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Newsletter Oct. 26, 2016
Upcoming Events
Swami Travels – Oct. 28 - Nov. 13
Swami will be traveling to San Francisco, CA to participate in re-dedication ceremony of the Old Temple and deliver talks; he will then travel to Australia for 10 days. Upon returning, he will again be in CA; then Indianapolis IN. He will be back in Providence on Sunday Nov. 13th night.
NO Study Classes on Friday Oct. 28 and Tuesday Nov. 01.
Evening Aarati and meditation will continue as usual.
Wednesdays Hatha Yoga - Wed. Oct. 26, 5PM –6:30PM
5:00pm –6:30pm, taught by Ellen Schaefer of One Yoga Center, Foster RI will be conducted at the Vedanta Society. $10.00 walk in per class. Please contact Ellen only at: 401-368-9642
After Oct. 26, Hatha Yoga classes will be suspended until Further Notice.
Weekly
Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Oct. 28 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: NO Study Class |
| Saturday, Oct. 29 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma Yoga/Cleaning |
| Sunday, Oct. 30 |
Happy Diwali * Festival of Lights *
5:00 – 6:00 PM: ‘Mother Kali’, a musical offerring by Swapna & Rahul Roy; accompanied on violin & Tabla. Also Mother Durga Dance presentation by Jeyanthi. 7:00-8:00 PM - Meditation in chapel |
| Tuesday, Nov. 01 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: NO Study Class |
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 NewYork and Shelton, CT - Oct. 22 – 23
Swami Yogatmananda visited Vivekananda Study & Philanthropic Center of New York on the evening of Sat. Oct. 22 and delivered a talk there on ‘From Truth to Truth’ from 7:30-8:30 pm to about sixty devotees. On Sun. morning Oct 23, swami held satsang at a devotee’s home in Shelton, CT, before returning to Providence to deliver the Sun talk.
Synopses of Past Classes
Study Class on 'Jnana Yoga' - Oct. 21, Friday
Class #38:
God/the Absolute transcends categorization, and therefore cannot be referred to as either “known” or “unknown.” God is more than known; He is the essence of our very self. When we rid ourselves of the erroneous belief that we/the self is identified with the body and mind, we realize our true infinite nature. There is no separation between us and the world, or between us and God, and so we are able to recognize our divinity.
Why has there been so much emphasis on the problem of time-space-causation? With some consideration, it is possible to determine that time, space, and causation are unreal. For one, “space” necessitates some objects to define it. The objects are not existing in space but actually generate the sense of space. Similarly, time is defined by the events that surround it. Space and time have no independent existence. They are like the shadows of objects; in fact, they are less real than the objects themselves! All of us seek freedom, and upon examination we see what is restricting our freedom is our clinging to time-space-causation. Ridding ourselves of this attachment is done through the process of yoga. It’s an evolutionary process. As we evolve we will see how the bondage of time, space, and causation withers away.
Sunday Lecture – Journey to No-WHEN - Oct. 23, Sunday
Physicists, philosophers, authors and thinkers have a great interest in time. There are three areas of the brain that deal with time in different ways: 1) We perceive the repetition of natural cycles such as the sun rising, 2) We have a biological clock, such as our heart beating, and 3) We have time-linked memories (though not always accurate). The second law of thermodynamics states that in time, there is always an increasing disorder, or entropy. This will ultimately lead to equilibrium, which will be ‘heat death’. We cannot move back and forth in time as the events can happen in only one direction - the direction of increasing disorder. But then it creates a paradox - If disorder/entropy goes on increasing in time, then it must have been less and less the further back we go; so in the beginning there must be a state of no disorder at all, nothing happening, so no time. There will someday be a heat death in the universe, with no energy transfer and no action possible. Time will stop, and there will be a state of No-When, which mystics and Vedantists say, was the state in the beginning and in the end too.
We superimpose I and the world on the no-when state. There the desires start, actions happen, time flows. It is not possible to get satisfaction pursuing desires, so religions emphasize restraint, and we start our journey back to nowhen = God. In The Song of the Free, Swami Vivekananda says: And thus in me all me's I have, meaning that we are all One.
Study Class - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – Oct. 25, Tuesday
Date: April 22, 1886; page 968-9:
The uniqueness of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is that it contains the words uttered by the incarnation. The book is packed with spiritual wisdom applicable to the practical questions faced in today’s modern world. The central message of this book is God is real and everything else is unreal and impermanent. God alone exists in all the names and forms. Narendra was singing a song with the similar essence in his melodious voice in front of Sri Ramakrishna and other devotees. In the early days of his contact with Sri Ramakrishna, Narendra vehemently disagreed with the idea of oneness of I and the God. Sri Ramakrishna cleverly made him understand this truth of non-duality. Narendra quoted a few verses from Ashtavakra Samhita. This book advocates the idea that all the worldly enjoyments are to be given up as poison. They are very dangerous and shunned by the seeker of spiritual wisdom. This truth is very harsh to digest for those who are not psychologically ready to understand and follow this in their life. Hence Sri Ramakrishna did not allow all to read this book. Narendra who was like an unsheathed sword and full of renunciation, was perfectly capable of practicing this. Sri Ramakrishna depicted this principle of non-duality through his own life. When he was suffering due to the cancer, he detached himself completely from the body and its anguish. The body was suffering but the indweller was full of bliss.
Master was touching the flower offered to him by the devotees to his forehead, throat, heart and naval. These four places are the four centers of awareness.