Newsletter June 27, 2012

Newsletter Archives

 

Announcements

1) As of Saturday, June 23, the Center's daily and weekly activities will be suspended until Saturday, Sept 08.

2) During the Summer break, Newsletters will be posted once monthly-- July 25 and August 29.

3) The LIBRARY will be open only on Tuesday evenings through the summer.

 

Upcoming Events

Vedanta Study class -Tuesdays - July 10 thru Aug 21, 7:00 – 8:30PM

Prayer, Meditation, Study and Discussion on ‘TAO’. Open to All.

 

Swami Yogatmananda to Ganges MI & Homer Glen IL– June 29 - July 1

Swami Yogatmananda will travel to Ganges MI, , where he will conduct the Saturday retreat on 'Shiva-Sutra' and deliver the Sunday morning Lecture on ‘Emotion and Action’. On Sunday evening, at the Lemont Hindu Temple, IL, he will deliver a talk on 'Life - a Journey'.

 

Guru Poornima – Tuesday, July 03

From 7 to 8:30 p.m., Guru Poornima (observed to honor all gurus) will be observed with short worship/puja, flower offering, devotional singing, a few readings, ashort talk by Swami Yogatmananda and Prasad. All are welcome.

 

'Independence Day' Program - Wednesday, July 04

From 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.,. Short talks; music; readings and luncheon will be held. RSVP at the Vedanta Society.

 

Swami To Nova Scotia, Canada– Thurs July 05 - Sun July 08

Swami will conduct a retreat on ‘Non-Dual Vedanta'.

 

Get-Together of Devotees – Sat. July 21, 11:00AM – 2:00PM

A ‘get-together’ at the home of T K Roy, West Wareham MA, with readings on ‘M’, the chronicler of the gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, reflections and music. Swamis Tyagananda (Boston Vedanta) and Swami Yogatmananda will attend. Please RSVP at 508-748-9797 or troy(at)umassd.edu only.

 

Past Events

Day-long spiritual retreat – Sat., June 23, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Fifty-seven devotees attended a day-long retreat on “ Extracting the Answers’. It consisted of devotional music; guided meditation, a ‘yoga-stretch’ break, two 1 ½ long discourses, and question-answer session.

Following the retreat, a 'Gurubani' Shabad Concert by ten youth/young adults from the Milford, MA Gurudwara was appreciated by about forty music enthusiasts.

Click to see photos.

Synopses of Last Week's Classes

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

Bhagavad Gita class – June 22, Friday

Ch 14, verses 22-27 : After explaining the ways in which the three gunas, or psychological types, of tamas, rajas, and sattva bind us, Sri Krishna describes in the final verses of chapter 14 what the life of a person who has transcended the three gunas will look like.  This person will still exhibit many of the same external traits as the rest of us; he or she will get sick, express likes and dislikes, etc.  However, the person who has transcended the gunas is actually living on a different plane, as it were.  He is not attached to anything, has no desires for the things of the world, and does not experience pleasure and pain. Just as when we view a 3-D movie and are not tempted to pick a flower we see on the screen or cry out when a car in the movie appears to be coming straight towards us, the person who is liberated from bondage is unfazed by the happenings of the world, because he see all things as mere name and form.  
These verses become meaningful only when we look at these qualities in the context of holy personages; studying the lives of these rare individuals makes the abstract sentences of the scriptures come to life.   The best example is Sri Ramakrishna.  Superficially, Sri Ramakrishna's life was much like ours; he was a modern person who lived in a busy city and did eat and sleep, just like us, FOR ALL APPEARNCE.  However, he had no attachment to anything and felt no identification with his body.  As Sri Krishna says in Verse 23, the person who has gone beyond the gunas is unperturbed by the world around him.  He knows that this world was formed, is existing, and will eventually dissolve, yet he remains undisturbed.  Sri Ramakrishna used to talk to people and hear all of their woes and troubles, but he always remained fixed in the knowledge that the world is unreal and that God alone is real.  The person who has gone beyond the gunas receives everything with equanimity and great compassion.  It is important to keep in mind that this complete detachment from the world should not be confused with insensitivity toward others. The spiritual person is tremendously sensitive and loves everyone as manifestations of God.

In Verse 26 and 27, Sri Krishna explains how we can go beyond the three gunas.  We must be unswerving in our dedication to realizing God and continue toward this goal with tremendous patience. The end result is that we will become one with Existence itself; we will no longer experience any separation between ourselves and God. If we are able to shed the idea that we are the body, we will realize what we truly are--divine.  The practice of devotion is a great aid on this path.  Through devotion and service to God, we will get more and more attached emotionally and psychologically to God, and as our understanding changes, we will eventually realize our true nature.  Loving God with one-pointed devotion will take us beyond the three Gunas.  We should pray for the inspiration from the Divine to mold our lives on this goal and continue on the spiritual path with steadfast devotion.