Newsletter March 11, 2015

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Bhagavad Gita class, Middletown CT – Sun. March 15, 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Swami Yogatmananda will conduct the monthly Bhagavad Gita (Ch.17 cont.) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple (10 Training Hill Rd, Middletown, CT). All are welcome.

Hatha Yoga Resumes – Tues. March 17
 Hatha Yoga( $ 5.00 walk-in) will resume on Tuesday evenings beginning March 17th  from 6PM – 6:45 with Hannah Resseger. Contact Hannah  ONLY at:  key2life-AT-gmail.com

 

Day-long Spiritual Retreat - Sat. March 21, 10:00AM - 7:00PM

Sub:'Dis-covering The Self'- by Swami Yogatmananda

Reg. Fee $15.00 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.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, March 13	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda on 'Kenopnisad', a Vedanta Upanisad Text.
Saturday, March 14	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation/chanting and singing 7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation
Sunday, March 15	5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk on ‘Reverse-Engineering a Sage’ by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00 – 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation
Tuesday, March 17	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 48, pp 914-

 

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. 5' 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

Contemplative Studies Initiative Forum – Wed. March 04
Swami Yogatmananda and a devotee attended an interfaith information- tables and discussion forum in Faunce House on the main green of Brown University from 5:30pm – 6:30pm. Swami spoke briefly. About forty to fifty students attended. 
Day-long Meditation - Sat. March. 07, 12noon – 8:00PM
About eight devotees participated in the monthly 'Day-long Meditation Session' which began at 12noon, immediately after the 11am – 12noon ‘guided meditation & chant-singing hour’.
Swami to Indianapolis, IN – March 07 - 08
Swami Yogatmananda traveled to Indianapolis, IN early Sat. March 07  and conducted a retreat to about thirty devotees; on Sunday, in the Indianapolis Hindu Temple, Swami delivered a lecture on Vedanta  to about two hundred attendees. Swami returned late Sunday evening.
Salutations! – Tue. March 10
The birth anniversary of Swami Yogananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, was observed on Tue. March 10 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 - 'Kenopnisad' - March 6, Friday
This is first study class of Kenopanisad  began  with the invocation for peace. This Upanisad belongs to Sama Veda.  The prayer reminds us that the study of the Upanishads will make us strong.  As Swami Vivekananda declared, there is strength contained in every word of the Upanishads.  For spiritual seekers, the goal is to not only develop intellectual understanding of the Upanishads (although this can be a helpful first step for many), but to clearly and directly experience the truth contained within the verses: that Brahman (God) alone is the all-pervading, one Reality. 

The prayer asks for our body and senses to be brought under control, since otherwise they confuse our understanding and corrupt our direct experience. With the body and senses brought under control, as we practice, our understanding will come closer and closer to that of the spiritual teacher. The teaching process will end when the teacher's experience matches perfectly with the student's experience. 
The prayer asks for the student to not deny the Oneness of the ultimate Reality - Brahman.  There is also the chance that spiritual aspirants will feel rejected or neglected by God at times.  Of course, Brahman won't reject us, but it is natural to feel this way on occasion.  Thus the prayer asks, "Let there be no denial at least from me."
The student is aware that the path depends on a transformation of one's life, so all the virtues that are spoken of by the scriptures need to be imbibed experientially. The feeling of "I and mine," which breeds greed and attachment, should be cut away, and the virtues need to be cultivated in its place. 
The universal wisdom of Upanisads provide a philosophical backdrop for all religions.  The weekly study class will draw on two commentaries on the Kenopanisat written by Sankaracharya.  (NB: This is a unique example of one author who has written two commentaries on the same text, both of which establish the same thesis.)

 

Yoga: The Union of the Outer and Inner Journey  - a talk by Chester Boncek - March 8, Sunday

Finding the center of the universe has always fascinated philosophers. Aristotle thought the earth was the center of the universe. Copernicus thought the universe was heliocentric. The Vedantic idea is that Truth is infinite. We face the helplessness of the senses, which are measuring instruments. Swami Ranganathananda contrasts technical efficiency that allows us to control nature, with moral efficiency that allows us to control our inner nature. He describes life as a search for one sorrow after another.
A note was played on the gong. Does the note still exist? Dreams rise and fall away. Do elementary particles have structure?

Henrick Ehrsson stimulates the brain to create out of body experiences. Olaf Blanke also does this, and says that while folk psychology sees a unity of body and mind, cognitive science challenges this. Sat means existence, which everything has; Chit is awareness that plants too have. The homeostasis or auto-functioning of the body freed the cortex to do advanced processing. The question is whether the universe is composed of random elements or a unified field.
Loka is the outer journey. Lokottara is the inner journey. The goal of meditation is to make the mind as stable as a flame in a windless state. Swami Ranganathananda says that raising consciousness is more thrilling and rewarding than space flight. In spiritual life, we need an escape velocity to overcome vasanas and samskaras. Whatever we think leaves a residual impression. We do not make progress by magic, tricks, psychedelics, or emotional excitement, because in these cases, we end up coming back down. The physicist Erwin Schrodinger said that consciousness is never in the plural but seems to be so, because we see different aspects of the one thing.

 

Study Class - 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - March 10, Tuesday

Master was discussing with the devotees about Radha and Krishna  as Prakriti and Purusha or the relative and the absolute. Master mentioned that there are different aspects of Radha. The seductive aspect of Radha (Prakriti) allures people to the enchanting world of names and forms. It deludes the understanding completely and shuns the capacity to look beyond the names and forms.  First, there should be the willingness to go beyond these layers of names and forms. The willingness comes out of self-effort but  this cover can be removed only through the God's Grace. Another aspect of Radha is love. This aspect manifests, when tired of the worldly pleasures one earnestly seeks to see the God. The worldly attraction or love is the distortion of attraction for God.
The third aspect of Radha is the Eternal Radha - where she is no different than the Krishna. There is no distinction of names and forms. All the fictitious layers of names and forms are gone and the One Absolute Reality alone remains . This is the culmination of the path of 'neti, neti - not this, not this.'