Newsletter November 09, 2011

The New Chapel construction work is progressing well as per plans. Heating and Ventilation duct work, the electrical connections, plumbing is in different stages of completion. The sprinkler system installation is completed. Acoustic and Video system wiring is also in progress. The elevator installation has begun and it is continuing. The front porch construction is progressing as well. Most of the windows have already been placed. Click here to see New Construction - Updates and Photos.

Past Events

Salutations – Mon., Nov. 07 & Wed., Nov. 09

On Monday, November 07 and Wednesday, November 09, the birth anniversaries of Swami Subodhananda and Swami Vijnanananda (direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna), respectively, were observed in the morning with a chant and in the evening with a song, a biography reading and Prasad.

Interfaith Meeting – Thu., Nov. 03

Swami and a devotee attended the monthly ‘Attleboro-based’ Interfaith meeting on Thursday, November 03 conducted at Community Covenant Church in Rehoboth, MA to discuss ‘How do you see yourself as a healer or as a reconciler in our very divided world?’, with about fifteen other clergy and church lay members.

Weekly Classes

Bhagavad Gita class – Nov. 04, Friday

Recapitulation & Chapter 12, Verse 1

Conflict arises in our lives because we are not sure what the goal of life is and are attached to that which is impermanent. We are all seeking some understanding of what the purpose of life is so that we can orient our actions accordingly. Arjuna, too, grappled with questions of life’s purpose; after listening to Lord about the divine nature of our true Self, he understood that all names and forms are illusory and are superimposed on God. Imbibing this message and arranging our lives accordingly is known as Yoga. When we orient our lives towards God, we will see that God is what we have been seeking all along. Our whole lives we are searching for love and happiness. Just as when one connects to an electrical source in order to bring electrical power to a building, when we connect our lives to God--who is the source of love and bliss -- our lives will also become blissful and full of love. The process of doing this is simple – deceptively! Due to our attachment to the myriad names and forms around us, that which is actually simple gets very complicated. In orienting our lives toward God, we must remember not to hold enmity toward anyone, as these negative thoughts take us away from our goal. Lord Krishna advises us to choose the spiritual path that is most suitable to our individual constitution. There is no higher or lower path, no better or worse; all lead to the same goal. Arjuna feels that the path of meditating on ‘immutable and un-manifested Brahman’ is superior to that of devoting to the Lord manifested in form. So he asks the question. Lord will explain that Choosing the path that is most suitable to our capabilities and temperament will help to facilitate our success.

Monotheistic Religions in the light of Vedantic Non-Dualism by Father Paul – Nov. 06, Sunday

On the face of it, monotheistic religions (e.g., Christianity, Judaism, Islam) may seem very different from Vedantic non-dualism, but the two approaches are actually not in opposition to each other. In both approaches, there is a vast difference between knowing intellectually about something and actually experiencing it. In knowing God, it is all in the experience. As Swami Vivekananda puts it, (referring to a parable narrated by Sri Ramakrishna), "Stop counting leaves and eat the mangos." Certainly, listening and studying help at the beginning of one's spiritual journey, and many people initially hold superstitious sorts of views or have humanized God so much that God is more man or woman than God. Even when consciously on a spiritual journey, we vacillate between God as Absolute and God as immediately present. We are wrapped up in our own imaginary worlds, but regardless of what image we have of God, God is beyond that. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have some non-dual elements, as for example, in the New Testament Matthew (verse 5:48) states, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." And, as the 13th-century Islamic theologian mystic Ibn 'Arabi wrote, "Know that [Allah] is never in anything, nor is anything in Him. He is neither inside nor outside of anything." At a deep level, the seemingly monotheistic religions recognize an inflowing of the Divine into the human and the human into the Divine. And thus, at this level, we should seek the direct experience of God (i.e., eat the mangos rather than just learn about them). As we move along the spiritual path, our relationship with God will move towards Oneness.

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class – Nov. 08, Tuesday

The Car Festival was being celebrated at Balram’s house in Calcutta. Many devotees were gathered for this occasion enjoying Sri Ramakrishna’s blissful company. At that time Narendra started to sing a devotional song as per Master’s suggestion. This is a specialty of Gospel that it is full of such elevating devotional songs which take you to the realm of Spirit. Reason and emotions are two different tools which can be used to realize the Truth. Both are necessary; like a screw-driver is as necessary as a hammer. Music has the potential to arouse the emotions which can lead us to the Truth. The song thus goes – It asks for pure love for God. What we experience in our day to day life is just a reflection of that pure love. This true and pure love for God is called devotion. For such a devotee mere name of God is enough to arouse loving emotions. It asks ‘when the limitless desires will come to an end?’ In ordinary life our desires contradict each other and so they can never be fulfilled. When the contradictory desires are gone one achieves Purity. By obtaining wisdom, which is compared with collyrium to the eyes, one gets clear vision. The song asks about that art of alchemy which gives the elixir of life imparting immortality. It asks for philosopher’s stone that converts this body into Spirit.