Edward Viljoen

Born Again: A Hindu Perspective

2026-10-03T14:15:40.134-07:00

This Sunday, we begin our exploration of Hinduism with “Born Again: A Hindu Perspective.”

We’ll travel in our imagination to the banks of sacred rivers in northern India, where tens of millions of pilgrims gathered for the Maha Kumbh Mela. They came with different names for the Divine, different beliefs, and different ways of worshiping.

They also came to bathe in waters believed to offer freedom from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

That cycle is called samsara.

Karma is what keeps it turning.

Karma is often treated as a cosmic scorecard. Hindu teachings offer a richer idea. Every choice creates movement. Our repeated actions shape us, and the person we become influences what we choose next.

Think of rain running down a hillside. Each rainfall follows the path carved by the water that came before it. Eventually, the groove becomes so deep that the water has difficulty flowing anywhere else.

Hindu wisdom also raises the possibility of freedom. A different action can begin reshaping the path.

During Sunday’s message, we’ll consider what reincarnation means within several Hindu traditions and why being born again may be less desirable than it first sounds. We’ll also explore a question that reaches into our present life:

What am I causing to be born again through me?

Perhaps there is a pattern you’ve carried long enough. Perhaps another way of responding is ready to take form.

Consider joining us tomorrow as we begin this journey into Hindu wisdom.

Sunday, October 4
9 and 11 a.m. in person
Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa
2075 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

The 9 a.m. service will also be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.

Who Is Rich? The Answer Is Eight Words Long.

2026-09-26T13:41:27.997-07:00

A teenage boy was riding his bicycle down the road when a gust of wind knocked him into the path of a truck.

He lost his leg that day. Years later, a rabbi noticed that this young man was one of the happiest people in the community and asked him for his secret.

His answer surprised everyone who heard it. It has stayed with me for years, and tomorrow I'll share it with you.

We're in the middle of our series on the world's religions, and this Sunday we turn to Judaism. About two thousand years ago, a sage named Ben Zoma asked a question that sounds simple: "Who is rich?" His answer fits in one breath. You may find yourself carrying it into your week, as I have.

Here is some of what we'll explore together.

A morning practice from Jewish tradition that takes about ten seconds and can change the way your day begins. You can try it Monday morning before you reach for your phone.
The teaching of one hundred blessings a day from the Talmud, the great collection of rabbinic teaching and debate, and what happens to your attention when you start looking for things to be grateful for.
The story of Rabbi Milton Steinberg stepping into the sunlight after a heart attack nearly took his life, and the image he gave us for loving what we cannot keep forever.
A personal story about the night my father died in South Africa, and what I learned about meeting life as it comes.

If this has been a week of small blows, or a season of bigger ones, this message is for you. If life is going well, you'll leave with a practice to help you notice it while it's happening.

We'll close with a spiritual mind treatment on turning to the stillness within for peace, courage, and resilience.

After the second service, I'm offering a workshop on foundational ideas from Science of Mind. We'll look at how the words we use and the thoughts we return to shape the way we meet our lives. Stay and join us. Click here to register for the workshop.

I look forward to being with you.

EdwardSunday, September 27, 2026

Services at 9:00 and 11:00 am, in person and online
Workshop following the 11:00 am service
Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa
2075 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa, CA
Watch online: CSLSR on YouTube

What Are You Practicing?

2026-09-19T16:40:19.807-07:00

Think of someone you find difficult.

Someone whose choices you don’t understand. Someone whose behavior has disappointed you. Perhaps someone you have stopped trying to understand.

Now consider this: What if that person possesses an inherent sacred worth?

And what if you do, too?

This recognition doesn’t excuse harmful behavior or erase the need for boundaries. It gives us a larger way to see ourselves and one another. We can hold someone accountable while remembering that no human life can be reduced to its worst moment.

That sounds like a beautiful spiritual ideal. Then comes the harder question:

How do we live it?

Jewish tradition has wrestled with that question for thousands of years. The Torah has been read, chanted, questioned, interpreted, debated, and passed from one generation to the next. Beneath all that study is an intensely practical concern: How shall we live?

Our answers take shape through practice.

Every time we keep our word, offer generosity, listen before reacting, or repair harm, we strengthen a path within ourselves. Repeated choices form character. They influence the kind of person we are becoming and may even make the path clearer for those who follow us.

Tomorrow we’ll explore Jewish teachings about sacred worth, spiritual practice, and teshuvah, the possibility of returning when we have lost our way.

You may leave with a clearer sense of the practices shaping your life right now. You may recognize one place where dignity and accountability can stand together. You may discover a step toward repairing a relationship, renewing a commitment, or returning to something within yourself that remains whole.

The spiritual path doesn’t require a flawless record. It asks for a willingness to notice where we are, remember who we are, and choose our next step.

The path becomes clearer each time we choose to walk it.

“People of the Book” with Dr. Edward Viljoen
Tomorrow, Sunday, September 20, at 9 and 11 a.m.
Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa
2075 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa
The 9 a.m. service is also livestreamed at cslsr.org.