Newsletter June 09, 2010

Past Events

Swami Yogatmanada to NJ and Philadelphia - June 5-6

Swami visited New Jersey and Philadelphia on Sat. and Sun. (5th & 6th). On 5th he conducted a 2.30 hr seminar at Center for Conscious Living in Moorestown, NJ and later in the evening gave a talk at the Hindu Temple in Berlin, NJ on ‘How to Turn the Mind to God’. 40 devotees attended each of these programs. On Sun. there was a gathering of devotees in Philadelphia where Swami did worship and gave a talk on the ‘Chosen Ideal’ to 20+ devotees.

Synopsis of last week's classes

Friday, June 04 - Bhagavad Gita (Ch. 6, Verses 30-32)

The person who has attained the goal of Realization sees God everywhere, and he never loses sight of God; Lord also said that likewise God does not lose sight of them. Actually God never loses sight of us but a common person, troubled by the sufferings in the world, feels sometimes that God is not is not watching me. This feeing goes away for a Yogi who feels the continuous presence of God. Before we have reached this goal, however, we are each the center of our own universe. But when God Realization is achieved, we extend the same concern that used to be reserved for ourselves alone, to others. Just like we wouldn't cause harm to ourselves before this Realization, after it we will not want to injure others. This non-violence is a trademark of saintliness. The saint is not he who performs miracles, but who feels the pain of others as if it was inflicted on himself. After hearing all of this, Arjuna shares a concern felt by all of us: the mind is as restless as the wind. How can we possibly bring it under control? Sri Krishna explains that controlling the mind is very difficult, but not impossible. The aspirant, he says, should put in the right efforts in the right measure. The person who wants to see God everywhere must practice continuously with great conviction, spirit, and dispassion.

Sunday, June 06 - Here and Now - Swami Tyagananda
We experience time only with reference to past, present and future or with reference to the happening of two consecutive events. On physiological level (at least for this life), past and future can be thought of as birth and death - the two ends, and in between our life moves. According to Vedanta, our real identity is the Atman (spirit); birth is just acquiring a new body-cloth and death is giving it up. So birth and death are just mile-posts in our life's journey. Swami Vivekananda says that, “Time is but the method of our thinking, but we are the eternal present tense.” As long as we are in this world of dualities, remaining on the circle of birth and death, the past before birth and future after death do not seem to be radically different from the life that we are experiencing now. So Vedanta says that our destination is not really any place but realization of the Truth and that can be done by staying focused in the present. Really speaking, we live only in the present moment; past and future are experienced only in the present moment. Past comes in the form of memories which are the results of samskaras (impressions from the past experiences); future comes as the variety of possibilities. So if the present is the effect of past then the only way to mold the future is by taking care of the present. Buddha emphasized the importance of being focused in present – here and now. It becomes very difficult to stay focused in the present either because of troublesome memories of the past or worries about the future. By integrating the past into the present, I.e. by learning from the past experiences, we can overcome the troublesome past. At times it requires lot of courage to relive traumatic experiences in mind. Spiritual life helps us to deal with them in a positive way. We can stop worrying about the future by surrendering to God. Swami Ramakrishnananda says that we keep on worrying about future because we do not have faith in God. Swami Vivekananda says that give up all desires here and hereafter and think of liberation day and night; think of God alone. I am not the body or mind; I am infinite having no beginning, no end; I am the Atman. We need constant self-reminders like this because of our forgetfulness. Spiritual life is not about what is going to happen in future, but about what is going to happen right now.

Tuesday, June 08 - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna was visiting at Balaram''s house, one of his dearest devotees. It's estimated that the Master paid some 100 plus visits there. Ramakrishna considered Balaram's food to be pure, due to his devotion. The subject turned to Hazra and his insincerity, who now admitted he was egotistical. He had to go away from Dakshineswar as did others including Ramakrishna's own nephew. Hazra had some debt, so even though he did japam and some outward signs of devotion, the Mater questioned his true intentions, as he was also conducting a brokerage business right while doing japam. He had an ally in Narendra who defended him and since Ramakrishna was so fond of Naren, Hazra ultimately received the saving grace of the Master through this connection. Ramakrishna explained to his devotees that no matter how much sadhana you do, as long as there is desire, progress will not be there. He also said one can realize God in a moment through His grace.
At the end of the lecture, this led to a question how does one achieve grace. There were some interesting answers.

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