Newsletter June 18, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

NOTICES:
1) Beginning MONDAY morning, June 23, the Center's daily and weekly activities will be suspended until Saturday, September 13.
2) During the Summer break, Newsletters will be posted once monthly-- July 30 and August 20
3) The LIBRARY will be open only on Tuesday evenings (July 08 – August 19) through the summer.
4) After Sunday June 22, the morning Hatha Yoga class will resume in September.

5) See the Summer Program section for Summer activities.

 

Upcoming Events

Annual General Meeting of Prov. Vedanta – Sun. June 22

The Annual General  business meeting (happenings and monetary report of 2013) of the Vedanta Society of Providence will be conducted immediately after the 5:00 – 6:00 PM lecture on Sunday, June 22 . All are encouraged to attend.

Monthly Gita Class at SatyanarayanaTemple, Middletown, CT - Sun. June 22, 10:30-11:30 AM

Swami Yogatmananda conducts this class on Bhagavad Gita at Sri Satyanarayan Temple, Middletown, CT. All are welcome.

 

Dates for Summer Programs:

1) Young Adult Retreat - July 25 - 27

2) Silent Meditation Retreat - August 1 - 3

3) Children Camp - August 12 - 16

 

'Independence Day' Program - Friday, July 04, 11:00AM -2:00PM
At Jhaveri’ residence, 39 Crest Rd Framingham MA.  Please RSVP.
Vedanta Study class -Tuesdays - July 08 thru Aug 19, 7:00 – 8:30P
Prayer, Meditation, Study and Discussion on: ‘ Mysticism of Sound & Music’ (based on Hazrat Inayat Khan’s works). Open to All.
Guru Poornima – Saturday, July 12, 11AM – 2:30 PM

Get-Together of Devotees – Sunday, July 13, 11:00AM – 2:00PM
At the home of T K Roy, West Wareham MA. Please RSVP at 508-748-9797 or troy(at)umassd.edu only.

 

Ongoing Weekly Classes

1) 'Walk- in' Hatha Yoga Classes

Wednesday June 18, 5:30 – 6:30 PM: Instructor: Hannah Ressenger; for details: 401-473-4372, key2lyfe-AT-gmail.com

Sunday June 22, 10 – 11 AM: Instructor: Pat Blake; for details: Pat.Blake8-AT-gmail.com

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

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 20	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Class # 7 on ‘Bhakti Yoga’ (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)
Saturday, June 21	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM : Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Sunday, June 22	5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk -‘Happy Days are Here Again’ by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00PM – 6:45 PM: ANNUAL General Meeting of Happenings & Finances, of 2013, followed by light refreshments; all welcome 7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation

 

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

Interfaith Meeting – Thurs. June 12
Swami Yogatmananda and  about a dozen other interfaith clergy/congregation members attended  the monthly ‘Attleboro-based’ interfaith meeting, this month conducted at Rehoboth Covenant Church, MA., where  Reverend  Dennis Baril explained about his evangelical faith tradition, service procedures, building activities & classes and answered questions from the group.
Day-Long Spiritual Retreat - Sat. June 14, 9:30am - 7:00pm
This forty-sixth day-long retreat was attended by about sixty-three devotees. Swami Prasannatmananda (Vedanta Society, Berkeley CA), delivered three lectures with power-point on: 1) Spiritual Outlook, 2) Develop Spiritual Maturity, 3) Face the World Spiritually.

The retreat also consisted of guided meditation, a hatha yoga session; devotional music; a 1 ½ hour Q/A session with the swamis; snacks, two meals; Aarati, and chanting of Shyam-nama-sankirtanam.

Devotional Music Concert – Sun. June 15
About fifty music enthusiasts attended the 6:15 PM – 7:45 PM devotional singing concert in the Lower Level (LL), performed by Dattatreya Velankar, accompanied on Tabla by Amit Kavthekar, Harmonium by Ravi Torvi. Dinner followed.
Click here to see photos.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

Study Class 'Bhakti-Yoga' - #6 - (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)  - June 13, Friday 

God is both personal and impersonal. Although we may speak about God in terms of either aspect, it is important to remember that in both cases we are referring to the same God. The personal God who is the bhaktas’ object of devotion is nevertheless the impersonal God of the non-dualists. As human beings, we naturally think of God in personal terms. When we look at creation, we automatically ask: ‘Who created this? Who sustains this? Who is behind the dissolution of created things?’ This personal conception of God as a "creator God" who stands behind creation, is an important conception for the devotees, since it provides a means for them to relate to God. As the devotee practices devotion, he or she tends towards the supreme likeness of the divine. The qualified non-dualist Ramanuja held that liberated souls attain the unobstructed perception of God but do not become exactly one with God since they cannot rule over the universe. To rule over the universe means to shape the growth, birth, and death of all sentient and insentient beings. Although an individual may become liberated, the rulership of the universe still rests solely with the supreme Lord. The non-dualist Sankaracharya surmounted this philosophical difficulty by pointing out that the individual soul ceases to exist once it has merged with the supreme Lord, and therefore the question of an individual soul’s rulership of the universe makes no sense. Swami Vivekananda points out that bhakti can only be directed at the personal aspect of Brahman, however in so doing we simultaneously worship the impersonal aspect of God.  

'Swami Vivekananda and Ethics' – a talk by Swami Prasannatmananda – June 15, Sunday
Ethics is the study of moral life. Morality is right living, and the basis of spiritual life. Swami Vivekananda (Swamiji) said that we all know about morality and ethics. We can divide moral standards into doing (conduct), including the means and the result, and being (how a person is). Swamiji said that this world is a mixture of good and evil. We cannot solve our ethical problems ourselves. When two children quarrel, a parent must solve their problem. When two adults quarrel, a judge must solve their problem. We must go to a higher level to solve our problems. Swamiji said that doing is an expression of being. Swamiji’s two pillars of morality are the potential divinity of the soul (subjective pole – ethics of being), and the spiritual oneness of life (objective pole – ethics of doing). Swamiji chose for the slogan of the Ramakrishna movement: For one's own salvation and for the welfare of the world. Swamiji said: That which is selfish is immoral, and that which is unselfish is moral. Selflessness is egoless-ness. The struggle for freedom, which is in all religions, is the basis of all morality. Love is the basis of the ethics of unity. Service to humankind is service to God. Swamiji spoke of ignorance rather than evil. Ignorance can be removed by knowledge. Swamiji said that to be moral, we must have courage and strength to face the challenges of life. He said that we must make the highest truths practical. This philosophy found expression in the life of Swami Vivekananda. 

 

Study Class 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - June 17, Tuesday

Sri Ramakrishna explains how Brahman is the Only one that ‘is not defiled’ - since it cannot be described. It is beyond what words can explain or what the mind can perceive. He tells to Dr. Sarkar, that KNOWLEDGE cannot be attained as long as one possesses egotism. We constantly identify ourselves with the petty "I" that we understand, just like waves in an ocean, and compare against the big or little waves. If we want to attain Freedom, we must give up bondage. Instead of holding onto the "little-wave" feeling, we should let go to feel the "Ocean" Sri Ramakrishna explains the attitude of a devotee as "Thou and Thine". That alone is Knowledge. "I and Mine" is sheer dumbness. A devotee says -"all that is, is Thine. I am but Thy instrument". When this feeling pervades completely in us, we become free. As mentioned in Gita, to the one that realizes this Divine, nothing else remains desire-worthy and no amount of misery can affect. Sri Ramakrishna's life was a perfect example. As Sri Ramakrishna mentions about how even if a person had read but a few books, conceit fills his heart and vanity sets in about his erudition. This conceit will not let us to become free. And such traits have been found even amongst his very devotees that love him and try to follow his teachings. By that mention, it has been mentioned as a caution for all of us to beware of conceit and egotism.
Then Shyam asked, ‘if God is the doer, then why are we punished?’
The class had an interactive discussion about this point followed by some other interesting question-answers. Today’s was the last Gospel class before the summer-break.