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We are going on an epic adventure together deep into the jungles of ancient India where we will have the opportunity to face our fears, address our grief, deepen our understanding of dharma, and begin to grow into the mightiest versions of ourselves.

 

With Sita, Rama, and Hanuman as our guides, we will apply their experience and wisdom to our everyday lives, learning how to navigate our extraordinary physical and spiritual journey with compassion, equanimity, and strength. 

The Ramayana

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A modern retelling

Meet over 8 Sundays

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March 2nd through

April 20th, 2025

 

 12:00pm - 1:00pm PT

​Places are limited!

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*Veda Vyasa Book Club is available to anyone who has learned Vedic Meditation.

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​Recordings will be made available for a limited time if you're unable to attend the live meetings due to timezone

Why read the Ramayana?

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The Ramayana beautifully lays out the path to Self-Realization. Reading it with the accountability of a group and the guidance of an enthusiastic teacher can have the potential of illuminating qualities of Self that have not yet been explored.

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Reading The Ramayana provides an opportunity to become more intimate with that aspect of Supreme expressed in Vishnu. We will surely find strong expressions of other candidates for Supreme Being in the supporting cast as well.

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Although we are following Sita, Rama, and Hanuman's journey, we ourselves go on our own journeys exploring our relationship to the divine that is present to us right here and now.

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How it Works

 

1. Get yourself a copy of The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Indian Epic by Ramesh Menon.

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2. Beginning a week before our first meeting, you will be given a password protected link to a BOX account which has your support materials including lovely e-booklets with gorgeous images containing essential information about the chapters we're reading, some Points to Ponder, family trees, and a PDF of an extensive cast list. Weekly reading is usually no more than 100 pages.

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3. On Sundays, we will meet on Zoom for an hour to discuss the reading. The group will be presented with some challenges, we'll discuss the Points to Ponder, and then mine the gems of meaning. It's also a time to ask questions, or share comments and revelations.

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4. A day or two after each Zoom meeting you'll receive a link to the recording of our meeting, a very brief summary of our discussion, plus quotes, photos, book recommendations, links to cool articles, and anything else relevant that might be helpful in expanding your understanding of this rich story. 

 

It's best to plan on attending the meetings on Sundays which is where the magic happens, but if you have to miss one or two, you'll receive a link to the recording for a limited time.

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A note about reading Itihasa:

 

Itihasa is Sanskrit for "history" or the literal translation "so indeed it was."

The Ramayana and The Mahabharata are epic stories, mythos, which have the potential to awaken higher states of consciousness for those who experience them. According to Ramesh Menon, "The purpose of The Ramayana was never less than to awaken the reader spiritually and set him on the great journey that finally, if after many lives, leads to the last goal of all existence - to moksha, nirvana, the truth that frees, to God."  

 

The Ramayana follows Rama, avatara of Vishnu, his wife, Sita, incarnation of Lakshmi, and Hanuman, a noble soul in the magical race of monkeys, son of Vayu, and a lovable devotee of Sita and Rama. The story is told linearly and takes the readers on an epic adventure starting with fourteen years of exile in the jungles of India, to a massive war between Rama and the greatest destruction operator of the time, a magnificent ten-headed Rakshasa, demon, by the name of Ravana. 

 

Are the Itihasa religious texts? 

 

To some, yes. Our tradition predates religions that formed as a result of exposure to the Vedas. As Vedic meditators, we will approach the wisdom of the Itihasa by seeing to what extent we are able to recognize "self" on every page and experience Supreme between the lines.

 

It is a journey of Self-discovery. With friends. And it's fun.

Contribution

 

A contribution of $650 can be made through Venmo @jamey-hood

 

Payment via credic card here.

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For those outside the US, please use Wise.

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A payment plan is available for those who inquire.

​​​​​​​​Veda Vyasa Book Club (VVBC) is the international book club devoted to developing consciousness through Vedic literature. VVBC is for Vedic meditators who are curious about reading Vedic literature and want to do it in an environment in which a deep and nuanced understanding of the material is not only encouraged, but inevitable. 

 

The Itihasa and Puranas are approached with a great deal of enthusiasm, giving members permission to completely, fully, and unabashedly "nerd out." 

 

VVBC is more akin to an in depth course of study than a casual book club and sets the stage for personal growth, Self-discovery, and evolution.

 

Guided by me, Jamey Hood, a certified meditation teacher based in Venice, CA, and Vedic literature enthusiast. Our meetings are joyful, meaningful, personal, and fun.

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Why Ramesh Menon's version?

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There are numerous translations of the The Ramayana. Many free PDFs are available on the internet, some so literal in translation from Sanskrit to English that they are almost unreadable, and some very academic in their approach.

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Menon's offering reads like juicy fiction. He is a truly gifted storyteller and his ability to paint vividly with text gives us our best opportunity to appreciate and absorb multiple layers of meaning from the most literal to the finest celestial.

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