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If you have questions regarding spiritual life, Vedanta, Hinduism etc, you can email us at answers ATvedantaprov.org
Newsletter December 10, 2014
Upcoming Events
Sri Sarada Devi Worship/Puja Day – Sun. Dec. 14, 11AM - 7PM
11:00am: worship-ritual, 12:30pm: flower-offering & Prasad-lunch,
2:30-3:30pm: Video, 5:00-6:00pm: Symposium, 6:00-6:45pm: Singing,
7:00 pm: Supper-prasad.
All welcome to any or all programs.
Vedanta Society of Connecticut – Sat. Dec. 13
On Sat. Dec. 13 from 2PM – 4PM, at Vallabhdham Temple, 26 Church St, Newington CT, Swami will advise the initial meeting regarding the beginning of a Vedanta Society of Connecticut (with seven local coordinators). Anyone interested is welcome to attend and get involved in this development.
NOTICES:
1) Sunday Morning Hatha Yoga: 10AM – 11AM - $5.00 walk-in; Contact Pat: pat.blake8-AT-gmail.com - No Hatha Yoga Class on Sun. Dec. 14
2) Tuesday evening Hatha Yoga: 6:00PM – 7:00PM - $5.00 walk-in; Contact Hannah: key2Lyfe-AT-gmail.com
3) Bharathanatyam Dance Classes – Sundays, 3:30 – 5:00 PM; Contact Anuradha: 704-707-5430
Click here to see the Videos & Audios of Sunday Lectures of Sept. & Oct. 2014.
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Dec. 12 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Class #17 on ‘Bhakti Yoga’ (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda) |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 |
11am – 7pm: PUJA/WORSHIP DAY for SRI SARADA DEVI |
| Tuesday, Dec. 16 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 47, Pg 912 |
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) Attleboro Interfaith Meeting – Thurs. Dec. 04
Vedanta Society of Providence hosted the monthly ‘Attleboro-based’ Interfaith Meeting from 11:45am – 1:30pm this month, with eleven other clergy/ congregation members of varied faiths participating in this month’s question: “How do you or how does your faith tradition view the concept of soul?”
2) Day-long retreat on Sat. Dec. 06, 10:00am – 7:00pm.
Fifty-three devotees participated in this 48th day-long retreat, with guided meditation, three discourses on 'Covering Everything with God' and 'Be a Witness' by Swami Atmajnanananda, Vedanta Center of Gr. Washington DC and a one-and half-hour Q/A session conducted by Swamis Atmajnananda & Yogatmananda. Meals and refreshment breaks were also included.
3) Bhagavad Gita class, Middletown CT – Sun. Dec. 07 10:30 - 11: 30 AM
Swami Yogatmananda conducted the monthly Bhagavad Gita (Ch.17 cont.) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple to about a dozen attendees this month.
There will be NO Bhagavad Gita Classes in Jan. and Feb. 2015, as Swami will be in India.
4) On Sun. Dec. 07, the monthly ‘Just Children!’ program met from 4PM – 6PM in the children’s room.
5) Veena, Mridangam & Violin Concert – Sun. Dec. 07, 6:00 – 7:30PM
About forty-five music enthusiasts attended the Veena concert performed by Durga Krishnan from 6:30pm – 8:00pm in the Lower Level (LL), immediately after the 5-6pm Sunday Lecture. Gaurishankar Chandrashekhar accompanied on Mridangam and Sri Surya Sundararajan on Violin.
Click here to see photos of above events.
Synopses of Last Week's Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Study Class 'Bhakti-Yoga' - #16 - (based on the book by Swami Vivekananda) - Dec. 5, Friday
For spiritual aspirants practicing the path of bhakti yoga, spiritual progress can be measured by love of moving away from the objects of the world and being redirected toward God. As one’s love of God grows and takes the form of parabhakti, or supreme devotion, love for worldly pleasures pales in comparison. The objects of the world are loved only insofar as they are reflections of the Divine. In this state of parabhakti, the need for spiritual ritual, holy books and images, churches, religions, and sects fall away.
When compared with renunciation within the path of jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge, the renunciation that occurs within bhakti yoga is much less painful. The path of bhakti yogi does not require the devotee to give up anything. It only requires that you love. Renunciation of the world results from love of God, and this love serves as an anesthesia. The bhakta doesn’t notice the bondage of the world falling away. For the bhakta, what is good is that which moves us towards God, the goal, and what is bad is that which keeps us away from our goal. The devotee’s love for God will always go on increasing, since he is going toward the source of love. This does not mean that there are no struggles in the life of a bhakta, but he knows that love of God make struggles much smoother.
Be Happy – a talk by Swami Atmajnanananda, Vedanta Center of Washington, DC -Dec. 7, Sunday
All are trying to be happy - the thief who robs and the yogi who meditates are both trying to be happy. Happiness is always combined with unhappiness. Worldly happiness, is inferior to happiness from spiritual practice, and happiness from God-realization is the highest. The four ashramas or stages of life in Hinduism are 1) brahmacharya or student life, 2) grihastha or life of the householder, 3) vanaprastha or retiree, and 4) sannyasa or life of renunciation. In the student stage, a foundation is formed for life, through righteousness. In the householder state, artha (wealth) and kama (pleasure) are acceptable goals when achieved in legitimate ways, and the point is to see that they are ultimately unfulfilling. Sri Ramakrisha said that the main obstacles to spiritual life are lust and gold. There is always a tension between dharma and sukha. Lord Krishna told Arjuna that if he fought and did his duty, he would attain happiness, but also to forget happiness and look upon either winning or losing as the same. Tamasic happiness (as in being a couch potato) deludes both in the beginning and the end. Rajasic happiness (as in wanting the best food and drink) begins like nectar and ends like poison. Sattvic happiness (from renunciation, surrender and self-control) begins like poison and ends like nectar. The Gita says that the happy person is the one with self-control. Sri Ramakrishna holds up the examples of the kite that drops its food and is no longer chased by crows; the kitten that is happy wherever its mother puts it, and the bird on the ship at sea that settles down on the mast when there is nowhere else to go. The Gita says that we find peace as soon as we let go, and we cannot have happiness without peace. Everything else pales beside the infinite joy that transcends the senses.
Study Class 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Dec. 9, Tuesday
Spiritual practices are for removing the ignorance and consequent suffering. They are the thorn of knowledge to remove the thorn of ignorance. Master advised Shyam Basu, who was a sincere aspirant to focus his energy on God realization. Master asked him to have a place for meditation, which is away from home.
One must try to meditate on God, away from home - the place of day to day mundane activities; otherwise those thoughts will overpower during the meditation. Home takes us away from the ‘real abode i.e. God’. Hence one must meditate where there are the spiritual vibrations conducive for the spiritual development.
Going away from the world is not a negative thing but it happens automatically as one marches towards God. Master advised Shyam Basu to do the same as soon as possible without wasting the valuable time at hand. Master did not let the discussion deviate from the thought of Meditation. He asked to focus on knowing God first. After that everything else will be known automatically.