Newsletter July 29, 2015

Newsletter Archives

 

Notice:

1) The Center's daily and weekly activities will be suspended until Saturday, September 12.

The shrine & chapel will in general not be open for the daily morning-evening prayer/meditation meetings, except by prior appointment. 

2) Next newsletter will be posted on September 09.
3) The LIBRARY will be open only on Tuesday evenings (July 07 – August 25) through the summer.
4) Hatha Yoga classes will resume in September/October.

Summer Events 2015 - (pdf file)

 

Vedanta Study class – Tuesdays, July 07 through August 25, 7:00 - 8:30PM
Prayer, Meditation, Study and Discussion on: ‘Cloud of Unknowing’. Open to All.

Guru Poornima – Sat. August 01

11:00 AM –1:30 PM: Worship, Singing, Readings, Talk, Prasad-lunch.

2:00 - 4:00 PM: Devotional Music Program with Suchita Rao ands Nittin Mitta on Tabla; Open to all

 

Rochester Vedanta Retreat – Wed. Aug. 5 - Sun. Aug. 9
Main Topic NARADA BHAKTI-SUTRA (NARADA'S APHORISMS ON DEVOTION).
Teachers: Swamis Yogatmananda & Kripamayananda
Please visit http://www.vedantaretreatrochester.org or http://www.omhhsc.org to register

 

Children’s Day Camp – Tue. August 11 - Sat. August 15
A Children’s day campwill be conducted under the guidance of Prof. Dorothy Abram and assisted by two primary school teachers from Tuesday, August 11 through Saturday, August 15. The camp timings are 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM daily.  Theme of the camp: LOTUS & LIGHT. There will be creative arts, storytelling, yoga, drama arts, readings /writings, etc. Vegetarian luncheon & snacks are provided. $50.00 per child. Some scholarships are available. Contact: [email protected] or call 402-421-3960 (Center).

 

Past Events

 

Swami's visit to Pittsburgh PA and Washington D.C. – Fri., June 26 - Mon., June 29
Swami Yogatmananda and devotees traveled to a Vedanta Center in Pittsburgh PA, where Swami conducted a retreat to about thirty-five devotees and delivered Vedanta talks. He also visited Washington DC Vedanta Center on Sunday, June 28 and returned to Providence on Monday June 29.

Independence Day Program – Sat., July 04
About 35 devotees attended the readings-music-talks-slide-show program from 11am – 2:30pm at Vedanta Society Chapel.

Meditate-a-thon retreat – Fri., July 10 to Sun., July 12
22 devotees and Swami participated in this silent residential meditation retreat from Friday, July 10, 6:00 PM to Sunday, July 12, 1:00 PM. The retreat consisted of long hours of meditation along with personal stretching exercise/yoga and very short readings. The participants were silent throughout the retreat even during taking in and preparing meals. All electronic gadgets were kept secured away from the participants.

DHARMA for Teachers – Tue., July 14
Swami spoke for about one-and-half hours at the annual ‘dharma’ workshop for nine public school teachers at Bridgewater State College, MA.

Get-Together of Devotees – Sat., July 18
About 30 devotees gathered at the home of T. K. Roy, West Wareham MA., to honor ‘M’, the chronicler of ‘The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna’ with readings and songs on Saturday, July 18 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. A sumptuous luncheon was provided.

 

Class on Yoga to future Yoga teachers – Sat., July 18

About seven future yoga teachers, students of Yoga teacher Ellen Schaeffer, had a short class on Yoga taught by Swami Yogatmananda on Saturday, July 18 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM.

 

Day-long retreat in South Glastonbury, CT – Sun., July 19
About 35 devotees participated in the ‘CT-Bhagavad-Gita’ group’s annual home retreat in South Glastonbury CT on Sunday, July 19. Swami Yogatmananda delivered three talk-sessions on ‘How the Mind Works’. There was also music/singing, luncheon/snacks and walk-around/social time. The program was from 10:00am – 5:00pm.

Young Adult residential retreat – Fri., July 24 to Sun., July 26
14 youth from ages 16 to 30  participated in the residential weekend retreat from Friday, July 24, 6:00 PM to Sunday, July 26, 1:00 PM. The topic of the retreat was: Studying the Mind that involved readings, meditation, discussions, a video show, personal writing-time, presentations, ‘open-stage’ session, meals-snacks, and a ‘walk-about-the-area’ session. Swami facilitated the program. Some adult devotees helped with various program needs.

 

Click here to see the photos.

 

Synopsis

 

Cloud of Unknowing classes on Tuesdays – July 07, 14, 21, 28

Cloud of Unknowing is a Mystical treatise written by an unknown English monk of 14th Century CE. It is advice to a young, would be monk, and therefore this book, as the author explicitly mentions in the Prologue, is only for the sincere seekers of God and are thus ready to get away from the pursuit of the worldly things. It is a contemplative text and has to be read with that awareness. Also, all its 75 chapters form a connected whole. It tells us the importance of longing for this realization of God and to take up this work in earnest. It is also spoken of by the author as the simplest of all the works.