Newsletter October 08, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Spiritual Retreat - Sat. Oct. 11, 9:30AM - 7:00PM

Sub: 'Patanjali's Way (Indian Psychology)' by Pravrajika Gitaprana, Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely, NY

Prior Reg. Required. Reg. Fee $15.00 per person + $1.00 for online registration

Click here to download Reg. form or Register online.

 

Bhagavad Gita class, Middletown CT – Sun. Oct. 12 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Swami Yogatmananda will conduct the monthly Bhagavad Gita (Ch.15 cont.) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple (10 Training Hill Rd, Middletown, CT). All are welcome.

Classical Hindustani vocal performance – Sun. Oct. 12   6PM – 7:30PM
Immediately following the 5-6pm lecture, Pt. Kumar Murdur,( from Karnataka, trained under Pt. Feroz Dastur), will perform Hindustani vocalizations, accompanied by Ashis Sengupta on Tabla and Satishreddi Kolli on Harmonium, in the Lower Level(LL) from 6PM – 7:30PM.  All welcome; No entry fee; Donations accepted.

 

NOTICES:

1) Sunday Morning Hatha Yoga: 10AM – 11AM - $5.00 walk-in; Contact Pat: pat.blake8-AT-gmail.com
2) Tuesday evening Hatha Yoga: 6:00PM – 7:00PM - $5.00 walk-in; Contact Hannah: key2Lyfe-AT-gmail.com 

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Oct. 10	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Class #11 on ‘Bhakti Yoga’ (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)
Saturday, Oct. 11	9:30 AM – 7:00 PM: Day-long Retreat - open to registered persons only; See details above.
Sunday, Oct. 12	5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk - 'Victims of Affluenza' - by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00PM – 7:30 PM: Classical Indian vocal concert with Pt. Kumar Murdur. See details above.
Tuesday, Oct. 14	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 47 pg 902

 

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

Durga Puja (Worship of Divine Mother Durga) - Sat. Oct. 04, 11:00AM - 7:00PM
About one hundred twelve devotees attended in the morning Durga worship/puja that Swami Yogatmananda officiated (followed by prasad luncheon); About forty-five attended the Belur Math Durga-puja’ live-stream’ and the music from 3-5pm. This was followed by Classical-dance performance by Shobha, devotional songs and chanting of Maa-Naam Sankeertanam from 5-7pm. Dinner followed.

Click here to see the photos.

On Wed. Oct 01, students from the Brown University Hindu Student Association performed their Durga Puja/ceremony in the evening from 8PM – 9PM, under the guidance of Swami Yogatmananda at the Vedanta Society. About eight students, some of their family members and some Vedanta devotees attended.

Classical Indian vocal concert - Sun. Oct. 05, 6:00 - 7:30PM
About thirty-five to forty music enthusiasts listened to Pt. Subhadra Desai, from Delhi, India perform classical Devotional Hymns and Songs from 6:20 – 8:30pm. Accompanying her were Harshal Tole (Tabla) and Ravi Torvi (Harmonium). Dinner followed.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

Study Class 'Bhakti-Yoga' - #10 - (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)  - Oct. 03, Friday 

In our weekly Bhakti Yoga classes, we have been seeing how, in the sincere spiritual aspirant, mumuksha--the desire for liberation--develops.  Before this develops, we don’t experience ‘body’ ‘mind’ ‘world’ as bondages.  This urge for liberation, in turn leads us to find a guru who is qualified to serve as our spiritual guide.  There have been some rare gurus throughout history who have been incarnations of God.  These are avatars. (= one who has come down from the level of the Divine to the level of human)  An avatar assumes a human body out of sheer compassion for humanity, and endeavors to bring human beings up to the level of God.  Sri Ramakrishna used to say that avatars bring in a tidal wave of spirituality.  All gurus derive their power from these special divine teachers. 
Religion is a transformational experience; through it, our awareness of the Self is transformed from an association with the body to the understanding that “I am divine.” Meditation on the mantra is the bridge that brings us to spiritual realization.  All Hindu mantras involve the sound-symbol “Om.”  Om symbolically contains all sounds that can be made.  Therefore this is “naada-brahma,” or the Universe (God) in sound.  Everything in this world has a sound component.  This sound component, what we call the thing’s name, gives that thing its identity or “that-ness.”  It is only in the name wherein the existence of a thing lies.  And what is a name? Just sound.  Thus Om is the most appropriate name for God. Just as we see many waves rising and falling on the surface of the ocean, while at the same time the ocean remains one, so too does this one Reality, appearing as many sounds, is at the same time contained in one sound--OM!

 

'The Unfinished Project of Swami Vivekananda' – a talk by Dr. Anindita Balslev, F ounder of the CCC Forum – Oct. 05, Sunday
Swami Vivekananda concluded his opening speech in Chicago by saying: "if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written, in spite of resistance,: ‘Help and not fight,’ ‘Assimilation and not Destruction,’ ‘Harmony and Peace and not Dissension’." We need to ask: What is the relevance of this project for us today? Science and technology have made us a global village, but there is still polarization between the dominant and the marginalized. There are still skirmishes and conflicts between different religions and denominations. Swamiji said: "Of all the forces that have worked and are still working to mould the destinies of the human race, none, certainly, is more potent than that, the manifestation of which we call religion." Collaboration among the different religions of the world is important for society. Sri Ramakrishna said: ""As many faiths, so many paths." Based on this, Swamiji favored acceptance of all religions, and not just toleration. Swamiji intertwined religious and social consciousness and coined the term practical Vedanta. Swamiji said: "Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid." The Vedantist and author Christopher Isherwood said: "So Vivekananda's revolution was a revolution as much of use to the British as to India." Swamiji felt that there could be no universal philosophy or ritual. So Swamiji did not privilege Advaita over other paths. Swamiji said: "Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. . . Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now." This is why we must carry forward the unfinished project of Swami Vivekananda.

 

Study Class 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Oct. 07, Tuesday
Today's was a unique class where a few of the wel-known songs  in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna were sung by a renowned singer with a brief explanation by Swami.

The first song  was " I have made Thee, O Lord, the Pole star of my life".
Like the pole star one must fix a Supreme Goal in life and strive hard to achieve that goal. One must not budge from the path. Throughout this journey the ideal will serve as the guiding pole star and it will not let one deviate from the path.

The second song was "O Mother Syama, full of the waves of drunkenness divine!". This songs praises the Divine Mother in all her forms as a redeemer, giver of the boons as well as the horrifying ones. Through Her grace one may feel her divine presence in one's heart.
The third song was " Mother, Thou art our sole Redeemer". This song has a very special significance. Sri Ramakrishna, tought this song to Narendra. When Narendra was tormented by the severe poverty in family after his father's sudden death. This was a transformational point in Narendra's life  and also was very important moment wherein the form and formless both were accepted by him. 

The fourth song was " Oh when will dawn the blessed day". When such yearning as described in this song arises in one's mind it is a clear indication that the person is not far from God Realization. Such person will drop off everything that comes in the way of God realization and will do everything that is helpful on this path.

The fifth song was " Oh Mind dive deep". This was sung by the Master.
Oh mind dive deep to realize the supreme truth. Everything that we are doing should get permeated by this sole objective. A true spiritual seeker can't give a second priority to God in life as that is the supreme priority and the reason of life.