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If you have questions regarding spiritual life, Vedanta, Hinduism etc, you can email us at answers ATvedantaprov.org
Newsletter October 16, 2013
Upcoming Events
Swami Yogatmananda Travels – Sat Oct 19
Swami will travel early Saturday morning to North Carolina to deliver Vedanta talks. He will return late Monday evening, Oct 21st.
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
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Oct. 18 |
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. 19 | 8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 7:00 – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional singing), a short reading and meditation |
| Sunday, Oct. 20 |
5:00–6:00 PM: A talk on: ‘Songs on Mother Durga’ by Pravrajika Gitaprana; Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgeley, NY |
| Tuesday, Oct. 22 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: study class on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Ch. 45, pg 865- by Pravrajika Gitaprana |
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) About one hundred thirty devotees attended the day's festivities. Sri Durga puja ritual worship was officiated by Swami Yogatmananda from 11am - 1:00pm. After prasad luncheon, there were videos shown on Durga puja held in Belur Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Mumabi, India, followed by music. Swami Yogatmananda delivered a lecture on Mother Durga's Special "War that Restores Peace" (see synopsis below). Chanting of Sri Sarada Sankirtanam and classical Indian dance performance by Prafulla Velluri was enjoyed by the devotees. Aarati and dinner followed.
2) On Wed. Oct 09, at 5:30PM, Unitarian Sunday school children, teachers and parents visited to learn about basic Hinduism and Vedanta from swami.
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. 11, Friday
Unselfishness can make one a moral giant. The selfish person is always impatient, always seeking to acquire more and more. The unselfish person has no such intention, and thus, through restraint, becomes a superbly moral person. Think of dams: the power associated with their flow, once restricted, is transformed into electricity. Practicing self-restraint is the secret to having a life full of blessing and control. We must ensure that the strength and willpower we generate through the performance of unselfish actions matches the degree of self-restraint we, in fact, practice.
If the power generated is more than the amount of self-control possessed, then that power could spell disaster in life. By practicing the appropriate moral disciplines, our bodies and minds become strong and capable of exercising control over our energies. The more we practice self-control, the more our willpower will become stronger and stronger. This may lead us to continually postpone our spiritual practices. Unselfish work builds this willpower and self-restraint. We must do work and do it without attachment, without craving for results. As we work with persistence, gradually our selfishness will melt away, and we will find that we are very peaceful and content, even in the midst of difficult works.
Mother Durga’s Special War that Restores Peace- Oct. 13, Sunday
Politicians often claim they are fighting wars to bring about peace, but they merely instigate more wars. The universe is actually our reflection, and the problem is not in the reflection but in us. The Durga Saptashati contains 700 verses on Mother Durga. In one story, a king and a merchant are thrown out of their homes, but each cannot give up attachment to, respectively, his kingdom and his family. The sage they consult tells them that we are all deluded by the appearance of I and the world, so we get attached to the world. In Divine Mother’s first story, the demons ‘Madhu’ & Kaitabha’ who represent the subject-object division, fight with God, who is asleep, meaning that He is not aware of His true, all-pervading One without-a second Self . The Goddess defeats the demons by making the Lord wake up. Then comes the story of defeating the demon Mahisasura which represents ego; here the Goddess is a harmonious unity of all forces in us. In another story, demon ‘raktabeeja’ (=blood-seeded) that multiply when each drop of his blood hits the ground. This represents desires that multiply when we attempt to satisfy them. Mother Durga defeats the demons by finding our real desire, which is Oneness.
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class by Swami Vidyanathananda - Oct. 15, Tuesday
Sri Ramakrishna is telling how he prayed to the Divine Mother to show him that which the Karma-Yogis and Jnana-Yogis and Bhakti-Yogis reach. Path of Karma, path of yoga-meditation and path of Jnana - discrimination are the three different paths to realize the spiritual ideal. By following the path of karma one achieves the realization of oneness of the doer, the action and the fruit of the action. S/he sees the same Brahman everywhere as the ultimate achievement of this path. The path of yoga teaches one to control the mind and realize the oneness with the Divine. The path of knowledge enquires into the real nature of self by constantly discriminating between real and unreal.
If one studies Sri Ramakrishna's life carefully, one can witness all the three paths in his life. In the initial years it was constant practice of karma yoga by way of ritualistic worship of Divine Mother. We also witness how that has led him to the experience of universal oneness - seeing the same Divine everywhere. One also sees his continuous practice of path of Yoga - Meditation which brought the constant communion with Divine Mother. By practicing path of knowledge He could go beyond the object of meditation understanding the real nature of God/Brahman/Truth. He could cut asunder the highly cherished image of Divine Mother with the sword of knowledge.
Mere knowledge of these paths is not enough for us but we must try to tread on these paths from wherever we are to march forward on the journey of spiritual realization.
The session was followed with many questions and answers.