Newsletter February 12, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Chinmay ‘Swaranjali’ Music – Sun. Feb. 16
Chinmaya Swaranjali Boston, a devotional music group who perform regularly at Chinmaya Mission in Andover, MA, will perform  ‘Music as Bhakti Yoga’ from 6:00PM – 7:30PM, immediately after the 5-6PM Sunday Lecture. All welcome. No entry Fee. Donations accepted.

 

Salutations! – Fri. Feb. 14
On Friday, Feb. 14, the birth anniversary of Swami Adbhutananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, will be observed in the morning meditation with a chant, and in the evening Aarati, with a song, a biography reading and prasad.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Feb. 14	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on the book ‘Karma Yoga’ by Swami Vivekananda
Saturday, Feb. 15	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing 7:00PM – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Sunday, Feb. 16	5:00PM – 6:00PM: A talk on ‘Who Never Grows' by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00 PM– 7:30 PM: Chinmay 'Swaranjali' Music Concert
Tuesday, Feb. 18	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 - 8:30 PM: Vedanta Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch. 45, pg 882

 

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 Brahmananda: As We Saw Him: Reminiscences of Monastic & Lay Disciples'(compiled/edited by Swami Atmashraddhananda) 7:15 – 8:00 PM: Meditation

 

Past Events

 Attleboro MA Interfaith Group Meetings – Jan. 09 & Feb. 06
On Thurs. Jan 09, Swami Yogatmananda and seventeen other clergy/congregation members of  the Attleboro-based Interfaith group met at Concordia Center for Spiritual Living, Warwick RI to discuss Rev. Ian Taylor’s question: What attributes of your faith tradition do you believe are  highlighted by the life of Nelson Mandela? Did his life in any way offend your faith tradition?
On Thurs, Feb. 06, Swami Yogatmananda and fifteen other clergy/congregation members met  at LaSalette Shrine, Attleboro MA, where Father Pat Sullivan spoke on ‘The Eucharist: The Source & Summit of Christian (Catholic) Life’, followed by answering of questions.
Middletown High School - Tues. Feb. 11

Swami Yogatmananda spoke about and answered questions about basic Vedanta/Hinduism for two Middletown, R.I High School religion classes, of about a dozen students each, in the morning and afternoon on Tues. Feb. 11.

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 - Feb. 07, Friday

True happiness consists in killing selfishness. The goodness of charitable acts consists in their ability to diminish our sense of self-importance. As we act charitably, we think about others, our sense of self-importance reduces, and an expansion of personality takes place. This expansion of personality gradually enables us to regard our little egos as transitory. All of the yogas—karma, jnana, bhakti, and raja—ultimately culminate in the ideal of self-abnegation, i.e. the removal of the little ego. This ego is our primary obstacle to the realization of the truth that we are actually infinite spirit. The yoga of devotion teaches self-abnegation by encouraging us to dissolve ourselves in God, thus surrendering ourselves completely at the feet of the Lord. The yoga of knowledge teaches self-abnegation by showing us that there is no existence to the little ego; it is a continuously shifting material. The yoga of work shows us that the same truth can be seen and experienced through the performance of unselfish works. As we work for others with a spirit of detachment from the results, the central effect is self-abnegation. The ego starts vanishing. As that happens, we see that we are in reality the infinite Self. Each of us possesses two tendencies: a tendency to head outwards towards the world, and a tendency to head inwards towards the Self. When we realize that the so-called pleasures of the world are like a mirage (in that the more we run towards them the more happiness recedes from us) we begin to head inward, thus seeking less and less for ourselves from the world. Ultimately the performance of karma yoga results in total unselfishness and the complete awareness of God. 

 

Yoga=Working Skillfully - Feb. 09, Sunday
Religion is a practical science. Without knowing how to practically reach the goal, it is of no use to understand the various theories. The second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita explains that the Self is immortal while the body perishes. Lord Krishna goes on to teach Arjuna a step-by-step course to practice Yoga. We need to do work with no expectations, because expectations create bondage. We need to accept success and failure with equanimity, and not get caught in our work. The Gita states that Yoga is the skill in work. The skill consists of being detached from the results of our work. People would ask Sri Ramakrishna how they could be detached from work when they had a family, and he would tell them to relate to their families like a nanny, who knows the children are not hers, while doing all the works related her duty towards the kids. Yoga requires strenuous, regulated, methodical practice for a long time. We need to be patient if we do not achieve detachment right away. We have a choice whether to meditate or not, and we may not have beliefs that allow us to pray, but everyone has to work. We should work in a skillful way; that is – work, but not get attached.  Vivekananda says: ‘The greatest cause of sorrow is that we  get caught in work’. Lord Krishna says to be confident that illumination will come if we follow this simple, straightforward path of doing work.

 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class - Feb. 11, Tuesday

As a routine practice, M went to Dr. Sarkar's house to report about Master's health. During the conversation, Dr. Sarkar mentioned how he could not stop thinking about the Master all the time. Master, when He was told about the same, commented that the Doctor was indirectly meditating on Him. Doctor - an educated modern man, could not be directly told to meditate on Sri Ramakrishna – he won’t listen.

Vijaya Goswami, a former prominent member of Brahmo Samaj arrived to see the Master. He strongly believed that there was complete manifestation of Divine in Master. There is no need to go anywhere. When such firm faith is developed, the other things in life appear to be insignificant. Mind rests in God alone. Master recognized such high state of Vijay. 
Master said, he felt very ashamed when He comes out of the state of Samadhi-intoxication. The reason being due to the limitations of the words, He could not explain His experience similarly nobody could grasp the depth of that experience. But while in that state Master used to lose control over His body and overrule the so called code of conduct. Master said God is beyond the logic and reasoning. He is beyond one and two. One can't conceive God through knowledge or reasoning alone.