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Newsletter June 08, 2016
Upcoming Events
Great Courses Video – Thurs. June 09
Video showings of Great Courses continues from 8PM – 9PM in the Lower Level (LL) after the 7PM-8PM evening Aarati and meditation. All are welcome to either program or both.
Swami Away – Sat. June 11
Swami Yogatmananda will travel to Greenville and Raleigh North Carolina to deliver Vedanta talks. Swami will return late Sunday night.
Visiting Swami Lecture – Sun June 12, 5:00PM - 6:00PM
Swami Harinamananda of Vedanta Society, San Diego, CA, will deliver the Sunday Service Lecture on: 'Inner Pilgrimage.'
Day-long Meditation - Sat. June 11th , 12:00Noon – 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.
Tuesday Hatha Yoga Classes
Suspended for now.
Hatha Yoga 6-week Course - Wednesdays May 11 - June 15
Yoga Class for the THIS Wednesday, June 08, has been CANCELLED. The next two (2) classes will be on Wed. June 15 and Wed. June 22.
Vedanta Blog and Facebook:
Check out Vedanta upcoming and past activities on Vedanta Facebook and participate in writing your comments, thoughts, poetry, and musings in Vedanta "BLOG"
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, June 10 |
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, June 11 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning |
| Sunday, June 12 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: 'Inner Pilgrimage' by Swami Harinmananda (Vedanta Society, San Diego, CA) 6:20 – 7:00 PM: Soup Supper |
| Tuesday, June 14 |
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 965 (cont) |
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. Open to all. |
Past Events
RETREAT - Sat. June 04, 9:30AM – 7:00PM
Sixty-four (64) devotees participated in this fifty-forth (54th ) day-long retreat here at Providence RI Vedanta. Swami Sarvapriyananda (Vedanta Society, Hollywood, CA) delivered three (3) discourses on the topic: 'KATHOPANISAD'. There was also an hour and half (1 ½ hour) Q/A session with both Swamis - Swami Yogatmananda and Sarvapriyananda. The retreat also consisted of guided meditation by Swami Yogatmananda, a devotional singing & music session; Yoga/Tai-Chi session; refreshment breaks, meals, Aarati and chant-singing Sarada-nama- sankirtanam (108 names to Sri Sarada Devi) to conclude the day.
'Just Kids!' – Sun. June 05, 4:00PM – 5:00PM
'Just Kids!' met for the final class before summer break. Aadya provided Karate instruction, discussions on past school projects and (her) upcoming travel plans to India.
We asked the question: "Is the sky direction 'up' as pointed to by someone in Providence, the same 'up' as pointed to by someone in India, or, by someone living south of the equator? "
As the Sun appears higher in the sky in summertime, we asked, "does the Moon also appear higher in the sky at different times ? " Using a globe and some wire, we created a model so we could measure how high the moon appears at different times of the year.
This experiment might be part of the upcoming August Summer camp. Chet suggested for folks to go out at 9:00PM on the nights of 6/11…7/11…8/10… and 9/09 and compare the height of the first quarter moon to some local fixed object (tree, building, etc.) and see what trend you observe.
Classical Vocal Concert – Sun. June 05, 6:15PM – 7:45PM
About forty-seven musical enthusiasts listened to Sandip Ghosh, disciple of Kirana tradition, perform classical Hindustani 'Kanan' in the Lower Level (LL) of the Vedanta Society, immediately following the 5-6pm Sunday Lecture. Amit Kavthekar accompanied him on Tabla and Ravi Torvi on Harmonium.
Q/A Satsang – Mon. June 06, 7:30PM – 8:45PM
Swami Sarvapriyananda conducted a Q/A class (open-topic) on Monday, after the evening Aarati and short reflection time. Time was filled with questions from some of the thirty devotees who attended, and also from 'live-stream' listeners.
Synopses of Last Week's Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Study Class on 'Jnana Yoga'- June 03, Friday
Class #31, Chapter 5 - Maya and Freedom (cont.)
The variety of names and forms which we see while caught in Maya is a manifestation of The One, as seen through the lens of time, space, and causation. If we can remove the prism of time, space, and causation, we can see that all these forms are really the transcendental One. When we are identified with the body-mind complex, our freedom is severely limited. But we keep on hearing the voice of Freedom, and we are urged to seek it out; we have an innate desire to become free, whether we know it or not. Evil and saintly people are all heading toward the voice. He who stumbles more is called "bad," and he who stumbles less is called "good." The difference between good and evil is not one of kind, but of degree. When we reach the state of freedom, the notion of "good" vanishes, and so does the notion of "bad." Swami Vivekananda writes, "As soon as we understand the voice, we see the reason why this struggle (of worldly life) should be here…Without [this struggle], there would be no going towards the voice." When we cast off the shackles of maya and experience that Freedom, "the scene" (our perception of the world) will entirely change. The world becomes completely, unimaginably different. The division between "I" and the world, which forms the basis of our thinking and actions, will be gone. A "ghastly battlefield" of maya will be replaced with something good. When we awaken to the voice of Freedom, we see that we are playing various characters on the stage; we are not actually those, and that the bondage which confines us to these roles does not exist. In another analogy, the experience is like waking up and realizing that this life was all a dream playing out. There is no possibility of attaining freedom if we remain identified with name and forms.
Sunday Lecture, June 05 –'Eternal Witness’ by Swami Sarvapriyananda
There is only one subject in Vedanta, and that is Brahman, the divinity within us, that overcomes all suffering in life. This talk is based on the Pancadasi by Swami Vidyaranya, which uses experience and reason to make its points. We have thousands of experiences throughout the day, every day. In each experience, the objects of experience are different from each other. Yet each happens because of consciousness, which is one and the same, unbroken, and not changing. In sleep, the dream world comes. We see many things in dreams and forget the body in bed. In dreaming, the same consciousness continues. When we wake up, we know that the dreams are not true. Each dream is different. King Janaka had a distressing dream in which he lost his kingdom, and when he woke up, he kept repeating: "Was that true or is this true?" A sage told him that neither was true. But the sage also pointed out that he experienced both, showing that the same consciousness was present. In deep sleep, we don’t experience anything. When we wake up from deep sleep, we remember blankness.
There is one unbroken consciousness in all three states, while thoughts come and go. Eons may roll by, and the universe may disappear, yet, the sun of consciousness neither rises nor sets. Unchanging, pure consciousness is called chit. If a property is borrowed, it will come and go. Existence is intrinsic and immortal, and we will never lose it. Existence is intrinsic to pure consciousness, so sat and chit are the same thing. Whatever we like, we want to get, and to keep it when we have it. We never want to get rid of existence. We never say: "Let me not be." Even a person thinking of suicide wants to go on living if the pain he or she is experiencing is cured. We like things that give us happiness. I like myself. I am a source of happiness to myself. Everything is loved for the sake of the self. The self is not loved for the sake of anything else. Nothing is loved more than the Self, which is the source of greatest happiness. The body and mind come and go, while immortal consciousness neither increases nor decreases. We are Sat-Chit-Ananda.
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class - June 07, Tuesday
Thursday, April 22, 1886; Page 965
'Even listening to the stories of God, is auspicious' – the opening chant declares. God-realization is the goal of human life. The path to achieve this goal has been taught by the sages. It is very difficult for the ordinary people to grasp and practice these teachings, as there is a lot of resistance in accepting these lofty ideals. Running after lust and greed makes us slaves. The Way: one must listen about the Self repeatedly, contemplate on these thoughts and then get merged into It.
Even in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Master has given this message multiple times and in various ways. It is impossible to realize the Self if one is running after lust and greed. To overcome the desires and lead a pure life, one must try to remove the identification of the self with the body. One should not depend upon any external object to get happiness or fulfillment. Master has shown how to lead a pure life, free of lust and greed even when one is busy doing worldly activities. This is a difficult task but not impossible. There are no efforts required to run after the desires and get entangled. But a lot of effort is required to swim against the current (=to curb the desires). Master spoke of two types of Maya - one is born of ignorance and the other which is born of knowledge. Maya- which is born of ignorance binds and the Maya which is born of knowledge helps one to realize his/her true nature.