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If you have questions regarding spiritual life, Vedanta, Hinduism etc, you can email us at answers ATvedantaprov.org
Newsletter March 25, 2015
Upcoming Events
Swami to So. California – Fri. Mar. 27 – Wed. Apr. 01
Swami Yogatmananda will travel to California on Friday morning, March 27, and give Vedanta talks and lectures at various Vedanta Societies in Southern California. Swami will return by overnight flight and arrive in Providence Thursday, April 02.
Sri Rama-Naam-Sankirtanam Chanting – Sun. March 22
Immediately following the 5pm – 6pm Sunday Service lecture, there will be chant-singing of 108 names to Rama. Soup Supper will follow; then Aarati will begin about 7:15pm.
Other ongoing Classes:
1) $ 5.00 Walk-in Hatha Yoga with Hannah Resseger is every Tuesday from 6pm – 7pm: Contact Hannah ONLY at: key2life-AT-gmail.com
2) Bharathanatyam (South Indian ) Classical Dance Classes are Sundays, 3:30 – 5:00 pm: Contact Anuradha ONLY at : 704-707-5430
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, March 27 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: A VIDEO-Lecture will be viewed. |
| Saturday, March 28 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning |
| Sunday, March 29 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk on 'Individual and Society' by Dr. Atul Pokhrail 6:00 – 6:30 PM: Sri Rama-Naam-Sankirtanam 6:30 PM: Soup Supper 7:15 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation |
| Tuesday, March 31 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: A VIDEO on 'Kumbha-Melaa' will be shown. |
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
Day-long Spiritual Retreat - Sat. March 21, 10:00AM - 7:00PM
Fifty-four devotees attended in this forty-ninth (49th) ’snowy’ day-long retreat, this time led by Swami Yogatmananda. The day consisted of guided meditation, devotional music, three(3) discourses on the topic: ‘Dis-Covering the Self’, and hour-plus Q/A session, refreshment breaks, (2) meals, Aarati, and chanting of Rama-nama-Sankirtanam.
Synopses of Last Week's Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Study Class - 'Kenopnisad' - March 20, Friday
Knowledge of the Upanishads is available only to those who feel an
over-powering urge for liberation from worldly bondages and a thirst for
true happiness, true knowledge of the Self, and true love. All of us have
the desire for liberation--the desire to achieve oneness--inside of us, but
it is covered by the dross of worldly desires. We are firmly established in
the idea that we are this limited body, this limited mind; yet, for some
rare of us, the latent memory of our true selves will begin to emerge, and
we will ask ourselves, "Who am I?" These individuals will feel an urge to
seek a guru, someone who can show them the way. The disciple asks his guru:
My mind perceives all these objects, but who makes it perceive? The
disciple is already seeing that the mind is not "I," is not acting on its
own, but is animated by some other force. Just as electricity is
independent of the light bulb, there is mind independent of brain, and there
is consciousness independent of mind, too. The disciple goes on to ask who
animates the body, directs the speech, and makes the functions of the body
work. WHO is the innermost self? This is the self that the spiritual
seeker desires to know. The answer to these questions is comprehensible
only to this eligible student. Let us meditate on this question, WHO is the
WHO inside of each of us, so that we might become more eligible and
better-able to understand the question's answer.
Chemistry of Consciousness - March 22, Sunday
Chemistry of consciousness means: What are the components of consciousness?
In the west, consciousness is objectified as consciousness of something.
Western psychology sees consciousness as an epiphenomenon of neurons in the
brain. Alan Turing, the father of computer science, showed that machines can
replicate thinking. Theoretical quantum physicist Amit Goswami talks about
the complexity of consciousness. The Buddha said there is no permanent 'I',
as it changes with perception of each object. Vedanta, while agreeing with
this, says that the subject and object stand and fall together. Quantum
physics has shown that there is no object apart from a subject. We can
abstract all particulars from consciousness to see what actually 'The
Consciousness' is. The Bhagavad Gita says that we all experience the center
of consciousness within us. The life sciences try to find out what
consciousness is and what life is. Lord Krishna speaks of the lower prakriti
(or nature), composed of elements that can be experienced through the five
senses, plus mind, intellect and ego. The higher prakriti or nature is the
sense of continuity in what is constantly changing. Consciousness appears in
everything like the sun reflected in many pots. We need to look up to find
the source, and not in the 'pots'. We need to shift our gaze from appearance
to reality. We are addicted to the 'pots', making again and again the
mistake of expecting to extract the 'sun'. We need to turn to God and
develop detachment toward the things of the world.
Study Class - 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - March 24, Tuesday
Conversation was going on between Dr. Sarkar and M about Divine Incarnation.
It was difficult for the Doctor to conceive this idea of the Omnipresent God
getting concentrated in a limited or a particular human body. It is
difficult for most of us to understand this concept. Even Swami Vivekananda
had this doubt about Sri Ramakrishna being the incarnation of God almost
until the very end of Sri Ramakrishna's mortal life. God is undoubtedly
everywhere. But due to our limited understanding, we do not see God anywhere
and hence need to find his special manifestation where one can feel the
Divine Presence. Hence Divine takes a human form which can be easily grasped
by all. An Incarnation is a very special manifestation in which even
ordinary people can appreciate the divinity and the divine principles.
Incarnations are not mentioned in Upnishadas as at that level of
pure-hearted disciples, such special manifestations were not required.
Master was talking to one Christain Devotee, - Misra. He explained to the
devotee how the one God is called by the various names by different
religions. Different people refer to the same water with different names
according to the language they speak.
Divine inebriation comes first in the Samadhi and the bliss of
Satchidananda. The ideas of names and forms dissolve first and then the
understanding evolves that there are no distinct names and forms but Divine
alone exists. This brings the out of the world blissfulness, directly from
the source of bliss.