Newsletter January 18, 2012

Weekly Classes

Bhagavad Gita class – Jan 13, Friday

Ch. 12 Recapitulation:

According to Vedanta, that which is changing is unreal, and that which is unchanging is real.  The world is changing, therefore it is unreal.  Our true nature is divine, unchanging; therefore it is real.  We have seen in the first twelve chapters of the Bhagavad Gita that, through his counseling of Arjuna, Sri Krishna provides us with the practical method--yoga--by which we can distinguish and move from the unreal to the real.
Sri Krishna outlines two paths--karma yoga and bhakti yoga--which will bring an aspirant from the changing/unreal to the unchanging/real.  According to karma yoga, we must work with the knowledge that actions done in the wrong way are sure to bind us.  How to work in the proper way?  If we know that we have no claim to the results of our actions, we will avoid creating new bondages for ourselves.  We must also avoid laziness and indolence, which will bind us further by making us attached to inaction.  The path of bhakti or devotion is suitable for most of us because we are primarily driven by our emotions.  Because of our confused sense of what is real and unreal, our emotions constantly rush towards that which is changing (unreal); Bhakti is the turning of the emotions toward God.  In the coming chapter (Chapter 13), Sri Krishna will outline the distinction between the knower and the known, a point which, once understood, can bring illumination to our lives.

Symposium on Swami Vivekananda - Jan. 15, Sunday
Charles Feldman reflected on Swami Vivekananda's preaching of courage and strength.  Swamiji had advised: "Some people can get closer to God through playing football than reading the Gita." Swamiji encouraged that we should dwell in our intrinsic divinity and preached fearlessness. Unselfishness is equated with strength, and thus he would have us live fearlessly for the sake of others. Fear, in contrast, is the cause of degradation.

Mukta Puranik spoke about Swami Vivekananda's western women associate/disciples and the qualities that he so admired in them, including their independence of thought and action, high level of education, entrepreneurial spirit, purity of heart, and kindness. There was Kate Sanbourne in Massachusetts, Mrs. G. W. Hale, whom he called Mother Church, and her daughters and nieces helped Vivekananda a lot in his work. In New York, Josephine Macleod became his friend and confidante; Swamiji greatly admired her common sense.  So also Sara Bull. Swamiji especially admired Sister Nevedita (Margaret Noble) for her independent spirit and enterprising abilities.  Swamiji's ideal of womanhood was Sri Sarada Devi, who combined the greatest qualities of Western and Eastern women.

David Cordeiro explained the practical psychology of the four yogas, as expounded by Swami Vivekananda, who highlighted the importance of nonattachment, self-abnegation, and unselfishness.  Nonattachment is expressed in each of the four yogas.  In Raja yoga, which centers on control of the mind, nonattachment is expressed through the yamas and niyamas, in which self-abnegation is the center of morality.  In Karma yoga, nonattachment takes place through renouncing the fruits of one's actions, and in Jnana yoga, it is apparent through the denial of everything that is not the Self. Finally, in Bhakti yoga, nonattachment develops naturally as the love for God increases. All these paths are connected, inter-linked, and lead to the same goal of Realization of the Self.
In conclusion, Swami Yogatmananda expressed that it is strength that makes us progress; anything that makes us weak we should reject as poison. Swami Vivekananda ushered in women's empowerement in a different way, by encouraging them to create their own path of liberty.  The practice of yoga is an internal, psychological change, which then expresses on the outside.  Swami Vivekananda provides many such teachings that we can continue to imbibe on the spiritual journey.

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class – Jan. 17, Tuesday

Sri Ramakrishna was a master in customizing his advice as per the individual constitution and his/her receiving capacity. He was having a discussion with Nanda Bose about applicability of laws of the universe to the God. Intellectuals believe that the same law is applicable to human being as well as God. Sri Ramakrishna commented that when one has the desire to enjoy the world, s/he thinks that way. When the mind is dwelling on the enjoyments, the world appears to be real. There is nothing in the world that can be truely enjoyed. But still the mind hankers after that. The moment one frees himself/herself from this great mistake of finding reality in the world, the knowledge appears automatically. Till then the higher truths do not come into awareness. Regular spiritual practices generate the understanding, which can help to come out of this trap.
When one listens to such higher truths, somewhere within s/he accepts that but the basic desire for enjoyment tries to find out an escape from this. Nanda asked Sri Ramakrishna "is God partial?". But Master gave an interesting answer. God has become everything in this world. To whom can he show partiality? When the idea of oneness is felt the idea of partiality disappears. One needs to transcend the pleasures and pains to feel the oneness. This can be achieved with spiritual practices as advised in the scriptures.
Nanda asked " why are some wise and some ignorant?" This question comes to everyone's mind. But the only answer to this is the sweet will of God. Everything cannot be logically reasoned out. The world is creation of the Lord; By His mere wish anything can happen. Master sang a song emphasizing this point.