Newsletter June 19, 2013

 

Newsletter Archives

Notice

 

1. Vedanta Society of Providence will close for summer break from June 23 to September 07. The Sunday Service and regular weekly classes will resume from September 08 onwards. A few special programs will be conducted during this hiatus – please see the summer schedule that will be available by the end of this week.

 

2. Please return all library books and journals by this Sunday,  June 23, the last Sunday Service before the sumer break. Thank you. The library will be open only on Tuesdays July 09 – August 20.

 

Upcoming Events

 

Sabad-Kirtan – Sunday, June 23
Amritpal Singh will perform ‘Sabad-kirtan’ on Sunday, June 23 at Vedanta Society immediately after the 5:00 – 6:00 PM lecture in the Lower Level Hall. He will be accompanied by Rajesh Pai on tabla. All are welcome.

 

Update: 1) In June, all Tuesday and Friday classes will be on Bhagavad Gita.

2) Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class will resume on Tuesdays in September.

 

Blog

Who is the free and the bound bird? You can find out by reading the latest post on our blog. Please click here.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, June 21	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: study class on Bhagavad-Gita Ch. 18 cont.
Saturday, June 22	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing 7:00 – 8:30 PM: Aarati (devotional singing), a short reading and meditation
Sunday, June 23	5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk on Going on vacation by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00 – 7:30 PM: SABAD KIRTAN with Amritpal Singh (vocals & Harmonium) and Rajesh Pai on Tabla 7:30 PM: Aarati (devotional singing) and dinner

 

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
Evening :	7:00 – 7:15 PM: Aarti (devotional music), with a short reading from Swami Chetanananda's book: ‘Mahendra Nath Gupta ‘M’' 7:15 – 8:30 PM: Meditation

 

Past Events

 

Yoga Teacher Training – Saturday, June 15
Nine ‘newly accredited’ yoga instructors and their teacher came to Vedanta Society on Saturday afternoon, June 15, 1:30 – 3:30 PM to learn about the various yogas taught here. They asked Swami several questions. Click here to see photos.

 

Bhagavad Gita class at Middletown CT– Sunday, June 16
Swami conducted the monthly Bhagavad Gita class at the Satyanarayana Temple, Middletown CT (Chapter 13 cont.) 10:30 – 11:30 AM. About 22 devotees attended.

 

Annual General (business) Meeting – Sunday, June 16
The Annual General Meeting was conducted on June 16 6:00 – 6:40PM, immediately after the Sunday Service lecture attended by 26 people. It was presided by Ann Gnys, a long-standing Vedanta devotee. Sukalyan Sengupta read the minutes of the previous year (2012) annual meeting. Alagavadi Vishwanath read the 2012 detailed Annual Report. Paul Williamson read the summary of income-expenditures for 2012. Swami Yogatmananda thanked everyone for their support and cooperation, especially in light of proposed new community classes/programs to enhance/enrich the ‘Vivekananda Cultural Center’ (Lower Level Hall) during this 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Click here to see photos.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

Bhagavad Gita class - June 14, Friday

Ch. 18, Verses 54-60: Lord Krishna explains that the path of knowledge and the path of action lead to the supreme goal of life, which is the highest devotion to God. The path of devotion also leads to the knowledge of God. We can begin to love God by performing actions that connect us with God. By performing actions that generate a loving connection with God, we receive what God possesses, namely the realization of the unchanging, permanent Reality. If we surrender to God by mentally offering all of our actions to Him, we will become free from worries and insecurity, and all the difficulties in spiritual life will be overcome/ transcended. We must see that the presence of God is with us, and is taking care of us in various forms. If we rely on the ego instead of on God, we will miss the opportunity to connect with Him. Although we are compelled to act according to the innate tendencies of our nature, we can overcome egoism by connecting with the God who is in our heart. 

 

Bhagavad Gita class - June 18, Tuesday

Ch. 18, Verses 60-66: In our study of the Gita, we have seen that this text lays out the goal of life--spiritual realization--and the means of meeting this goal--the different yogas, or spiritual paths.  Sri Krishna explains that the spiritual path of each person should be determined by his or her psychological type.  God is the reality within everyone.  We cannot escape this, and, indeed, we have an innate sense, however faint it may be, of this intrinsic divinity.  We have an awareness of ‘permanent’ and an intrinsic sense of truth, guiding our actions.  It is according to this Truth that we judge ourselves and others, and we rely on this Truth to form connections between causes and effects.  This ever-constant sense of permanence and Truth is actually the Divine that is within us. Not perceiving this and perceiving the passing show of ‘I & world’ is MAYA. Deluded by it all beings act; just like puppets. We must remember that God is not only within us, but is within EVERYTHING.  Therefore, we should rid ourselves of feelings of enmity toward others, since God is within those too.  In order to realize Truth, we must surrender to God.  We naturally feel revulsion to surrendering and giving up our ego, but we must do it in order to realize God. Surrendering ourselves to God, we will get the peace and blessedness that we seek.  As Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of Heaven, and everything else will be added unto you."  Many people wonder about the principle of grace, why grace is necessary in spiritual life?  God cannot be realized by our efforts alone, for, if we could realize God just by concentrated efforts, then that God would be a limited God. Therefore, we have to surrender ourselves and rely on the grace of God for our liberation and illumination.  In His grace, because we are all dear to God, God (Sri Krishna) has presented this vital knowledge in the Gita. 
This rather long class ended with many interesting q-a. Next class on Friday, 6/21will be the last class on Gita.

 

Doing Business – June 16, Sunday
The word business is used to mean a focused, purposeful activity that will benefit and profit us. While doing business, we keep all other distractions away, keep our emotions and personal likes & dislikes away. In life, we want to fulfill an important purpose, and not to waste time. Most people feel that money is very beneficial in life. Often, people find that their efforts to gain money are not fulfilling, and only create further cravings for money. Purposes like getting fame or pleasures last only for a short while;  but objectives keep shifting, and we chase them like a soccer ball. The sages of many traditions have taught us to put God at the center of our lives because that is the only true and only profiting purpose of life. So, achieving that is the business. Just listening to Sri Ramakrishna stating that, will not make us feel it. We need to work to feel it. We need to understand it clearly, and hold on to it with resolve, no matter what distractions may come our way. Lord Krishna said to Arjuna that His teachings are to be taken up with an attitude of business, or vyavasaya, and not as a mere pastime. We must pursue this business and avoid everything else, including our likes and dislikes. Otherwise, modifications of what we want keep branching out infinitely. Swami Vivekananda taught that the means are equally as important as the end. He said that if we hold on to the means, the end must come.