Newsletter November 11, 2015

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Swami to New Jersey – Wed. Nov. 11
Swami Yogatmananda will travel to the Voorhees Vedanta group in New Jersey to perform a Kali puja and deliver some talks to local areas. He will return Thursday around 6 pm.

Swami to Alabama – Nov. 14 - 16
Swami will leave for the  Huntsville, Alabama Vedanta group early Saturday morning, Nov. 14 to give a retreat and some lectures and will return Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 17.

DAY-LONG RETREAT - Sat. Dec. 05,    10:00AM  –7:00PPM
Topic: ‘The CAVE of the HEART’ by Swami Chidbrahmananda, Vedanta Center of Greater Washington DC.  

Prior registration required Fee: $20/person.
Click here for more info & online registration.

Hatha Yoga class:

‘Walk-in’ ($5.00) Hatha Yoga class on Tues. evenings from 6:00pm – 7:00pm with Hannah Resseger.

Contact Hannah only AT: key2life-AT-gmail.com

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Nov. 13	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class #7 by Swami Yogatmananda on 'Jnana Yoga’, a book by Swami Vivekananda
Saturday, Nov. 14	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation and chanting/singing 7:00 - 8:00 PM:  Aarati (singing, a short reading) & Meditation
Sunday, Nov. 15	5:00 – 6:00PM: A talk - ‘Who is Kaali?: An exploration in Time’, by Sravani Bhattacharjee 6:00 – 6:15 PM: Aarati (devotional music) 6:15 – 8:00PM: Soup Supper, followed by Meditation
Tuesday, Nov. 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 49, pp 942

 

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. 6' 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

A new post on our blog conveys the key distinctions between religion and science:

http://vedantaprovidence.blogspot.com/2015/11/religion-science-discussion.html

 

Interfaith Meet at Vedanta Society- Thurs. Nov. 05
Swami Yogatmananda and nine other clergy/congregation members attended the Attleboro-based interfaith meeting conducted here at the Vedanta Society, from 11:45am – 1:30pm, Thursday Nov 05 to discuss this month’s question: "How is selection of a new pastor/faith leader accomplished in your faith tradition? Also, talk about a time there was a pastor change to your church/place of worship. Explain how that change affected you and your faith community." Some spoke from both sides: having been children of a faith leader and having to ‘live-that-process’ growing up, as well as being a congregation member/ faith leader.
Click here to see photos.

Swami at Funeral Service – Fri. Nov. 06
Swami chanted prayers and spoke briefly at the funeral service for Arun Agrawal, who passed away Tuesday, Nov. 03. Arun founded ‘Raagmala’ and organized classical Indian concerts all around the local area to introduce and encourage appreciation of this music among  Americans and second generation American-born Indians, always saying: ‘Music transcends all language barriers’.   

Day-long Meditation - Sat. Nov. 07, 12noon – 8:00PM
About six/seven devotees participated in the monthly 'Day-long Meditation Session'.

Vedanta Society, Connecticut  Kali Puja Program – Sat. Nov. 07
Swami and about thirty devotees met from 3pm – 6pm at newly formed Vedanta Society of CT, 100 Cherry Brook Rd, Canton CT, to perform Kali puja, sing devotional music and partake prasad.

Bhagavad Gita class, Middletown CT – Sun. Nov. 08, 10:30 - 11:30AM
Swami Yogatmananda conducted  the monthly Bhagavad Gita (Ch.18 cont.) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple Middletown, CT to about fourteen devotees.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

 

Study Class - 'Jnana Yoga’ (a book by Swami Vivekananda) - Nov. 06, Friday 
Class #6: 

The second chapter of Swami Vivekananda’s Jnana Yoga is titled, “The Real Nature of Man.” As human beings, our perceptions present us with an appearance of reality, but to discover our real nature we must probe deeper, beyond appearance. Religion begins with the question, “Is this apparent reality real?” The answer to this question at an intellectual level won’t bring lasting satisfaction in life, but as we reach the culmination of Religion the experience of the real absolute bliss and absolute existence is achieved and the question is answered. All of us possess a strong desire to know what happens when the body dies. Because this question threatens the very basis of our sense pleasures, attempts are made to suppress the question. However, as the most important question in life, the search for its answer should not be postponed until we are old: we must tackle it when all of our faculties-—physical, psychological, intellectual, etc.— are strong. As this question becomes prominent in our life, there are two ways to handle it:
-To surrender to the life of the senses
-To be courageous and look for the source of happiness.
Presented with the choice of these two paths, we must seek to transcend the life of the senses and strive to discover the true source of happiness.

 

Mother of the Universe (based on Songs on Divine Mother) - Nov. 08, Sunday
In the coming week, many will worship the Divine Mother in the form of Mother Kali. Sir Ramakrishna’s devotional fervor expressed itself in a deliberate manner when he became worshiper of Mother Kali. He did not care for anything other than realizing the Divine Mother. Otherwise, life was meaningless. As part of this talk, we listened to songs on the Divine Mother. We first listened to Nibiro Aandhare Maa .. written by Trailokyanath Sanyal, and sung here by Swapna Ray. Koushik Chakrabarty accompanied all songs on tabla. This song says that in intense darkness Mother’s beauty sparkles. The song speaks of getting a vision in the shrine of samadhi. The second song was Kalo Mayer Payer Tolai written by Kazi Nazrul Islam, sung here by Rahul Ray. This song speaks of seeing the Light itself (Mother) dance in the dark. Lord Shiva lets her dance on his chest because her beauty is so compelling. She puts on a garment of space, as no cloth will fit, since she is all-pervading. The third song was Gaya Ganga Prabhasadi, written by Madan, sung here by Sravani Bhattacharjee. This song talks about the futileness of all pilgrimages and religious rituals, if one developes true love for Mother Kali. The fourth song was Shyama Naamer Laglo Aagun, also written by Kazi Nazrul Islam, sung here by Rahul Ray. This song describes body consciousness being burned away like an incense stick, lit with the fire of the name of Mother Kali. As it burns, fragrance of purity fills the whole space. ‘I and mine’ are reduced to ashes. Through these songs, we meditate on the divine poetry of Mother Kali.

 

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

Sri Ramakrishna is distributing the greatest gift in the world, the gift of spiritual knowledge through his conversations with the devotees. The spiritual knowledge removes the delusion about our false identity as this body and takes away the fear of death or uncertainty. Everyone can obtain this gift from Sri Ramakrishna by giving up the ignorance. One must become worthy to receive and to hold such a precious gift of infinite bliss. Ordinarily it is difficult even to contain the worldly emotions. The human nervous system is not prepared enough to handle the ups and downs or extreme pleasures and pains. To be able to receive and sustain the spiritual wisdom one must prepare him/herself and undertake prescribed spiritual practices.
Sri Ramakrishna mentions to the devotees that it is not God's will to preserve his body for a longer duration. He says that he and the Mother has become one. There is no separate existence of the body was felt. As Krishna was residing in Radha's heart, Mother is residing in him. He, very vividly explains, the co- existence of the changeless principle - the Mother, and the changing element - the devotee - who is aspiring to attain the changeless divinity.