Names associated with Vedanta in Southern California and Nevada.

Sri Ramakrishna lived in Bengal, India from 1836 to 1886.  He is widely regarded as an incarnation of God because his life exemplified the necessary spiritual conditions associated with an incarnation.

He had many disciples, 16 of whom became monastics.  Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Order of India.  Swami Brahmananda was the first president of the order.  Swami Vijnananda supervised the building of the temple at Belur Math and was the last direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna to be the president of the order.

Swami Vivekananda was the representative for Hinduism at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He lectured extensively throughout the USA.  It is larger through his influence that Vedanta centers were established in the USA between 1896 and 1940.

One of the last living disciples of Swami Vijnananda (one of Sri Ramakrishna's 16 monastic disciples) was Swami Swahananda.  He was the head of the Vedanta Society of Southern California from 1978 until October of 2012. Swami Swahananda was the main inspiration for starting The Ramakrishna Vedanta Center in 2012.  Swami Swahananda supported the founding of many Vedanta Study groups around the country.

Swami Sarvadevananda is currently the of the Vedanta Society of Southern California and the President of the Ramakrishna Ashram, the organization that oversees the spiritual direction of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Center of Las Vegas.

The center is largely a continuation of the Vedanta Centre of Las Vegas established by Mahamaya, aka Rose Marie Gordon.  Many years ago Swami Prabhavananda suggested that she hold classes for the many people she was introducing to Vedanta. Mahamaya passed away in 2012. 

The Vedanta Society of Southern California was founded by Swami Prabhavananda, a disciple of Swami Brahmananda.  Mahamaya and the current resident minister, Swami Atmavidyananda, are both disciples of Swami Prabhavananda.

The Vedanta work in Southern California during the 1940’s – 1960’s was greatly influenced by the contributions of three men:

Gerald Heard: Best known as the author of numerous books.  He was a guide and mentor to Bill Williams, co-founder of AA. He was a disciple of Swami Prabhavananda.  He was a frequent lecturer at the Vedanta Temple. He founded the Trabuco College as a place of study for religions. He later donated the property to the Vedanta Society of Southern California.

Aldous Huxley: Best known as the author of Brave New World and Perennial Philosophy. Beginning in 1939 and continuing until his death in 1963, Huxley was associated with the Vedanta Society of Southern California. In 1944 Huxley wrote the introduction to the "Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God.

Christopher Isherwood, well known author, assisted Swami Prabhavananda in translating the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali.

All three men wrote articles for the magazine Vedanta and the West and served on the editorial board.

Swami Atmavidyananda has been greatly influenced by John Dobson, best known for his “invention” of the Dobsonian telescope mount and the founder of the Sidewalk Astronomers.  Swami Atmavidyananda makes extensive use of Mr. Dobson’s theories about Advaita Vedanta and Modern Science.  He also draws on the work of Amit Goswami, Joseph Campbell and Ken Wilbur.

Swami Atmavidyananda is also a composer of Western Classical style music with Vedantic lyrics.