. in physics and left behind a promising career in science. His order of monks belongs to the unbroken ancient lineage established in pre-BCE Vedic period. Since 2005, he has been leading a small discussion group at Stanford University, for the study of Vedanta philosophy and the Sanskrit language. In addressing Eastern and Western approaches to seeking wisdom, the Swami has written, "Within everyone is the light of wisdom -- some people call it the spark of God, or the Buddha nature, or the voice of conscience, or the true Self, or the Great Spirit -- this is admitted by all cultures, Eastern, Western, Northern, or Southern."
Swami Ishadhyanananda – The Impact of Swami Vivekananda’s Personality in the Bay Area
Swami Ishadhyanananda has been an Assistant Minister of the Vedanta Society of Sacramento since August 2017. Before coming to America, the swami served the Order as the treasurer of the Jamshedpur branch of the Ramakrishna Mission from September 2013 to June 2017. Prior to that, he was posted at the Belur Math Headquarters Office from March 2008 to September 2013. Swami Ishadhyanananda joined the Ramakrishna Order in 2002. He was initiated by Swami Atmasthananda, the fifteenth president of the Ramakrishna Order, and received his final monastic vows from his guru in 2012. Before joining the Order, during his college and university days, Swami Ishadhyanananda remained in close contact with the monks of the Ramakrishna Order.Throughout his monastic life, Swami Ishadhyanananda has contributed articles to various journals of the Ramakrishna Order.
Swami Prapannananda – Swami Vivekananda’s Lectures in the Bay Area
In March 1989, Swami Prapannananda was sent to America to become the Assistant Minister of the Vedanta Society of Sacramento. After finishing his academic education at the University of Calcutta and working for sometime in an engineering firm, he joined the Ramakrishna Order. An initiated disciple of Swami Vireswarananda, the tenth president of the Ramakrishna Order, received his final monastic vows from him on 1976. Immediately after joining, Swami was sent to Rajkot in Gujarat State where he passed twenty years of his monastic life as an important worker in various fields of the center including temple service, relief and rehabilitation, publication and book sales, dispensary and library work. He spent two years in Belur Math for scriptural studies. After the passing away of Swami Shraddhananda in July 1996, he was appointed Minister and Teacher of The Vedanta Society of Sacramento.
Swami Satyamayananda -
The Legacy of Swami Vivekananda in the Bay Area
Swami Vivekananda on Raja Yoga
Swami Satyamayananda joined the Order at Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata in 1988. An initiated disciple of Swami Bhuteshananda (the twelfth president of the Order), he served in various capacities at Advaita Ashrama. In 2008, he joined the the Probationers’ Training Centre, Belur Math, as an Acharya or teacher. In 2010, he was posted to Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, to be the editor of Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India, an English-language magazine of the Ramakrishna Order started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896. He was appointed as the Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Kanpur in 2014. He joined the Vedanta Society of Southern California as our Assistant Minister on December 10, 2018.
Swami Ishatmananda – The Impact of Swami Vivekananda’s Visit to the Bay Area
Swami Ishatmananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and president of the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago and Vivekananda Monastery & Retreat in Ganges, MI. He joined the order in 1975 and was ordained in 1986. He served at Advaita Ashrama, a publication center of the Ramakrishna Order, and at the order’s educational institution in Purulia. He founded a center at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands and served as the principal of the Ramakrishna Mission School in Narottam Nagar. He has lectured widely and has published several articles.
Swami Prasannatmananda –
Notable Incidents During Swami Vivekananda’s Visit to the Bay Area
Swami Vivekananda on Bhakti Yoga
Swami Prasannatmananda is a fully ordained monk of the Ramakrishna Order, India and currently serves as Swami-in-Charge of Vedanta Society Berkeley, California, USA. He received his Sannyasa vows in 1995 from the twelfth President of the Order, Rev. Swami Bhuteshananda. As a monk, Swami Prasannatmananda has been serving numerous centers of the Ramakrishna Order in various capacities, primarily in the field of instruction, educational initiatives, research projects, as well as performing administrative duties. In India, he served at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira College, Ranchi, Morabadi, and at the Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata. Swami Prasannatmananda came to the United States in 2011 as Assistant Swami at the Berkeley Center and assumed its leadership in 2014.
18 year old high school senior Ajinkya Ranade has been pursuing Tabla for over ten years under the tutelage of Ustad Surinder Mann and Pandit Yogesh Samsi, both disciples of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan Saheb. In addition to Tabla, Ajinkya has picked up various western percussion instruments and has performed in places such as Los Angeles, New Jersey, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Calgary.
Souryadeep Bhattacharyya, an All-India gold medalist in instrumental music, is an accomplished sarod virtuoso and a premier disciple of Pandit Alok Lahiri. He has performed at prestigious venues like Lincoln Center (NYC), Harris Theater (Chicago), and the Chicago Cultural Center. Souryadeep has collaborated with IndianRaga, Catalpa, and World Music America, expanding the reach of Indian classical music globally and is an empaneled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).