Newsletter December 26, 2012

Newsletter Archives

 

Upcoming Events

Kalpataru Day program - Tues. Jan. 01, 2013

From 11:00AM - 1:30PM, Kalpataru Day (Wish-fulfilling Tree Day) program will be celebrated with Music, Reflections & Potluck Lunch. All are invited.

 

Sri Sarada Devi Birth Anniversary  - Sunday, Jan 06, 2013
Worship: 11:00 AM-1:00 PM; Prasad-lunch: 1:00-2:00 PM; Video: 2:15 -3:30 PM; Music: 4:00-5:00 PM; Three-Speaker Symposium: 5:00-6:00 PM; Chant-Music & Meditation: 6:00-7:00 PM; Dinner.  All are invited to any or all programs.

 

Weekly Programs

Friday, Dec. 28	7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study class on 'Bhagava Gita, Ch. 16'
Saturday, Dec. 29	8:30 – 10:30AM:Karma Yoga/cleaning 11:00am – 12noon: Guided Meditation and singing 7:00 – 8:00PM: Aarati (devotional singing), a short reading from Sri Sarada Devi The Great Wonder and meditation
Sunday, Dec. 30	5:00 – 6:00PM: Swami Yogatmananda will speak on ‘What is the Use?’ 6:00 – 7:00PM- Soup Supper 7:00 – 8:00PM – Aarati (music, a reading and meditation)
Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2013	11:00 AM - 1:30 PM: Kalpataru Day program 7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation 7:30 – 8:30 PM: No Class; New Year's Day Holiday

 

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’nn 7:15 – 8:15 PM: Meditation

 

Past Events

Christmas Eve - Mon. Dec. 24, 7:00-8:30 PM
After 7:00 PM Aarati, Swami Yogatmananda performed mini-puja to honor Jesus. This was followed by singing of Christmas carols, and short readings from ‘Sermon on the Mount’, ‘Imitation of Christ’, by Thomas à Kempis and the significance of Christmas Eve in the history of Ramakrishna Order from 'The Life of Swami Vivekananda: By His Eastern and Western Disciples'. Swami offered reflections. Prasad/holiday sweets followed. About fourty people participated.

Click here to see photos.

Salutations! – Friday Dec. 21
The birth anniversary of Swami Premananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, was observed with a morning chant, and in the evening with a song, a biography reading and prasad.

Middletown Bhagavad Gita class – Sun. Dec. 23
Swami Yogatmananda conducted the monthly Bhagavad Gita class (Ch.13 cont) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple (Middletown, CT) from 10:30-11:30 AM.

 

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated.)

Bhagavad Gita Class - Dec. 21, Friday

Ch. 16 Verses 1-3: In a way, the 15th chapter of the Gita is its culmination, since the chapter comprehensively describes the method of yoga by which the Supreme Self, or Purushottama, can be realized. However, let us not make the mistake of thinking the chapters that follow are unimportant or should be neglected. The remaining chapters of the Gita cover many auxiliary matters, which are of utmost importance to sincere spiritual aspirants and therefore demand our careful and sustained attention. In the 16th chapter, the Lord addresses a question He began in the 7th chapter, but did not elaborate upon at that time. The important question is this: How do we enhance our divine qualities, while curtailing and ultimately eliminating our demonic tendencies? The human psyche possesses both angelic and demonic qualities. Some may have an abundance of divine qualities and a dearth of demonic qualities, some may have a dearth of divine qualities and an abundance of demonic qualities, but the important thing to bear in mind is that the seeds of the divine qualities are in all of us in some measure. They simply need to be cultivated. We must not tell ourselves we don’t possess any of the angelic qualities. We mustn’t continue to emphasize the negative aspects of our personality; if we emphasize the negative, depression will surely follow. Fearlessness will help us go forward. We all have the seeds; now is the time to cultivate them.

 

Sermon on the Mount – Dec. 23, Sunday

Christmas observes the advent of one of the greatest teachers of humanity. Jesus, who said, “I am the goal I am the way”, taught by example. The influence of divine incarnations is timeless, and even increases over time, unlike political figures, whose memories fade over time. When God incarnates as a human being, it is to teach humanity, seeking nothing for himself. Jesus was followed by the multitude when he healed their bodies, but then he went up the mountain, which is an allegory for going where it is difficult to follow. Then, he was followed only by his disciples, who sought to go beyond the body. Like the multitude, we often feel that money will fulfill us, but it creates new bondages and increases the ego. People who find it difficult to get up early for morning meditation will get up early for their job. We may know that meditation is important in our intellect, but do not feel it in our heart. We all seek happiness, freedom and peace, and in God, we attain these goals. As is said in the Bhagavad Gita, Jesus said that the way is narrow, and few follow the path. When we attain internal purity, we see things as they really are, and not merely appearances. Swami Vivekananda said that even if all other scriptural injunctions disappeared, people would be saved by Jesus’s saying: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” We complain that people are bad, and that the world is bad, because we do not follow Jesus’s saying, “Ye are the light of the world.” Swami Vivekananda agreed with this, by calling that person an atheist who does not believe in himself, rather than one who does not believe in God. Jesus said that it is no use to bring a gift to God while bearing a grudge against one’s neighbor. We must build our house on the solid rock of God, who is unchanging, rather than on the shifting sands of such things as money.

 

No Class on Tues. Dec. 25, Tuesday - Christmas Holiday