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Newsletter September 21, 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.
Guest Lecture - Sun. Sept. 25, 5:00PM - 6:00PM
Prof. Donna Maurer, Ph. D. Writer and Social Scientist, will give a sunday service talk on: 'Perfection vs. Perfectionism' from 5:00PM - 6:00PM. All are welcome. No fees.
Swami Travels to Detroit, Ganges, MI & Chicago, IL - Sept. 22 - Sept. 25
Swami Yogatmananda will be traveling to Detroit, MI on Thurs. Sept. 22. In the evening, he will conduct a QA session at a devotee's house there.
At Vivekananda Retreat, Ganges, MI, he will conduct a retreat on 'Imitation of Christ' on Friday Sept. 23 and Sat. Sept. 24 and on Sunday, Sept. 25 morning, will give a talk on 'Looking at a Hologram'. In the evening he will give a talk at the Hindu Temple, Lemont, Chicago. He will return to Providence on Monday Sept. 26.
Music Concert - Sun. Oct. 02, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Indian Classical Vocalist Padmini Rao, a disciple of Dhrupad Maestro Ustad Zia Moinuddin Dagar and Kirana tradition stalwart Ms. Prabha Atre, will perform, accompanied by Nitin Mitta on Tabla and Ravi Torvi on Harmonium.
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Sept. 23 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: In place of regular 'Jnana-Yoga' class, a video: 'Beyond Time Space and Object' will be shown. |
| Saturday, Sept. 24 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning |
| Sunday, Sept. 25 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: A talk on 'Perfection vs. Perfectionism' by Prof. Donna Maurer 6:15 – 7:00 PM: Soup Supper 7:00 - 8:00 PM: Meditation
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| Tuesday, Sept. 27 |
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
Day-long Meditation - Sat. Sept. 17 from 12:00Noon – 8:00PM
About 10 devotees attended.
CT Vedanta Monthly Satsang – Sat. Sept. 17
Swami Yogatmananda and about twenty-five devotees of Vedanta Society of CT met at 100 Cherry Brook Rd, Canton CT 06019, from 3:00pm – 5:30pm. The discussion was on : Bhagavad Gita Musings - ‘Be Strong & Courageous’.
Childern's monthly Program – Sun. Sept 18, 4PM – 6PM
About five children attended.
VEENA Concert : Sun. Sept. 18
Durga Krishnan gave a classical Veena musical performanace, accompanied with musicians, Gaurishankar Chandrashekhar on mridangam, Rajesh Pai on tabla and Sri Surya Sundararajan on violin, from 6:15pm – 7:30pm. About thirty-five people attended.
Synopses of Past Classes
Study Class on 'Jnana Yoga' - Sept. 16, Friday
Class #34 :
Chapter 6 - 'Absolute and Manifestation'
Jnana Yoga is the method of realizing the truth of life through the purification of our understanding. In the last three chapters on Maya, Swami Vivekananda discussed before the summer recess, we examined maya and the manifold contradictions it creates in our world. Our experience of these contradictions brings up many questions for us, such as, "If there is truly one reality, why does it appear in many forms?" "Why is there misery in the world?" "If I am the Divine Itself, of what need are spiritual disciplines?"
As Swamiji explains, we perceive the universe through the faculties of our
five senses, mind and intellect. These faculties are bound by time, space, and causation, thus the limited perspective of space and time colors all our perceptions. And because we are not experiencing that which is real, questions arise. This universe will never give us answers, only more questions. However, in the absolute there is neither time, nor space, nor causation. Without these, we are able to perceive reality as it truly is, and our questions will disappear entirely. There are no questions, so there are no answers. The truth shall set us free.
Sunday Lecture –'Truth Liberates' – Sept. 18, Sunday
Truth is the most central theme in life. We have two tendencies – to get bound, and an innate tendency to get liberation, because our true nature is free. Our efforts to get rid of bondage lead to other bondage. When we attain freedom, we know we never were bound. In the Book of John, Jesus says: “If you abide in my word, you will truly know you are my disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” The three levels of truth are truth limited to a given context (falsifying which, we feel guilt), one’s awareness of the ultimate truth (our understanding of the concept of the absolute is not itself absolute), and the absolute Truth itself. There are four types of liberation: staying in heaven where we see God once in a while, having God close by, having the same form as God, and having no distinction between God and oneself. Most bondages vanish, like the horns of a hare, when I know I am not the body. It is more correct to say I am working through the body. A meditation to undertake is that of “unbuttoning” or taking off the body. We can cease to identify with mental states, too. When King Janaka asked Ashtavakra how to get knowledge, he told him to discard objects of enjoyment as if they were poison, and to practice compassion, forgiveness, contentment, and speaking the truth.
Study Class - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – Sept. 20, Tuesday
Page 966; 22 April 1886:
At this stage in Sri Ramakrishna's life, He is aware that the body will not sustain for much longer. While our identification with bodies makes us suffer, Sri Ramakrishna distributes bliss even in this state due to His awareness that He is divine and not the physical frame. We seek immortality and bliss but we cannot get it as there is no immortality in physical state by very definition.
Hearing about Sri Ramakrishna's ill health, Hirananda, a devotee from Sindh, 2,200 miles away from Kolkata, came to see him. He asked Narendra "Why does the devotee of God have to suffer?" This is a common question asked by many devotees. Our idea of devotion is that it should lead us to no lack of money, no sickness etc. We think that God should protect us from these sufferings. But, even with a little practice, we realize that such prayers don't reduce our suffering and don't always lead to these results. In fact, some people may experience an increase in suffering. People coming to Sri Ramakrishna had several such sufferings. Sri Ramakrishna himself had so many health problems.
Narendra explains that the only solution to this is the belief in Pantheism - the belief that everything is God, that God alone is responsible for all that happens. One should note that the Vedantic idea of Pantheism is not that God evolved to become everything but that God is both - transcendent over world and immanent in it too.