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If you have questions regarding spiritual life, Vedanta, Hinduism etc, you can email us at answers ATvedantaprov.org
Newsletter January 01, 2014
Upcoming Events
Please Note: NO FRIDAY ‘Karma Yoga’ class this Friday, Jan. 03.
7:00 PM Aarati will be conducted as usual. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
Long Meditation Session – Sat. Jan. 04, 11:00AM - 8:00PM
On Sat., Jan. 04 there will be 'Long Meditation Session' in the chapel, beginning with 11:00 AM 'guided meditation/music hour'. People wanting to participate must come before 12:00 noon, when the entry will be closed. Doors will open at 6:30PM for 7:00 – 8:00 PM Aarati (singing, a reading & meditation.)
Swami Yogatmananda to So. California – Fri. Jan. 03 - Mon. Jan. 06
Swami will be visiting Vedanta Society of So. California, Hollywood & Santa Barbara centers, early Friday morning, Jan. 03 and return Tuesday morning, Jan. 07th.
Day-long Spiritual Retreat - Sat. Jan. 11, 10:00AM - 7:00PM
Sub:Towards a Jewish Vedanta: Theory and Practice
Speaker: Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Award-winning author of several books and Prof at Middle Tennessee State University
Prior registration required. Registration Fee - $20.00 per person; For online registration - $21.00 per person
Click here for more information and to register online. (Schedule subject to change)
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Jan. 03 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: No Class tonight |
| Saturday, Jan. 04 | 8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 12:00 noon – 8:00 PM: Long Meditation Session; See details above. Aarati (devotional singing), a short reading will be conducted as usual at 7:00 PM |
| Sunday, Jan. 05 |
(Hatha Yoga Class on winter-break for Jan-Feb) 6:00 PM– 7:00 PM: Soup Supper; 7:00PM – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
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| Tuesday, Jan. 07 |
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM: : Vedanta Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch. 45, pg 872 |
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 ‘SRI SARADA DEVI: the GREAT WONDER’ 7:15 – 8:00 PM: Meditation |
Past Events
Wish-fulfilling Tree (KALPATARU) Day: Wed Jan 01, 2014, 11:00AM – 1:30 PM
Observing the anniversary of the special event of Sri Ramakrishna granting fearlessness to devotees on Jan 1, 1886, the program started at 11:00 AM with Swami Yogatmananda performing worship of Sri Ramakrishna, followed by flower offerings by devotees. The program also consisted of music, readings (passages from 'Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna' and 'Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play'), power point presentations (on the event that Sri Ramakrishna blessed devotees at Cossipore Garden House, Kolkata as well as the activities of Vedanta Society, Providence in the year 2013) and reflection-comments by Swami Yogatmananda. It ended with Potluck Lunch. About sixty-five devotees attended.
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 - Dec. 27 Friday
Swami Vivekananda emphasizes that we can achieve the same spiritual realization through karma yoga that can be reached through the bhakti-, raja-, and jnana yoga paths. To do so, we must have to “join the end and the means” and make our work into worship. He speaks about Pavahari Baba, who gave this message through his life. This is the secret. Working this way purifies us and lets our inner light shine forth. All duties are equally good: when carried out with detachment, their performance kills selfishness and sensuality. We must each follow our own swadharma or individual duty. In the next chapter of Karma Yoga, Swamiji teaches that by doing our duty, we help ourselves, not the world. Swamiji dwells on how our life makes use of symbols. Even the words and language are symbols for the knowledge and feelings inside. Moreover the symbols ‘evolve’ – same symbol gets more and more content. There are three parts to religion: philosophy, mythology, and ritual. Through rituals and symbols, the abstruse philosophy of religion enters into our consciousness; they are vehicles that bring us to a deeper understanding, but ultimately must be transcended. Symbols naturally evolve over time. In the next class we will see this as a metaphor for our own evolution and how we must progress in our understanding that our work does good to ourselves and not to the world.
Everything Comes to The End - Dec. 29, Sunday
An end is not ordinarily an end, but a new beginning. When the vehicle of the body doesn’t get us to a new destination, we get into a new body. Our problems come from clinging to life. We are searching for infinite life, happiness, peace, love, knowledge, etc. The infinite we are seeking is what we really are, and this is the end. If we try to describe God, we say something limited, which is not God. Both the saint and the sinner seek maximum happiness, only the saint knows the right direction towards happiness, and the sinner does not. There is no glory in the saint’s actions, because neither the saint nor the sinner can help what they are doing. The end or goal of life is an objective goal, that does not depend on our likes and dislikes, which themselves are not even rational. Swami Vivekananda said that the whole universe is moving in the direction of the infinite. Sri Ramakrishna never tired of saying that God-realization is the goal of human life. Thomas a Kempis, in The Imitation of Christ, said that we need to prepare for death every day so that when the time approaches, we will not feel that we need to make amends. He said that if we live in Christ, we can have eternal bliss. No one will sin if he or she is about to die.
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class - Dec. 31, Tuesday
Sri Ramakrishna says that the body is quite separate from the Self. Most of us identify ourselves with the body – whatever happens to the body happens to us. Some of us may intellectually understand this truth but do not quite realize it. Life of Sri Ramakrishna gives us an indication of this truth through his experiences. His body was in significantly advanced stage of cancer. But, this did not cause suffering to him as he knew that he was the ever blissful Self and not the body. He could not bring his mind to pray for curing the body – when he tried due to insistence of some close devotees.
The body is an important instrument for us to realize the goal of God realization. So, the body should be kept in good condition but only as an important instrument. Some people torture and mortify the body in the name of religious practice. This is not right. There has to be moderation so that the body and mind are not unduly strained. One should not pamper the body with all its wants nor should starve the body of its essential needs. A devotee sings a song that illustrates Buddha’s advice about this with an example of a string instrument (Vina) in which the string might break if overly tight and is muted if it is too lose.