Newsletter January 06, 2010

Past Events

Swami Vivekananda Birth Anniversary Celebration - Sun. Jan. 03
Despite the icy, snowy conditions, from thirty to fifty devotees and admirers of Swami Vivekananda attended the various events from 11AM - 7:PM: puja/ritual worship; prasad luncheon; video on Swami Vivekananda; music-hour to honor Swamiji; four-speaker symposium on Swamiji; singing of Shiva-Nam-Sankirtanam, meditation and dinner.

Kalpataru Day - Fri. Jan. 01
Kalpataru Day was observed at a devotee home in Norton, MA, where there was a reading on the significance of this day in the life of Sri Ramakrishna and direct disciples; Swami Tyagananda and Swami Yogatmananda both spoke briefly on the event; music/singing and pot-luck luncheon for the fifty plus who attended.

State House Interfaith Vigil - Tue. Jan. 05
Swami participated in the third annual RI Interfaith Coalition's 'One Voice Fighting Poverty with Faith' interfaith vigil from 3PM - 4PM at the Capitol Rotunda with other interfaith leaders, who each recited a hymn. About one hundred clergy, assembly and public attended.
Click here to see photos.

Synopsis of last week's classes

Friday, Jan. 01 - Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 5 (Verses 9-12)

Renunciation means to give up attachment, not to give up work. If you give up action, then know that you are giving up the tool by which you will experience Truth. Working without attachment requires practice. We need to get rid of the sense of ownership--"my" and "mine"--because this creates bondage. As Sri Ramakrishna tells, we should live life like a nursemaid who lovingly cares for her master's children but knows they are not really her own.
A yogi (person who works towards the attainment of Truth) knows that the objects he encounters do not belong to him and thus purifies his mind through actions done. If we work without attachment and dedicate our actions to the Lord, we can repel bondage and purify our minds. This path is accessible to all of us because we all have the ability to work! The highest peace is experienced by those who work in this way, and this peaceful state of mind exists regardless of financial situation, state of physical health, etc.

Sunday, Jan. 03 - Symposium on Swami Vivekananda
A four-speaker symposium was arranged as a part of birth-anniversary celebration of Swami Vivekananda.
Gita Roy spoke about Swami Vivekananda's work for uplifting women of India. She said Swamji had a deep reverence for women and advocated women's education for regeneration of India. Inspired by his thoughts, Sister Nivedita devoted her life for women's education and India's independence.
Niyati Vakil spoke about her experience of helping others and how Swami Vivekananda's teachings of Karma Yoga guide her to work selflessly, without any attachment to the results.
Chester Boncek spoke about Swami Vivekananda's life and teachings as a perfect act of 'connecting the dots in a puzzle' to form a meaningful picture, a picture that gives a unitary vision. In his teachings, we find the perfect harmony of the East and the West, science and religion, secular and spiritual.
Nandita Sanyal spoke about Swami Vivekananda as a hero, an ideal to follow to reach the goal of life.
In his concluding remark Swami Yogatmananda pointed out special features of Swami Vivekananda's teachings. Swami Vivekananda emphasized women's education so that women will be in a position to solve their own problems in their own way. He shows us a path for spiritual evolution through renunciation and service. If we try to manifest our divinity then we are following Vivekananda in a true sense, and he is working in and through us.

Tuesday, Jan 05 - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (Chapter 39)

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is the only book where the words of an incarnation of God are recorded verbatim. The utterances of Krishna, Buddha and Jesus were written well after they left the body. Depending on the requirement of the times, God incarnates differently. Sri Ramakrishna is considered to be an avatara for the modern age. It is almost impossible for an ordinary person to hold on to the body after experiencing mahabhava, or the Great Mood, which was discussed in last week's talk. Our nervous system can't withstand it. Vivekananda always taught strength -- both physical and mental, for making progress in the spiritual life. The weak fall prey to minor distractions of the world. A spiritual aspirant has to kick out all that's unreal and this requires courage. What we should impress upon our mind is that the Lord is everything.
The Master says live in the world through a spirit of detachment. By practicing this, we can let names and forms just come and go, deal with them, but don't get caught in them.
A simple, logical, and practical formula for moving forward is to practice detachment. Attachment =misery, detachment=joy. Detachment is to know that nothing here is mine even though I am here in the world and work in it.

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