Torah-Veda

An Interspiritual Journey
Find Your Inspiration and Follow It

WELCOME TO TORAH-VEDA

Torah and Veda are two ancient sources of spirituality still vibrant today. Torah is conveyed through the sacred language of Hebrew and Veda is conveyed through the sacred language of Sanskrit. The focus here is on meditation, mysticism, philosophy, psychology and the underlying spirituality that has been incorporated into religions, and not as much on the religions themselves. Your comments and posts are welcome.


Quote of the Week 419 - Listend/Hearing for Non-material Sustenance

Quote of the Week 419 - Listening/Hearing for Non-material Sustenance


Every one who is thirsty, come and drink. He who has no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good. Let your soul delight in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, that your soul will live…


--Isaiah 55:1-3, The Living Torah translation by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

CURRENT TEACHING SESSIONS




Interfaith/Inter-Spiritual Contemplative Groups


Please check out the following, which is an ongoing activity that may be of interest:


https://www.zgatl.org/contemplative-group.html


https://www.zgatl.org/ongoing-groups.html


http://www.interfaithci.org/contemplative.html


https://faithallianceofmetroatlanta.org/recent-events/programs-events/ongoing-programs/











Sunday, May 24, 2009

Bibliograph/Book Review; Castaneda, Carlos; The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, A Separate Reality; Journey to Ixtlan, et al.

Bibliography/Book Review;
Castaneda, Carlos; The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge; A Separate Reality; Journey to Ixtlan, et al.

I am aware of the controversies surrounding Mr. Castenada and the chronicles of his adventures and apprenticeship with a Mexican Yaqui Indian sorcerer by the name of Don Juan Matus, all presented as true stories, although there is significant evidence that they were mostly flights of fancy, borrowing heavily from other sources without attribution, amounting to plagiarism. In this light, it is unfortunate that he chose the medium of non-fiction. His books may have had the same popularity and effect without the controversy if he had couched it all in terms of fiction, whereby his tales may still have taken their place alongside similar inspiring fictional works set in other realms, such as The Lord of the Rings, Dune, The Chronicles of Narnia, and more recently, the Harry Potter series. Because for me, it is of little matter whether Castaneda’s stories were literally true or not, just as these others were not. They all exist in some world, and I am happy that they do.

When I first heard of these books, back in the 70’s, I hungrily consumed them and eagerly awaited for news of the next installment. Of course, the first book was a great hit among those in the drug culture, with its seeming endorsement of the use of hallucinogens as a tool for self-development. Castaneda quickly burst that bubble with a subsequent message that the hallucinogens were of a limited use and eventually unnecessary. But the tales, teachings, and wisdom were often profound, moving, humorous and poetic, and they had a deep and positive influence on my young and growing psycho-spiritual being. I feel deeply grateful for having been exposed to them and highly recommend them to anyone looking for spiritual teachings and inspiration couched in a captivating story-line about an apprentice and a master involved in extraordinary powers and events.

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