Newsletter February 06, 2013

 

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CANCELLATION NOTICES

NO BHAGAVAD GITA class this Friday, Feb. 08 due to projected blizzard conditions

NO GUIDED MEDITATION PROGRAM (11:00AM – 12:00 noon) this Saturday, Feb. 09 due to projected blizzard conditions.

Please spread the word especially for those without computer access.

 

Vedanta Society Blog

The blog of Vedanta Society has interesting posts and comments. All are invited to post and comment on this blog. Please read here the rules and regulations for this blog.

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

Salutations! – Tuesday, Feb. 12

On Tuesday, February 12, the birth anniversary of Swami Brahmananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, will be observed with a morning chant, and in the evening with a song, reading of his biography and prasad.

 

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Feb. 08	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Class on Bhagavad Gita is CANCELED
Saturday, Feb. 09	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning is CANCELED 11:00am – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing
Sunday, Feb. 10	5:00 – 6:00 PM: Kingdom of Heaven by Swami Yogatmananda6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM: Aarati (devotional music) and meditation
Tuesday, Feb. 12	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study class on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - Ch. 44, p. 846

 

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
Evening :	7:00 – 7:15 PM: Aarti (devotional music), with a short reading from Swami Chetanananda's book: ‘Mahendra Nath Gupta ‘M’' 7:15 – 8:15 PM: Meditation

 

Past Events

 

Swami Vivekananda Worship Day – Sunday, Feb. 03

The full day program of Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary celebration began at 11:00 AM with puja/worship comprising: ritual worship, food & flower offerings, a 15 minute reading of ‘Voice of Vivekananda’, Aarati, and flower offering by the attending 75 devotees; the afternoon's video on ‘Vivekananda by Vivekananda’ and the ½ hour music offering; the three-speaker symposium from 5:15 PM – 6:15 PM, followed by the chanting of Sri Shiva Sankirtanam and dinner (prasad). See below for speaker synopsis. Click here to see photos.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

Bhagavad Gita – Friday, Feb. 01

Ch. 17, Verses 4-11: As we saw in previous classes, all have a combination of the tendencies of sattva, rajas, and tamas, with one of these predominating in all of us. These tendencies inform the type of faith we have. Sri Krishna uses the word “shraddha,” which is loosely translated as faith or belief. Shraddha has a deeper level of meaning associated with it; it means something which has the power to change your life. The type of one’s shraddha determines the actions of a person, and so influences religious life of that person. Lord Krishna goes on to explain the types of worship, austerities, and sacrifices performed by the three different temperaments, as well as the types of foods preferred by each of the three types. Those with sattvika shraddha worship the gods, perform sacrifices and austerities with no desire to receive anything from them, and eat foods which satisfy hunger and sustain life. Those with rajasika shraddha worship deities who are powerful and victorious in battle, and perform austerities and sacrifices in order to gain strength and power. They like sour, hot, and spiced foods. Those people with a predominance of tamasika shraddha worship departed spirits ghouls and goblins, perform severe austerities to cultivate occult powers, and eat stale, tasteless foods void of nutrition.

 

Symposium on Swami Vivekananda – Sunday, Feb. 03

Chester Boncek gave a talked based on "Flashes from Swami Vivekananda" a small drivers' license sized book. Chet explained that the verses in Flashes need to be studied carefully by using Swamiji's other works to give the proper context and complete meaning otherwise one runs the risk of misinterpreting the verses. One such concept which has caused misunderstanding in the world is that of idolatry. Another topic explored in the talk was that of hope, hopelessness and the meaning of vairagya or dispassion. A summary of the key points included the following: We are taught that God, Reality, Truth is Infinite. It cannot be imagined as any image of the Infinite is finite and thus a lesser Truth. The Vedanta verse (from from Swami Nikhilananda’s Hinduism: Its Meaning for the Liberation of the Spirit.pg 174 ) highlighted this point. “Oh Lord in my worship I have attributed forms to Thee who are formless; O Thou teacher of the world, by my hymns I have, as it were, contradicted Thy indescribable nature. By going on pilgrimage I have denied Thy omnipresence. O Lord of the universe, pray, forgive me these three transgressions.” Because we are limited in this way Swami Vivekananda advises: “put down Advaita for the time being and become a dualist.” Since we need an image, pick the one which will most quickly take us to the Highest. Not the false gods of ego, money, fame, but some Holy form which will gradually inspire us to see God’s presence in all. Swamiji’s ideal was serving God by serving humankind. Several verses included in the talk explained the role of help and service as viewed and taught by Swamiji. The talk concluded with a short powerpoint video presentation accompanied by a song titled: "Wander 'Til The Day I Die" by Kez Ban an up and coming blues artist who was auditioning for the show American Idol. Although her song was not written about Swami Vivekananda it appropriately described the wandering life style lived by Swamiji as he travelled over the world for his mission.

Rohan Vakil discussed Swami Vivekananda's view on sin, evil, and judgement. Swamiji denied the existence of sin, indicated in many of his speeches and written work. Swamiji argued that all humans are divine, but are ignorant. Sin, therefore, is not disobedience to God, nor is it the disobedience of a divine Law, but rather is a personal loss. It is harm that is done to oneself. And why would someone do harm to themselves, unless in a state of ignorance? The problem then is identifying what actions are good and what actions are bad. If there is no sin, then how are we to decide? These decisions are entirely contingent on the viewpoint or stance that one takes when looking at the dilemma. However, we can again find solace in the words of Swami Vivekananda: “The World is a grand moral gymnasium wherein we all have to take exercise so as to become stronger and stronger spiritually.” We evolve and mature spiritually over time. Your judgments on sin and your ethical dilemmas and challenges are part of the gym, and you are only getting stronger with every decision, and with reflection of each decision. Ultimately, it is not the action that is good or bad, but the intent. We move not from bad to good, but from truth to truth. From Lower truth to higher truth.

Rituparna Bhattacharya: Swami Vivekananda said “Religion is a practical science, so it is practice first, and knowledge afterwards”. Vedanta teaches oneness or unity of Self. Every human being must have a goal & ideal in life. There are two tendencies in human nature: 1) to harmonize the ideal with the life 2) to elevate the life to the ideal. Thus practical Vedanta is a conscious and deliberate way in life leading to realization of our TRUE nature. It is timeless. and true practical religion never changes.

 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – Tuesday, Feb. 05

The Master was moved to Shyampukur, Calcutta on account of his illness. It was easier for his disciples to serve him there and to make arrangements for constant medical help. It was the day of Vijaya - the last day of Durga Puja. During Durga Puja, it is the tradition to worship the divine Mother - an image of the Mother with tremendous love and respect. Devotees establish a loving relation with the Mother and get attached to that image. This can be achieved with the love and emotions involved in the process of worship. The presence of Divine Mother starts to feel so real that on the last day, it becomes impossible for the devotees to let Her go and to immerse the image. One of Master's close devotee , Suren was also sad with the thought of immersion. Master tried to console his beloved disciple. Mother's worship is done to awaken the presence of Mother in our hearts. Master blessed him that may the Mother dwell in his heart. This is the principle behind the Mother's worship. Master told Surendra about His vision in which He saw the Mother's worship at Suren's house. Then Master was talking to M. The conversation turned towards study of Gita. Master asked M if he knew the meaning of Karmayoga. M mentioned that there are three ways in which actions are performed - out of knowledge, to teach others and under the natural impulses.