Newsletter September 12, 2012

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Spiritual Retreat - Sat. Sept. 15 & Sun. Sept. 16

Sat. Sept. 15: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm and Sun. Sept. 16: 10:00 am-12:00 noon

Main Speaker: Swami Dayatmananda, Ramakrishna Vedanta Center, UK

Subj.: DAKSHINAMURTI HYMN (Hymn to Lord Shiva as Guru by Sri Sankaracharya)

Prior registration required. Registration Fee $30 per person (For online registration: $31 per person)

For more information and to download registration form OR Online registration: http://www.vedantaprov.org/spiritualretreat.html

 

Sitar Concert - Sun. Sept. 16 (6:00-7:30 PM)

Anupama Bhagwat from India will perform this Indian Classical music Concert. Tabla by Amit Kavthekar.

Suggested donation: $20.00/person. All are welcome.

 

Weekly Programs

Friday, Sept. 14	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 15
Saturday, Sept. 15	DAY-LONG RETREAT:9:30AM – 7PM; See details above.
Sunday, Sept. 16	RETREAT (continues):10AM – 12noon 5:00PM – 6:00PM: Swami Dayatmananda, (Bourne End, England) will speak on ‘Is Religion Relevant Today?' All are welcome. 6:00PM – 7:30PM- Sitar Concert - See details above.
Tuesday,Sept. 18	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class, Ch. 44 (Pg 836)

 

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

Universal Brotherhood Day - Sept. 09, Sunday

Interfaith Symposium on - Science and Religion: Conflict and Resolution

The yearly beginning of the fall session on the 2nd Sunday of September began this year with chanting by Swamis Tyagananda and Yogatmananda. Then Swami Yogatmananda welcomed everyone, saying that Universal Brotherhood Day commemorates Swami Vivekananda’s speech at the World Parliament of Religions on 9/11/ 1893 and the founding of the Vedanta Society of Providence in 1928. Sheela Krishnan, a student of Vedanta, read a selection from Swami Vivekananda.

Rabbi Amy Levin said that there is no conflict between Judaism and science. Jewish homiletics (misdrash), as well as Jewish law (halakha), utilize the study of science to know how to carry out the 613 commandments (mitzvoth), and to interpret the covenant with God in changing times.

Fr. Edward St. Godard said that faith and science are both searching for truth. Science asks how things happen, and faith asks why.

Dr. Bal Ram Singh noted a number of books by scientists that explore the confluence of science and religion. Scientists rely on experiments, and rituals of different religions may conflict, but spiritual knowledge is the ultimate knowledge.

Imam Farid Ansari pointed out that the Quran is a way to follow the guidance of God. We need to use our intelligence as well as rituals. Islam advanced science, particularly in its golden ages.

Professor Matthew Zimmt described science as observation, measurement, and making predictions that need to be consistent with the observations. A theory can be disproven but it can never be proven, because a future development might disprove it. People find meaning in religion, but sometimes rituals lead religion to clash with science.

Swami Tyagananda summarized the talks as mostly saying that there is no conflict between religion and science, or at least that religion and science should work together. Different religions, as well as different scientists, have their own worldviews. They express the same ultimate Reality in different words.

The talks were interspersed with singing/music. About one hundred and twenty people attended the program.

Click here to see photos.

 

Other events:

1) Swami Yogatmananda delivered talks in Livingston and Berlin, New Jersey on Sat. Aug. 25 and in Philadelphia, PA on Sun. Aug. 26.

2) Swami visited the Dallas, Texas Vedanta group from Tues. Aug. 28 through Friday Aug. 31st.

3) Swami conducted a retreat on ‘Brahma Sutra’ at Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgeley, NY on Sat. Sept. 01 and Sun. Sept. 02 to about thirty devotees. He returned late Mon Sept 03.

4) On Thursday, August 30, six  faculty and staff members of Moses Brown H.S. as part of their annual opening day agenda for  ‘service-to-the-community’,  gave  two hours of indoor and outdoor service to Vedanta: digging, planting, weeding; washing stairwells and hallways, and bookstore/computer works. We at Vedanta offer heartfelt gratitude!

5) Swami conducted a two hour class on Hinduism and Vedanta to thirteen students  in a ‘world religions’ class at Rhode Island College on Tuesday September 04, from 12 noon to 2PM and answered their questions.

6) Swami, with other interfaith leaders/members resumed the monthly ‘Attleboro-based’ interfaith group this month,  meeting at Community Covenant Church, Rehoboth MA on Thurs Sept 06 to discuss: "Does God know what will happen before it happens?"

Weekly Classes

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

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class – Sept. 11, Tuesday

Most of us want to lead a life based on the divine understanding as that will lead to ultimate happiness, peace, bliss or perfection. But it is not easy to transform our lives as per the understanding due to the worldly attachments and bondage. A great example of life based on spiritual understanding is seen in Sri Ramakrishna. One can see the bliss, perfection, immortality personified in Him. More than that, He has the capacity to know where we are stuck and how to remove these. He has given many ways and means to overcome these obstacles through His teachings and the examples from His own life out of His love and compassion for all.
The problem arises as we think that we need to search for happiness and peace somewhere outside. We keep on running after the world looking for the happiness in vain. We identify happiness with the outside world and get tangled in it more and more. Sri Ramakrishna has given two different paths to overcome this attachment to the world. One is the path of discernment - truly identify what is real and unreal. Give up that is unreal and hold on to the Real. Reinforce on your mind that the world is illusory.
The other path is of attaching oneself to what is Real. That will automatically reduce our attachment to unreal.
Sri Ramakrishna was physically suffering from illness but he always enjoyed the company of devotees. He was having a discussion with Pundit Shyamapada - a scholarly person about the path of knowledge. ‘When following the process of not this, not this, one’s mind comes to the ultimate Peace, then that state is Brahman’ – he told.