Newsletter April 15, 2009

Synopsis of Last Week's Classes

Friday - Bhagwad Gita - April 10
Ch. 4- Verses 6-8: Vedanta proclaims immortality of the soul; our physical body is subject to birth and death, not the soul. Lord has been telling this to Arjuna right from the 2nd chapter. Ignorant people identify themselves with a particular body and thus do not know that they have had many bodies, many births and deaths of them. The Lord is conscious of the soul as separate from the body ad thus remembers all the various births assumed by Him.
The 6th verse explains the special nature of the 'birth' of the Lord. Although Lord is 'unborn, unchangeable and the Lord of the whole creation' He assumes a body by His own inscrutable Maya-Power. And he does it for a purpose, which is described by the next 2 verses. Whenever virtue declines and vice prevails and values in the society get perverted thus making it impossible for the righteous to follow the right path, then to destroy the evil tendencies and re-establish, re-enforce the Dharma, Lord incarnates as a human being. HE appears and acts as a human being but there is the constant awareness of the divinity. Like acting in a drama - the Lord, while remaining the Lord, assumes the role of a man.

Remembering Resurrection - Swami Yogatmananda - April 12
Incarnations of God like Jesus come to help us discover our real nature. Resurrection of Jesus on the Easter day after crucifixion is one such event that signifies rising from flesh to spirit. Many Christians and Christian Theologians do not believe the idea of bodily resurrection. 18th Century theologian A. A. Sykes in his book 'An Enquiry When the Resurrection of the Body, or flesh, was first inserted into the public creeds' writes - '...the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting, did not make part of the Baptismal creed before the middle of the fourth century.' He also points out that although the New Testament mentions resurrection of the dead quite often, there is not a single mention of the resurrection of the body or flesh. The great scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg in his book ' Death and Resurrection and Judgment' writes - 'Man is so created that as to his internal he cannot die; for he is capable of believing in God, and thus of being conjoined to God by faith and love, and to be conjoined to God is to live to eternity.... This continuation of life is meant by the resurrection.' Mystic Meister Eckhart speaks of resurrection of all beings as dying to flesh and living in divinity. Kathopanisad speaks of resurrection through the process of meditation on one's real Self in the heart (seat of one's consciousness). With great attention and sincerity, one has to separate It from physicality. Then spiritual illumination comes in the form of Oneness of Existence. So the process of resurrection is to discover Oneself; to discover true happiness which has no comparison to any earthly happiness. Jesus imparts this message when he says - 'My kingdom is not of this earth...' Spiritual resurrection that culminates in the liberation of spirit can alone fulfill our life.

Tuesday - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - April 14

All of Sri Ramakrishna's actions are for education of others. He has no ego. We find the Master praying to the Divine Mother. He only wants to touch the lotus feet of the Lord and wants not a thing from this world. When ordinary people pray, it should have two components: 1. You must need something really badly. 2. You cannot obtain whatever you're seeking on your own, it depends on the benevolence of a higher being. Sri Ramakrishna used to tell the story of a man whose sick child could be cured only through fervent prayers and simultaneous efforts in that direction. It is said that nothing is more potent than prayer for development of our spiritual life. One aspect of the Lord is The LAW; it is like ordering food in the restaurant; waitress brings you exactly what you asked for, but you must pay for it. The other aspect of the Lord is LOVE, where He may cancel our request because He knows what is good for us. As Sri Ramakrishna was praying, his words stirred the minds of his devotees deeply. With just a little imagination, we can be sitting at his feet at Balaram's house or wherever he may be even now.