Newsletter April 22, 2015

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Guest Lecture – Fri. Apr. 24
In place of the Kenopanisad class on Fri evening April 24,  Rabbi Rami Shapiro will deliver a talk on: Living as a Blessing: Spiritual Meaning of 'The Promised Land', from 7:30 – 8:30pm. All are welcome; No fee.

 

Swami to North Carolina – Sat. Apr. 25 - Sun. Apr. 26
Swami Yogatmananda will travel to North Carolina early Saturday morning, April 25, to conduct a retreat at the Greenville Center on Saturday and Sunday. He will also deliver a talk in Raleigh, North Carolina on Sunday. He will return on Monday morning.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, April 24	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Rabbi Rami Shapiro will deliver a talk on: Living as a Blessing: Spiritual Meaning of 'The Promised Land'
Saturday, April 25	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, April 26	5:00 – 6:00 PM:A talk on - ‘Science of Vedanta’, by Sam Abram 6:00 – 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation
Tuesday, April 28	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 924

 

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

Bhagavad Gita class, Middletown CT – Sun. Apr. 19, 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Swami Yogatmananda  conducted the monthly Bhagavad Gita (Ch.18 cont.) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple (10 Training Hill Rd, Middletown, CT).

 

Green Energy - Solar Panels Installation at the Vedanta Society: Click here to the photos.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

Study Class - 'Kenopanisad' - Apr. 17, Friday

The Kena Upanishad is a dialogue between teacher and student that explores the question of who we really are. Because the true Self is all pervading, it cannot be indicated. Like a movie screen pervades all the images of the film while remaining completely unaffected, the Self pervades all the names and forms, including the senses and the mind, while remaining completely unchanged. Therefore, imparting knowledge of the Self is not like imparting any other type of knowledge: Other forms of knowledge presuppose a subject-object relationship. But the all-pervading Self transcends the subject-object relationship. Although we are unable to "know" the Self as we would know the subject of say algebra, we can experience the Self by transcending the subject-object relationship through spiritual practice. Since the subject-object relationship is predicated on the false identification of the Self with the little "I", eliminating the "I" removes all bondages and enables one to realize the Self. Sincere spiritual practice reduces the impact of ignorance on our lives. Because of ignorance, we see "I" and "the world". Although there is essential oneness, the oneness appears in a distorted way, and we must struggle to control desires. By restricting the tendencies to run after desires, the impact of ignorance and desires gradually becomes reduced. As we become pure inside, the mind becomes purer, we shall feel the reality of the self; we shall see the screen that is exists through all the changing forms

 

'Namaste' - Apr. 19, Sunday
Greeting people with Namaste is a practice of saluting everyone, seeing God in all. God in you is the same as God in me. This idea is echoed in all religions. Management consultant Lance Secretan and Pastor Eddie Smith both advocate the Namaste practice. Spiritual practice must not be separated from day-to-day living. We need to absorb Namaste because our instinct tells us that our separate self is good and others' not so good. We feel we are special and seek enjoyment from the world. Swami Vivekananda says that the cause of suffering is that we think that pleasure is the goal of life. We learn that this is not so after many frustrating attempts at getting satisfaction from the world. Just thinking that happiness is within can make us happy. Seeing God in others and serving them can be a spiritual practice. We are always surrounded by images of God, and we just have to recognize it. Saying Namaste from childhood can have an effect on us, whether we understand it or not. The Namaste hand gesture, or mudra, in the prayer position, symbolizes two extremes coming together in unity. If we cannot see God in everyone, Swami Vivekananda says to try to see God in the person we are meeting. This removes hatred, seeing any negative status as temporary. Namaste increases self-confidence instead of having a state of rejecting someone due to a fear of being rejected first. Namaste!

 

Study Class - 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Apr. 21, Tuesday

Sri Ramakrishna was repeatedly getting into Samadhi. This could aggravate his illness. He was well-versed with various states of consciousness and was adept at traversing between these states at will. Therefore, he asked Narendra to sing some songs so that he could restrain Himself from going into Samadhi.
Narendra sang the song, "Be drunk, O mind, be drunk with the Wine of Heavenly Bliss!..."  This song urges aspirants to immerse themselves in singing Hari's name to remove all desires and achieve the purpose of life. Our experience of the world is a state of delusion, in ignorance of the Truth. The key factor for this delusion is our desires. Our desires impel us to seek the objects of the world. But, in doing so we get bound by these objects and can't seem to free ourselves from them. An effective way to overcome this bondage is to attach ourselves to Hari (God) by singing His glories and chanting His name. As our devotion increases, we derive bliss from chanting Hari's name. This bliss takes us away from worldly attractions, removes our delusion and liberates us. Hari, therefore, means someone who removes our delusion.  Desire is the biggest impediment to our happiness. Quite contrary to that, we think that desires help us experience happiness. If we are to be truly happy, we must renounce all desires and find bliss in God's name. God removes our delusion and provides us Eternal happiness..