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Newsletter Nov. 30, 2016
Important: NEW: Sunday Lectures Getting Live-streamed
We created a new YouTube channel to broadcast live our Sunday Service lectures at 5:00 PM EST. The channel can be viewed here on our website:
www.vedantaprov.org/youtube.html
We also would like to attain a custom URL for our YouTube channel and this can be done only if we have 100 subscribers. So kindly subscribe our YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFof5116HcBYIpUFvKet1Uw/live
Note: The subscription button is just beside the logo of Vedanta Society of Providence.
Upcoming Events
Day-long Meditation - Sat. Dec. 03, 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.
CT Vedanta Monthly Satsang – Sat. Dec. 03, 3 PM– 6 PM
The monthly gathering of the Vedanta Society of Connecticut will be held at 100 Cherry Brook Rd, Canton, CT. Topic of discussion: 'Bhagwat Gita Musings 2: Using Intelligence'. All are welcome.
Children's Program – Sun. Dec. 04
Children’s program (ages 6-12 only) will meet from 4PM – 6PM. All young children welcome.
Memorial Service - Sun. Dec. 04, 11:00 AM –1:00 PM
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 memorial service to honor her life, at Providence Vedanta Society, on Sun. Dec. 04 from 11:00am –1:00pm. Her family and Vedanta Society encourage everyone to share a memory, story, anecdote, song of/for Triveni. For complete obituary and life history, please see:
http://www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/DYERLA1/memsol.cgi?user_id=1873842
Weekly
Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, Dec. 02 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Jnana-Yoga Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda |
| Saturday, Dec. 03 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma Yoga/Cleaning 12 noon – 8:00 PM: Day-Long Meditation 7:00 - 8:00 PM: Aarati (singing, a short reading) & Meditation |
| Sunday, Dec. 04 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Lecture: ‘Meditation=Clearing the Clutter’by Swami Yogatmananda 7:00-8:00 PM - Meditation |
| Tuesday, Dec. 06 |
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 971 |
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. |
Update: Videos of some past Sunday lectures (up to Oct. 2016) have been added to the 'Lectures Archive' in Vedanta Society's website. You can access them here:
http://vedantaprov.org/lectures.html
You are welcome to contribute your thoughts about Vedanta, Spiritual Life, etc. on:
Vedanta Society's Blog - http://vedantaprovidence.blogspot.com or
Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Vedanta.Providence
Past Events
Visiting Swami's Lecture – Thurs. Nov. 24, 7:30 PM -8:30 PM
Swami Devapriyananda, from Belur Math India, met with about twenty-eight devotees and visitors at Vedanta Society from 7:30pm -8:30pm for a ‘satsang’ and Q/A session. Dinner followed.
Synopses of Past Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Study Class on 'Jnana Yoga' - Nov. 25, Friday
Class #40:
Spiritual evolution is the process of gradually moving towards the realization of our divine nature. The manifestation of this divinity is the goal of evolution, according to Vedanta. When we begin as spiritual aspirants, we see “I and God,” and our religions are, accordingly, dualistic or monotheistic. Dualism or monotheism necessarily devolves into fanaticism. “My god” is real, other people’s gods are false. Personal preference is associated with good and bad, therefore participation in the religion, or lack thereof, implies morality. Exclusion, prejudice, and hateful acts can be committed in the name of religions because of this. But this duality between “I and God” has to vanish. Duality is a temporary understanding that has to give way to non-duality. This is how we progress. As we evolve, we see all others as part of one human family, and we feel a oneness for everything and everyone. Non-duality is free from fanaticism. When the Advaita Vedanta school originated in India, it had no problem supporting any of the other religious sects in India because this oneness was felt. Standing on the bedrock of non-duality, we can understand the variety of forms we see and the thread of unity that binds all of them.
Sunday Lecture – ‘ No; Thanks’– Nov. 27, Sunday
When we don’t want to take something that is offered to us, we say No; Thanks, which means we do not accept what is being offered, but we thank the person for the offer that was made. We need to learn to say no when something that is offered to us, if it would not have a good effect on us. This becomes more important when the offer is tempting. We need to ponder the effects of something rather than accepting or rejecting it instinctively. That way, there is a better chance of not making mistakes. Sri Ramakrishna essentially said No; Thanks to a merely bread-winning education, because he only wanted to learn that by which he would realize God. We all actually want God, even if we do not know it, because we want happiness, which ultimately comes from God. Even if we become the best athlete, or successful in business, we have to ask: What next? The god of death offered Nachiketa the kingdom of all realms, the status of the richest man on earth, and never having to grow old, and Nachiketa resolutely said No, because this boon would not grant self-knowledge. Sri Ramakrishna offered Narendra (later Swami Vivekananda) occult powers. Narendra knew that Sri Ramakrishna could provide these, but he turned them down because they would be of no help in realizing God. Like these people, we need to make a resolution to ponder over the effects of what we are offered, and must be able to say ‘No; thanks’ if the effect is not going to be good.
Study Class - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - Nov. 29, Tuesday
Page 970-1; April 23, 1886 Good-Friday
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is a unique scripture in that the teachings of a God-incarnation were written down at the same time as they were given. Hence they are historically factual and do not suffer from alterations that are bound to happen otherwise. What’s also unique is that these recordings were not sermons but mundane conversations that are directly relevant to our day to day lives. These teachings were imparted with tremendous conviction in God. When someone speaks with conviction, the conviction gets conveyed to the listener. Hence reading this Gospel can help us develop conviction in God and help us lead life through various difficulties.
M says that that preservation of His body was for the welfare of the devotees. Unlike ordinary human beings, who are born due to past karma and are bound to the body till the past karma is exhausted, incarnations willingly choose to get in and out of the body. Most of the time, Sri Ramakrishna was not even conscious of His body. He used to be mostly naked, as He had no consciousness of the cloth as well. Some people think of this as being uncivilized. But such ideas are driven by our narrow ideas on dresses and customs. It is hard for us to imagine Sri Ramakrishna’s absence of body consciousness. We must strive to develop the same conviction that we are not the body and can do so with repeated reading of the Gospel that can help convey Sri Ramakrishna’s conviction to us.