Newsletter November 16, 2011

The New Chapel construction work is progressing well as per plans. Heating and Ventilation duct work, the electrical connections, plumbing 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. Almost all the windows have been placed. Inner walls are being put up now. Click here to see New Construction - Updates and Photos.

Past Events

Swami's trip to Maryland - Sat., Nov. 12 & Sun. Nov. 13

Swam Yogatmananda conducted a retreat on Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November13 to about fifty-five devotees on ‘Mandukya Upanishad’ at the Vedanta Center of Greater Washington in Silver Spring, MD. Swami returned to Providence on Tuesday, November 14.

Weekly Classes

Bhagavad Gita class – Nov. 11, Friday

Recapitulation & Chapter 12, Verses 1-3

Reading and understanding the Gita helps us attune each moment of lives to the goal of life: the realization of God, as only through the realization of God, will we get the happiness and peace we seek. In the Gita, the steps toward this goal are presented rationally, leaving no room for contradiction between reason and religion. Through a series of questions, Arjuna, a stand-in for all spiritual seekers, builds an understanding of the theoretical and practical system of God realization known as yoga. Like Arjuna, the theoretical understanding of God as our true self, is simpler to grasp than its practical implementation or Yoga. We can intellectually understand that God, and therefore all happiness, is within us; but turning this philosophical understanding into actual experience appears daunting. We are naturally inclined to choose the easy path. This is seen in the twelfth chapter, when Arjuna asks Sri Krishna to tell him which of the two paths outlined in the Gita - bhakti yoga and jnana yoga - is the “superior” one; Arjuna wants to be assured that he follows the ‘superior’ path. There is nothing actually superior or inferior – what suits one’s need is superior for that person. Sri Krishna replies that those who are fixated on Him (bhaktas, devotees) are the best yogis. Lord gives this advice because it is what is most psychologically suitable for Arjuna (and, therefore, for most of us). With this assurance from the Lord, Arjuna will be able to focus on this path without worry or insecurity.

Thank You by Dr. Kumar Murty – Nov. 13, Sunday

People give thanks and express appreciation for various reasons on multiple levels; all of us, however, can benefit from being thankful to our human teachers as a means to learning and growth. As Sri Ramakrishna states, " As long as I live, so long do I learn." Giving thanks and expressing appreciation keep the mind in an open and receptive state, and cooperation with others depends on appreciation and respect. Each person comes gift-wrapped in idiosyncrasies, and we must not be thrown off by them. Instead, we must exert viveka (discernment) to tease out the various strands that make up the mosaic of an individual's character so that we can appreciate them in a balanced way without judgment. At the same time, we must also appreciate ourselves. Such appreciation should not be on the basis of comparison with others or on achievement; instead, it should be an appreciation that extends beyond the mind, body, and thought. A person who appreciates himself and has faith in himself will also have faith in others. As Sri Ramakrishna explained, the mind is like a white cloth that takes on the various "colors" of our thoughts. If we condemn others, we take on that quality of condemnation. Yet through being positive and not complaining, the mind can attain a more elevated state, especially in the presence of Holy Company. The feeling expressed in a sincere "thank you" brings more love and less condemnation to others. At the highest level of spiritual appreciation, we can see the entire world, including our fellow beings, as Divine Substance. The deification of everything is the very basis of "thank you."

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class – Nov. 15, Tuesday

Sri Ramakrishna is listening to the singing of Narendra – His beloved disciple at the car festival celebration. The Car Festival is a very special festival for all Vaishnavas – devotees of Vishnu. After Narendra, Vaishnavacharan started to sing a song to Goddess Durga. To sing a song to Goddess Durga although being a devotee of Lord Vishnu, points out to a very special feature of Hindu philosophy of seeing One God in many forms. Listening to this song Sri Ramakrishna went into Samadhi. Description of his condition is provided here by M., but still it is beyond our intellect to understand that phenomenon. Generally one’s spectrum of vision is limited by the body and hence very narrow. One has the capacity to go beyond and experience the infinite, but one is so bound by this limited self that it is difficult even to imagine that infinite. Sri Ramakrishna is showing us by His own example, that we must use the body as a mere instrument to transcend this body consciousness. The chariot, carrying the images of Jagannatha (the Lord of the Universe) Krishna, Balaram (Krishna's elder brother), and Subhadra (Krishna's sister), was decorated beautifully at Balaram’s house for the car-festival. This particular form is known by a very significant and poetically sublime name – daru-brahma (the Brahman in wood).

The class ended with many interesting questions and answers discussing importance of group prayers and experience of Samadhi.