Newsletter April 24, 2013

 

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Swami to Princeton NJ – Sat. April 27

After the 11AM 'guided meditation' hour, Swami will travel to NJ to deliver a lecture on 'Swami Vivekananda' at Princeton University, NJ  Saturday afternoon. He will stay overnight and go to Middletown CT on Sunday morning to conduct the Bhagavad Gita class before returning to Providence to deliver the 5PM lecture.

 

Bhagavad Gita class at Middletown, CT – Sunday, April 28
Swami Yogatmananda will conduct the monthly Bhagavad Gita class (Ch.13 continued) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple (10 Training Hill Rd,Middletown, CT) from 10:30-11:30 AM. All are welcome.

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday, Apr. 26	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: study class on Bhagavad-Gita Ch 18 cont.
Saturday, Apr. 27	8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma yoga/cleaning 11:00am – 12 noon: Guided meditation and singing 7:00PM – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional singing, a reading and meditation)
Sunday, Apr. 28	5:00–6:00 PM:'God in Every Particle' by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00PM – 7:00PM: Soup Supper 7:00 – 8:00PM – Aarati (devotional singing) a reading and meditation.
Tuesday, Apr. 30	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study class on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - Ch. 45, p. 856

 

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. 3
Evening :	7:00 – 7:15 PM: Aarti (devotional music), with a short reading from Swami Chetanananda's book: ‘Mahendra Nath Gupta ‘M’' 7:15 – 8:00 PM: Meditation

 

Past Events

Click here to see photos of some Past Events.

 

Guest Lecture: ‘What Does Vivekananda Mean to America’ – Wed. April 17

Philip Goldberg, author of ‘American Veda’ (2002), spoke to an attentive audience of about fifty-five individuals from 7:20 – 8:40 PM. ‘Vedantic’ ideas were slowly introduced to America thru prose/poetry of Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman.  ‘New Thought’ era of Transcendentalists, Theosophists and Christian Science also utilized Gita/Vedanta points of reference in their sermons. As America was still predominantly of Protestant faith (many had never yet met a Catholic or Jewish person, let alone a Hindu) at the time of 1893 Parliament of Religions, Swami Vivekananda taught Vedantic ideas in a way that would be compatible to the current culture of science and religion. William James, Aldus Huxley, Christopher Isherwood,  were greatly influenced by Vivekananda and Swamis from Ramakrishna order that followed him, Other Vedantic teachers like Swami Yogananda (SRF),started coming in on the path prepared by him. Sri Aurobindo, Raman Maharshi, Muktananda were also instrumental in spreading the Vedanta message. Ram Das, Alan Watts, Ravi Shankar, the Beatles, Joseph Campbell, JD Salinger, have helped incorporation of Vedantic teachings  into American culture. The many schools of  Hatha yoga are now having a strong impact on how American people  perceive ‘yoga’. Goldberg mentioned Jackie Robinson, showed some power-point, and an anecdote about Southern Baptists being taught to say ‘Om and Namaste’. Mr Goldberg signed books at conclusion of the talk.

 

Vedanta Center WashingtonDC-Temple Inaugural Program– Fri. Apr. 19 - Sun. Apr. 21
Swami and some devotees attended the 3-day Temple-inaugural program of the Vedanta Center of Washington DC/Silver Spring MD.  They returned Monday, Apr. 22.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

Swami Vivekananda on Bhagavad Gita, by Viswanatha A. - Apr. 19, Friday

Swami Vivekananda gave talks on the Gita in San Francisco in November 1900. These talks, taken in shorthand by Ida Ansell (Ujjwala), were the focus of this lecture. Swami Vivekananda is the very personification of the teachings of the Gita. By the grace of his guru, Sri Ramakrishna, Narendranth Dutta was transformed into the illustrious Swami Vivekananada, who made a tremendous impact on western society. He showed how religion can benefit from modern science and how science can advance by accommodating an experiential religion like Vedanta. The essence of both science and religion is to raise one’s consciousness to experience the oneness of life. Viswanatha also read portions of ‘Swami Vivekananada’s Thoughts on the Gita’.

 

The Ideal of Rama – a talk by Sukalyan Sengupta - Apr. 21, Sunday

This talk was presented to commemorate a special day, Ram Navami – the birth anniversary of Rama. Sri Rama, along with Sri Krishna, is among the most revered gods in the Hindu pantheon.  When the Ramayana was shown on TV in India, the whole country became a “ghost town”, as everyone was watching the show. Rama is unsurpassable, being the ideal husband, king, father, son, brother, and warrior, among other roles. Because of the evil designs of his step mother, Rama was exiled into the forest for fourteen years. Rama happily complied with his father’s wishes, and his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshmana, insisted on going with him into exile. The evil king Ravana played a trick on Rama and abducted Sita, whereupon Rama fought a war against Ravana with the help of Hanuman and his monkey army, to rescue Sita. When he won the war, Rama established a perfect kingdom, as he was always concerned about the poor and justice. Tulsidas, the author of the most popular version of the Ramayana, indicated that he could not have described Rama if he hadn’t seen him. Rama is completely human and completely divine. If he were only divine, he would be out of our reach as a role model, and if he were only human, he could not be the ideal that he is. Rama was also the ideal environmentalist, looking to nature for inspiration. The Holy Mother, when she saw the Shiva Linga where Rama had offered his prayers after the war, said: “It is just as I had left it.” Although she tried to downplay this comment, it shows that she was the same as Sita.

This talk was accompanied by songs and dances about Rama, with dance by Anuradha Tata, along with Koyel Ghosal on sitar, Arunim Roy singing, and David Cordeiro on tabla.

 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda - Apr. 23, Tuesday

With holy company one’s perception changes from within. In spiritual life, there are some external factors like rituals or practices, which do not necessarily bring any transformations. But if those external practices has some internal connection, then it brings about the transformation of personality. As spiritual wisdom starts seeping in, one very special impression is aroused inside us. Spiritual life then becomes a priority.
M has painted beautiful pictures of Master's conversations with the devotees to give us a feel of those blissful vibrations.
Dr. Sarkar prferred to spend long hours in the company of Master. Due to the spiritual awakening within him, his priorities changed and in spite of being extremely busy, he used to spend maximum possible time with the Master and his devotees. He was considering the devotees of the Master as his own. This kind of love is developed based on the spiritual connection.
Master is advising Ishan- a householder devotee. Master is admiring the householders who have developed love for God along with discharging his/her daily duties to encourage their spiritual development. If one thinks that the responsibilities of day to day life are hindrances to the spiritual development, then it is a misconception. One can use these duties as a disciplinary tool to regulate his/her life on the path of spirituality.