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Newsletter April 27, 2016
Upcoming Events
DAY-LONG RETREAT - Sat. June 04, 9:30AM –7:00PM
Topic: 'KATHOPANISAD' by Swami Sarvapriyananda, Vedanta Society, Hollywood CA
Prior registration required; can register at the Vedanta Society or online.
Fee: $30.00/person ($20.00 if registered and paid by May 20, 2016)
Click here for more info & online registration.
Great Courses Video – Thurs. Apr. 28
Video showings of Great Courses continues from 8PM – 9PM in the Lower Level (LL).
Tuesday Hatha Yoga Classes
Suspended for now.
Hatha Yoga 6-week Course - Wednesdays Apr. 06- May 25
There will be YOGA class THIS Wed, April 27. 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. 29 |
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. 30 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning |
| Sunday, May 01 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: 'Where is the Soul?’ by Swami Yogatmananda
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| Tuesday, May 03 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda on 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', Ch 51, pp 962 |
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
Vedanta Society, Connecticut – Sat. Apr. 23
Swami Yogatmananda delivered a Vedanta talk at the Vedanta Society of Connecticut, 100 Cherry Brook Rd, Canton CT to about twenty devotees from 3:00pm – 5:00pm.
Classical Vocal Concert – Sun. Apr. 24, 6:15 - 7:45PM
Pandit Vinayakrao Torvi, disciple of Pt Gururao Deshpande and Bhimsen Joshi, performed Vocal Indian Classical Music, accompanied by Dr Vinay Mishra on Harmonium and Pt Ashis Sengupta on Tabla. About forty-three music enthusiasts attended.
Synopses of Last Week's Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Study Class on 'Jnana Yoga’- Apr. 22, Friday
Class #25, Chapter 5- Maya and Freedom
All that we strive for in life is achieved when we realize the truth. If we, being born as human beings, fail to realize the truth, the life is in vain, in spite of many other great feats done. The method of Jnana Yoga is simple: purify your understanding and things become clear. With a purified understanding one can perceive the difference between what is changing and what is unchanging. As a result of confusion about what is changing and unchanging, we suffer. The purification of our understanding removes the confusion between what is changing and unchanging, one automatically becomes attached to the unchanging reality, and suffering ceases. In Maya, we are bound by contradictions on all sides. The very idea that we are bound is caught up with the idea of freedom. Therefore all religions have posited a God who is essentially free. The more our awareness of bondage grows, the more our awareness of God grows. We may ask ourselves, “What is the meaning of birth/death?” But when we analyze the question, we cannot make any sense out of it. Who is born? When? How? There is no final answer to these questions—this is Maya. To go beyond Maya, we have to be bold, fearless, and willing to follow reasoning wherever it takes us. We cannot let fear hold us back from realizing a higher truth. If pleasure could be found in the contact of the senses, we would have found it. But we have not, and so we must struggle. “With every breath, with every pulsation of the heart, with every one of our movements, we think we are free, and nature shows that we are not.” We are, as it were, ‘hard-wired’ to think that we are free. This is Maya.
Sunday Lecture -'Asking for The Cause of Death’ – Apr. 24, Sunday
Why do we ask for the cause of death? When 'cause' for anything is asked, it is because it is unexpected; we are intrigued and astonished by that event. For events that are just natural, we do not seek cause for their happening. We do not ask for the cause of birth, we just assume that when male-female are together, birth is a natural, no further cause is necessary. In fact, if male-female are together, and no birth is happening for a long time, then we ask for cause of ‘non-birth’. We never ask ‘why a person is alive/living’ – as living is taken for granted. Somehow, we consider death as unexpected and unnatural, so there has to be a cause! But when we think, death is the most common and inevitable event; why should it need a cause? Also, when something (say –heart attack) is stated as the cause, what about so many cases, where the cause, like heart attack are present, but death does not come. So, they are not sufficient causes. Also, they are neither necessary. Saint Kabir says that, living should be a ‘wonder’, not death. Living depends on so many highly intricate and complicated processes. The King Yudhishthira, in answer to the question ‘What is most surprising?’ replies that the most astonishing fact is: although everyone sees the dance of death going on around at all times, we still think that we are going to be immortal.
Deep down in our consciousness, we feel the conviction that we are, at some level, immortal. Therefore, when we see someone’s death, we feel surprised. Vedanta tells that, truly, our Self is immortal, ever present; it is changeless. But in ignorance, it is superimposed on the continuously changing, dying body. So, in ignorance, the body, which is mortal, gets seen as immortal; thus a cause is sought for the death.
Study Class - 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' - Apr. 26, Tuesday
Page 961, April 18th, 1886:
Life stories of great saints are inspirational for the ordinary people as they teach how the life can be transformed by realizing our true divine nature going beyond the body.
Narendra commented that God is kind as he has given - Human Birth, yearning to realize the Truth, and a great spiritual guide. This is a very rare gift and one must endeavor to make best use of these rare gifts.
Master mentioned to Narendra that he feels there is ‘Someone’ within his body. We are so much identified with the body that it feels impossible to recognize the presence of changeless, non-physical entity which is our true nature. Spirituality awakens when a person feels the true indweller of this body who is the controller and user of the sense instruments. Awakening of spirituality can also be understood from the movement of Kundalini. When it is in the dormant form the complete focus is on self-preservation and survival. When it evolves further then the desire for procreation and enjoyment prevails. As it evolves further, other finer physical and intellectual aspects are developed for enjoyments of senses at naval level. But there is no spiritual awakening. When the awareness moves upward at the level of heart, spiritual awakening comes. One feels the presence of Self within. If this is pursued further then one realizes the true nature of that Self, fulfilling the purpose of the human life.
Narendra stated that the path of knowledge takes one away from the idea of duality. But the path of devotion maintains duality which brings the consciousness of the body.