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Have a Question ?
If you have questions regarding spiritual life, Vedanta, Hinduism etc, you can email us at answers ATvedantaprov.org
Newsletter November 25, 2015
Reminder
1) Morning and evening meditation programs go on at regular times Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.
2) There WILL Be Aarati and Jnana Yoga Class on Fri. Nov. 27 – the usual times.
Upcoming Events
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.
Saxophone & Tabla Concert –Sun. Dec. 06, 6:00-7:30PM
Immediately following the 5pm -6:15 pm Sunday Lecture & Aarati on Sun. Dec 06, there will be a Saxophone & Tabla concert (Indian Classical Melodies:Raagas) in the Lower Level (LL) with Phil Scarff on Sax and Amit Kavthekar on Tabla. All Welcome; No entry Fee; Donations accepted.
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. 27 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class #9 by Swami Yogatmananda on 'Jnana Yoga’, a book by Swami Vivekananda |
| Saturday, Nov. 28 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 7:00 - 8:00 PM: Aarati (singing, a short reading) & Meditation |
| Sunday, Nov. 29 |
5:00 – 6:00PM: A talk - ‘Remembering the Gopis’ (based on Bhagavatam), by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00 – 6:15 PM: Aarati (devotional music) |
| Tuesday, Dec. 1 |
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 944 |
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
Some of the Sunday Service lectures of September and October 2015 are available on our website.
Swami at Holy Family Church – Sun. Nov. 22
Swami Yogatmananda spoke briefly and offered a chant in the annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Program at Holy Family Church, South Main St Woonsocket RI, at 3:00pm. About one-hundred fifty people attended.
Musical Presentation of Devotional-Poetry - Sun. Nov. 22
About thirty three people attended the devotional musical-poetry concert (God with & without Attributes) sung by Ramchandra Joshi and accompanied on tabla by Rajesh Pai from 6:15 -7:45pm on Sunday, Nov 22 following the 5-6PM Sunday Service.
Click here to see photos.
Salutations! – Mon. Nov.23 and Wed. Nov 25
The birth anniversary of Swami Subodhananda was observed in the morning with a chant and in the evening with a song, a biography reading and prasad.
The birth anniversary of Swami Vijnanananda, direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, was observed on Wed. Nov 25, in the morning with a chant and 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 - 'Jnana Yoga’ (a book by Swami Vivekananda) - Nov. 13, Friday
Class #8:
Within each of us dwells the perfected human being in an “involved” form. The task of the spiritual aspirant is to bring out this perfected human being through the purification of the awareness.
The question arises whether the body is the generator of thought or thought is the generator of the body. The mainstream idea in western neurology/psychology is that consciousness is the outcome of the neural activity in the brain. If we accept the assertion that thought is a product not a cause, then the question is just moved back one notch: What force then made the body? We may assume that there is a subtle body behind this gross body, similar to the software of a computer, but this subtle body cannot be the final answer since it too is a combination. Therefore, Vedanta asserts that behind this subtle body there is an infinite Self, the Atman or soul, which is beyond form, pervasive, infinite, and is the real cause of the universe.
Significance of Thanking - Nov. 22, Sunday
Scriptures tell us that to realize the One-ness of the existence is the goal of life as therein lies all that we are seeking. When we thanks to someone, we are actually affirming the loving connectedness. When we say thank you, we acknowledge the interdependence things. No one is an island. We should feel grateful for everything we get; even the miseries that we get, are a gift, as they make us stronger and also make us think of God. Even when we are giving something to others, we should say (and feel) ‘thank you’, as the act of ‘giving’ was making us expand our awareness, which was made possible because of the ‘receiver’. What are thought of as inanimate objects, are also actually imbued with life and consciousness; so we must be thankful to those too. E.g. We should be thankful to the chair for letting us sit on it. Thus the act of thanksgiving gradually makes us see the inherent connectedness of the Universe, which then leads us to the experience of One-ness.
Study Class - 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Nov. 24, Tuesday
Life of an incarnation of God is inexplicable - one has to feel it. Their taking human form does not have any purpose of its own. During His last days, Sri Ramakrishna becomes even more eager to reveal the truth. He says that God is closest to us, He is with us all the time. In fact, He is one with us. It is our ego that on one hand prevents us but on the other help us realize the truth. He describes two types of egos – the ego knowledge and the ego of ignorance.
Buddha had described the 4 noble truths. These truths indicated that: 1) Everything in the world is fraught with suffering; 2) The suffering has a cause, if this cause is eliminated, the suffering can be eliminated too; 3) There is a state beyond the suffering and 4) There is the path following which, one can get to this state beyond the suffering. The ego of knowledge leads one step by step to get there. As human beings we have the rare fortune to realize the truth as other creatures do not have the faculty to do the same. Adi Shankaracharya says that it is very rare to get the human birth, desire for liberation and holy company that we can hold on to, in order to realize the truth. Sri Ramakrishna tells Narendra that renunciation is necessary to realize the truth. This renunciation is not a painful experience but a joyous experience of letting go off something painful to get something which is blissful. Hence, one must renounce the worldly pleasures that are only a source of suffering in order to receive the bliss from the ultimate truth.