Newsletter March 05, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Swami to Indianapolis – Sat. March 08
Swami Yogatmananda is traveling to Indianapolis IN early Saturday morning to conduct a retreat and Vedanta Classes. He will return late Sunday night.

Day-long Meditation – Sat. March 08, 11AM – 8:00PM
This will begin with 11:00 AM 'guided meditation/music hour'.  People wanting to participate must be in the building  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).

 

Daylight Saving Time (United States) 2014 begins at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 9

 

Walk-in Hatha Yoga Begins – Sun. March 09
Hatha Yoga classes, from 10:00AM – 11:00AM, conducted in the Lower Level (LL) on every Sunday, by a Vedanta devotee, are resuming  this Sun. March 09. Walk-in ‘n Pay $5.00 per class. Contact Pat only at:  patblake8-AT-gmail.com. regarding  details.

Children’s Sunday ‘Spiritual-Arts & Storytelling’ Class – Sun. March 09
The ‘Kids Only! children’s program (ages 5-12 ) will be conducted from 4:00PM – 6:00PM under the guidance of Prof Dorothy Abram. Please e-mail Dorothy only at:  Dorothy.Abram AT jwu.edu for any questions.

 
Sitar-Tabla Concert –Sun. March 16
Immediately following the 5-6PM Sunday Service lecture, Chirag Katti (Sitar) and Amit Kavthekar (tabla) will perform in the Lower Level(LL) from 6:00PM – 7:30PM. Allare welcome. No entry fee. Donations accepted.

 

Spiritual Retreat - Sat. April 26, 9:30am - 7:00pm

Click here to see the details.

 

To read a new post on our blog (a poem about Unity), please visit:

http:// vedantaprovidence.blogspot.com/ 2014/03/unity.html

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, March 07	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class based on the book ‘Karma Yoga’ of Swami Vivekananda
Saturday, March 08	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing 12 noon - 8:00 PM: Long-Meditation Session, includes 7:00PM Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Sunday, March 09	5:00PM – 6:00PM: ' Practical Renunciation: Learning from Sri Ramakrishna’ by Donna Maurer 6:00 PM– 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Tuesday, March 11	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 - 8:30 PM: Vedanta Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch. 45, pg 885

 

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

Sri Ramakrishna Birthday Celebration - March 02, 11am - 7pm
About eighty devotees attended in the 11AM – 1PM worship/public flower offering; which was followed by prasad luncheon. A video 'Sri Ramakrishna A Documentary' was shown which was followed by devotional music program. Fifty-five devotees attended the three-speaker symposium on Sri Ramakrishna from 5PM – 6PM (see synopsis below). The program ended with Aarati, chanting the 108 names of Sri Ramakrishna and dinner.

Click here to the photos.

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. 28, Friday

In the 7th chapter of Karma Yoga, Swami Vivekananda describes many salient features of karma yoga, while further elaborating its intricacies. What does it mean to be attached to work? The performance of work inevitably gives rise to more and more work. When we do an action, the effect must follow, and, therefore, we become bound by work. This is known as the Law of Karma. What is a “law”? Vivekananda explains that “law” is the method or manner by which we grasp a series of phenomenon; it is the recognition of the tendency of a series to repeat itself. He emphasizes that “law” exists solely in the mind. When a thought wave arises in the mind, corresponding thought waves arise and psychological associations form. Causation is an aspect of this process of association and does not extend beyond our minds. All laws, and all conclusions based on those laws, have no possibility of existing beyond the mind because there is no causation beyond the mind. Insofar as we are body and mind, we do not possess freewill. There is, however, an aspect of ourselves which is free, but appears bound through the lens of space, time, and causation. Although we are bound on all sides, this intimation of freedom gives rise to a persistent craving for absolute freedom. In order to attain this freedom, we must go beyond this universe. We will discuss two methods to achieve this goal in the next class.

 

Symposium on the Life & Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna – March 02, Sunday
Teresa Guerra spoke on Sri Ramakrishna, Breaker of Our Worldly Bondage. An incarnation is the greatest power of God in human form. Teresa gave examples of Sri Ramakrishna in bliss despite his illness, and his going out of his way to serve others, often transforming their lives. Sri Ramakrishna can break our worldly bondage by becoming our connection with the divine.  
Ben Baker spoke on understanding the idea of self IN THREE STAGES dualist, qualified non-dualist and absolute non-dualists and how Sri Ramakrishna connected each stage with the Ideal at that stage i.e. how to reduce or annihilate the self. The dualist stage is self as obstacle. In this stage, the individual reaches out to an external God. The qualified non-dualist stage self is part of the Whole. The non-dualist stage is the self as all-pervading existence. We reach the final stage, attaining which, there is nothing more to be attained.
Swami Yogatmananda said that Sri Ramakrishna’s life was his teaching. Stages of the self can be compared to three steps, which do not contradict each other, since we can walk up and down steps. The Divine assumes human form, so we can realize the Truth. God-realization is the only thing that can bring satisfaction in our lives. If we get something, and there is still desire, struggle continues. We can look at Sri Ramakrishna as a principle, and as a person who demonstrates the principle.

 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class - March 04, Tuesday

Sri Ramakrishna's awareness was not at all related to the body. He was in a blissful state ever in spite of His bodily discomfort. Not only that, He was distributing that joy to everyone around Him.
On Dr. Sarkar's enquiry about the music on his daily visit to Master, Master asked Narendra to sing.  Narendra sang a song describing the power of God's name. One can experience the concrete presence of the divine in the name, it is not just a symbol. The name is a very powerful tool by which one can come closer and closer to God. Just the name or thought of God is powerful enough to remove any worldly desires from ones heart. If we have the faith in the potent power of the God's name then it can take us to the pinnacle of spiritual progress.
Narendra sang another song mentioning the importance of God's love removing the necessity of knowledge and logic. The wine of  Divine love removes the worldly entanglement and gives one the sense of freedom. When such state comes, it removes the attraction for the worldly things. Such a person can't follow the so called rules of this world. In the Master's company, everybody experienced the Divine presence after Narendra's soulful singing. Everyone was uplifted to a Divine consciousness where each one forgot the awareness of the surroundings. After a while, Master asked Dr. Sarkar about his opinion regarding the state of divine intoxication. Dr. Sarkar - a science scholar, admitted that it is not a deception or hoax; in fact, he himself felt the same.