Krotona Programs

Spring Programs 2013 

Ravi Ravindra

Three-week Series 

With Krishna in the Battle of Life:  Life Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita 

March 26 – 29: April 2 – 5, Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon

April 9 – 11: Tuesday – Thursday 10 – noon 

The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the single most important text to originate from India.  People with a variety of interests—from the sanyasis who have renounced all worldly concerns to the politicians—have sought wisdom and guidance from this great text which has been hailed as the paradigm example of perennial philosophy.  In this course our effort will be to derive lessons from the Bhagavad Gita relevant to our daily lives.  How can we be engaged in the world while at the same time being true to our spiritual life?

Series $95, Week $35, Single session $10 

Ravi Ravindra, PhD, is professor emeritus at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he was professor of comparative religion and adjunct professor of physics. He has authored many papers in physics, philosophy and religion, and several books including Pilgrim without Boundaries, The Yoga of the Christ, Science and the Sacred, and The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

Ravi Ravindra, Priscilla Murray

Weekend Workshop

The External and Internal Battle of the Mahabharata 

April 5 – 7: Friday eve 7:30 – 9, Saturday 10 – noon, 2 – 4, Sunday 10 – noon 

The setting of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the books in the great epic of Mahabharata, is a battlefield.  What are the factors which have brought the opposing armies, led by the Kaurauvas and the Pandavas, to fight the most dreadful battle in the history of India?  Who are the major players?  What corresponds to these factors and characters within us?  The workshop will involve an exploration of the stories of the Mahabharata as well as some artistic and physical exercises, in order to relate these stories to our own lives.

Weekend $35, Single session $10 

Ravi Ravindra, PhD, is professor emeritus at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he was professor of comparative religion and adjunct professor of physics. He has authored many papers in physics, philosophy and religion, and several books including Pilgrim without Boundaries, The Yoga of the Christ, Science and the Sacred, and The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. 

Priscilla Murray, PhD, is a retired educator who holds degrees in philosophy, education and mathematics.  She has taught at all levels of education, from primary school to post-graduate courses.  Dr Murray recently served as associate editor of the series of eight books under the title, The Inner Journey: Views from the Great Traditions, published by Morning Light Press.

Uma Krishnamurthy 

Four Mornings 

Indian Mystics:  Psychological and Yogic Perspectives 

April 16 – 19: Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon 

This class focuses on Indian yogis and mystics who practiced universal brotherhood and were able to transcend the sorrows of duality, including Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Shivananda, and Mira Bai. They radiated joyousness in their daily lives and could thus uplift and comfort those who came to them for spiritual guidance and solace.  We will consider especially those teachings which can help us transcend psychological suffering, stabilize us in higher states of consciousness, and improve our stamina for love and happiness. The sessions will include discussion as well as reflective and meditation practices.    

Week $35, Single session $10 

Uma Krishnamurthy, MD, has practiced child psychiatry in Bangalore, India for many years and is a visiting faculty member at the Yoga Biomedical Trust in London and the Holma College of Holistic Studies in Sweden.  During the course of her medical practice, Dr Krishnamurthy has conducted her own research on the transformation of emotions using Yoga therapy and has authored a book on Yoga psychology to be published soon.

Uma Krishnamurthy  

Weekend Workshop 

Yoga:  The Art and Science of Holistic Education 

April 19 – 21: Friday eve 7:30 – 9, Saturday 10 – noon, 2 – 4, Sunday 10 – noon 

Yoga means “union” or the experience of oneness with the supreme consciousness.  As an ancient science and art, Yoga also implies integration, an alignment of body, mind, emotions and intelligence with our soul.  The word “education” means “to draw out.”  The true educator helps to draw out hidden potential, helping the student to discover, manifest and strengthen positive traits.  Interactive sessions will include the process and aims of Yoga psychology, the challenges of holistic education, and practices that encourage insight, peace and joy. In this way, we will understand the enormous role that Yoga can play in education, to promote integration and the fulfilling of our highest potential.           

Weekend $35, Single session $10 

Uma Krishnamurthy, MD, has practiced child psychiatry in Bangalore, India for many years and is a visiting faculty member at the Yoga Biomedical Trust in London and the Holma College of Holistic Studies in Sweden.  During the course of her medical practice, Dr Krishnamurthy has conducted her own research on the transformation of emotions using Yoga therapy and has authored a book on Yoga psychology to be published soon.

Amit Goswami 

Seminar, Four Mornings

The Subtle Universe 

April 23 – 26: Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon

There is a paradigm shift going on in science, and the worldview is changing from the primacy of matter to the primacy of consciousness.  In the consciousness-based worldview, both our gross and material experiences and our subtle experiences of feeling (the vital energies), thinking (meaning), and intuiting (the archetypes) can be included in science.  In this course, quantum physicist Amit Goswami will explore how the inclusion of the subtle in integrating biology, medicine, and psychology is shaping even our economics. 

Series $35, Single session $10 

Amit Goswami, PhD, is a retired professor, theoretical physics department, University of Oregon, Eugene.  He is a pioneer of the new paradigm of science called “science within consciousness”. In addition to a successful textbook, Quantum Mechanics, Dr Goswami has written many popular works, including The Visionary Window, Physics of the Soul, God is Not Dead, and most recently How Quantum Activism can Save Civilization.  He appeared in the films “What the Bleep Do We Know!?,” "The Dalai Lama Renaissance,” and the award winning, “The Quantum Activist.”

Gaspar Torres, Idarmis Rodriguez 

Seminario de fin de Semana, en Español  

Recuerdos de Vidas Pasadas 

Mayo 3 – 5: Viernes 7:30 – 9, sábado 10 – 12, 2 – 4, domingo 10 – 12 

El seminario investigará por qué sólo algunas personas recuerdan sus vidas pasadas, llevando a muchos a rechazar las enseñanzas sobre la reencarnación. Este tema se estudiará profundamente, desde muchos puntos de vista, para poder alcanzar una madura comprensión de sus variadas facetas. Se aportarán diversas fuentes, invitando a los participantes a continuar este estudio a la luz de la evolución de la conciencia, sacándolos de la aceptación o rechazo como mera creencia.

Serie completa $35, una sola sesión $10 

Gaspar Torres (director del seminario) nació en un hogar teosófico y ha estado activo en la Sociedad desde su juventud. Ha servido como presidente nacional de la Sección Cubana de la Sociedad Teosófica (ST), y hahecho presentaciones en eventos teosóficos como la convención internacional en la sede internacional de Adyar, India, la Cuenca del Caribe, y la Federación Teosófica Interamericana, y también ha cooperado con el trabajo de Secciones, Centros, y Logias de la ST al nivel internacional. 

Idarmis Rodríguez (facilitadora) nacida en Cuba, sirvió la ST por 15 años en Adyar, donde escribió artículos sobre los derechos de los animales y compiló un pequeño libro, Annie Besant on Right Citizenship, publicado en Adyar. Después trabajó un año en la sede de la Sección Americana de la ST en Wheaton, Illinois. También sirvió de voluntaria por nueve meses para el Gobierno Tibetano en el Exilio del Dalai Lama en Dharamsala, India.

Carmelo de los Santos with Eneida Elena Carbonell

A Spring Recital for Violin and Piano 

Saturday, May 4: 7:30 pm, Krotona Hall 

One of the functions of Art, especially Music, is to make us “remember” experiences from a different dimension, a dimension that expresses an eternal, timeless reality.  Acclaimed violinist Carmelo de los Santos and accompanist Eneida Carbonell present different styles of music, all sharing this same characteristic of facilitating the recollection of past experiences that can be brought up to our consciousness again once we are open to it.  The performance features works by Bach, Gluck, Debussy, T?rrega and others.

Suggested Donation $10 

Carmelo de los Santos, DMA, associate professor of Violin at the University of New Mexico, is one of the most respected and sought-after Brazilian violinists of his generation. He has performed as soloist with major orchestras in South America, as well as at Carnegie Hall with the ARCO Chamber Orchestra, both as soloist and conductor. His passion for teaching has brought him to master classes and important music festivals around the world.  A third-generation Theosophist, he has performed for the Society internationally.  

Eneida Elena Carbonell has performed in many recitals, including several with Carmelo de los Santos, having played the piano since childhood. She served many years on the Krotona staff and still participates in its activities regularly.  She is president and assistant librarian of the España Lodge, a center of the Theosophical Society in Los Angeles, and also travels and teaches for the Inter-American Theosophical Federation.  Born in Havana, Cuba, to a family active in the Society, Eneida Carbonell has been immersed in theosophical life, meditation and study since childhood, bringing its influence to her profession as a mathematics instructor, and to her music and art.

Michael Gomes 

Seminar Weekday Mornings 

The Esoteric Instructions of Helena P Blavatsky 

May 7 – 10: Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon 

Towards the end of her life HP Blavatsky drew around her a group of students for whom she wrote a series of esoteric instructions. Michael Gomes, editor of a new edition of these instructions, will share the results of his work during this session. Among areas covered will be the nature of mantras, Blavatsky’s esoteric correlations of color, number and sound, as well as special techniques she gave to her group.

Series $35, Single session $10 

Michael Gomes has written extensively on the life and work of HP Blavatsky. His books include abridgments of both her major books, Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine, as well as The Secret Doctrine Commentaries based on Blavatsky’s unpublished instructions on the book. He has also served as a director of The European School of Theosophy and presents for the Society internationally.

Catherine Ann Jones 

Four  Weekday Mornings 

Transcending a Time of Unknowing:  Self-Discovery through Focused Journaling  

May 14 – 17: Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon 

Today, more than ever, there is a sense of not knowing.  Many of us undergo a period of dismantling old paradigms followed by disillusionment, a kind of dying to the old ways of perceiving and experiencing, a period of drifting, some sense of loss for what was.  Expressing and listening to one’s story is an ancient mode of healing.  There is an overwhelming need today for people to be heard, to tell their stories, to learn and grow from their experience.  Regardless of outer events, we can radically boost our chances of healing, empowerment, growth, and transformation through sharing and a shift in perspective.  Focused journaling is a powerful tool to achieve this aim

Series $35, Single Session $10 

Catherine Ann Jones holds a graduate degree in Depth Psychology and Archetypal Mythology from Pacifica Graduate Institute where she has also taught. She is an award-winning author, playwright and screenwriter including writing for the popular television series Touched by an Angel, a winner of the National Endowment for the Arts Award, and author of The Way of Story: The Craft and Soul of Writing.  She works as a writing consultant and teaches internationally. Information:  www.wayofstory.com .

Eneida Elena Carbonell 

Weekend Workshop 

A Journey into the Light of Consciousness 

May 17 – 19: Friday eve 7:30 – 9, Saturday 10 – noon, 2 – 4, Sunday 10 – noon 

Consciousness is primary in the creative manifestation of worlds and universes, and serves as the dynamic agent of human evolution. We’ll consider how theosophy and quantum physics view consciousness in relation to space, time, light, sound, force and memory. Can the mind take leaps in consciousness and come to know the different levels of reality or the One Reality from which all other realities are reflections? What are some of the relations between consciousness and mind, awareness and thought, the observer and the observed, desire and feeling, will and intuition, dream and sleep that can help us respond to such questions?   We’ll explore these important relationships, as we journey together into the light of consciousness.            

Series $35, Single session $10 

Eneida Carbonell, BSc, served many years on the Krotona staff and still participates in its activities regularly.  She is president and assistant librarian of the España Lodge, a center of the Theosophical Society in Los Angeles, and also travels and teaches for the Inter-American Theosophical Federation.  Born in Havana, Cuba, to a family active in the Society, Eneida Carbonell has been immersed in theosophical life, meditation and study since childhood, bringing its influence to her profession as a mathematics instructor, and to her music and art.