Newsletter April 08, 2009

Past Events

Synopsis of Last Week's Classes

Friday - Bhagwad Gita - April 03
Ch. 4- Verses 4-6: Last time we heard that Arjuna is not the first to receive the teachings of Yoga; it was first taught by Sri Krishna to Vivaswan, the "The Sun-God or the first born", and then the teaching continued through the tradition of teacher & taught. But the meaning of the teachings was corrupted over time due to desires of human beings. In Verse 4, Arjuna asks how it is possible that Sri Krishna, his contemporary and friend, could have taught this Yoga to Vivaswan, who was born ages ago. We identify ourselves with our bodies and thus forget our previous births. However, as Sri Krishna explains in Verse 5, he can remember them all. In Verse 6, we learn that the birth of God as an incarnation is not like the birth of ordinary people. The Lord freely chooses to assume human form in order to help the rest of humanity understand that we are essentially Divine. As the saying goes, "God becomes man so that man may become God."
*Class was followed by many interesting questions related to being an instrument of God, why we don't remember our previous births, why some incarnations do not seem to know they are God incarnated, and what practical steps we can take to become more loving and more detached.*

Karma and Freedom (Karma Yoga #8) - Swami Tyagananda - April 05
The goal of Karma Yoga is to acquire freedom from the bondage of law of cause and effect or law of Karma. Every action on one hand is the effect of past work and on the other, becomes a cause and produces its own effect. Then can Karma help us go beyond law? As the same key opens or closes the door depending on the way it is turned, similarly Karma can liberate us or bind us depending on how we do it.
All our ideas of law get formed when we associate a series of phenomena with things in our mind and expect the series to repeat itself. Thus law exists within our mind and not in the nature outside. All we know about this universe is through our mind and senses which work in the domain of space, time and causation. So our physical universe is a limited entity and an infinitesimal part of the whole Existence. Beyond the range of mind, there is no mental association of things, no causation and hence no law exists. So long as we are in the domain of space, time and causation, we cannot have freedom of will. Forgetting our infinite nature, we identify with this little universe and try to cling onto it. To acquire freedom, we have to go beyond the limitations of this universe. 'Until we give up the strong attachment to this transient, conditioned universe, we have no hope of catching even a glimpse of that infinite freedom beyond.' - says Swami Vivekananda. Spiritual life demands spirit of adventure to let go the things. We have to die to this world to be born in God. Karma Yoga helps us to imbibe this spirit of renunciation and shows us the way to perfect freedom.

Tuesday - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - April 07

Divine incarnations have no purpose except to bring knowledge to those who don't have it. This was Sri Ramakrishna's only agenda. Here at Balaram's house in Calcutta, we see him teaching the devotes, how to pray. As evening approaches, forms merged into darkness and the evening vesper or worship began. These twilight-times were always special to the Master. Prayer often starts out primitive saying: let me get more for myself. Even in this primitive prayer, there's at least the thought of some supreme being. A gradual evolution takes place and ultimately the awareness is not on 'can God give me this or that material thing', but rather on the desire to realize God and understand the truth. Sri Ramakrishna is teaching how prayer can become more forceful and meaningful by putting sincere feeling behind it and diminishing the ego. The Master shows that a true devotee does not want name and fame, nor occult powers. All he cares for is the God. He/she thus loves god for the sake of God alone.