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Newsletter April 25, 2012
Pt Vinayak Torvi, Hindustani Classical Concert – Sun. April 29
Pt Vinayak Torvi, eminent Hindustani Classical vocalist, will perform from 6PM – 7:30PM at the Vedanta Society on Sunday April 29, 2012, immediately following the 5PM Lecture.He will be accompanied by Amit Kavathekar on tabla, who is disciple of Ustaad Allarakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain. All welcome. Suggested Donation is $20.00/adult.
| Friday, April 27 | 7:00
PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class on Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 13 |
| Saturday, April 28 | 7:00 – 8:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music), a short reading and meditation. |
| Sunday, April 29 | 5:00 - 6:00 PM: ‘Sri Sankara and Buddha’ by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00PM – 7:00PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM – 8:00PM – Aarati (2 devotional songs, a reading, and meditation). |
| Tuesday, May 01 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class, Ch. 44 (Pg 831) |
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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 |
Inauguration Ceremony of the New Shrine-Chapel and 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration of Swami Vivekananda - April 20-22, 2012
From Friday April 20 to Sunday April 22, the celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and formal inauguration of the new shrine-chapel took place in the company of 23 Swamis & nuns of the Ramakrishna Order & hundreds of devotees & friends coming from all over the North America.
On Friday, from 9:30AM to 4:00 PM, a monastic conference was held and the public functions began at 6:00PM with chanting/singing by the students of Vivekananda Vidyapith Wayne, NJ. The short discourses, devotional music & dances followed till 8:00PM.
Click here to See Photos - Friday Apr 20
On Saturday, at 7:00AM, Swami Tathagatananda did the formal inauguration of the new chapel by cutting the ribbon in the presence of monks, nuns & devotees. Conch shells were blown and Vedic chanting was done. A special worship and havan followed from 7:30 – 9:30 AM. A symposium on facets of Swami Vivekananda with Swamis & Nuns participating took place from 10:00 – 12:00 Noon and 2:00 -4:00 PM. From 5:00 – 6:30PM, the construction team including the architects, builders, consultants and engineers was honored. Swami Tathagatananda gave mementos as a token of recognition of their valuable work. He also released the commemorative volume. The day’s programs ended with a vocal-sitar-tabla concert by Debapriya Adhikary, Samanwaya Sarkar & Nitin Mitta.
Click here to See Photos - Saturday Apr 21
On Sunday, a symposium on ‘East meets West’ was arranged from 9:30AM – 12:30PM. Dr. Pratibha Shah (Ayurveda), Swami Chetanananda (Vedanta Philosophy), Marc Rossi (Music), Gita Desai (Yoga) and Swami Atmarupananda (Meditation) gave brilliant dispositions of how the meeting between East and West inspired by Swami Vivekananda helped the growth of all these disciplines. There was a fusion music concert by the well-known Garuda ensemble led by Bruno Raberg from 3:00-4:00pm. The last program of the celebration was an interfaith prayer/music meeting in which 15 representative clergies of various faiths participated.
Click here to See Photos - Sunday Apr 22
For all these programs sumptuous breakfast, lunch and dinner was arranged. Around 250 people participated in each of the programs.
The detailed report of the ceremony will be presented soon.
Interfaith Group at Vedanta Society – Thurs. April 12
About fifteen interfaith clergy and church members participated in the monthly ‘Attleboro-based’ interfaith meeting, this time in the new Vedanta Chapel, to discuss: ‘"What is the role and meaning of silence in your faith tradition and/or in your own personal practice?".
CT Bhagavad Gita class – Sun. April 18
Swami conducted the monthly Bhagavad Gita class (Ch 11 cont) from 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM at Satyanarayana Middletown Hindu Temple, 11 Training Hill Rd Middletown CT.
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated.)
Bhagavad Gita class – April 20, Friday - Cancelled, due to Inauguration Ceremony
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – April 24, Tuesday
The knowledge of the Self alone gives ultimate satisfaction. Ignorance and the sufferings caused by it are removed by the knowledge. This knowledge of truth is not mere intellectual understanding but a clear perception. This can be seen in Sri Ramakrishna's life. Inspite of the disease and the bodily pain he was immersed in the divine bliss and was sharing the same with the devotees.
Sri Ramakrishna said when there is intense urge to realize God, only then the Truth is revealed. Master narrates his vision of water covered with scum. The water is Satchidananda and the scum is like Maya. Due to Maya the truth appears to be something different as in the famous example of rope appearing as snake. When this scum - maya is removed one can see clear water - Satchidananda.
Satchidananda is the name of God which means Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. Everything in the world that exists is due to this primary existence. Names and forms show a reflected existence which comes and goes. But the Existence always shines forth and gives a vibe of ultimate happiness. We try to search for this ultimate happiness in the outside world and hence get frustrated. The whole world is comprised of existence, consciousness, bliss, (Satchidananda) and, name and form (maya). We get entangled in names and forms that create this terrible bondage. It requires tremendous courage to cut asunder the attachment and experience the Truth.