Welcome to Jonesville Schoolhouse Yoga!

Photo from Chicago, September, 1893. Text on image, written in Swami Vivekananda’s own handwriting: “one infinite pure and holy – beyond thought beyond qualities – I bow down to thee”

I’m not sure when I started my journey that led to the publication of The Yogic Manager. But I do know that a key milestone occurred in May 2002. I had just started working for a research center at the University of Chicago. The office was located in downtown Chicago, right opposite the Art Institute of Chicago on Chicago’s prominent Michigan Avenue. On my way to and from work I would pass by this institute and see a sign calling that part of the avenue the “Swami Vivekananda Way.” I asked myself why such an important road was named after a Swami. It is then that I learnt about how Swami Vivekananda built a bridge between the East and the West by introducing the world to the Yoga and Vedanta schools of Sanatana Dharma. I learnt about the other 9/11 – September 11th of 1893, that too few people have heard about. On this date, the Swami gave his first speech to the West, at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, for which he received a two minute long standing ovation from an audienceof several thousand people. Growing up in India I had heard of Swami Vivekananda, but like many of my generation, had never read his books. Seeing the importance the city of Chicago had given him, I was prompted to read his book on Karma Yoga (The Yoga of Action), and then his books on all four Yogas, including Jnana Yoga (The Yoga of Knowledge), Raja Yoga (The Yoga of Meditation) and Bhakti Yoga (The Yoga of Devotion). While I had already learnt yoga postures (asanas) and breathing (pranayama), Karma Yoga was the first book that I had read on the philosophical aspects of Yoga-Vedanta. If I had not read Swami Vivekananda’s books, I would not have gone on to study the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Mahabharata and Yoga Sutras. These are the texts I researched to write The Yogic Manager, and to create the principles and frameworks of Yogic Management. It is because of the bridge that Swami Vivekananda built that Yoga-Vedanta has become so widely practiced globally. All practitioners of Yogaare eternally indebted to the Swami. In addition to his contribution to the rise in human consciousness through Yoga-Vedanta, he was a social reformer who left a legacy of organizations that continue to serve humanity globally. Two years ago, when I was looking for a worthy school to donate some money to, I visited a school in Chennai run by the Ramakrishna Mission, an organization that Swami Vivekananda founded in honor of his guru. I was thoroughly impressed by how the school, run by monks, took underprivileged children and educated them. They did not just educate the students through primary and high school, but also gave them skills to help them get jobs. The computer labs, sponsored by corporations that cared about society in addition to profits, were incredibly well equipped. In addition to social work, Swami Vivekananda’s organizations have given the world several scholars and teachers. To write my book, I researched the Upanishads written by Swami Nikhilananda, founder of theRamakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York. Also, the Bhagavad Gita translation I used was written by Swami Swarupananda, a direct disciple of Swami Vivekananda. January 12, 2013, was Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth Anniversary. The event was celebrated in India and globally, and I was happy to see wide coverage of these celebrations in both traditional and social media. I celebrated in my own way by publishing The Yogic Manager in ebook format on this auspicious date. The book incorporates many of Swami Vivekananda’s teaching on Karma Yoga. The following are some quotes that inspired me tremendously.

“All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in your own mind.” —Swami Vivekananda

“Work for work’s sake. There are some who are really the salt of the earth in every country and who work for work’s sake, who do not care for name, or fame, or even to go to heaven. They work just because good will come of it.” —Swami Vivekananda

“Awake, arise, and dream no more!” — Swami Vivekananda

If you are from other parts of the world you should be able to find these books at the closest Vedanta Society.   If you would like to tell your friends, family and connections about my tribute to Swami Vivekananda, please share/like/tweet/email this page using the social sharing buttons on the top/bottom of the page.   Thanks, Avinash Sharma

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