Newsletter March 19, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

SPECIAL MUSICAL EVENT in MAY

 

 

Upcoming Events

Salutations! – Thurs. March 20

On Thursday, March 20, the birth anniversary of Swami Yogananda, 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.

Walk-in Hatha Yoga – Sun. March 23
Hatha Yoga classes are conducted every Sunday, from 10:00 – 11:00 AM, in the Lower Level (LL), by a Vedanta devotee. Walk-in rate is $5.00 per class. For details, contact Pat only at:  pat.blake8-AT-gmail.com

 

Sanskrit Class - Sun. March 23

Sunday Sanskrit lesson will be held 3:00 - 4:00 PM at the Vedanta Society premises. This will be the second of an eight-week series of lessons focused on Sanskrit grammar. Deepro Chakraborty, a Sanskrit-Studies PhD student from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a Sankrit instructor at St Stephens College, New Delhi, conducts the lessons remotely. Fees: $50 for the entire 8wk series. Contact only Srikanth (srikanth-AT-gmail.com) OR Abhijit (a_sarcar-AT-yahoo.com) for specific details.

 

Bharathnatyam Dance Classes – Sundays, 3:30 – 5:00 PM
To learn traditional South Indian Classical dance, taught by classical dancer Anuradha, please call her only at 704-707-5430 for complete information.

 

Sitar and Tabla lessons – Sundays, 4:00 – 5:00 PM
To learn to play beginner’s level sitar or tabla, taught by Koyel Ghoshal, please contact her only at koyelg-AT-yahoo.com

 

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

Subject: ‘Let us be Spiritual’

Speaker: Swami Ishatmananda, Minister-in-charge, Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago

Prior registration required. Registration fee: $20.00 per person (Online Registration: $21.00 per person).

Click here for more information and to register online. (Schedule subject to change)

 

Check out some of the archived Sunday Lectures (from Jan. & Feb. 2014) on our website:

http://vedantaprov.org/lectures.html

 

To read the latest 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 21	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class based on the book, ‘Karma Yoga’ of Swami Vivekananda, Ch 8 beginning
Saturday, March 22	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing 7:00PM Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Sunday, March 23	5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: 'Getting Connected,' by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00 PM– 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM – 8:00PM: Aarati (singing 2 devotional songs, a short reading and meditation)
Tuesday, March 25	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Vedanta Study Class on the book, 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna,' Ch. 47, pg 888

 

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. 4' 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

Bhagavad Gita class at Middletown, CT – Sun. March 16, 10:30 -11:30 AM

Swami Yogatmananda conducted the monthly Bhagavad Gita (Ch.14 cont.) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple in Middletown, CT from 10:30 - 11:30 AM.

 

Walk-in Hatha Yoga – Sun. March 16
Four students attended the Hatha Yoga class from 10:00 – 11:00 AM, conducted in the Lower Level (LL), by a Vedanta devotee.

 

Sanskrit Class - Sun. March 16
Six students participated in the first Sanskrit class held at the Vedanta Society from 3:00 - 4:00 PM.
Click here to see photo

 

Sitar-Tabla Concert - Sun. March 16

The 5 – 6 PM Sunday Service was followed by a two-hour Sitar-Tabla concert (with Chirag Katti on Sitar and Amit Kavthekar on Tabla), performed in the Lower Level (LL) to about fifty to fifty-five music enthusiasts. Dinner followed.

Click here to see 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 - Mar. 14, Friday
Each of us possesses a link between “I” and “mine.” This link is the source of attachment and bondage, and therefore needs to be cut asunder. Although the link between “I” and “mine” is fictitious, it is nonetheless very strong. Swami Vivekananda indicates that there are several ways to sever this link and to thereby give up all attachments. One way is to perform our works with the attitude that we are servants of God. When we believe in God and perform actions in a spirit of service, attachments decrease, eventually leading to the cessation of all attachments and to the attainment of mental peace. Though we experience the pull of various duties in life, our primary duty is to realize God. If we analyze the lesser duties of life penetratively, we see that they emanate from our attachments; more often than not, “duty” is a name we use to cover up our selfish desires and egotism. Given that certain duties need to be performed, we may ask to what extent do they need to be performed? In the process of using the instrument of duty, we become attached to that very instrument and hesitant to discard it. However, when we want to become truly spiritual, we must learn to transcend duty. By giving up the dualities of pleasure and pain, happiness and misery, and life and death, and working with the awareness that it is a blessing and privilege to have the opportunity to serve others, we can go beyond the relative duties of this world and attain to our primary duty which is the realization of God.

‘Exploring Connections’ – March 16, Sunday

Once the goal of Oneness is clear, we need to explore the practicality of how to get there. We have conflicting levels of awareness of a deep, profound sense of Oneness on the one hand, and an unshakeable feeling of shifting multiplicity on the other. Sri Shankaracharya said that all perceptions have these two components – ‘I & You.’ Everything one does is an attempt to bridge the gap between the perceiver and the perceived. We have desires for such things as protection, love, progeny, happiness, knowledge, and peace, which can all ultimately be satisfied only through Oneness. We cannot be protected unless there is no other to attack us. Love makes my and your house ours. We are happy when the eater and the cake become one. Knowledge is finding the law that unifies disparate events. Peace is assured in One-ness. The one word for satisfying all these desires is God, who is all Oneness. We pray to God for satisfying the desires listed above. The four Yoga-s to realize the state of Oneness are of: knowledge, love, work, and control of body and mind. Knowledge can be horizontal (within one plane) or vertical (transcending the plane). Lower knowledge is of transient things, while higher knowledge is of the Unchanging. Seeing the Oneness underlying everything is the only true love. We can do our work for God and form a connection to God. We can attain self-control to calm down the mind and see the Oneness that is. Through the yoga, we form connections and realize the Truth. 

 

'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' class - March 18, Tuesday
As the only purpose of assuming a human body is to help people realize the Truth, for Sri Ramakrishna, the disease and pain were no constraints in showering the grace. In fact he had said that there is a purpose behind this disease too. For, it will separate the true devotees from those who were coming for the worldly benefits. As the time is approaching for his departure from this earthly life, he is more eager to complete his mission of training the disciples. It is akin to someone is in a hurry to finish all works before leaving on a long journey.

M went to Dr Sarkar’s home to apprise him about the condition of the Master. Doctor’s devotional association with Master and the devotees is growing fast and today he tells M that he would like to give all the devotees a feast someday. This happens as a consequence of the loving relationship. Dr Sarkar had witnessed and also experienced the impact of the spiritual ecstasy on earlier day. He questions M if it is good to have ‘too much’ of it. M replies that there is no ‘too much’ for a genuinely spiritual ecstasy.

A question was asked about the distinction between a realized soul and an Incarnation of God. Answer: The difference is in the power of teachership.