Newsletter November 26, 2014

 

Newsletter Archives

 

HEALTHY & HAPPY THANKS-GIVING TO ALL!

 

Upcoming Events

Swami to Toronto, Canada – Sat. Nov. 29 – Mon. Dec. 01 
Swami Yogatmananda will travel to Toronto, Canada to  conduct a retreat on: 'Reincarnation' and deliver Sunday Service lecture on: 'Doing Business'. Swami will return to Providence late afternoon Monday.

Salutations! – Sun. Nov. 30
The birth anniversary of Swami Premananda, direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, will be observed Sunday 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:'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

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Nov. 28	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation NO BHAKTI YOGA class; Class resumes next Friday, Dec. 05
Saturday, Nov. 29	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. 30	5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk - 'Shanti Ashrama: First Vedanta Hermitage in America' by Prof. Sukalyan Sengupta, UMass, Dartmouth 6:00PM – 7:00 PM: Soup-Supper 7:00 PM: Aarati
Tuesday, Dec. 02	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 47, Pg 910

 

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

Swami at local High School – Thurs. Nov. 20
Swami spoke about Meditation to Central Falls(RI) High School anatomy students and gave a short practice-session on breathing & meditation. Many questions were asked.

Sitar Concert - Sun. Nov. 23
After the Sunday Service Lecture, about thirty-five music enthusiasts listened to Sitar ragas performed by Koyel Ghosal, accompanied on Tabla by Nishikant Sonwalkar. 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' - #15 - (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda)  - Nov. 21, Friday

Para-bhakti is supreme devotion to God. Vedanta asserts that the very God who is located in heaven rests within one’s own heart as our nearest and dearest. God, existing within each of us as the Self, is the true source of all love. When one sees the source of all love, one’s attraction for God becomes completely concentrated with an all-consuming intensity. In this state, all hankerings for the objects of the world, which previously caused the devotee to flit from object to object in search of joy, cease. In order to achieve supreme devotion, one must first cultivate strong renunciation. Simply put, renunciation means holding onto that which is real, and discarding that which is not real. We need to make what is real the basis of our lives. By sincerely practicing renunciation, purification occurs and the cultivation of supreme devotion becomes possible. Renunciation means giving up that which is in fact illusory. Renunciation is the basis of all the yogas: jnana, bhakti, karma, and raja. However, the renunciation practiced by a bhakti yogi is of very unique type because it is “natural” and “painless.” Natural and painless in what sense? The practice of bhakti yoga requires the devotee to give up something less pleasurable, the changing names and forms, for the sake of something more pleasurable, the unchanging Self, which is the source of all love and joy. Consequently, the devotee practicing bhakti yoga experiences more and more joy as his or her love for the true Self grows.

 

‘I’, ‘We’ and ‘They’ – Nov. 23, Sunday
Sages of all times say that the goal is One without a second. Ignorance of Oneness makes us see different things, grouped as ‘I’, ‘We’ & ‘They’. The perception of ‘I’, which is in the foreground, is continuously shifting. We may identify it with external things (such as our progeny), with the body, with the sensory and motor organs, with the mind, and with the intellect. ‘I’ has experience of infinite things, which it stores like a library, by suitably tagging. Psychologists (e.g. Frederic Bartlett) call this as creating schemata . We may view someone with a preconceived label that we have stored. When I belong to a group, there comes the term ‘We’. ‘We’ are by default ‘good’, while ‘they’ are ‘bad’. Groups are changing always, such as Rhode Islanders quarreling amongst themselves (we and they), and uniting when facing outsiders (all Rhode Islanders as we). Centrifugal forces expand the difference between ‘we’ and ‘they’, while centripetal forces bring unity. When we feel we are all one together, this removes anger. The Holy Mother prepared special betel rolls for newcomers to ‘make others ours’. Expanding the sense of Oneness requires the character of a saint. Lord Krishna said: “I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures.” Jesus said: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Swami Vivekananda spoke of the Real and apparent nature of humanity. He noted that there is no reason to be afraid of giving up the limited I which keeps shifting anyway. He said: "You people in this country are so afraid of losing your in-di-vid-u-al-i-ty! Why, you are not individuals yet. When you realize your whole nature, you will attain your true individuality, not before." 

Study Class 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Nov. 25, Tuesday
Ordinarily, the world and "I" appear to be more real than God. Dr. Sarkar is still at the plane of logic and hence could not comprehend  God’s omnipresence.  God's omnipresence does not mean there is no need to seek God as He is everywhere. One must do spiritual practices to get the true experience of the Omnipresence of God. 

Conversation turned towards money. Money is seen as an instrument to buy all kinds of happiness in the world. Hence the priorities in life are set around it. The necessity of God in human life is not felt so intensely. Dr. claimed that he did not pay much attention to money. Master commented that not paying attention because one is not mindful enough does not mean there is no attachment for money. These two completely different things – being unmindful and being detached - get mixed up. One MUST be mindful about various works in the world but attachment should only be at the feet of Lord. As long as one is working in the realm of names and forms he/she must give due importance to these details without being attached to them.