Newsletter October 09, 2013

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

DURGA PUJA/WORSHIP DAY – Sunday, Oct. 13, 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
11:00AM – 1:00PM: Durga Puja - Ritual Worship
1-2:00PM: Prasad luncheon
2:30 – 3:30PM: Video on Durga
4:00 -4:45PM: Devotional Music
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Lecture on ‘War That Restores Peace’
6:00 – 7:00 PM: Chanting Sankirtanam, Dance, Aarati & Prasad Supper
All are welcome.  No entry fee.

 

On Wed. Oct 08, at 5:30PM, Unitarian Sunday school children, teacher and parents will visit Vedanta Society to learn about basic Hinduism/Vedanta.

 

Sanskrit Language Classes: - Beginning Sun. Oct 20
Beginning Sun. Oct 20 from 3:00PM – 4:00PM, Shanthi (www.yogaforhappiness.com) will teach an eight (8) week class ($ 65.00 fee) on Sanskrit grammar, simple sentence conversation and pronunciation skills illustrating from Gita verses, stories & songs. This is for verbal/reading skills. Recommended Prerequisite: Knowledge of any Indian Language. Contact Vedanta Society.

Bharathnatyam Dance Classes – Sundays 3:30 PM – 5:00PM
To learn traditional South Indian Classical dance, taught by classical dancer Anuradha, please call her only at 704-707-5430 for complete information.

 

Hatha Yoga ‘8-session’classes: Click here for the .pdf Flier

Hatha Yoga classes are beginning at Prov. Vedanta in the Lower Level (LL) beginning FRIDAY, September 20 from 5:30PM – 6:30PM & on Sunday mornings from September 22, from 10:00AM – 11:00AM.

Early-bird’ price special for eight (8) classes (Friday only or Sunday only or mixed) is $35.00; Drop-in rate is $5.00/per class. Registration and Liability forms are to be filled. Contact pat.blake8@ gmail.com

NO  Hatha Yoga class THIS Sunday only (10/13) as there is a full-day Durga Puja Program.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Oct. 11	5:30 PM – 6:30 PM: Hatha Yoga class 7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: study class to begin on ‘KARMA YOGA’ (based on the book of Swami Vivekananda)
Saturday, Oct. 12	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing 7:00 – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional singing), a short reading and meditation
Sunday, Oct. 13	11:00 AM - 7:00 PM: DURGA PUJA/WORSHIP DAY; See details above.
Tuesday, Oct. 15	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: study class on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Ch. 45, pg 864

 

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 7:00 – 7:25AM – A short ritual worship/Puja. Open to all.
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) On Thursday, Oct. 03, Swami Yogatmananda, and ten church leaders/congregation members participated in the monthly ‘Attleboro-based’ interfaith group, this month conducted at the Vedanta Society. Swami Yogatmananda spoke about the Vedanta philosophy and answered questions.

2) On Friday, October 04, the birth anniversary of Swami Akhandananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, was observed in the morning meditation with a chant, and biography reading and prasad in the evening.
3) Fifteen devotees participated in the Long Meditation Session on Sat. Oct. 05 from 11:00AM - 8:00PM.
4) On Sun. Oct. 06, Swami Yogatmananda  conducted  the monthly Bhagavad Gita class (Ch.14 beginning) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple (10 Training Hill Rd, Middletown, CT) from 10:30-11:30 AM.
5) Six Children partook of the first Sunday ‘Spiritual-Arts & Storytelling’ Class (First Sunday of each month) on Sun. Oct. 06 from 4PM – 6PM with  Prof. Dorothy Abram, J & W University and two parents. For future children's class, contact: Dorothy.Abram AT jwu.edu.

6) On Sun. Oct. 06, aAfter the lecture, Kalashree Prof. S. Mallanna beautifully sang devotional songs in Kannada. Marathi and Hindi from 6:00PM – 7:30PM. Ravi Torvi accompanied on Harmonium and presented songs in Marathi & Hindi. Nishikant Sonwalkar accompanied on Tabla.

Click here to see the photos.

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

KARMA YOGA (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda) class - Oct. 04, Friday

According to principles of karma yoga, our daily actions are the vehicle which brings us to an understanding of Truth.  All knowledge is within us, and as we work, the knowledge within becomes manifested.  Performing work builds up our will-power over time.  At first, when presented with a challenging task, we may feel dejected and unsure of our ability to perform the work necessary.  Once we begin to work, and work repeatedly/continuously, we will generate power.  We must work to the extent that we’re able and do our best; our best is all we can do.  There are some people who avoid doing work altogether, and another class of people who insist that they’ll do the work but never follow through.  Then there is a third type of person who you can always rely on to follow through.  These are people with strength of character; their strong character transforms their words into action.  We all have the ability to strengthen our character in this way--by generating will-power through unselfish work.  Working unselfishly is best, however, if we are unable to work unselfishly, then we should work selfishly (imperfect work is better than no work at all).  So many of us are motivated by seeking fame or acknowledgement from others, but the karma yogi learns to work for work’s sake. 

 

At War with Peace - Oct. 06, Sunday
Everyone wants peace, for its own sake, and not as a means to an end.  Yet, it is so elusive. Always we find fights and wars are going on at every level - individual, family, national - even scriptures seem to advocate war. e.g. Bhagavad Gita and Bible.  Individuals,  and countries want peace, but they first want to eliminate the evil people. We do not see that the same evil is in us, which is congealed in the ego. The real cause of disturbance is desire. Even desires to help people disturb the peace. We fight over how to help people. Desire and anger are two sides of the same coin.  Anger is obstructed desire. Desires come from ignorance of our divine, perfect nature, in which we lack nothing. The Holy Mother’s final piece of advice was: “If you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others.” When the ego and desires go away, what remains is peace.

 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class - Oct. 08, Tuesday

Sri Ramakrishna tells Dr Sarkar that it is difficult to believe that God can incarnate in human form. It is hard to comprehend how all-pervading God can appear in a limited human form. He explains that absolute and relative are two aspects of God. Due to our ego and pride, we think that we can comprehend God and we end up imposing human limitations on Him.

Sri Ramakrishna says that it is impossible for our little intellects to comprehend God. Therefore, one should trust the words of holy men who have seen God. They are free from desires and have no ulterior motives in advising us. This faith in their words (Shraddha) is critical in beginning the spiritual journey. Unless there is the faith that the destination is real, one will not take the first steps towards the destination. In this journey one needs to develop finer intellect to see God. This is the special instrument required for the purpose. It may take significant time and patience to develop this instrument. But, for a true aspirant, this journey is not optional because the objects in the world are futile and can only be a source of grief.

There was long discussion on several questions, which were asked at the end of the class.