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Newsletter May 06, 2009
Revered Swami Sarvagatanandaji Passes Away
It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the passing of Revered Swami Sarvagatanandaji Maharaj on Sunday, May 3, 5:30 AM at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of Massachusetts. He died peacefully in his sleep. The 'viewing' was held on Monday, May 4th, at J. S. Waterman and Sons, Boston, MA 02109 from 6 to 9 PM. Cremation was done on Tuesday.
Special worship of Sri Ramakrishna will be performed at the Providence center on Friday, May 15, at 11:00 AM.
The Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, May 16 — its venue and time will be informed in due course.
Day-long Retreat - Sat. May 30
Swami Sarvadevananda, from Vedanta Society Hollywood CA, will be the main
teacher for the day-long retreat (9:30 AM-7:00 PM) on: 'DEVOTION: Narada's
Way'. Pre-registration required; donation fee of $15.00. Seating limited to
space available. For detailed information and registration form please click
here.
Weekly Programs at Vedanta Society of Providence
| Friday May 08 | 7:00
PM - Aarati (devotional music)
& meditation. 7:30 PM – Bhagavad Gita class (Ch. 4) |
| Saturday, May 09 |
8:00 -10:00
AM - Cleaning |
| Sunday, May 10 |
5:00 -
6:00 PM - A talk on ''Pursuit of Perfection" by Swami Yogatmananda |
|
Tuesday, May 12 |
7:00 PM –
Aarati (devotional music) & meditation. 7:30 PM – Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class, Ch. 38, Pg 733 |
Daily Programs at Vedanta Society of Providence
| 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, Vol. II |
| Evening | 7:00
– 7:15 PM: Aarati (devotional music), a short reading from Spiritual
Practice (Its conditions and preliminaries) by Swami Ashokananda 7:15 – 8:00 PM: Meditation |
Swami assigned some devotees to attend a morning session
of, and chant a few hymns for the 'Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition's:
Fighting Poverty with Faith' Conference at Roger Williams Park, Providence
on Wed. May 06th.
Synopsis of Last Week's Classes
Friday - Bhagwad Gita - May
01
Ch. 4- Verses 11-13: There is infinite variety in human constitution
and thus everyone follows a different form of worship. The One-without a
second God knows that they are all offered to Him; He appears in a form
suitable to the understanding of the devotee. When Krishna uses the word
'I' - he does not mean the particular human form appearing in Mathura-Vrindavan,
who was friend of Arjuna, but the Universal I - The transcendent and transcendentally
immanent, all-pervading One.
Because of short-sightedness, most men aspire for the quick-fruit-bearing
ordinary works and aspire for the demigods which deliver them. They have
no patience to seek what is really right Lord then tells the way He works:
He does and yet He is not the 'doer'.
This idea will be explored in the next class.
Sunday - May 03 - Service was cancelled due to demise
of Swami Sarvagatananda that morning.
Tuesday - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - May 05
Sri Ramakrishna is explaining how God is beyond all thought and words and yet is known by the pure buddhi, which is same as the Atman. 'Beyond' should not be understood here as when one says 'the village is beyond this river' (where the village and the river both are real), but as 'God alone is Real; words and thought are only appearances of Him'. Thoughts and words really don't have any existence apart from God. What's wrong with getting attached if everything is a part of God? The question is: are you attached to God or the form. If it's the form, then rest assured it is not the Lord. These forms, however dear they may be, are changing and hence unreal. If we want ultimate reality, we have to stop clinging to name and form. It's difficult to do, use discernment, and do disciplines. It has been likened to walking a razor's edge. The Self we seek, according to the Upanishads hidden is in the cave of every being. What hides it? The covering of ignorance. BUT by applying a sharp and pure intellect, one is able to penetrate the cover.
There were a couple of questions afterwards: one was about the confusion between attachment to something and making use of something; the other was about the covering and the reality.