Newsletter November 21, 2012

Newsletter Archives

 

Announcements

1) THERE IS NO (Bhagavad Gita) CLASS THIS FRIDAY, NOV 23rd. 7PM - 8PM Aarati singing, a reading & meditation will go on as usual). Door opens by 6:30PM.

 

2) THERE IS NO GUIDED MEDITATION PROGRAM (11AM – 12noon) THIS SATURDAY, NOV. 24th. 7PM - 8PM Aarati singing, a reading & meditation will go on as usual.

 

3) Swami Yogatmananda visits INDIA – Thurs. Nov. 15 through Thurs. Dec. 20

All 'daily- meditation & prayer schedules' and 'weekly- classes schedules' will continue as usual, with several guest speakers. Please check monthly announcements and weekly newsletters for ongoing ‘lecture-titles & speakers’.

Click here for his itinerary.

 

4) Check out some Sunday lectures (from Sept. & October, 2012) uploaded here.

 

Upcoming Events

Salutations!

The birth anniversary of Swami Subodhananda and Swami Vijnanananda, direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, will be observed on Sunday, Nov. 25 and Tuesday, Nov. 27, respectively, with a morning chant and a song, a biography reading and prasad in the evening.

 

Weekly Programs

Friday, Nov. 23	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: NO CLASS until next Friday, Nov 30
Saturday, Nov. 24	NO CLEANING or GUIDED MEDITATION program 7:00 – 8:00PM: Aarati (devotional singing), a short reading from Sri Sarada Devi The Great Wonder and meditation
Sunday, Nov. 25	5:00 – 6:00PM: Dr. Kumar Murty (Toronto, Canada) will speak on ‘Culture, Identity and Spiritual Life’ 6:00 – 7:00PM- Soup Supper 7:00 – 8:00PM – Aarati (music, a reading and meditation
Tuesday, Nov. 27	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study class on ‘Songs in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: Songs by Rabindranath Tagore’, by Prithwish Basu

 

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
Evening :	7:00 – 7:15 PM: Aarti (devotional music), with a short reading from Swami Chetanananda's book: ‘Mahendra Nath Gupta ‘M’ 7:15 – 8:15 PM: Meditation

 

Past Events

Guest speakers conducted weekly classes.

Click here to see photos.

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

Synthesis of Yogas - a talk by Srikanth Srigiriraju - Nov. 16, Friday

Yoga etymologically means "Communion with God". Each chapter in Bhagavad Gita is called a particular yoga based on the methodologies described in that chapter. However, all these yogas can be broadly classified into four categories: Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Raja Yogas. Each of these yogas transforms one particular faculty of mind involving a specific mechanism. Karma Yoga deals with Ahamkara (Ego) faculty of mind with the mechanism invovling "God is the doer and I am an instrument" or Nature is dynamic while the Self is the witness, Bhakti Yoga deals with Mana (Heart) faculty in which all emotions are directed towards God, Jnana Yoga involves Buddhi (Intellect) to determine what is real and what is not and Raja Yoga deals with field of thoughts called Chitta (Mind) to develop concentration through controlling thoughts. Synthesis of these yogas is necessary as all these faculties of mind influence and interact with each other and are also employed by the same person at different times or simultaneously at a given time. Gita presents two kinds of synthesis for different entities: parallel synthesis of yogas (simultaneous combination) and serial synthesis of transformation of one or more faculties of mind due to parallel synthesis of yogas (where in one state of mind leads to another successively). One's particular conception of God and its relationship with oneself (called darshana) must be steadfastly maintained by aspirant throughout the practice (called nishtha) and one or more yogas should be performed within the purview of that darshana. Gita while maintaining the distinctions between these darshanas unlike in the case of yogas, establishes the supremacy of Vedanta over other darshanas like Sankhya, Yoga and Mimamsa. An overview of each chapter and how they blend into one another, the salient features of the predominant yoga contained in each one of them and its synthesis with other yogas was presented using specific examples of verses. The presentation included some novel concepts like characteristics of a Karma Yogi as understood in a practical setting, resolution of apparent contradiction between Sri Sankaracharya's and Swami Vivekananda's standpoints on Karma Yoga. Referring to Swami Vivekananda's various quotes on the Gita about the synthesis of yogas, Sri Sarada Devi was established as an exemplar of that synthesis.

 

The Diamond Sutra – a talk by Dr. Ram Murty, Kingston, Canada - Nov. 18, Sunday

‘The Diamond Sutra’ is a Buddhist text that was written in the 2nd Century of the Common Era. The original Sanskrit title is 'Vajracchedika-Prajnaparamita-Sutra'. Its Chinese version printed in 868 CE, was discovered in the early 20th Century in the ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’ in North-West China. It records a conversation between the Buddha and his disciple Subhuti. Sutra means thread, which holds things together. The Diamond Sutra acts like a thunder bolt which cuts through ignorance. The dialogue is reminiscent of the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bagavad Gita.  The Sutra begins with the question – How do we achieve enlightenment? The answer is through charity and compassion. The message of the Diamond Sutra is that compassion and karma without expectation are the best way to find enlightenment.  The Diamond Sutra teaches that everyone perceives the world from their window of pre-conceived notion and misconception. Therefore, we cannot have a clear view of the world. So we need to have a spiritual practice which allows us to clear our perception. We try to impose our opinion on other and if someone does not measure up we are disappointed.   We need to remind ourselves that we are Atman and manifest that Divinity in our lives. This is the central teaching of the Diamond Sutra; not to identify with our lower form of existence or our bodies.  The way to achieve this is to renounce the unripe ego. The ripe ego connects with the Divine and forms a loving relationship. The Diamond Sutra contains a profound message very much akin to non-dual Vedanta, for all of us to contemplate and achieve enlightenment.

 

Songs in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: A General Introduction - a talk by Sravani Bhattacharjee – Nov. 20, Tuesday

A unique feature of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is a harmonious blend of music with its inspiring spiritual conversations. These songs represent various devotional music traditions and are rich in spiritual wisdom and mystic experiences. When studied in context of when the songs appear in the Gospel, one can consistently observe the profound spiritual inspiration the music used to imbibe in the minds of the listeners. In addition of their inherent richness, the purity in character of the singers along with living presence of Sri Ramakrishna enhances their appeal rarely seen elsewhere. Glimpses of Sri Ramakrishna’s divine personality, namely excellence in teaching, communion of various divine moods, deep universal compassion get revealed as one studies the songs keeping in view the context they get sung. Certain incidents from the Gospel and a selection of songs were discussed to reflect on these unique significance of songs in the Gospel.

Interesting discussions with questions, comments and live performance of a couple songs followed the talk.