Newsletter November 14, 2012

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Swami Yogatmananda visits INDIA – Thurs. Nov. 15 through Thurs. Dec. 20

All 'daily- meditation & prayer schedules' and 'weekly- classes schedules' will continue as usual, with several guest speakers. Please check monthly announcements and weekly newsletters for ongoing ‘lecture-titles & speakers’.

 

Weekly Programs

Friday, Nov. 16	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on ‘Synthesis of Yogas’, by Srikanth Srigiriraju
Saturday, Nov. 17	8:30-10:30AM: Karma Yoga (cleaning & other works) 11:00AM - 12.00 noon: Guided Meditation and Prayer-music 7:00 – 8:00PM: Aarati (devotional singing), a short reading from Sri Sarada Devi The Great Wonder and meditation
Sunday, Nov. 18	5:00 – 6:00PM: Dr. Ram Murty (Kingston, Canada) will speak on ‘The Diamond Sutra’ 6:00 – 7:00PM- Soup Supper 7:00 – 8:00PM – Aarati (music, a reading and meditation
Tuesday, Nov. 20	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study class on ‘Songs in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: A General Introduction', by Sravani Bhattacharjee

 

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

Music Concert - Sun. Nov. 11, 6 - 7:30 PM

Famous vocalist of Indian Classical music, Shuchita Rao sang devotional music, accompanied by Rajash Pai on Tabla and Ravi Torvi on harmonium to about fifty music enthusiasts.

Salve Regina University Students visit – Mon. Nov. 12, 2 - 4:30 PM

Fifteen students, studying ‘Hinduism’ as a world religion, and their professor, visited Vedanta Society to learn about Hinduism and Vedanta Aspects from Swami; also asked several questions.

Click here to see photos.

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

Bhagavad Gita - Nov. 09, Friday

Ch. 15 Verses 16-20: Within each human being, there are two “I”s, or purushas, the changing and the unchanging. As spiritual aspirants, we must discern between that which changes and that which remains unchanged, while standing witness to the ongoing changes. Through ignorance the unchanging “I” becomes confused with the changing “I,” and therefore the quest to discover who the “I” is becomes life’s biggest challenge. In order to see the unchanging, ultimate reality we must remove our gaze from the changing “I,” as well as the seemingly unchanging “I” which becomes confused and identified with the changing. Both of them are unreal. The ultimate, supreme “I” is different from these two—It is the supreme reality, which pervades and appears as all of this world and the illusory “I” in it. By assiduously holding onto the idea that in reality we are that infinite being which is beyond time and space, the whole riddle of our true identity becomes solved and our lives become full of peace and bliss. For the saint, God is known as the Supreme or the only Real existence because He is the substratum of all appearance. The non-deluded person, who has seen the truth, knows that his own existence is divine. This supreme knowledge is available to everyone if we are willing to give up our attachments. If, however, we are unable to do this, the consequence is that we will not become wise—we will not know God as the Supreme Self of all.  By knowing this, all of our duties will have been accomplished and life is truly fulfilled.

 

Investing Wisely – Nov. 11, Sunday

When you consume something, then it is finished. Wise people do not consume everything they have, but keep something for sustenance later, like a farmer who keeps some seeds for sowing. If you sow one grain, you get much more. It pays to invest in something that will last long, and to investigate a firm to avoid being swindled. The two types of objective in investment are yield and growth. The process works on the principle of mutual benefit:  investor and the invested both have to get benefit from the process.

Recycling is an example of giving back to nature when consuming. Bhagavad Gita, in the 3rd chapter, speaks about giving back to the nature with gratitude, so that She will be able to give more. When we give love or a kind word, we get love or a kind word back. The same goes for bad deeds.

The goals are important while deciding the mode of investing. The goal of human beings is  to get highest happiness, and to get rid of suffering. When we invest in fleeting objects of the senses, we get frustrating suffering. The senses cheat us continuously. The Bhagavad Gita proposes that we do our actions as offerings to God, or with detachment. We do the same work, but with a different attitude. This investment is never wasted, and it delivers us from great fear, Bhagavad Gita says. Lord advices also that whatever we do, eat and sacrifice (e.g. give to charity) we should offer to God. It is investing it in God. In return, we can get peace and happiness from the Source of peace and happiness. God’s love is always there for us. Lord Krishna says that if you put your mind, intellect in Me, you will reside in Me, and life will be full of bliss. Sri Ramakrishna said that if you do 99 good deeds to a person and one negatively regarded deed, the person will remember the one negative deed, whereas if you do 99 negative deeds to God, and one good deed, God will focus on the one good deed.

 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class – Nov. 13, Tuesday

Master was explaining the concept of Ishta-the chosen ideal and the Guru. In the beginning of spiritual practices the Ishta appears as the Guru and walks by the disciple. At the culmination of spiritual practices the Guru merges into Ishta. In the state of perfect knowledge, there is no difference between the Guru and the disciple. They become identical. Ordinarily we see ourselves to be different from the world. This experience is due to the limited knowledge. When the knowledge reaches the zenith, there is no distinction. There is a story of Janaka and Narada where, Janaka asks for the fees even before giving the knowledge, as after the knowledge has been given, there is no difference between the Guru and the disciple.
One devotee - probably M- commented that it is like Guru's head and Disciple's feet. Guru and disciple become one as if they are one entity. Disciple's head belongs to the Guru - to give him the knowledge and Guru's feet belong to the disciple - to serve the Guru. This idea shows the oneness between the Guru and the disciple which is achieved from knowledge.
 There are two classes of devotees. One is like kittens that completely depend on their mother for everything. The first category of devotees give their power of attorney to the Lord and have the strong conviction that God is everything for them. Girish belonged to this category. He gave the complete power of attorney to Sri Ramakrishna. After that he could not do anything as per his own accord. The other is like monkey-child who tries to hold on to their mother with all might and vigor. They have little trace of ego. They feel that they can obtain the grace of the Lord by doing certain actions. This ego can be used in developing more love and devotion for God. Gradually as the devotee advances spiritually, his ego disappears and he realizes that God alone has become everything. Hence one must keep moving forward till the divine has been realized.