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Newsletter September 14, 2016
Upcoming Events
Day-long Retreat – Sat. Oct 15, 10:00AM-7:00PM
Topic: '700 Verses on Divine Mother', to be presented by Swami Yogatmananda.
Prior Registration necessary.
Registration Fee:
On or before Oct. 08: $15.00 per person;
If registered and paid after Oct. 08, Fee: $25.00 per person;
(For online registration, $1.00 additional)
Registration can be done online or download reg. form and mail the check.
Click here for more information.
Vedanta Classes Resume – Tuesdays & Fridays
Vedanta study class on ‘Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna’ will resume beginning Tuesday Sept. 13 from 7:30pm – 8:30pm. The Friday study class on ‘Jnana Yoga’ will resume beginning Sept. 16 from 7:30pm – 8:30pm,. All are welcome.
Live streaming availabel here: http://vedantaprov.org/livestream.html
Day-long Meditation - Sat. Sept. 17 from 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.
CT Vedanta Monthly Satsang – Sat. Sept. 17
The Vedanta Society of CT, 100 Cherry Brook Rd, Canton CT 06019, will be resuming monthly satsang (discussion, worship, music) with Swami Yogatmananda from 3:00pm – 5:30pm.
This month the topic is: Bhagavad Gita Musings #1 -- ‘Be Strong & Courageous’. All are welcome.
VEENA Concert : Sun. Sept. 18
There will be a classical Veena musical performanace by Durga Krishnan, accompanied with musicians playing mridangam, tabla and violin, from 6:15pm – 7:30pm, in the Lower Level (LL), immediately following the Sunday Service Lecture and Aarati from 5pm – 6:15pm. All Welcome. Donations Accepted.
Wednesdays Hatha Yoga Resumes – Wed. Sept. 14, 5PM –6:30PM
Six-week series of Hatha Yoga classes, on Wednesdays from 5pm –6:30pm, taught by Ellen Schaefer of One Yoga Center, Foster RI will be conducted at the Vedanta Society. Cost is $30/for 6-week session or $10.00 walk in per class. Please contact Ellen only at: 401-368-9642
Childern's monthly Program – Sun. Sept 18, 4PM – 6PM
The Just Kids! Children’s program (ages 6-12 only) will meet from 4PM – 6PM. All young children welcome.
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Sept. 16 |
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, Sept. 17 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning |
| Sunday, Sept. 18 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk on ‘Truth Liberates’ by Swami Yogatmananda 6:15 – 7:30 PM: Indian Classical VEENA concert with Durga Krishnan, also with Mrindagam Tabla & Violin
|
| Tuesday, Sept. 20 |
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 966 |
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. 7' 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
Swami to Ridgley NY– Sun. Sept. 04
Swami and a few devotees travelled to Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgley NY. Swami spoke on Monday morning on 'Swami Vivekananda and Western Women Disciples' and returned to Providence that evening. About forty attended the retreat.
Attleboro Interfaith Group – Thurs. Sept. 08
Nine surrounding-area interfaith leaders, congregation representatives, and Swami Yogatmananda participated in the Attleboro Interfaith-based group here at Vedanta Society from 11AM to 12:30pm discuss:” What is the role of music in your religious tradition?’
SUFI Retreat at Vedanta Society – Sat. Sept. 10
Fifty Vedanta and Sufi devotees participated in the retreat on Saturday, September 10 at Vedanta Society from 9:30am –4:00pm on: ‘Life on the Path of the Heart: Sufi Musings’ with Himayat Inayati, MS; Th.D. He spoke from teachings of Master Hazrat Inayat Khan and from his many years’ experience as international head of the Sufi Order. There were short ‘practice sessions’ and a Q/A session at end of program.
Universal Brotherhood Day – Sun. Sept. 11
See synopsis below, under the 'synopses of past classes'.
Click here to see photos of above events.
Synopses of Past Classes
Universal Brotherhood Day – Interfaith Symposium on Emphasizing Spirituality – Sept. 11, Sunday
Swami Yogatmananda: Welcomed everyone to celebrate the date of Swami Vivekananda’s landmark speech at the World Parliament of Religions and the starting of the Vedanta Society of Providence, and to show that all religions approach the same goal through different paths. Many often say they are spiritual but not religious. The core of religious practice is to meet the Divine fact-to-face.
Kathleen Adams (of the Annisquam Village Church) and Chorus: Sang the Mission Song describing the coming of Vivekananda to America and the great message he delivered here.
Himayat Inayati, Sufi Teacher said: Swami Vivekananda said that each religion must assimilate the spirit of others but maintain its own individuality. Some years after this Chicago speech, Hazrat Inayat Khan’s Sufi movement came here, many other Eastern Religions too joined; the women’s suffrage movement happened, and the League of Nations started. Yet World War I also happened. Spirit shines through the face and shows what is there. The ancients defined intellect as a combination of three; reasoning, the creative imagination, and the subtle heart. Direct perception of Divinity comes through the subtle heart, and the mind cannot go there. Muhammad said that once the lesser jihad (physical battle) is won, it is time for the greater jihad in the heart, which is a battle itself due to the ego. Ibn Arabi talked about individual perfection (such as that achieved by Sri Ramakrishna) and the totality of humanity.
Rahul and Swapna Ray and then Sravani Bhattacharjee: Performed two Kazi Nazrul Islam songs.
Pastor Rev. Deirdre White of the Annisquam Village Church: Religion has come to be associated with belief, exclusiveness, violence and arguing. Religion involves a longing for a connection with something greater than ourselves. People go on a pilgrimage and then try to keep the spirituality of the mountaintop in the trenches of everyday life. No one looks right under his or her feet. No superior aptitude is required to be spiritual. Barbara Brown Taylor asked: What is saving your life right now? Rev. White took a sabbatical, with an attitude of openness to whatever crossed her path. Christianity is based on a holy Incarnation, but Protestants spend a lot of time in the head. On sabbatical, Rev. White took a walk on the beach, and noticed what was under her feet: the marshes, the shore, animals, plants, birds and the breeze. She was enchanted by the earthy nature of the Eucharist in a church she visited. She turned aside and looked at what the Divine is calling her to see.
Kathleen Adams and Chorus: Sang We are One in the Spirit.
Prafulla Velury: Danced a Kuchipudi Dance on Shiva.
Rabbi Barry Dolinger of Congregation Beth Sholom: There is a verse in the Torah that says that God should lift his face upon you. This can be interpreted as seeing the Source of life greeting you with a smile. Spirituality includes having meaning in life and having a connection. In the modern world, we need to create solitude, but not loneliness. It is easy to get caught up in the ego, and say to others that their teaching is wrong. We can pursue spirituality in a secular world. Kabbalah talks about the breaking of the vessels of light, which caused the world to form. They broke because they could receive, but they couldn’t give off light. If we only receive, we are empty. Then God withdrew or retracted, but this is mostly thought to be only an appearance. God surrounds the world and dwells within. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook said that when we look at a flower, we should smell it, see it, and block out all thoughts. We need to go up to unification, a place where distinction disappears. Then we can come back and celebrate diversity. Rabbi Dolinger sang a niggun, a wordless song whose purpose is to unite us.
David Upegui and members of Infusion Evolution: Sang Imagine by John Lennon.
Pravrajika Gitaprana, nun at Ridgely Vivekananda Retreat: Each speaker in his or her own way went to the same place. True spirituality lies beyond any notion we can have of it, including the spirit not being the body, the walk on the beach, and the niggun. Rumi said a bandaged place is where light enters in. All of the speakers agreed that the light is here in our own heart. Swami Vivekananda said that we put our hands over our own eyes and cry that it is dark. We need to take our hands off our eyes. As the whole sun can be reflected in a field full of pots filled with water, the whole Divine is in each of us. All of the speakers agreed that there is unification underlying the multiplicity, and that names don’t go there. Spiritual acts take us to the doorway, but it is up to the Divine Mother to open the door. There is a tendency to tell our neighbor that he or she is not spiritual enough, but the Divine is in everyone. We can use words as paths, but then we can drop them and enter into silence.
Peter Travisano, Rahul and Swapna Ray, and Abhijit Sarcar: Sang That Man God Loves and Namaste.
Sravani Bhattacharjee: Sang Auspicious Mother Divine.
Swami Yogatmananda: Thanked all the speakers, and the musicians, and thanked everyone for coming, noting that this is the beginning of the fall season of the Vedanta Society of Providence.
A sumptuous dinner followed.
About one-hundred five (105) attended this program.
Study Class - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – Sept. 13, Tuesday
(Introduction after the summer-break)
Ideally, freedom is an innate search of all human beings; but caught in the various adjuncts like body, mind and the sense organs make them bound. One tries in vain to accumulate infinite happiness in this finite world. After these futile efforts for long, at a fortune moment, he/she tries to look for something permanent and real which is the source or the basis of everything. He/she tries to look for that one infinite reality. At that time he/she must use this limited identity to expand and realize its true nature. Then that person tries to study the lives of the divine incarnations like - Krishna/Jesus or Sri Ramakrishna, who have realized the true nature in this human form. The lives of incarnations give an assurance that everyone can realize the infinite divine nature by shaping his/her life as prescribed by them. The divine incarnations come down from the higher plane of infinity to this finite world for the sake of devotees who are eager to unite with the divine. They appear like human being, which helps us to relate to them very easily. But more than that they are the divine existence in human form. One must take efforts to understand that divine nature which will help to elevate our awareness from ordinary human being to the true divine being. It will be a great folly if one goes to the incarnation with an expectation to achieve the worldly pleasures. One must and use the life story and the teachings of the divine incarnations to connect with the Divine.
The message given by Sri Ramakrishna is recorded by M in this book Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna which is a word-sketch of Sri Ramakrishna. M was ordained to do this task of recording the conversations of Sri Ramakrishna. He has done an exceptional job of presenting the divine message by keeping his identity completely hidden.