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Vedic God Ganesh

Satsangs

Weekly Satsangs and Kirtans take place Monday through Friday from 8 – 9 pm after the evening Agnihotra and meditation.

In Indian philosophy Satsang means:

  • The company of the “highest truth.”
  • The company of a guru.
  • Assembly of persons who listen to, talk about and assimilate the truth.

Typically Satsang involves listening to or reading scriptures, reflecting, discussing and meditating on the source of those words.



Monday – Teachings from Bhagavata Gita with Swami Satya Brahmananda, 6 pm-7 pm

Krishna and Arjuna

Why has the Gita been revered throughout the ages by people from many different cultures and eras?  From the ancient Indian sage Sankara, to the modern Indian saint Mohandas Gandhi, from western philosophers such as Emerson, to scientists such as Einstein  — all have found something to love in this great teaching.

The story takes place on a battlefield where thousands of warriors are gathering. A battle between two related clans is about to begin. The mighty warrior Arjuna is despondent, and has decided he will not fight.  Krisna is his charioteer, a close friend and mentor. The main part of the text is a conversation between the two. In this setting, timeless questions are raised that are still relevant today. What does it means to live in this world?  Who am I?  How should I lead my life?  How to live wisely?  What is real, what is unreal?

The scope of the Gita is vast. It defines many ways to come to fulfillment, to recognize the divine within us all. On one level it could be called a “how to” book.  While telling a story, it presents an analysis of the roots of suffering, and how to cut those roots to achieve peace and harmony. And the verses contain pure poetry.

Why do we call this an “Interactive Exploration”? We chant the verses together, discuss the meaning and implications, talk about our own viewpoints,  and are encouraged to interpret for ourselves what it might mean for our own life.

Along with the Gita, at times we explore some of the Upanishads. These texts existed in the Indian culture before the Gita, and influenced the teachings in the Gita. The word “upanishad” means “sit down close to the teacher,” implying learning directly from the teacher. According to S. Radhakrisnan, the “Upanishads belong to the revealed literature.  They are immemorial, timeless.  Their truths are said to be breathed out by God or visioned by the seers…the sages who speak out of the fullness of their illumined  experience.”

Please join us for the study of the Bhagavad Gita every Monday 6 – 7 p.m. in the Cosmic Temple.

Mondays – Teachings from the Masters with Various Teachers

Please join us for discussions on Teachings from different masters every Monday 8 – 9 p.m. in the Cosmic Temple.

Currently, we have been listening to Masters across the World

Like Ajan Cha, Raman Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj , Lama Shabkar…and more….,

Krishna and Arjuna

Tuesdays – Teachings from the Masters with Various Teachers


Wednesdays – Guruji Audio Tapes with Rama Gopal

Listening to and Chanting from Rig Veda and other recordings done over the decades with Shri. Brahmananda Saraswati with Ram Gopal

“Worship would be impossible without dualism, but at the end we realize that a foreign God cannot be worshiped and that He whom we worshiped as the omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient God is our real Self.”
-Shri Brahmananda

Please join us for the study of Guruji’s text and audio recordings every Wednesday 8 – 9 p.m. in the Cosmic Temple.


Thursdays– Teachings from the Masters with Various Teachers


Fridays – Yoga Sūtras of Patanjali with Marcelo

Drawn image of the sage Patanjali

The purpose of the Yoga Sūtras is to eliminate human misery by means of knowledge of the self and the universe. This goal of eliminating misery is shared by each of the six Indian spiritual sciences, called darśanas. The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali is one of them, and is also known as Yoga-darśana. In ancient India, darśana is synonymous with science. The word derives from the root dṛś, which means to see. A darśana helps one see that which is not previously seen or recognized, much as a periscope or telescope lets one see things that are obstructed or far away.

Consciousness, along with nature, is a fundamental element of this cosmos. Life is an interaction between them. Knowledge of both is the path to all-round wellbeing. This is the essence of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras.

bhogāpavargārtham dṛśyam – 2.18

Everything that we experience (nature) is for enjoyment and liberation. Enjoyment (bhoga) includes everything in this nature – objects, people, our body, and our mind. Yes, even our thoughts, emotions, and memories are all part of the nature. We tend think of them as an intimate part of ourselves. But, that is where the yogic wisdom comes to dispel our misconception. Considering our self as one and the same as our mind is the true source of all misery. Yoga says that you are free from the qualities of your mind, which is part of the nature. When you are able to abide in your core self, the modifications of nature (our thoughts, emotions, memories) cannot enslave us. You will be free from all misery. You are independently happy. That is the supreme self-reliance or independence (kaivalya) that yoga is trying to teach.

Patañjali mentions that the purpose of our interaction with nature is for enjoying the nature as well as achieving liberation from it (apavarga). This is attained by knowing the true essence of your core self. Our life consists of taking both the outward path (experience of the nature) and the inward path (abiding in our core self). Lack of awareness and education of the latter is the reason why we constantly stay dissatisfied with life.

The aphorisms of Patañjali shed light on the mechanisms of pleasure and misery and describe the path to liberation, which a higher state of consciousness that is free from the dualities of pleasure and pain. Upon achieving liberation, consciousness remains fully content in its own self. That is the all-round satisfaction that we all innately yearn for every moment of our life but cannot attain because we are constantly seeking it in the objects of nature.

Consciousness realizes its own essence by differentiating itself from the nature. That is why the experience of the nature is essential to attain liberation. This is the purpose of consciousness coming into contact with nature and experiencing life. Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali describes various practices to attain true knowledge of one’s core self.

Please join us for the study of Yoga Sūtras every Friday 8 – 9 p.m. at the Cosmic Temple


Upcoming Events

  1. Yoga Sutra and Hath Yoga In Porguese with Maria and Marcello

    April 1 @ 5:00 am - 7:00 am PDT
  2. Hamsa Integral Rebirthing Breathwork Study and Facilitator Training: Level 1.

    April 22 @ 11:00 am - 6:00 pm PDT
  3. 200 Hrs Yoga Teacher Training

    August 4 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm PDT

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2019 Yoga Teacher Training: A Month Long

yoga teacher training, meditation Become a Confident & Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Teacher in a Month. Training takes place for a month of July , from July1st to July 31st, in 2019.
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Devi Navaratri

We invite you to celebrate Devi Navaratri - 9 Nights of celebrating the Divine Mother with chanting, music, and reading.

The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit and during these nine nights, nine forms of Divine Mother are worshiped

Saturday, April 6 - Sunday, April 14 2019
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
In our Cosmic Temple

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Personal Mindfulness Retreat

personal Meditation and Mindfulness Retreat A personal retreat offers an ideal way to unplug from routine and responsibilities in order to develop a mindfulness practice that you can take home and integrate into your life.
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Daily Agnihotra & Meditation

Agnihotra, Vedic Fire Ceremony, Meditation Vedic Fire Ceremony - Agnihotra and Meditation is performed for self-healing and world peace.
Please join us:
Mon. to Fri. at 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. and
7:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Sat. and Sun. at 8:00 – 8:30 a.m (ONLY)
Open for public, free of charge.
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Weekly Satsangs

Satsangs and kirtan at Yoga Society of San Francisco Our weekly Satsangs and Kirtans take place Mon. through Fri. from 8 – 9 p.m. after the evening Agnihotra and meditation. In Indian philosophy Satsang means:
  • The company of the "highest truth."
  • The company of a guru.
  • Assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth.
Read more »

Sanskrit Classes

Satsangs and kirtan at Yoga Society of San Francisco A special feature at Brahmananda Ashram is the in-depth study of the Sanskrit languageand its original texts.
"Sanskrit is the language of unity, of one humanity. It is not a worldly language, nor the language of politics, but it is the language of universal vibration. It is the language of meditation."
~ Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati
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Yoga Society of San Francisco

2872 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

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Residential Program

Hari Om - Hurry Home

Brahmananda Ashram's residential program offers a daily routine of group meditation, Sanskrit study, Satsangs, Karma yoga, and Hatha yoga classes. According to Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati, the founder of Yoga Society of San Francisco, “Ashram is the University of Nature. It does not only present the integration and unity of all sciences, cultures, philosophies, and environmental and ecological approaches but it also encourages and provides an opportunity for an independent way of thinking, meditation and application…
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