Newsletter May 05, 2010

Past Events

1) From 9:00AM - 10:30AM, Saturday May 01, morning ragas were performed on SAROD & TABLA by brothers Shashank & Akshay Navaladi to about thirty-five music enthusiasts. Light refreshments followed.
Click here for photos.

2) Swami delivered the 11AM - 12noon satsang on 'Some Thoughts on Thinking' at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of MA, 58 Deerfield St, Boston, MA on Sun. May 02.

Synopsis of last week's classes

Friday, Apr. 30 - Bhagavad Gita (Ch. 6, Verses 23-25)
When we are dealt blows in life, most of us feel depressed and shattered. The Yogi, however, is unaffected, even in the face of tremendous suffering as there is no identification with the body. Although etymologically Yoga means "to join," in these verses Lord Krishna emphasizes that it is really vi-yoga, or dis-joining ourselves from our attachment to the body. When you
dissociate with the body and its trappings, you automatically associate with what is True/unchanging. Removing our attachments to friends and family members does not mean ceasing to love them. Just the opposite! In order to really love our near and dear ones, we need to let go of our attachment to them.
Practicing Yoga requires great determination and an uncompromising commitment. We should not be impatient to reach our goal of God realization, but we should be eager and enthusiastic. Our mind may rebel against the discipline of spiritual practice, but if we give way to even one small desire, the rest will come pouring in. We must be firm and resolute!

Sunday, May 02 - Ages and Stages - Swami Yogatmananda
The social structure was built in ancient India with the view to help each person achieve the highest goal of God-realization according to his/her
constitution and age. The society was therefore broadly divided in four 'varnas' which is commonly (but mistakenly) translated as castes. The 'varna' is decided by the particular combination of Sattva-Rajas-Tamas in a person and broadly determines the constitutional aptitude and capabilities of that person. Also a graded course was given during the lifetime of a
person at various stages like childhood, youth, middle-age and old-age within each of the 'varna'-s. These are called 'Aashrama'-s which connote 'disciplined living'.
1. Childhood to young adulthood (Brahmachary-aashrama): In this stage of age 4-20, there is emphasis on acquiring knowledge and virtue. At the early age, when proper impressions can be made with more ease, care has to be taken put proper values in the mind. The children - boys and girls - are to be sent to boarding schools where they live with the teachers and fellow
students. The parents were not allowed to interfere in the education. The money-making part was strictly kept out at this stage.
2. Youth -about Age 20-55 (Householder's life - Grihasthaashrama) The person maries and takes up different duties and responsibilities like earning money, having a family, looking after the children's education and taking care of the aging parents and other relations, contributing to the overall social fabric by fulfilling the obligations like paying the taxes, giving donations to charities & so on. Householders must also do the regular worships and the other spiritual practice to keep the goal of life in front of them.
3. Middle age or declining of youth- about 55-70 (vaanaprasthaashrama=discipline of the forest-life) Not that one has to literally go to forest but has to develop detachment from all entanglements of family and social life and concentrate wholly on the ultimate ideal of God-realization. It takes unrelenting determination to achieve this.
4. Becoming a monastic (Sannyasaashrama) - 70-till death. This is a culmination of the process of detachment. The person now severs all connections of society and family and practices devotion to God wholeheartedly.
One may be able to go to the ultimate Sannyasa stage at any age if there is the dispassion and devotion. Although the idea is ancient, the principle is greatly useful in modern times too.

Tuesday, May 04 - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

In the spiritual life, there is a kind of spontaneity. The higher life manifests through common daily activity. As the awareness changes, so does the corresponding activity or behavior. An incarnation's behavior is apparently the same on the surface as that of an ordinary person. However, there is NO desire in him. The whole universe is seen as One. The current chapter begins about a year and a few months before Sri Ramakrishna left the body. He is at Balaram's house, where he visits often and a gathering of devotees are there. The Master wishes to hear Girish and Mahimacharan argue about Krishna. Girish says that no matter how much spiritual practice one does, a person can't become an incarnation. Mahima takes the opposite view.
Both are eager to make their point, and the Master is pleased. Devotional singing follows with reference to Radha and the mad love for Krishna. Wefollow the sense objects wildly and blindly. The pull is so strong and even though we know it may not be good for us, we still do it. What should be happening is a ripening of love for God. We may not know the scriptures,
but a devotional heart is more important to realize the highest goal. Upon hearing Krishna's magic flute, Radha can think of nothing more than to bewith him. What will happen when she does meet her beloved? 'She' will be no more. It's a complete dissolution of the personality. A merging of the little self into the big Self. Krishna met the Gopis only after their ego
was gone.

The less the ego, the closer the God.

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