Newsletter April 10, 2013

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Swami to St. Louis, MO & Cansas City - Fri. Apr.12-Mon. Apr. 15

Swami Yogatmananda will be traveling to St. Louis, MO & Cansas City to conduct classes on various Vedanta topics. He will return on Monday afternoon.

 

Special Lecture - Wed. Apr. 17, 7:15 - 8:30 PM

As part of the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration of Swami Vivekananda, Philip Goldberg, the Celebrated Author of 'American Veda' will speak on - 'What Does Vivekananda Mean to America'.

Author will sign the books at the end of the lecture. ALL ARE INVITED

Click here to see the poster of this event.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Apr 12	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: : Video Lecture by Swami Adiswarananda
Saturday, Apr 13	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, Apr 14	5:00–6:00 PM: 'The Point of No Return' by Chester Boncek 6:00PM – 7:00PM: Soup Supper 7:00 – 8:00PM – Aarati (devotional singing) a reading and meditatione.
Tuesday, April 16	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study class on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - Ch. 45, p. 854

 

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 – 8:00 PM: Meditation

 

Past Events

1) On Sunday, Apr. 07, Swami Yogatmanand delivered a talk on ‘Vedantic Mysticism’  for the Swedenborg Theological Church, located at Bridgewater New Jerusleum Church, 2 Bedford St, Bridgewater, MA from 12:30 – 1:30 PM. In the afternoon, at Vedanta society, from 4:00PM – 4:45 PM, he discussed basic Hinduism and Vedanta to a group of students from the Unitarian Church, Fairhaven, MA.

2) On Thurs. Apr. 05, afternoon, Swami and one devotee attended the monthly interfaith meeting this time held at Second Congregational Church, Attleboro, MA.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

Bhagavad Gita class – Apr. 05, Friday

Ch. 18: Verses 9-10: In the 18th chapter of the Gita, Sri Krishna describes how attachment comes in our lives. All human beings desire freedom, but while we remain unaware, bondage creeps into life. The tension between our desire for freedom and bondage causes a jarring feeling, which may lead one to think, “Let me take up the life of a monk; then only freedom will be possible for me.” This is far from the truth. In reality, the external situation of an individual, whether that of a monk or that of a householder, is not the determining factor of his or her liberation. Krishna says to Arjuna that it is the cultivating of inner virtues and disciplines that are the determining factors for the attainment of freedom. The possibility of attaining freedom is equal for all of us.  In order to become free, we must make concerted efforts to build our spiritual lives by cultivating the necessary inner-virtues. These inner-virtues are cultivated by performing the work that it is our duty to perform and by offering the fruits of that work to God.  Often we choose work to perform, based on whether it is propitious or not, whether it entails a respectful, prestigious position in the society or not or whether we  like it or dislike it. These considerations behind doing or not doing a work generate attachments and consequent bondage and therefore, not right to determine which actions to take up.  Choosing which works to perform based on our likes and dislikes ultimately leads to attachment and greater entanglements in the world. When we cultivate steady wisdom, all of these delusions go away, and we see things as they really are. A person of steady wisdom does the duty—not because it entails the expression of their skills, or leads to fame, or to work satisfaction—but simply because it is the work that is given to them to do as their duty. By performing such work with all our heart and soul, we can steer clear of attachments and entanglements and achieve the freedom that is our true nature.

 

That Happens Only in the Movies – Apr. 07, Sunday

We have a tendency to be attracted to fiction, as evidenced by the success of fiction-books, movies, dramas etc. We identify and connect with the characters in fiction due to their similarity to the “real” world, as well as their differences. Harry Potter has happiness and sorrows, and friends and enemies, like us. We escape into fiction because the “real” world does not satisfy us. The idea of heaven, similarly, is like our world to an extent, but the problems of this world are not supposed to be there. There are bad people in both fiction and in the description of hell. We identify with the hero, not the villain. We can be in fiction only so long – the “real” world of jobs and hunger calls us back. Fanatics say that only people who believe what I believe, get into heaven. The Book of Revelation talks about both eternal peace on earth and eternal torture in hell. Jews and Muslims have similar stories. Swami Vivekananda said that heaven is the projection of our ideas of most intense pleasure and hell is the projection of our ideas of most intense pain. Just as our world does not satisfy us, fiction doesn’t satisfy us either. Swami Vivekananda talks about a small voice throughout the ages that is calling us from within, takes us beyond the contradictions of Maya. True religion is an escape from the “real” world but not an extension of it – it takes us to the world that is Really Real. Walking the passage to find God – the Unchanging Reality within you is yoga. Immortal life, while not available from an elixir, nor from fiction, is there. There is no need for fiction to go beyond duality. When we become one without a second, we have no enemies, as Jesus saw no one as an enemy.

 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – Apr. 09, Tuesday

Sri Ramakrishna is distributing the gift of bliss to everyone who is seeking that. Each one of us can get it depending upon his/her receiving capacity. Receiving capacity depends upon our spiritual urge. When one has the earnest desire for spiritual awakening, that is the sign that the time of spiritual fulfillment is not far away.
As one moves closer to God the limiting adjuncts start reducing their impact and the understanding becomes clear and clear. Same thing holds true in case of scriptures too. The scriptures are necessary to make one understand God. Once the understanding is clear, there remains no need of the scriptures.
In Samkhya philosophy there is duality of the perceiver Purusha - and the perceived - Prakriti. The ultimate conclusion of samkhya philosophy is -  there are infinite perceivers and hence infinite perceived. Vedanta philosophy mostly agrees with the Samkhya philosophy but there are some differences. It does not believe in infinite perceivers. There is the same self in all the perceivers. Moreover, the perceiver and the perceived too are the same - the one ultimate reality. This manifold universe is just an expression of the Atman.
Since it was the day of Vijaya - conclusion of Mother's worship, Doctor was offered some sweets and he said 'Thank You' for the sweets to the Master. Doctor said he could not say Thank you for the teachings of the Master, for how can these words convey that deep feeling of gratitude. Master commented that the essential thing is to fix mind on God. It is He also prescribed a little meditation everyday depending upon his/her capacity. Meditation is the great tool for spiritual development.