Newsletter August 27, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

NOTICES:
1) The daily morning and evening meditation programs; the Tuesday and Friday evening classes and Saturday guided mediation hour (karma yoga/volunteer works) all begin from Saturday, September 13 onward.

The Sunday Morning Yoga class by Patricia Blake will start from Sun. Sept. 21. The Sat. 5 pm Yoga class has been shifted to Tue. 6:15 to 7:00 pm.

2) Visit our blog: http://vedantaprovidence.blogspot.com/ for some new entries.

 

Upcoming Events

Swami Yogatmananda to Ridgely, NY– Sat. Aug. 30 - Sun. Aug. 31
Swami and devotees will travel to Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely Manor, NY where swami will conduct a retreat on: ‘Kabbala and Vedanta’. They will return on Sunday August 31.

Universal Brotherhood Day – Sun. Sept 14, 5PM – 7:30PM 
Theme: ‘Religious Life at American Universities’
Speakers: Fr. Francis Clooney, Harvard Divinity School, MA; Prof. Rick Jarow, Vassar College, NY; Rabbi Jacqueline Satlow, UMass Dartmouth, MA; Swami Tyagananda, Vedanta Society, MA.
The program also includes Multi-faith music, and dinner after the program. All are welcome. No entry fee.

Click here for the flyer.

 

Half-day Special WORK-SHOP - Sat. Sept. 27, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Sub: 'WORSHIP: MEANING & PRACTICE' by Swami Yogatmananda
Prior Reg Required. Reg Fee $10.00 + $1.00 for online registration

Click here to register online.

You can also register by mail OR at our office.

 

Past Events

1) Vedanta Study class -Tuesdays - July 08 thru August 19, 7:00 – 8:30PM
Prayer, Meditation, Study and Discussion on: 'Mysticism of Sound & Music' (based on Hazrat Inayat Khan’s works)(Please scroll down for synopses of past classes.) 
2) 'Meditate-a-thon' Retreat – Fri. Aug. 01 6PM thru Sun. Aug. 03
Eleven devotees and Swami Yogatmananda participated. This was a meditation intensive retreat. All time, except small intervals for personal care, food, etc. was spent in meditation.
3)  Residential Vedanta Retreat at Rochester – Wed. Aug 06,  6PM through  Sun. Aug 10, 1PM
Swamis Yogatmananda & Kripamayananda  co-conducted  the annual ‘camp-style’ residential retreat at the Hindu Heritage Summer Camp, Monroe, New York (near Rochester). Swami Yogatmananda taught ‘KATH-UPANISHAD' for approximately twenty to twenty-five devotees who attended full & part time.
4. Children’s Day-Camp – Tues. Aug 12 –Sat. Aug 16
From Tuesday morning August 12, through Saturday, August 16, about 20 children (ages 06 to 15) participated in the third annual ‘day-camp’ for children . The theme was ‘Wondrous Trees and Magical Plants’. The days were filled with creative arts; storytelling; theater arts; some videos of topic; outdoor walk & play-time; and meals/snacks. Children gave a brief performance the final day to Swami, their parents and vedanta devotees.
5) Krishna Festival – Sun. Aug. 17, 11:00AM – 3:30PM
About eighty-five devotees attended the Birthday Celebration of Sri Krishna from 11AM through 3:30 PM. Puja/worship; chants; short talks by Chet Boncek and Swami Yogatmananda; a brief talk by Swami Aparokshananda (of Swami Dayananda Ashrama) from India; Dance performance by Sonali Sengupta; Prasad luncheon and Devotional Music Program by famed vocalist Suchita Rao with  her children Radha, Rohit and student Minerva. Pranav was on tabla.
6) Nandotsava – Sat. Aug. 23, 5:00-8:00 pm
Over fifty devotees attended this celebration to remember Lord Krishna’s coming to his foster parents’ home within a few hours of his birth. Suvosree Chatterji took the lead role in arranging the function, which consisted of putting up a decorated cradle with Baby Krishna in it, singing devotional songs, reflections and dinner.
Click here to see photos of above events.

 

Synopses of Summer Tues. Classes

Study Classes 'Mysticism of Sound & Music' (based on Hazrat Inayat Khan’s works) -August 05; 12; 19
The classes in August on this theme discussed Inayat Khan’s ideas on the place of music in esoteric traditions in Hinduism.He explained how the Hindu music brings about a harmony between body-mind-soul and use of music in intensifying a thought and taking in deeper into one’s heart. The whole Universe is an expression of Sound. The survival of the Indian music tradition was due to its deep connection with spirituality. The inherent capacity of music to transcend the form frees a spiritual aspirant from the bondage of form.

The three qualities of music according to the Sufi tradition are JELAL (POWER), JEMAL (BUTY) AND KEMAL (WISDOM) were discussed. Different temperaments of people find different qualities more helpful and appealing. The sound is not only audible but is VISIBLE TOO. The voice of a person, while speaking, spontaneously expresses the character and mood of the person.

As an aspirant rises to the higher and higher levels of union with God, the music for that person too becomes deeper. The three stages of ‘Samadhi’ described by Inayat Khan correspond to what is called Sa-lokya, Sa-meepya and Sa-yujjya in Hindu tradition.