Newsletter November 05, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Swami to Dallas, Texas – Fri. Nov. 07 - Sun. Nov. 09
Swami will travel to Dallas, Texas to conduct a retreat on Sat. Nov. 08 on ‘Wellness’, deliver various Vedanta talks on Sun. Nov. 09, and return to Providence late Sunday night.

 

Day-long retreat on Sat. Dec. 06, 10:00am – 7:00pm.
Sub:'Covering Everything with God' and 'Be a Witness' - by Swami Atmajnanananda (Vedanta Center, Wash. DC)

Reg. Fee $20.00 per person. Prior Reg. required. Register by mail or at the Vedanta Society or online. Click here to download reg. form or to register online.

 

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

 

Check out our blog:

A student from the weekly Tuesday class on the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna shares his/her views through this post on our blog about the current topic of discussion: an interesting conversation between Sri Ramakrishna and His disciples Narendra (Swami Vivekananda), Girish Ghosh and Dr. Sarkar:
http://vedantaprovidence.blogspot.com/2014/10/in-defense-of-dr-sarkar.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, Nov. 07	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Guest Lecture ‘Sri-Krishna Yoga’ by Vishwanath Alagwadi
Saturday, Nov. 08	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation/chanting and singing 7:00PM - 8:00PM : Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Sunday, Nov. 09	5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk - 'What We Can Learn form Dreams' by Chester Boncek 6:00PM – 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM - 8:00PM : Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation).
Tuesday, Nov. 11	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 47, Pg 909

 

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) On Sat. Nov. 01, Swami and fourteen devotees participated in  monthly 'Day-long Meditation Session' which began at 12noon, immediately after the 11am – 12noon ‘guided meditation & singing hour’ and continued till 8:00pm
2) On  Sun. Nov. 02, 4:00-6:00pm, the monthly ‘Just Children!’ program met  under the guidance of Padma Venkataraman. 
3) On Mon. Nov. 03, Swami Yogatmananda delivered a fifty-minute talk on the essence of ‘Bhagavad-Gita’ to about thirty students from 12 noon to 1pm  in the UMass/Dartmouth library  as the first guest speaker for the newly formed ‘Focus on Religious Literacy: Center for Religious and Spiritual Life’ Department.
4) On Mon. Nov. 03, Swami Yogatmananda and a devotee participated in an "Anti-violence against black men killed unjustly" program  outside Manning Chapel, (conducted by the Chaplains & Religious Dept/Brown University) from 5:15pm – 6:30pm. It consisted of a few short talks/statistics of this national situation, some singing, and a candlelight walking procession around the block with black-jazz funeral march played. About sixty people participated.
5) The birth anniversary of Swami Subhodananda and Swami Vijnanananda (Tues. Nov. 04 & Wed. Nov. 05 respectively), both of whom are direct disciples of Ramakrishna, was observed in the morning with a chant and in the evening with a song, a biography reading and prasad.

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

Study Class 'Bhakti-Yoga' - #13 - (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)  - Oct. 31, Friday

Although the goal of life is universal, the spiritual paths which lead to the goal are unique to each individual. Similarly, when the chosen ideal is internalized by the spiritual aspirant it manifests in a unique way according to the individual's constitution. The spiritual aspirant must take great care to adhere to that particular chosen ideal until he or she reaches the goal. Every ideal needs the exact, corresponding means to achieve it. Swami Vivekananda reminds us that it is important to pay as much attention to the means as to the goal. Often the goal becomes so big, so important, so bright in our mental horizon that we lose sight of the means by which the goal is achieved. Unless the proper means are applied, the goal will not be achieved. We may find ourselves in situations which are apparently conducive or non-conducive to spiritual practice, but nonetheless we need to apply the means to achieve the goal to the best of our abilities given the situation in which we actually find ourselves. We must be careful about the intake. Impure intake sullies the mind and memory. Intake= food taken in by mouth as well as taken in through all sense-organs. We have forgotten that we are divine, immortal. If what we take in through the sense organs is pure, then the mind becomes pure. When the mind becomes pure, the memory becomes unwavering. And with the help of this unwavering memory, all of the bondages are cut asunder and the divine presence within is experienced.

 

. . . And By The Way – Nov. 02, Sunday
We decide what we want to emphasize and what we want to hide by our choice of words. Once when he was younger, a senior Swami told Swami Yogatmananda how to write a letter reminding someone of a pending payment that was due. One should write about pleasant news first, and only mention the payment in the postscript as ‘…and by the way…’, which is what most people read. Sri Ramakrishna asked one of his disciples, later Swami Yogananda, to massage his feet as a way of having him overcome the ego of prestige. If Sri Ramakrishna had merely told him to overcome the ego of prestige, it wouldn’t have had the same effect. Sri Ramakrishna also used this technique when he asked some lady disciples to beg for food for him from house to house. He used this technique when he asked Narendra (later Swami Vivekananda) to read to him from books on non-duality, an idea that Narendra initially opposed. From reading these books, Narendra came to favor their ideas, which was Sri Ramakrishna’s intention.. In the Kenopanishad, a teacher tells a student that he has already told him all he needs to know, and by the way, austerity, self-restraint, and sacrificial rites are important to realize the Brahman.

 

Study Class 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Nov. 04, Tuesday
M and Dr. Sarkar were engaged in conversation on their way to visit the Master. They were talking about the Master and His teachings. Master has repeatedly emphasized that God-realization is the sole aim of human life. There are various ways in which people try to understand God and His play. Some believe that God alone is the Truth, this world is illusory. On the other hand, some believe that God is the Master of this whole creation and harbor the attitude of being a servant of God. As God is one and everyone is trying to know Him from his/her standpoint there are various perceptions about the God and the world. Hence it will be incorrect to apply one common yardstick to all these various perceptions. As long as one perceives the duality, the attitude of a servant and the Master is very good. If one perceives the oneness then there is no question of real and unreal. But if we see the body and world as real, then one should maintain the attitude of a servant and learn to give in to everything as God's wish.
Dr. Sarkar had a firm faith in the Master but still he argued with Him on various points. Doctor thought that Master is egotistic as He allowed all to take the dust of His feet. M and the Master both were trying to explain the rationale behind this concept to Dr. Sarkar.