Newsletter October 28, 2009

Past Events

Day-long retreat - Saturday, October 24

Seventy-five devotees attended the 9:30 AM - 7:00 PM retreat Saturday, October 24, which included two discourses on the 'Yajnavalkya -Maitreyi Dialogue' from Brihadarayanaka Upanishad by Swami Dayatmananda from Vedanta Center (UK); a devotional music program; Q/A session; and singing of Aarti and Sri Sarada Nama Sankirtanam, followed by dinner.

In Discourse I, Swami Dayatmananda discussed and emphasized the four cardinal principles of Vedic teachings and the four steps of 'how' to incorporate them into one's life. He spoke of how the carnality-free husband-wife relation between Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi got transformed into a totally spiritual relation between the Guru-disciple relationship. The relationship between Maitreyi (wife) and Yajnyavalkya (husband) was similarly transformed when Maitreyi wanted to learn of the spiritual wisdom that one to immortality, from Yajnyavalkya. Yajnyavalkya showed that our true Self or God is the source of all love. That Self alone is really loved in everything. Realizing the Self brings the total fulfillment in life. In Discourse II, he continued that it is to be done through 'hearing, meditation and whole-heartedly seeking It alone'. Everything truly being the Self, nothing is lost when we realize the Self. Everything, when cleansed of 'name and form' is Self alone. Names and forms are seen as real due to ignorance. They give a false sense of variety; when the knowledge dawns, they are gone and then there is The ONE alone. Q: What then happens to the world? A: What happens to the reflection in the mirror when the reflected object goes away from the front of it? It just disappears; merges in the object. So also the world; it merges with God.

Bhagvad Gita class Middletown CT - Sunday, October 25
Swami conducted the monthly Bhagavad Gita class (ch 6 cont) at Sri Satyanarayana Temple, 10 Training Hill Rd, Middletown CT from 10:30 - 11:30 AM to about twenty devotees.

Indian Classical Vocal Performance - Sunday, Oct 25
Shubhada Dinesh Nain (Shiralkar) sang devotional ragas/songs from 6:15 - 7:30 PM on Sunday, October 25, immediately following the Sunday Service to about sixty devotees. She was accompanied by Amritpal Singh on Tabla.

Click to see photos of above programs.

Brown Hindu Student group - Monday, October 26
Swami met with the Brown University Hindu student group at 8:00 PM to discuss current concerns.

Synopsis of last week's classes

Friday, Oct. 23 - Bhagavad Gita: An Overview - Swami Dayatmananda
Instead of the regular class, a talk of the visiting Swami Dayatmananda, from UK was arranged.
The Gita brings the essence of the Upanisadic teachings to us in a simplified way. The Upanisads are difficult to understand. The two important teachings of Gita are: 1 Yoga: meaning it teaches not just the theory but also the practice. Yoga is defined in Gita in various ways like 'dexterity of work - i.e. developing the skill so that while work is well accomplished but you are not stuck in it', 'equanimity in all situations' and 'detaching from suffering'. The second thing is 'memory'. What is required is bringing back the memory of our intrinsic divinity. That is how Arjuna, when asked by the Lord whether he understood the teachings or not, replied: my delusion is gone, I got back my memory'.

Sunday, Oct. 25 - Self-Effort or Self-Surrender - Swami Dayatmananda
To progress in spiritual life, which path should be chosen? Self-Effort or Self-Surrender? Really there is no such choice. Spiritual progress is an evolutionary process having three steps: Instinct, Reason and Intuition. Develop instinct so as to have balance between bodily needs and activities. Develop reason - the ability to look at oneself objectively; the ability to chose right from wrong. Develop intuition in the form of heart becoming purer and purer so that the soul ultimately knows what its true nature is. The Symbolic meaning of the story of Ramayana is that the individual soul (Sita) being tempted by the worldly attractions (golden-deer, Maya-mriga) becomes irrational and forgets its real nature. When the individual soul realizes its separation from divinity and prays to Lord whole-heartedly, the compassionate Lord (Rama, who is also intently searching for Sita) kills the ignorance (demons) and liberates the individual soul.
Self-Surrender requires utmost Self-Effort on the part of the spiritual aspirant. Ramanujacharya mentions following conditions that need to be fulfilled to take the path of Self-Surrender: 1) Do only those actions that please God. 2) Have a strong resolve not to do anything that displeases god. 3) Have complete faith in God as a protective power. 4) Place all your responsibilities whole-heartedly on God and pray with great humility.
God is pulling us constantly towards Himself. Self-Surrender comes when we understand this and co-operate in the Divine play. In the last verse of Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells us to give up everything else and totally surrender to Him. That ultimate surrender comes through the well outlined steps of Instinct, Reason and Intuition.

Tuesday, Oct. 27- The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (Chapter 38)

Sri Ramakrishna's words speak to us of a world we all seek, although we find it far away - beyond the reach. That distance seems great because of everyday worldly struggle and conflict. We're also in conflict because we can't stop ourselves from running after our desires. Often we want the fleeting pleasures of the world and God realization-hence the conflict. Something must be given up. According to the Master all that need be surrendered is ignorance. Nothing is really lost except frustration. No single act can be good for everyone just as no one act can be bad for everyone. As Sri Ramakrishna speaks to the Divine Mother, referring to Girish, and asks: "What credit is there in making a man good who is already good"? Girish was far from 'good' in the normal social sense, but made such spiritual strides that he sat along side Narendranath.

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