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Newsletter April 13, 2016
Upcoming Events
Swami to Canada – Thurs. Apr. 14 - Mon. Apr. 18
Swami Yogatmananda will travel to Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton in Canada, where he will deliver talks. Swami will return late Monday night, April 18.
Special Talks by Visiting Swami:
Swami Nishpapananda, assistant minister of Vedanta Society St. Louis MO, will deliver two talks on -
1) Fri. Apr 15 - ‘EGO and ATMAN’ from 7:30 – 8:30PM, in place of the ‘Jnana Yoga class.
He will also give the guided meditation on Sat. Apr. 16, 11AM.
2) Sun. Apr 17- ‘Karma and Divine Grace’ from 5 – 6PM.
All are welcome to attend both of these talks. Questions can be asked after the talks.
Great Courses Video – Thurs. Apr. 14
Video showings of Great Courses continues from 8PM – 9PM in the Lower Level (LL).
Tuesday Hatha Yoga Classes
‘Walk-in’ ($5.00) Tues. evenings from 6:15pm – 7:00pm with Hannah Resseger.
Hatha Yoga 6-week Course - Wednesdays Apr. 06- May 25
Beginning Wednesday, Apr. 06, a six-week ‘Mindful Flow’ Hatha Yoga class will be conducted at the Vedanta Society on every Wednesday by Ellen Schaefer of One Yoga Center, RI, from 5:00 - 6:30PM. The 6-week course will be $30.00 Pre-paid; and $10.00 per class walk-in. Contact Ellen at 401-368-9642
Please note: No class on April 20 & May 4.
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Apr. 15 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: 'EGO and ATMAN' by Swami Nishpapananda (Vedanta Society, St. Louis, MO) |
| Saturday, Apr. 16 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning |
| Sunday, Apr. 17 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: 'Karma & Divine Grace' by Swami Nishpapananda (Vedanta Society, St. Louis, MO) 7:00 – 8:00PM: Meditation
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| Tuesday, Apr. 19 |
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 960 |
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 'THE STORY OF AN EPOCH: Swami Virajananda and his Times', by Swami Shraddhananda 7:15 – 8:00 PM: Meditation |
Past Events
Attleboro-based Interfaith – Thurs. Apr. 07
Swami Yogatmanada and nine community interfaith leaders and congregant members participated in the ‘Attleboro-based interfaith meeting this month from 11:30AM - 1:30 PM at Concordia Center for Spiritual Living, Warwick RI, to discuss this month’s question: "Where do we go when we die? Share an experience -- perhaps in the passing of a loved one, your own near-death experience, or an impartation you felt was from the Divine--where you may have had a glimpse into this answer."
Day-long Meditation - Sat. Apr. 09, 12Noon – 8:00PM
About thirteen devotees and Swami began participation in the day-long meditation from 12 noon to 8pm, which followed the 11am -12noon guided meditation & music hour.
Swami Yogatmananda at Concordia Church – Sun. Apr. 10
Swami Yogatmananda delivered the ‘Celebration’ Service on the subject of ‘Love’ to over eighty congregant attendees at Concordia Center of Spiritual Living at 292 West Shore Rd, Warwick. Afterwards, Swami conducted a one-and half-hour workshop on ‘Meditation’ to about thirty-five practitioners in the lower level, where he also answered several questions
Synopses of Last Week's Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Study Class on 'Jnana Yoga’ - Apr. 08, Friday
Class #24, Ch. 4:
We cannot escape the question of who created the universe. Because we are unable to pinpoint the nature of this creator, we may be tempted to brush the question aside, yet we find we can't quite leave it alone and so are left with a fuzzy idea about God’s nature. As we grow in our awareness, our idea of God evolves too. Many traditions may think this idea is blasphemous. Yet if we analyze we will see that it is not God who created us in his own image, rather it is we who created God in our own image. The world is at best Tantalus’s hell. In Greek mythology, Tantalus was immersed in a pool of water beneath the branches of a fruit tree in a condition of extreme hunger and thirst, with fruit just out of reach and the water receding before he could take a drink. Our condition in Maya is much the same. It seems there is no way out of this situation. The only way out is to realize that all is Maya; there is no “I” and “the world." But this realization doesn’t come quickly/easily. One way of understanding Maya is as Name and Form. Name and Form is analogous to space-time-causation, the prism through which the One appears as the many. Freedom is not possible within the realm of Name and Form. At the relative level, freedom is the first condition of growth: whatever gets freedom grows. If we do not give freedom to religious ideas, the ideas become constrained, dogmatic, and so forth. Freedom allows for the evolution of ideas and the growth of the individual.
Sunday Lecture -'May Rama Protect Me' – Apr. 10, Sunday
Rama is the source of bliss, my mother, my father, my friend, my everything – I don’t know anything else but Rama. In the Rama-Lila, Rama assumes the identity of a human being, but knows his true identity as God. By observing God as a human being, we can feel our divinity too. Sage Budha Kaushika wrote the Rama Raksha Stotra as a prayer to Rama for protection. In this hymn, Rama is viewed as the source of joy, and the author feels safe, with the presence of the divine very close to him. The hymn asks Rama to protect the entire body, and puts forth the idea of a servant devotee. If Rama protects us, no evil-doers can even see us, let alone harming us. Many people have the idea of first enjoying the world and getting liberation later. By taking the name of Rama, such people can get worldly pleasures, money, and a nice family, because at least they are taking the name of Rama, which gradually does away with desires. Rama is perfection itself. Rama is Brahman, the very Self, and the Lord of yajnas or sacrifices. Every sacrifice brings a result to the deity who is invoked, and all deities are manifestations of the Atman, who gets the results. Reciting the name of Rama once with utmost sincerity, is like reciting it a thousand times.
Study Class - 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Apr. 12, Tuesday
Page 960, April 18th, 1886:
The conversations of Sri Ramakrishna help us to understand our true nature. He was always unified with his real nature and hence his blissful state was undisturbed even though his body was suffering. Even in that condition, he used to engage in conversations talking about God alone.
Narendra stated that by following the path of faith one believes in God as the creator/governor/master of this world. We are the servants or mere instruments at His hands. Narendra also commented that we have to accept that God is very kind. Looking at the sufferings and agony in the world it is difficult to accept this idea. We desire happiness and pleasure. But pleasures and comfort make us forget the Lord. Pain is a good teacher. It increases the devotion and intensity of one’s faith. It is a very effective tool to connect to the Lord.
We get attached to the “I and mine” in this unreal world and forget the God completely or find excuses for spiritual practices. Separation from these unreal things appear to be painful. The pain comes out of our deep attachment and dependence on the unreal external world. The agony is a blessing in disguise. It brings us closer to the Lord, to our true nature.
Narendra further mentioned that God’s kindness can be seen from the three things He has given us – Human birth, desire to realize God and the grace of the saint. These three things propel the human life in the right direction.