Vedanta Society of Edmonton

If you have started a process of self-inquiry and want to compare notes with others then you will find good company. The Vedanta Society of Edmonton has been a gathering place for individuals from all walks of life who have an interest in studying texts and commentaries from the Vedas since the 1960s.

We have a meeting place at the Hindu Cultural Centre in the Swami Vivekananda Hall. We draw inspiration from Swami Vivekananda, who brought his simple message to the West in 1893 that every individual has vast, limitless potential if they harness their own minds. He founded the Ramakrishna Mission with a group of brother monks in memory of his Master, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, a divine mystic, and his consort, Sri Sarada Devi. The learned monks from this Mission are a great resource to help access this knowledge and stay motivated and more stabilized in this pursuit.

If you have watched Swami Sarvapriyananda's discourses on YouTube, then our Sunday meetups might interest you. We regularly watch select YouTube lectures and series by Swami Sarvapriyananda from Vedanta Society of New York and discuss the take aways. These meetups are on a drop-in basis, open to the public, conducted in English, and free of charge.

You will also be notified of visiting monks from the Ramakrishna Mission. They conduct Vedanta retreats and speak on different topics from Vedanta philosophy. Advaita Vedanta philosophy follows the path of jnana yoga applying the framework that reality is infinite consciousness bliss and that the light of knowledge awakens us to this perception of eternal oneness that we need to remain stabilized in.

Vedanta Society of New York (VSNY) is affiliated with the Ramakrishna Order of India and the Order's first Center started by Swami Vivekananda, in 1894 that seeded the world-wide Ramakrishna Movement over a century ago.

Vedanta is a philosophy originating from India that concerns itself with the metaphysics of reality, the individual soul/self, and the ever-changing empirical universe, world, body and physical matter while at the same time being immersed in service as an act of worshipping the divine in others.

Swami Vivekananda was the first teacher of Vedanta to come to the West, who drew wide acclaim by his electrifying addresses at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893. After its conclusion, a group of American students interested to learn more about Vedanta gathered about the Swami, and the first Vedanta Center in the West was started in New York City.

Vedanta Society of New York bases its teachings on the system of Vedanta, especially as explained by Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886) and his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) and as demonstrated in their lives. The Society is one of the number of Vedanta Centres in the US, and is guided by Swamis (monks) of the Order, who serve as ministers.

The Vedanta Society of Edmonton, is an independent society, that draws inspiration from these lectures and aspirants who help unpack and explain this philosophy to regular people. The meetup space has been made available by the generosity of the Hindu Society of Alberta.