 |
 |
Newsletter January 06, 2016
Upcoming Events
Day-long Meditation - Sat. Jan. 09, 12noon – 8:00PM
This is a continual long meditation session, starting with guided meditation at 11:00 AM. Must be IN bldg by 12 noon, when entry will be locked; Can leave any time, but cannot re-enter until 6:30PM. Simple Veg. lunch-food will be provided. Doors open at 6:30pm for the 7:00pm singing Aarati, then meditation resumes.
One Voice Interfaith Vigil – Wed. Jan. 06
From 3:00PM – 4:00PM, Swami Yogatmananda, along with clergy of various denominations and advocates, will participate in the Seventh Annual ‘One-Voice Fighting Poverty with Faith’ at the State House Rotunda, Prov. RI. This ‘gathering with one voice’ calls upon all elected legislators and community leaders to utilize their legislative posts effectively to reduce poverty/homelessness in RI. The program begins with a ‘One-Voice Fighting Poverty with Faith’ banner walk from Gloria del Rei Lutheran church to the State House, with participating clergy, speakers and advocates.
Swami Travels - Thurs. Jan. 07 - Mon. Jan. 11
Swami Yogatmananda will travel to Puerto Rico to conduct a retreat and deliver talks to the VedantaCenter there. He will visit and give talks at the Vedanta group in Miami area on Sun Jan. 10. Swami will return to Providence on Tues, Jan.12 to deliver Gospel of Ramakrishna class in evening.
Video show - Fri. Jan. 08
The JNANA YOGA class this coming Friday, Jan. 08 will be replaced by a ‘GREAT COURSES’ video on Bhagavad Gita. Aarati and meditation will proceed as usual. All welcome.
Jnana Yoga class will resume next Friday, Jan. 15
Salutations! – Fri. Jan. 15
The birth anniversary of Swami Saradananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, will be observed on Fri. Jan. 15 with a chant in the morning, and with a song, a biography reading and prasad in the evening.
Infusion Evolution Concert – Sun. Jan. 17
Immediately following the 5pm -6pm Sunday lecture, there will be a concert in the LL (lower Level) from 6:15- 7:30pm with Infusion Evolution, who play Latin/Afro/Cuban music wih a flamenco flair. All welcome; NO entry fee, but donations accepted.
Hatha Yoga class:
Beginning Wednesday, Dec. 16, there will be a six-week yoga series of classes from 5:00 - 6:30PM, under yoga teacher Ellen Schaeffer, (Yoga One, Foster). It is $30.00 for 6 weeks; or $10.00 walk-in.
Contact Ellen Only at: 401-368-9642
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Jan. 08 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: ‘GREAT COURSES’ video on Bhagavad Gita |
| Saturday, Jan. 09 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 7:00 - 8:00 PM: Aarati (singing, a short reading) & Meditation |
| Sunday, Jan. 10 |
5:00 – 6:00PM: A talk --‘Philanthropy: Vedanta Way’ by Charles Feldman
|
| Tuesday, Jan. 12 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 50, pp 950 |
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
New Year’s Eve - Thurs. Dec. 31, 7:30PM
After aarati, twenty-plus devotees and friends gathered downstairs for the annual singing of Auld Lange Syne, and had fortune cookies and juices and sociality.
Sri Sarada Devi Puja/Kalpataru Day – Fri. Jan. 01, 11:00AM –7:00PM
On Friday, January 01, 2016, about ninety-five devotees attended the Birth Anniversary of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. The program began with ritual worship, followed by flower offerings by the devotees and then luncheon prasad from 11:00am –2pm. A video on Sarada Devi: Holy Mother was viewed by about forty-five devotees, who also listened to a reading by Al Vishwanath on Kalpataru Day(Wish-Fulfilling Tree) event with Sri Ramakrishna, followed by a short talk by Swami Yogatmananda on that happening. About sixty attended the 5pm-6pm symposium on Sri Sarada Devi, followed by chanting 108 names to Sarada Devi: Sri Sarada Nama-Sankirtanam. Dinner followed.
Just Kids! Children’s Program – Sun. Jan. 03, 4:00 - 6:00PM
Seven children participated in "Just Kids" on Sunday January 3rd. Activities included reading a Hindu parable and discussing the universal nature of characters and archetypes found in stories and parables from all traditions. A few minutes of Yoga stretching followed. Diksha one of the students then led the group in designing "friendship bracelets". The group adjourned at 6:20pm after sharing soup supper and snacks.
Synopses of Last Week's Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Study Class on 'Jnana Yoga’- Jan. 01, Friday was NOT conducted as it was a day-long program of Birth Anniversary of Sri Sarada Devi and Kalpataru Day.
A Sunday Talk - Towards the Ocean of Bliss – Jan. 03, Sunday
We all want to know how to get maximum happiness, or bliss. The ‘Ocean’ in the title stands for infinity. Philosophy and religion enter into the search for happiness, because happiness, in spite of our best efforts to get it, eludes us. Plotinus says that we connect comfortable living to happiness, so we try to increase our comforts. But he says that there are people who live a comfortable life who are not happy, and people who do not live a comfortable life, who are happy. He calls God the supreme Good, and says that with Good, happiness is automatic. Sages are happy because of their proximity to God. When we realize the Divine, we are perfectly happy. The Sufi saint Rabia said that with God in her heart, there was no suffering, even with physical ailments. Swami Shivananda lived a life of intense austerities. He lived a life of uninterrupted joy despite physical ailments, because he was always aware of God as his identity and paid no attention to the body. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to disjoin from the suffering we hold onto. Swami Shivananda said that the relationship he had with devotees would not be destroyed with the body. The Chandogya Upanishad says that the infinite alone is bliss, and there is no happiness in the finite. When his personal attendants felt pride, Swami Shivananda told them that all were serving Sri Ramakrishna, and thus him, whether they were in personal contact with him or not.
Study Class - 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Jan. 05, Tuesday
Narendra remarks that they should do some tapasya (austerity) to elevate the mind, as the mind had come down due to eating lot of heavy food during a trip to Calcutta. Austerities are meant to help exercise some control over the body. Only when we are able to exercise some control over the body and mind do they become our fit instruments.
Ram, one of the devotees, thinks of Sri Ramakrishna as an incarnation of God. It is very difficult for us to think of an ordinary man as God – especially when the person is very sick and in tremendous pain. Incarnations demonstrate how to handle these types of conflicts with equanimity. e.g. Sri Rama handled his being announced to become a king and the order to go to renounce the kingdom and proceed to forest, with equanimity. One of the devotees thinks that Sri Ramakrishna's illness is due to Prarabdha (past karma) that must bear it’s fruits. There are 3 types of karma: Prarabdha, past actions that must yield their results; Kriyamana, ongoing actions and Sanchita, accumulated results of past actions. While Sanchita can be burned with knowledge and Kriyamana can be eliminated due to absence of ego, Prarabdha is like an arrow that has been shot and must yield its outcome. While its outcome cannot be eliminated its negative effects can be minimized by taking God’s name.