Newsletter May 20, 2009

Past Events

1) Special worship of Sri Ramakrishna - Fri. May 15
From 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM, Sri Ramakrishna puja was performed by Swami Yogatmananada, as an honor to Swami Sarvagatananada. The puja consisted of Vedic chanting; a recorded lecture from Swami Sarvagatananda; Aarti, and flower offering by the approximate fifty-five devotees who attended/participated.

2) MEMORIAL SERVICE for Swami Sarvagatananda - Sat. May 16, 9:30 AM - 12:00 Noon
The Welcome Center of the National Shrine of La Salette located at 947 Park St Attleboro MA was the venue for Memorial Service. Fifteen swamis, four nuns and approximately three hundred devotees and well-wishers attended it. There was slide-show of Sarvagatanandaji's photos, music offerings and commemorative/memorial. Thirteen swamis, one nun, and six devotees spoke. Father Cyriac, director of the La Salette Retreat House, welcomed everyone, quoting Swami Vivekananda. Swami Tyagananda gave the Introduction; Swami Yogatmananda concluding acknowledgements. A side-room had easels with nice montage/photo-displays of Swami Sarvagatananda from his beginning days of service until recent. Devotees sang/performed music at interludes. Our gratitude to the Father Pat, director of La Salette; Father Cyriac, director of the Retreat House; and Father Sullivan who made themselves available taking great pains to help us in so many ways.

Click here to see the photos of the Memorial Service.

Click here to read - REVERED SWAMI SARVAGATANANDAJI IN MEMORIAM.

3) Swami Yogatmananda conducted the monthly Bhagavad-Gita class (continuing ch 6) at the Sri Satyanarayana Hindu Temple, 10 Training Hill Rd, Middletown CT on Sun May 17 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM.

4)On Sun. May 17th,from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Anupama Bhagawat, leading disciple in the world of Pandit Shri Bimalendu Mukherjee, performed a Sitar concert, accompanied on Tabla by Chris Pereji, to about fifty-five people.

Synopsis of Last Week's Classes

Friday - Bhagwad Gita - May 15

Class was cancelled.

Sunday - Check's in the Mail - Swami Yogatmananda - May 17

The phrase 'Check is in the Mail' refers to the ordinary human tendency of hoping hollow hopes that never get fulfilled in life. We keep on running after the empty promises that this world offers and get cheated because this world is nothing but reflection of the happiness that is within us. To go to the source of happiness we should turn in opposite direction of the reflection - that means towards ourselves. Bhagawad Gita says that when a person's mind calms down, s/he gets united with one's own nature and gets ultimate happiness. Desires create disturbance and make us run about. When knowledge dawns that real happiness lies within oneself, then priorities of life change. Love and unselfishness makes the person give up holding onto names and forms. Sufi poet Hafiz refers to this as 'You don't have to act crazy anymore..'. This is real renunciation; living rooted in knowledge. We really dwell in the divine and yet don't see it because of our wrong perception and hence Jesus says, 'Let those who have eyes let them see.' This 'seeing' removes the ignorance which was creating the delusion of 'I' and 'world'. Then the person knows that there is no check in the mail; nor does s/he bother about it. For, we don't need any checks - we already have within ourselves everything that we are seeking outside.

Tuesday - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - May 19

Sri Ramakrishna teaches that we are not the body. Our real nature is immortal. The Master has seen God and also that God is everything and has become all. The various theories and explanations and debates do not mean anything to him, except as helps to experience God. He sees that Ramanuja and Sankara are both correct; both views can be reconciled. His genius is that he can come down two steps from samadhi and be in a borderline stage, seeing the divine and also the world of multiplicity. While there, he is able to teach seekers the divine truths. Sankara 's theory of non-dualism says that perception of the multiplicity is the mistake and this mistake is the cause of bondage. To make people understand this, he asks, 'did you ever see something you thought was real and it was not? Now think of that possibility here too.' Ramanuja's theory of qualified non dualism has Brahman, the world, and people all together as One. As with any theory, don't get too caught up in explanation, but rather view it as a staircase, taking you to the ultimate and highest reality.