Newsletter March 26, 2014

 

 

Newsletter Archives

 

 

SPECIAL MUSICAL EVENT in MAY

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

Scheduling Mishap – Sun. April 06 & 13

Please note that there has been a scheduling mishap in the e-mail and paper monthly announcement for April.

• On Sun. April 06, Pravrajika Vrajaprana, Vedanta Convent, Santa Barbara, will speak on ‘Learning from the Ramayana’ (NOT on Sun. April 13)
• On Sun. April 13th, Prof Sukalyan Sengupta , UMASS/Dartmouth MA, will speak on: ‘Rama-Lakshmana Dialogue’

 

Swami speaks at Rudgers University, NJ - Sat. March 29

Swami Yogatmananda will be giving an evening talk at Rutgers University, New Jersey on Sat, March 29

 

Swami speaks at New Jerusalem Church, Bridgewater, MA - Sun. March 30

On Sunday, March 30, at 12:30 PM, Swami Yogatmananda will speak on "Swami Vivekananda and Spiritual Renaissance" at Bridgewater New Jerusalem Church, 2 Bedford Street,  Bridgewater, MA 02324

 

Walk-in Hatha Yoga – Sun. March 30
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 30

Sunday Sanskrit lessons are being taught from 3:00 - 4:00 PM at the Vedanta Society premises. This will be the third 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

 

Ben Baker's blog: Dualistic, Qualified-Nondualistic & Nondualistic approach on knowing Self through Sri Ramakrishna's life:

http://vedantaprovidence.blogspot.com/2014/03/sri-ramakrishnas-teachings_27.html

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, March 28	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
Saturday, March 29	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 30	5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: 'Becoming United,' 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, April 01	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 889

 

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

Salutations! – Thurs. March 20

On Thursday, March 20, the birth anniversary of Swami Yogananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, was 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
Three 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 second Sanskrit class (all classes on written translation & grammar) held at the Vedanta Society from 3:00 - 4:00 PM

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

'KARMA YOGA' (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda) Class - Mar. 21, Friday

The goal of karma yoga is freedom.  This is the destination toward which we are heading when we take up spiritual practice, and it benefits us to keep our eyes on this destination.  Practicing yoga means both the intellectual understanding of the path to reach this goal, and its practical application.  The four yogas categorized by Swami Vivekananda -- raja yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga -- all lead to this same goal.   For most of us, a psychologically-suitable practice will draw on more than one of the yogas, depending on our temperament.  Usually, though, there will be one type of yoga which is most prominent in our spiritual life, again depending on our psychological predispositions.  

Regardless of which yoga we take up, we should practice discernment to decide whether something is real or unreal, permanent or impermanent.  When we spend time discerning this, we get the most important tool in our quest for knowledge -- unattachment.  If we discern for ourselves that something is impermanent, we will not get attached to it.  We may fear that removing our attachments will be really painful; on the contrary, these attachments are the source of pain!  Utilizing the path of yoga will take us to our goal of freedom and knowledge.  We all have "scope to progress," no matter our temperament or station in life. 

‘Getting Connected’ – March 23, Sunday

We all want to reach the goal of Oneness and have some idea of it. The four yogas are applied in every religion, under different names. Human beings vary in temperament and intensity of the four characteristics of discernment, emotion, activity, and concentration. Concerning Jnana Yoga, we may know what is right, but our likes and dislikes take over, and prevent us from doing what is right. The Taittiriya Upanishad points out that we have the means or the instruments, namely our mind and senses, to attain the goal, but we need to direct them toward the Unchanging, and refine our practice away from likes and dislikes, and strengthen our practice. As Henri Poincare pointed out, we need to make sure our activity is for a beneficial purpose. Regarding Bhakti Yoga, we need to direct our love to the Source of attraction. This takes yearning (reminding ourselves over and over again that this is what I want), patience (because it happens gradually), and sacrifice (giving up names and forms). Regarding Karma Yoga, we must get rid of inertia, give without expecting anything back, and know that God is the doer. Regarding Raja Yoga, we must aim to control the body and mind, and not the world. We must do this meticulously and methodically. We must practice relentlessly because it may take quite a long time. One needs strict discipline. Our personality gets lifted when there is a spiritual connection. We can see results such as our happiness no longer depending on the situation, and real love being felt more.

 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' class - March 25, Tuesday
Sri Ramakrishna was towards the end of His play in the physical body. In these last days, His disease acted as a true test to decide who were real devotees and who were coming to Him only for material well-being. During His last days, only those who had the spiritual urge were visiting Master and were assisting in nursing. This illness also worked as a reason to transform the scientifically oriented Dr. Sarkar into a spiritual seeker. The powerful and loving company of Sri Ramakrishna and His devotees brought about this transformation in him.

One significant sign of spiritual progress is reduction of ego. This happens as the person starts identifying him/herself with the Universal existence and not the individual existence. When Dr. Sarkar mentioned about Mahima Chakravarty's pride to M. M commented, out of his own experience, that his ego will not last long in Master's company. Master had jolted M's ego in his first one or two visits. He also mentioned about the transformation that took place in Vidyasagar's personality after meeting the Master. As the conversation continued around Dr. Vidyasagar, M mentioned that how he did not pay much heed to the emotional expositions of spiritual awakening like ecstasy. Dr. Sarkar seconded this opinion. Master used to say that Dr. Sarkar was a "deep soul" - not easily shaken by the emotional effervescence. This is considered as a great quality. Otherwise there is a tendency of getting misguided by the emotional fervor which is not necessarily a result of spiritual development always. The conversation then turned towards Sri Ramakrishna being a worshipper of Kali.