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My name is Amita Rodman and I was born into a family already deeply tied to the Ramakrishna Vedanta movement… as my American born father was periodically attending Vedanta lectures given by Swami Paramananda in Southern California (the youngest ordained Swami of Sw. Vivekananda, Paramananda was sent to the USA in 1906 and went on to provide Vedanta teaching extensively throughout the USA until his untimely death in 1940).  My mother hailed from Bengal and came to the USA in the 1930s to pursue both her studies and her interest in Dance.

 

There were four children in our family, two very closely affiliated with Vedanta and the other 2 respectful, but not immersed as much.  Similarly, I have more than 35 cousins, all of whom would classify themselves as Ramakrishna Vedanta knowledgeable, but perhaps one-third are strongly studying or otherwise affiliated with Vedanta.

 

My life long affiliation, since 1951, with Vedanta monastics, whose outlook on living was always appealing,  has benefited me.  

 

I was initiated by the Reverend Mother (Srimata) Gayatri Devi, a woman ordained to teach Vedanta, by Swami Paramananda.  Paramananda also ordained Laura Glenn, Sr. Devamata, in the early 1900s and Georgina Jones Walton, Sr. Daya, as western women ordained to teach Vedanta.

 

The philosophy is Pragmatic, Logical, Mystical / Devotional / Cerebral to whatever extent one wishes; most of all:  the awareness of impermanence/transitory and what is beyond change gives a sense of detachment and a philosophy about certain life events (such as death and disease) as well as troublesome world events.