Newsletter March 10, 2010

Past Events

1)On Thursday, March 04, the birth anniversary of Swami Yogananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, was observed in the morning with a chant and in the evening with a song, a biography reading and Prasad.
2)Hindi School Students (HARI )visit Vedanta - Sun. March 07
On Sunday morning, March 07, about twenty elementary-age students (also teachers and parents) from the HARI School, situated on the Brown University campus, visited Providence Vedanta Chapel at 11:30 AM to learn about basic Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. Click here to see photo.
3) Monday evening, March 08, Swami Yogatmananda met with the Brown University Hindu student group to discuss current concerns.

Synopsis of last week's classes

Friday, Mar. 05 - Bhagavad Gita (Ch. 6, Recapitulation & Verse 1)
Tonight's class reviewed the essential teachings of the first five chapters of the Gita before embarking upon the study of the sixth chapter. The Bhagavad Gita is a practical guide for living a meaningful life. Through Lord Krishna's conversation with Arjuna we learn that all human suffering springs from of this attachment to body and the objects of the world, the sense of "I and mine." the true nature of the soul is immortal; therefore, we never really die. Our bodies are just cast off like old garments that have worn out. Although we may grasp this Truth at the intellectual level, the question remains: How can we apply it to our everyday experience? 'Yoga' is the answer-the perfect union of theory and practice. The only thing that will bring us true and lasting Happiness is the realization of the Truth. We can realize this Truth in our very lifetime, through the practice of detachment, renunciation, and control of the mind and personality. The more efforts we put into this practice, the greater will be our results, the larger will be our Happiness.
The first verse of Chapter Six introduces the study of abhyasa yoga, the yoga of practice. It explains the nature of true Yogi who is also true Sanyasi (renouncer). "One who performs the works which need to be done without craving for the results; not the one who merely takes up the external signs of a monk, like giving up all the duties."

Sunday, March 07- What Happens When I Die? - Swami Yogatmananda
'Death of somebody' is quite different from 'death of I' in the sense that while someone else's death may affect us, it is accepted as a fact, whereas 'death of I' is very difficult to imagine. The 'Questions of Yaksha' in Mahabharata, narrates the most astonishing fact in the world as: Even though we see people dying around us every day, we think we are going to be there forever. Somehow intrinsically we associate death with death of 'body' and not with the death of 'I'; 'I' is always thought as changeless (immortal) part of our personality. Ego, deeper layer of our personality doesn't die with death of the body; rather it manufactures another suitable body and rebirth takes place. Scriptures mention that sleep is one type of death that we experience everyday. In deep sleep, 'I' is not perceived and hence the universe which revolves around the pivot of 'I' also vanishes. The idea of death has its root in ignorance. Ignorance or the fictitious divide as subject and object forces the 'I' to see itself separate from the world. Death of ego (or ignorance) wipes off this separation; in a true sense, the Self never dies and hence never is born. In Bhagavad Gita, pointing to this fact, Sri Krishna says that a person passes through different stages such as childhood - youth- old age, the next link in that chain is death and hence one should not be grieving on the death of the body. Kathopanisad says that perception of the 'multiplicity' takes us from death to death. When one dies to one's desires, possessions, then the eternal life begins. In the state of Samadhi, a person wakes up to the Knowledge and the dream of this universe vanishes and along with that vanishes the idea of death. Since the biggest obstacle - ego, which was standing between us and God - dies, what remains is God alone, the all pervading reality. Tolstoy's novel 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' narrates the story of an ordinary person who realizes at the hour of death that he has lived an artificial life - life of self-interest and not the authentic life - the life of compassion and empathy. Suddenly, he sees the death of his artificial life and feels sorry for others who would continue their artificial lives fearing death.

Tuesday, Mar. 09 - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

The words of Sri Ramakrishna remind us that we are immortal. A devotee asked the Master 'What should we do (to realize God)?' Ramakrishna told 'cultivate intense dispassion'. These attachments are like a stranglehold and it is so very hard to get loose. Through the practice of detachment and looking at names and forms and the attraction and repulsion that accompanies them as unreal, one makes progress. If we don't get there in the first attempt, say "I am not able to do it NOW". Never say, "I can't do it", because this is a defeatist attitude. The Master says we need strength of mind like a dacoit who shouts, "loot, kill" before looting a house.
Through devotion to God, the dispassion comes easier. By doing that, you won't have to give up directly. In Narada's Aphorism on devotion, he writes that love to God increases all the time. Human love, on the other hand, is more of a conditional affair. How much I love that person depends on whether S/he is acting the way I want. Is that really love? Vivekananda, in Bhakti Yoga, touches upon the same point and we learn that God will never ditch us. He is always there for us and we can always depend upon Him. So, weaving our sense organs, motor organs and mind around God and not around the names and forms, we come to feel more and more love for God and that will automatically remove the love of the world.

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