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Newsletter Nov. 09, 2016
Upcoming Events
Guest Lecture – Fri. Nov. 11
Dr. Pritwish Basu will speak on: ‘God in Everything as Seen by Sri Ramakrishna’ from 7:30 – 8:30pm.
Salutations! – Fri. Nov. 11 and Sun. Nov. 13
The birth anniversaries of Swami Subhodananda and Swami Vijnanananda, direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, will be observed on Fri. Nov. 11 and Sun. Nov. 13 respectively, with a devotional song, and a short biography reading.
Swami Travels – Oct. 28 - Nov. 13
Swami Yogatmananda is now in 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.
Death Notice & Funeral Service
Triveni Popat, a long time devotee of Vedanta Societies of Providence and Boston, died early Sunday morning Nov. 06. She was a lifelong student of Vedanta, and remained active in the Vedanta Centers until late in life.
Family and friends are invited to attend a ritual Hindu funeral service on Thursday, November 10, 2016, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm in the Memorial Chapel of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA. For complete obituary and life history, please see:
http://www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/DYERLA1/memsol.cgi?user_id=1873842
A memorial service will be conducted at the Vedanta Society of Providence within a few weeks- details to be announced shortly.
Weekly
Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Nov. 11 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Dr. Pritwish Basu will speak on: ‘God in Everything as Seen by Sri Ramakrishna’ |
| Saturday, Nov. 12 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma Yoga/Cleaning 7:00 - 8:00 PM: Aarati (singing, a short reading) & Meditation |
| Sunday, Nov. 13 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Lecture: ‘God’s Rules for Gambling’ by Chester Boncek 7:00-8:00 PM - Meditation |
| Tuesday, Nov. 15 |
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 969 |
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
Guest Lectures – Fri. Nov. 04, Sun. Nov. 6, Tue. Nov. 8
Swami Brahmarupananda, from Vedanta Centre of Greater Washington DC delivered three lectures:
1) Friday, Nov. 04, 7:30 – 8:30pm, Topic : ‘The Field & the Knower of the Field’
2) Sunday, Nov. 06, 5:00pm – 6:00pm, Topic:‘The Power of Thought’
3) Tuesday, Nov 08, 7:30 – 8:30pm, Topic: ‘Seeing and Serving God in All’
Please scroll down for the synopses of these talks.
On Sat. Nov. 05, about ten people participated in this monthly day-long meditation program from 12 noon to 8pm.
On Sun. Nov. 06, Children’s program met from 4PM – 6PM.
Swami Travels – Oct. 28 - Nov. 13
Swami Yogatmananda is in Australia, where he has been delivering talks at the five Vedanta Centers there, and visiting devotes.
Synopses of Past Classes
‘The Field & the Knower of the Field’ - a talk by Swami Brahmarupananda - Nov. 04, Friday
The 13th chapter of Bhagavad Gita mentions that all beings -sentient as well as insentient, have two aspects: material (khetra or field) and spiritual (Khetrajna or Knower of the field). The body and mind – the material aspect is analogous to a field, a patch of land where a farmer sows the seeds and reaps the harvest depending on the nature of the seeds over a time interval, very similar to the actions (Karma) done by the body and mind and experiencing its results (Karma-phala). Also the body and mind, actions and results are as much perishable as the field and its products. The conscious principle (Khetrajna) is the empowering force behind the body and mind, is singular in nature, beyond the sense perceptions, which is none other than the divine presence. Lord Krishna says 'Know Me to be the indwelling spirit in all beings'. The difference between the 'field' and the 'Knower of the field' is that - the filed is an assemblage of material components – which are many, undergoes change and ceases to function after a period of time. On the contrary, the Knower (conscious principle) is One, unchanging, attribute-less and without begining and end. What is the importance of knowing these things? It tells us that we are not mere physical existence and to realize our true nature is the goal of life. We are different on the level of body and mind, but One on the spiritual level, which reflects in the message of Holy Mother - '...No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own'. In the 13th Chapter of Gita, Lord Krishna gives a list of various virtues of a realized soul – the 'to-do-things-list' for spiritual seekers such as – humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forbearance, sincerity, service to teacher, purity, detachment, contemplation on the ephemeral nature of the world and ultimate goal of life, equanimity towards pain and pleasure, unswerving devotion to God etc.
'The Power of Thought' – A talk by Swami Brahmarupananda – Nov. 06, Sunday
The mind is a confusing collage of the present, the past, and the improbable. Sri Ramakrishna said that by repeating I am free, one becomes free. The past is gone and the future is not yet, so our freedom to put positive thoughts in the mind is in the present. Sanatkumara taught Narada the self-knowledge that brings total fulfillment; the first step towards it is to purify one's Aahara (food). Shankaracharya in his commentary says food means anything that goes to the body and mind through the five senses. So we have to purify our sense perceptions. We pray, from the Upanishads: May we take in through the sense organs only what is auspicious. Shankaracharya notes three kinds of distractions that we need to prevent: 1) Giving too much attention to what is happening in the outside world, 2) spending too much time and effort on our own body, and 3) spending too much time and effort in scholarly pursuits (which leads to pride). Sri Ramakrishna said that the purpose of studying scriptures is to know what they want us to do. The Narada-Bhakti scriptures tell us to study the scriptures, meditate on them, and put them into practice. We need to practice awareness of our thoughts in the present, not dwell on the past (which cannot be changed), not dwell on other people’s faults, repeat God’s name (the simplest and most effective practice in our era), not think of worldly things, and seize the moment.
'Seeing and Serving God in All' - a talk by Swami Brahmarupananda – Nov. 08, Tuesday
Scriptures speak of only one reality that may be called with different names – God, Brahman etc. What we see around us is this reality alone. Many sages have experienced God and unequivocally declare that everyone can see God. Sri Ramakrishna said to Narendra that he could see God, only more clearly. However, God is hidden from us ordinary people. We cannot see Him around us due to a number of factors. First, because God is our very self and not an object outside. Second, God is not material in nature. God is pure consciousness which enables our senses to function but is beyond the domain of the sense organs. Thirdly, we are too pre-occupied with the world and are not focused on perceiving its essence. Finally, we lack strong yearning to see God. If we want to see God, we need to make Him our top most priority and develop strong yearning to see God.
The next question is - what do we specifically need to do to see and serve God in all? Everyone doesn’t need to do everything. It is neither necessary, nor possible. One needs God’s grace to be able to see Him. A devotee should pray in solitude as being among others draws the mind outwards. Being in holy company helps purify the mind. One should reduce attachment to worldly objects. This can be done by realizing that our possessions and our relationships are not truly ours. We are only the custodians who is going to keep these for a small duration. One should not expect an outcome of an action but treat any outcome – positive or negative – as a “prasaada”. We should also not be attached to the fruits of action. We should realize that God is doing His work through us, our ego makes us think that we are doing the work. A devotee should practice constant recollection of God. When you see someone, think that you are seeing God alone. Constantly repeat the name of God to practice recollection. It is the most powerful purifying agent. Serve others unselfishly - unselfishness is God. We should work with a sense of gratitude and recognize that work is a privilege. It is an opportunity to purify ourselves and practice detachment. We shouldn’t think that an act of charity or service will help the world – it helps us in our pursuit of God by practicing unselfishness. Swamiji used to say that God is present in every Jiva – we should serve God by serving the Jiva nearest to us, it may be a human or a small animal. Even a small unselfish act of service goes directly to God.