Lives Well Lived: April 2012

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Br. Nitya Chaitanya

American Vedantist pays tribute to Br. Nitya Chaitanya

http://americanvedantist.org/2010/news-reports/nitya-chaitanya-passes-away-in-hollywood-at-age-80/

Nitya 1930-2010
Brahmachari Nitya Chaitanya
Early Life

Brahmachari Nitya Chaitanya, known affectionately as “Nitya” by his friends, passed away on Nov
21st 2010 at 3:00 PM PST. Born James Edward Smith to Major and Mrs. Robert Smith in Washing-
ton D.C. on Jan 31st, 1930, he graduated from Battle Creek High School in Michigan. He worked as a forest ranger and a bank executive before joining.

Spiritual Path

When he was 19 he moved to New York where he came into contact with the Quakers and began
meditating or “sitting.” After a year in New York, he continued with a prayer group in Colorado,
which was about 50% Quaker. It was while he was with this Colorado group that he first came
across books on spiritual life and met Mary Enholm, who had lived at Trabuco College when Gerald
Heard was there. This led to an interest in the writings of Gerald Heard and Vedanta. He moved to
San Francisco in the 50_s. He attended the Vedanta Society of Northern California at the San Francisco temple and periodically would come to Los Angeles to attend services here.

Life in Vedanta

He joined the Ramakrishna Order at the Vedanta Society of Southern California in Jan 1965 and initiated by Swami Prabhavananda. He took Brahmacharya vows on Aug 14, 1971. He spent most of his monastic years at the Hollywood center doing work in Vedanta Press and Vedanta Bookshop along with the usual monastic routines. He regularly lectured on Sundays for
many years and continued as a back-up speaker for several more. Until very recently, he was the substitute presider for the Gospel classes on Wednesday evenings.

Br. Nitya Chaitanya - Immersion of his ashes

Swamis and Brahmacharins of Ramakrishna Mission

Swamis of the Ramakrishna Mission - we are about two thousand today. Every year on the average more than forty keep entering into our midst. A few leave and some, say about ten, disappear into death. We rejoice on their entry, and sorrow a bit when they leave the fold. But when the last ten go, we do both, grieve. and rejoice. - grief at their going and a sensation of happiness over a life well-lived.

I pay my respects to five of them now. I knew them in varying degrees ranging from little to nothing. Mind you, I said, we number about two thosand, and we stay dispersed all over the globe. We are each immersed in our business but there is a common blood coursing through all our bodies and minds and that goes by the name of Ramakrishna Vedanta. This blood is no inert physical blood but a living energy bringing pulsating news of one to another.

This group of monastic brothers has been declared to be the present physical body of Sri Ramakrishna.

When you look at somebody you almost always look at his face, other parts just a bit, and many parts not at all. There are many well-known names in our group who are like the face of this body, but there are many, many others who form the most of the body, the heart, brain and other vital organs. And these are the ones hold the face forward. They are all called the Swamis and Brahmacharins of the Ramakrishna Mission.

Today I salute Swami Jnanaghanananda, Swami Anuktananda, Swami Jagannathananda, Swami Jnanarupaanda and Brahmachari Nityachaitanya of Hollywood