Newsletter October 29, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Day-long Meditation - Sat. Nov. 01, 12:00PM - 8:00PM
The monthly 'Day-long Meditation Session' begins at 12noon, immediately after the 11am – 12noon ‘guided meditation & singing hour’. Please be IN the building before 12 noon, as entries will be closed. Doors open again at 6:30 for 7pm – 8pm Aarati.  All welcome to participate.

Children’s Sunday ‘Spiritual-Arts & Storytelling’ Class – Sun. Nov. 02, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
The monthly ‘Just Children!’ program will meet  under the guidance of Prof Dorothy Abram. All youngsters under age 12 welcome.
Salutations! – Tues. Nov. 04 & Wed. Nov. 05
The birth anniversary of Swami Subhodananda and Swami Vijnanananda (Tues. Nov. 04 & Wed. Nov. 05 respectively), both of whom are direct disciples of Ramakrishna, will be observed in the morning with a chant and in the evening with a song, a biography reading and prasad.

 

Day-long retreat on SAT. DEC. 06, 10:00am – 7:00pm.
Sub: ‘Be a Witness’ & other topics by Swami Atmajnanananda (Vedanta Center, Wash. DC)

Reg. Fee $20.00 per person. Prior Reg. required. Register by mail or at the Vedanta Society. Online reg. will be availble soon.

 

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 

3) Bharathnatyam Dance Classes – Sundays, 3:30 – 5:00 PM; Contact Anuradha: 704-707-5430
4) Sitar and Tabla lessons – Sundays, 4:00 – 5:00 PM; Contact Koyel Ghoshal: koyelg-AT-yahoo.com

5) DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME! -- Sun. Nov. 02, Midnight - TURN CLOCK-TIMES BACK ONE HOUR before Sunday morning

 

Check out our blog:

A poem intertwining Sri Ramakrishna's teaching and an incident between Swami Vivekananda & Robert Ingersoll has been beautifully presented as a post in our blog:
http://vedantaprovidence.blogspot.com/2014/10/tasting-which-nothing-else-tastes-better.html
Anyone can post in this blog. Please send your posts (within 500 words) to the email address given there.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Oct. 31	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Class #13 on ‘Bhakti Yoga’ (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)
Saturday, Nov. 01	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation/chanting and singing 12 noon-8:00 PM: LONG MEDITATION SESSION 7:00PM - 8:00PM : Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Sunday, Nov. 02	5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk - '…AND BY THE WAY' - by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00PM – 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM - 8:00PM : Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation).
Tuesday, Nov. 04	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 47, Pg 905

 

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

Church Children visit Vedanta – Wed. Oct. 22
About ten  sixth-level church youths, parents and a teacher from Unitarian Universalist Church, Prov RI visited Vedanta Chapel  from 5 – 6:30 pm. Swami Yogatmananda spoke about basic Hinduism and answered their questions.
Click here to see the photos.
Swami to North Carolina - Sat. Oct. 25 - Sun. Oct. 26
Swami Yogatmananda traveled to Durham & Raleigh, NC, where he officiated the Kali Puja in a local school auditorium on Saturday night to about two hundred fifty devotees of the surrounding areas. He also conducted a retreat on Sunday on: ‘Doing Business’ and ‘Being Bhakti’ to about thirty-five devotees. Swami returned Monday early afternoon.

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

Study Class 'Bhakti-Yoga' - #12 - (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)  - Oct. 24, Friday

God, our ultimate goal in life, is infinite, beyond all specifications.  It would be wonderful if we could experience this as all-pervading and infinite, as it truly is.  But our anthropomorphic limitations prevent us from experiencing that which lacks name and form.  Thus, it is easiest for us to take up a chosen ideal, God who is identified with a name and form, as a stepping-stone for transcending these human limitations.  It is essential that we settle upon One Chosen ideal, rather than flitting between different forms.  It is impossible to reach the second floor of a building if you only walk a few steps up a staircase, only to abandon those stairs for another set of stairs, on which you ascend a few steps, and so on.  We fail to reach our goal if we do not commit to a chosen ideal and practice one-pointed attention on this ideal.  Without this commitment, our distractions will be endless, and we will not succeed.  Sri Ramakrishna was able to take up many different spiritual paths and chosen ideals (Kali, Jesus, Allah, etc.) because he followed each one to its end (God realization), then took up another ideal.  
It is a natural human tendency to want to demonstrate that our chosen ideal is superior to that of others.  We should be aware that this tendency exists in each of us, so that we can nip it in the bud. We should be encouraging of others’ on their own paths, but make sure we “dive deep” into our path.  All ideals are good, but we must choose only one. Who ‘chooses’ the ideal for us? It is not something whimsically chosen by a person for oneself, but by the spiritual teacher.

 

Why Mother Kali? – Pravrajika Shuddhatmaprana, Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely– Oct. 26, Sunday
We can ask: Why of all the gods and goddesses did Sri Ramakrishna have Mother Kali as his chosen ideal? Sri Ramakrishna’s brother, Ramkumar, asked him to be initiated with a Shakti mantra, at which point, he went into ecstasy. Did Sri Ramakrishna choose the Divine Mother, or did the Divine Mother choose Sri Ramakrishna? If they were both One, then there is no question of one choosing the other. Sri Ramakrishna described Purusha and Prakriti as identical, like milk and its whiteness. He asked: How can we realize Brahman without taking refuge in Shakti? We are in delusion because Shakti is Mahamaya.  Mahamaya deludes but also reveals if we take refuge in her. The devotional movement of Sri Chaitanya, which sought a relationship with God, affected the Shaktas too. Taking a cue from Heinrich Zimmer, we relate to the deities on a subconscious level, rather than an intellectual level. Mother Kali’s two right arms represent fearlessness and boons. Her two left arms represent the terrible, as a sword and a skull. She is standing on Shiva, who is beyond name and form. As the embodiment of death, Mother Kali terrifies us because we are ignorant of existence after death. Mother Kali’s dance of destruction represents the destruction of the ego. Sri Ramakrishna encouraged us to pray for pure, motiveless love and for discrimination. Freedom from all motives includes freedom from suffering. If we want happiness in the world, we also get suffering. God is our own forever and God alone is real. Swami Vivekananda said that the gods and goddesses are not just symbols, but are forms the devotees have seen. He said that the Mother was awakened by the prayers of Sri Ramakrishna, and this is the age of Motherhood. Sri Ramakrishna asked: Will a child not acknowledge its mother?

 

Study Class 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Oct. 28, Tuesday
Sri Ramakrishna beleived that the God alone was the reality and hence He did not pay any heed to other wordly things - even His illness. Conversely, we see the world as ‘really real’ and so have intense interest in the world and hence the world affects us. When the awareness of God as the reality, comes then the life is full of bliss. At worldly level the joys and sorrows are dependent on the external situations and hence it is beyond one's control to maintain the happiness. If we seek happiness from the Divine - our true nature, then there will be a constant flow of happiness. 
Master was surrounded by many devotees like Dr. Sarkar, Girish, Narendra etc. Dr. Sarkar and Girish were conversing about declaring and worshiping the Master as God. Girish had the utmost faith in the Master as an incarnation of God. Dr. Sarkar could not accept this due to scientific bent of his mind. Doctor also raised his objection on Master's touching the devotees with His foot when in Samadhi. He has no understanding of that state, the awareness of the Master during Samadhi, but was trying to apply the rules of the world to that out of the world state. Even Master was incapable to explain him His condition during samadhi. Girish and Narendra tried to explain him about Master's awareness during Samadhi. Narendra mentioned that Master was risking His life and health in realizing the grandest science of God.