Want to expand your consciousness this Fall?
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Reserve your space by registering below
From Fall Equinox to Winter Solstice you are invited to join a fellowship of Vedic Meditators who will embark on an epic journey together exploring what is referred to as, the fifth Veda:
Vyasa's The Mahabharata
With the Bhagavad-Gita at its heart, The Mahabharata has all the principles of the Veda contained within its storyline. Reading or hearing it has the potential to inspire higher states of consciousness.
Reading it with a passionate group of people who are mining the story for meaning in a playful atmosphere is a one-of-a-kind experience not to be missed. Plus, new to this unit, we will have an active WhatsApp group to share questions, thoughts and revelations on the weeks we're not meeting live.
The course spans 13 weeks, with 10 weeks of live meetings. On weeks we don't have live meetings, you'll receive a recording, and we'll take advantage of our WhatsApp group.
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Have a question? Contact me for more information
What’s included in the course matierals?
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To help you grasp the complexities of this epic tale with ease, you will be provided with an e-book filled with:
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Illustrations
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Character descriptions
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Points to Ponder: ideas, challenges, and questions to consider as you are reading
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Beautiful family trees
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Summary of each section
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Extensive "cast list"
What happens during our live calls?
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During our 1 hour calls we will discuss the assigned reading. Then:
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The group is presented with challenges
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We engage in show and tell
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We practice three-in-one*
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We uncover the gems of meaning together while enjoying the events in the story
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We apply what we discover to our own personal experience
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What if I miss a live call?
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A day or two after each Zoom meeting you'll receive an email with the link to the recorded meeting (for a limited time). You also receive:
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Brief notes on key takeaways, plus
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Any quotes, book recommendations, images, new challenges or anything else relevant that comes up during our session.
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How it Works
1. Get yourself a copy of The Mahabharata, A Modern Rendering by Ramesh Menon (Volumes 1&2).
2. Beginning a week before our first meeting, you will be sent a link to our private password-protected BOX account. In it you'll find the reading assignment for that week, and all support materials. Weekly reading is usually no more than 100 pages.
3. On 10 Sundays in the Fall, we'll meet over Zoom for an hour for a lively discsussion. The dates are September 22nd, 29th, October 6th, 13th, & 20th, November 10th & 17th, December 1st, 8th, 15th 2024.
4. A day or two after each Zoom meeting you'll receive an email with the link to the recorded meeting (for a limited time), plus some key takeaways and notes from the session.
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*Not familiar with the term three-in-one? My teacher, Thom Knoles, has a brilliant course series called Exploring the Veda in which this particular way of understanding and interacting with the world is illuminated. While the only pre-requisite to joining VVBC is to be a Vedic Meditator, being familiar with this concept is very useful. If you're curious, contact your local initiator to see if they can arrange for you to take Exploring the Veda Pt. 1.
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Why read The Mahabharata?
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The Mahabharata beautifully illustrates Vedic principles such as Karma, Dharma, and Bhakti (devotion). Reading it with the accountability of a group and the guidance of an enthusiastic teacher has the potential to provide a clearer understanding of these principles and how they play out in our own lives.
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Reading The Mahabharata delivers an opportunity to become more intimate with various personalities and aspects of Supreme, strengthening the individual's personal relationship with the Divine.
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Experiencing The Bhagavad Gita within the context of the epic storyline sets the reader up for not only a clearer understanding of what it is we practice twice daily, but what it truly means to perform action from the state of being.
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Vedic Master, Thom Knoles, often quotes The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita and uses various stories to elucidate Vedic knowledge and wisdom when he is teaching. Speaking from personal experience, when one has a frame of reference and an experience of the story that is being shared, understanding and application skyrockets in addition to the ability to ask Thom insightful questions for further clarification.
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Having this knowledge is a boon beyond description.
Contribution
A contribution of $950 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.
Picture this...
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It's the Fall Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and it's finally time to open that special book that you've been meaning to read for a long long time, but never got around to it.
You pull Volume 1 off the bookshelf, dust it off, and give it a place of honor on your nightstand. Maybe you even place a small Murti of Ganesha, the adorable remover of obstacles nearby, because nothing is going to stop your going on this epic journey.
The first one hundred pages fly by and you are immediately drawn into the drama that feels oddly familiar. Is it that you've heard your Guru tell some of these stories before? Partly.
What makes this particular story feel so familiar is that it lives inside of our consciousness. Once upon a layer...
Knowledge and understanding start to light up and you can't wait to share it with your fellows. Or maybe a particular story is puzzling and you're excited to hear what your group makes of it.
With the principle of "like attracts like" on full display, the live meetings are full of laughs, "ahas", and joyful community.
Your experience of The Mahabharata will be associated with Autumnal mystery, masala chai, Fall colors, like-minded friends holding you accountable and inspiring you to take this knowledge on, getting cozy in a comfy chair with a heavy volume on your lap and a furry friend nearby, plus all the other joys of the season. (For those of you in the Southern hemisphere, imagine Spring unfolding as consciousness expands!)
All the while heart and mind are opening up to the Divine that surrounds you and the Divine within you. You have the potential to see yourself on every page and experience Supreme Being between the lines.
It's a journey of Self-discovery. With friends. And it's fun!
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Questions? Email me at jameyhoodmeditation@gmail.com.
With Love & Jai Guru Deva,
Jamey
Why Ramesh Menon's translation?
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There are numerous translations of
The Mahabharata. Many versions are so literal in translation from Sanskrit to English that they are almost unreadable, and some are very academic in their approach.
Menon's translation reads like juicy fiction. He is a truly gifted storyteller with apparent devotion to his subject. His ability to vividly paint a picture with text gives us our best opportunity to appreciate and absorb multiple layers of meaning while enjoying the glorious drama as it unfolds.
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The Mahabharata, A Modern Rendering Volume 1
by Ramesh Menon.
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Be sure to also order Volume 2
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