Newsletter June 05, 2013

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Swami to Huntsville AL - Sat. June 08 - Tues. June 11
Swami Yogatmananda will conduct a retreat on ‘Karma Yoga’ and deliver various Vedanta talks to devotees in Huntsville, Alabama (and nearby areas) over the weekend. He will return later Tuesday, June 11.

 

Update: 1) In June, all Tues. and Friday classes will be on Bhagavad Gita.

2) Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class will resume on Tuesdays in September.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, June 07	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: study class on Bhagavad-Gita Ch 18 cont.
Saturday, June 08	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00am – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing 7:00PM – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Sunday, June 09	5:00–6:00 PM: A talk on: ‘Dance of Shiva’, by Pamela Dee,with a Shiva dance by Shivali Gupta 6:00 PM– 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Tuesday, June 11	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: study class on Bhagavad-Gita Ch 18 cont. In June, all Tues. and Friday classes will be on Bhagavad Gita.

 

Daily Programs

Morning :	5:45 – 6:45 AM: Meditation 6:45 – 7:00 AM: Chanting followed by a short reading from The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 3
Evening :	7:00 – 7:15 PM: Aarti (devotional music), with a short reading from Swami Chetanananda's book: ‘Mahendra Nath Gupta ‘M’' 7:15 – 8:00 PM: Meditation

 

Past Events

1) Swami Yogatmananda attended the Brown University Baccalaureate Service, conducted in the First Baptist Church, No Main St, Prov., along with other religious/ department leaders on Saturday May 26.

 

2) Spiritual Retreat, Saturday, Jun. 01, 9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Swami Atmajnanananda, Resident Minister of  Vedanta Center of Gr Washington DC,   delivered two discourses on : VIVEKANANDA’S Song on Samadhi,  and provided answers in the Q/A session for 1 ½ hours along with Swami Yogatmananda. Sixty-six devotees, attended the day- long retreat, which consisted of the usual guided meditation; Yoga/Tai-chi session; devotional music/singing; refreshment breaks; two meals; chanting of Shyam-nama  Sankirtanam and Aarati.
3) Music Concert - Jun. 02, 6:15 - 8:15 PM
Pt. Uday Bhavalkar, Dhrupad-style vocalist from India performed, accompanied by Pt. Pratap Awad on pakhawaj to about forty music enthusiasts. Dinner followed.

Click here to see photo.

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated.)

 

Bhagavad Gita class -May 31, Friday

Ch. 18, Verses 40-44: Each of us has these three tendencies within us: satva, rajas, and tamas. Since we have the satva tendency within is us, it is possible for us to become calm, acquiring more peace in life. We must be aware that we have this intrinsic divinity within us, and that therefore we have a chance to realize the highest goal in life. But being in ignorance we must also beware of the rajasica and tamasica tendencies within us. Because each of these three tendencies is within us, we need to make continual and concerted efforts to cultivate the satvica tendencies and to curtail the tamasica and rajasica tendencies. In order to further cultivate the satvica tendencies in us, each of us should take up a work that is suitable for our particular spiritual constitution. There are four categories of people in society according to the varying combinations of the gunas. One who is by nature a Brahmin, having a preponderance of sattva, devotes life to the goal of higher knowledge, the cultivation of knowledge, the distribution of knowledge, and to the control of the senses. One who is by nature a Kshatriya, having a preponderance of rajas (but a rajas facing towards sattva), devotes life to the acquisition of money for the sake of enjoyment, to administration, and to charity. One who is by nature a Vaisyas, having a preponderance of rajas (but a rajas facing towards tamas), devotes life to the accumulation of money for money’s sake.
One who is by nature a Sudra has no initiative and works only under pressure of reward or punishment. Every person should perform works that correspond to their temperaments, so that they may flourish in life.

 

Bhagavad Gita class - June 04, Tuesday

Ch. 18, Verses 45-46: According to our individual constitutions, we each have a unique path that is most conducive to spiritual attainment.  It follows, then, that the path best suited for our neighbor will be different than the path best suited for us.  However, we so often make the mistake of abandoning our own path and try taking up another's; thus, the goal of life remains elusive. The end result, sadly is: we do not follow ANY path; we do not follow the one suitable for us, and the other is not suitable for us!  We become dissatisfied with our work and think that it is an obstacle in our spiritual development, and we want to abandon it and try doing something else.  But the message of the Gita is to make the work that’s before us, our duty, into worship.  If we can work in the right way, according to the path of karma yoga, then our work can become a great spiritual aid to us.  Rather than relegate two hours a day for “spiritual practice,” and the remaining 22 hours for secular life, we must convert all the actions we perform each day, into spiritual practice. 
The approach of the spiritual teacher must be to connect with what the student already knows, sees, and understands.  We see all the forms of the world around us, so if the teacher connects these things to God, we can begin to form an understanding of God.  The teacher should push the student to consider, “What is at the heart of all the things I see?  What is the source?”  Slowly we can see that God is the source of all.  And how can we connect to this source? By performing our work/duty, we worship that reality with our actions.  Thus we ALL have the capacity to achieve a connection to and ultimate knowledge of the Divine. 

 

Be Attached - a talk by Swami Atmajnanananda – June 02, Sunday
Sri Ramakrishna talked about three sets of opposites: vairagya and anuraga; pravritti and nivritti; and maya and daya. Vairagya is renunciation and dispassion. It is a prerequisite for monastic life. It is necessary in order to pull the mind back when it is distracted in meditation by something powerful. Anuraga is attachment to what helps us become free, such as our chosen Ideal. Just like dyeing cloth, spiritual life requires intensity (attained through holy company, solitude and routine); spending a sufficient amount of time in meditation; and purity through immersing the mind in the thought of God. Lord Krishna encouraged Arjuna to have pravritti, through being engaged in life, and fighting the battle of life, and nivritti, through being detached amidst it all. Maya is a positive attribute, such as a mother’s attachment to her child and a feeling of oneness with her child. Daya extends this oneness to universal love. Our ideal is in the lives of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and the Holy Mother, where we see their connection to people, along with a recognition that the divine is in these people. Sri Ramakrishna could get very worried when Narendra did not come see him, but he told Narendra that if he didn’t see God in Narendra anymore, he would not be able to even look at him.