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Newsletter April 20, 2016
Upcoming Events
Vedanta Society, Connecticut – Sat. Apr. 23
Swami Yogatmananda will deliver a Vedanta talk at the Vedanta Society CT, 100 Cherry Brook Rd, Canton CT, from 3:00pm – 5:00pm. All welcome.
Classical Vocal Concert – Sun. Apr. 24, 6:15 - 7:45PM
Immediately following the 5:00 - 6:15pm Sun. Service lecture and Aarati, Pandit Vinayakrao Torvi, disciple of Pt Gururao Deshpande and Bhimsen Joshi, will perform Vocal Indian Classical Music, accompanied by Dr Vinay Mishra on Hramonium and Pt Ashis Sengupta on Tabla. Open to all. No entry fee; donations accepted.
Great Courses Video – Thurs. Apr. 21
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
There will be YOGA class THIS Wed, April 20. 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 May 4.
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Apr. 22 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda on Jnana Yoga (based on the book of Swami Vivekananda) |
| Saturday, Apr. 23 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning |
| Sunday, Apr. 24 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: 'Asking for the Cause of Death' by Swami Yogatmananda
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| Tuesday, Apr. 26 |
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
Swami Yogatmananda’s scheduled trip to Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton in Alberta, Canada from Apr. 14-18 was cancelled, due to flight cancellation.
Swami Nishpapananda, assistant minister of Vedanta Society St. Louis MO, gave two talks on -
Fri. Apr 15 - ‘EGO and ATMAN’ from 7:30 – 8:30PM and Sun. Apr. 17- ‘Karma and Divine Grace’ from 5 – 6PM.
The synopsis of the talks are given below.
Synopses of Last Week's Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Guest Lecture - 'Ego and Atman' by Swami Nishpapananda - Apr. 15, Friday
We have a mistaken notion of ourselves. We are not very aware of the conscious indwelling self, but instead identify ourselves with the body. The consequences for this are our bondages and suffering. The all-pervading reality which illumines the body-mind complex, manifests as the central principle of consciousness and is called Atman. Atman illumines the mind and body, it is the nature of bliss itself, but we tend to overlook it in favor of the experiences that it (Atman) makes known to us. Atman is the real person, the transcendental self. Vedanta posits that Atman can be directly experienced.
What is it that ties consciousness (Atman) to what is unconscious (mind-body complex)? It is the Ego (ahamkara) that connects spirit and matter. The Ego gives rise to our sense of “I-ness” and an individualized self. What happens when the Ego, the individual self, realizes the Atman, the real self? In the times of crisis, or in quiet moments of introspection, or with the encouragement of a guru, when we begin to ask ourselves some fundamental questions: “Who am I? Who am I to myself? What is my true nature, my real being? For whom am I expending all this effort and what is the purpose of all these activities in which I am involved?” We can call this “ego awakening.” This awakening begins to break down the wall of egoism around our I-ness and reduces attachment to our ego identifications.
This ego awakening brings to our lives greater modesty, self-acceptance, openness to reality, the living of an inner-directed life, moral stability, enrichment of our personality, and a deepening of unselfish love. When the ego awakens, it seeks to find its source. This is the true beginning of spiritual life. The ego is the knot, and spiritual life is aimed at untying the knot. As the ego drops away, the inner, sentient part of the Self shines forth and illumines our lives. What happens when the ego, the individual self, realizes the real self? We can see the result in the lives of great, illumined souls, who reside completely in the indwelling, ever-pure, ever-blissful Self (Atman) and are unaffected by the pleasure or pain.
Sunday Lecture -'Karma and Divine Grace' – a talk by Swami Nishpapananda - Apr. 17, Sunday
Karma is more than only ‘work’. It is intentional and volitional action of the body and mind. Involuntary or instinctive actions are not karma. Two effects of karma are a tangible immediate effect, such as satisfaction from feeding someone, and an impression left on the mind. We develop our talents from these impressions, or samskaras. Samskaras are moral forces that may become active again after a long period of time. When the body dies, the karmic impressions go with the departing soul. Pim van Lommel has studied near death experiences (NDE’s). Eighteen percent of the cardiac patients in the study had a NDE. NDE’s were the most powerful experience of their lives. They underwent a panoramic life review, reviewing the whole of their life all at once. In this review, they felt how their actions had affected other people. They were able to change the direction of their lives. They connected with everyone on the planet. Continuing years later, the permanent effects included a loss of fear of death, unconditional love as the most important thing in life, and enhanced intuition and empathy. St. Paul said that we reap what we sow, which is karma. Karma is conditional, whereas grace is unconditional. Sri Ramakrishna said that we cannot see God without his grace. When we surrender to God, God’s grace comes. If we surrender the ego, we become one with God.
Study Class - 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Apr. 19, Tuesday
Page 960, April 18th, 1886:
Sri Ramakrishna’s illness had caused him to be reduced to a mere skeleton. His frail condition delineated worldly people and true devotees. Worldly people think that this person is so ill and cannot cure himself, how will he help them and hence stop visiting. They go to holy persons with worldly desires like marriage, money, winning law suits etc. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that all these are mere zeros – and have no value. However, if you realize self then you add “1” before them and it attaches value to all the zeros after it.
Narendra says that you cannot prove the existence of God through mere reasoning. If you accept His existence on faith, then you must have an attitude of being a servant to Him. God alone is the source of all happiness. In our ignorance, we run after material things, but slowly we realize through experience that there is no happiness in them. A fortunate few get the yearning for God after unsuccessfully chasing happiness in material things. Human birth is rare as it requires significant good past karma to obtain it (like an expensive car), and it is special as it is only humans that have the ability to develop yearning for God. Once we develop the yearning, where do we find the guidance to realize God? Again, we have the rare fortune to have a great guide like Sri Ramakrishna. He still lives beyond His mortal existence so that we all may get the guidance from Him. These together (human birth, yearning for God and a great spiritual guide) are very rare spiritual wealth and must not be squandered in seeking sensual pleasures but applied wholeheartedly in the realization of God.