Newsletter June 11, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Day-Long Spiritual Retreat - Sat. June 14, 9:30am - 7:00pm

Sub: Living Spiritually

Speaker: Swami Prasannatmananda, Vedanta Society of Berkeley, CA

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.)

 

Devotional Music Concert – Sun. June 15
Dattatreya Velankar will sing classical devotional music on Sunday June 15, immediately following the 5-6PM Sunday Lecture, from 6:00PM – 7:30PM,in the Lower Level(LL).

 

Dates for Summer Programs:

1) Young Adult Retreat - July 25 - 27

2) Silent Meditation Retreat - August 1 - 3

3) Children Camp - August 12 - 16

 

Ongoing Weekly Classes

1) 'Walk- in' Hatha Yoga Classes

Saturdays, 5:00 – 6:00 PM: Instructor: Hannah Ressenger; for details: 401-473-4372, key2lyfe-AT-gmail.com

Please note: No class on Sat. June 14

Sundays, 10 – 11 AM: Instructor: Pat Blake; for details: Pat.Blake8-AT-gmail.com

2) Sanskrit Class – Sundays, 3:00 – 4:00 PM

Sanskrit grammar lessons will continue to be held on Sundays, 3:00 - 4:00 PM. 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 (but students gather in the Vedanta Society premises). Interested students who are willing to join the classes must have some prior exposure in Sanskrit (these are not beginning level lessons). Contact only Abhijit (a_sarcar-AT-yahoo.com) for specific details.
3) Bharathnatyam Dance Class – Sundays, 3:30 – 5:00 PM

On ‘hold’ for family emergency these next couple weeks.
Contact Anuradha at 704-707-5430 for complete information.

4) Sitar and Tabla lessons – Sundays, 4:00 – 5:00 PM
Contact Koyel Ghoshal: koyelg-AT-yahoo.com

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, June 13	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Class # 6 on ‘Bhakti Yoga’ (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)
Saturday, June 14	9:30AM – 7PM: Day-long Spiritual Retreat See details above.
Sunday, June 15	5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk -‘Swami Vivekananda and Ethics’ by Swami Prasannatmananda (Ved. Soc. Berkeley,CA) 6:00PM – 7:30 PM: Classical vocal music concert by Dattatreya Velankar; followed by singing Aarati
Tuesday, June 17	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 47 pg 901

 

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

1) Swami Yogatmananda was in San-Francisco, California from Monday, June 02,  and returned  on Friday June 06.
He also visited Vedanta Societies in Berkley & Sacramento, CA and gave a talk at the Sacramento Center on 'Mysticism & Music'.
2) Swami traveled to Pittsburg, PA on Saturday morning, June 07 and conducted a retreat on Sat. & Sun. to about thirty-five  devotees at a developing Vedanta group there.

Click here to see photos of some past events.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)

'Hanuman: Embodiment of Surrender to God' - a talk by Swami Nikhilatmananda – Fri. June 06
(based on Ramcharit Manas with Hindi chanting)
Swami expounded the incidents related to Hanuman beginning from his first meeting with Rama at the Rishyamuk mountain and continuing about his exploits in Lanka. Swami also sang verses from Ramacharit-Manas related to theses incidents.
Twenty-seven devotees attended this talk.

'Goddess Saraswati' – a talk by Pamela Dee – June 08, Sunday
Hindu deities are various expressions of the One Self . Saraswati is the Goddess of learning, knowledge, wisdom and the creative arts. With the mantra Om she manifested all worlds. Sri Ramakrishna said that Sri Sarada Devi was Saraswati, who, in this incarnation, hid her beauty and was full of wisdom. When we are attuned to the ways of Saraswati/Sarada Devi, we can discern the ways language can be used to liberate us or become compulsive and harmful. Students invoke Saraswati before starting to study. Sri Ramakrishna sang in a manner that was indescribably sweet, which comes from Saraswati. Creative people keep a picture of Saraswati on their altar, for they know that inspiration is impossible without her. We can have an experience of Saraswati in our daily lives. We must die to the past, and attain the constant newness and freshness of life. Even if we don’t create music, we may tap our foot to music, feel like dancing, or sing in the shower. When Swami Vivekananda spoke in Chicago, he had no planned speech. He asked for Saraswati’s grace and was confident that she would give him the words to say. To get Saraswati’s grace, we have to let go of the idea that we are the doer of something. Saraswati’s grace comes in innumerable ways, such as through other people, through events in our life, or through our own insights. This talk closed with a reading of the Saraswati Stotram, translated by Swami Yogatmanandaji.
Shivali Gupta then presented a dance that she choreographed based on the Saraswati Stotram.

 

Study Class 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - June 10, Tuesday

Sri Ramakrishna says that what Brahman is cannot be described. When someone who has not eaten Ghee and asks how Ghee tastes, one cannot describe this taste. The only thing that you can say is that it tastes like Ghee. Descriptions are useful only for common perceptions. We tend to associate reality to common perceptions. But, our perceptions depend on the instruments that carry them and cannot be accepted as Reality. Our perceptions are essentially Reality distorted by the senses. We have to go beyond these instruments and perceptions to perceive the Reality as it is. Brahman, that is the universal Reality, cannot be perceived and hence it cannot be described either.

The key question then is how do we go beyond these distortions and see the Reality as it is. Sri Ramakrishna says that it is because of ego that we cannot perceive the Reality. One cannot attain true knowledge unless one goes beyond the limited “I” of the body and the mind. The body and mind impose limitations on us that limit our infinite self. It is only when we go beyond the limited “I” that we perceive the real Self. We need to realize that, it is God who does everything. We only do what God allows us to do. E.g. a paralytic cannot even lift his own finger. We are like a machine that God operates. There is really no difference between human beings and machines. Both are operated by God. Human beings are special in that they have the ability to transcend this limited existence with the help of the faculty of discerning what is “right” and “wrong”. It is through this faculty when we realize that God is the operator and we the machines then we take the first step in going beyond our limitations and realizing the Reality.