Newsletter April 30, 2008

Past Events

Swami Sarvadevananda's guest lectures - Thurs. April 24
Swami Sarvadevananda, from Vedanta Society of Southern California Hollywood, spoke on 'Questions on Spiritual Life' to about 30 devotees. According to Sri Ramakrishna, the primary purpose of human life is to Realize God/Truth. Sankaracharya emphasized that if one does not utilize their life for this purpose, then that life is essentially a wasted life. The purpose of japa and sadhanas is to remove the dirt from the mind and to purify the heart. Swami Shraddhananda's talks emphasized that the whole Universe is vibration only. Practice the mantra until it becomes a continual internal vibration, so that it becomes 'mantra-shakti' 'your very own', as opposed to a 'borrowed-mantra' from the Guru. Japa is both sacred (holy; removes all ignorance) and secret (till its' potency is revealed). Learn to feel the joy within the meditation practices; slowly the joy will remain longer, and eventually will be continual. Signs of a spiritual person were discussed. Questions and answered followed.

Brown students visited Vedanta - Tues. April 29
Ten students from Religion class at Brown University visited Providence Vedanta/Chapel Tuesday afternoon, April 29, to learn about basic Vedanta philosophy and practices from Swami Yogatmananda. Several questions were asked.

Click here to see photos of above events.

Synopsis of Last Week's Classes

Friday - Bhagavad Gita Class - April 25

Ch. 2 (Verses 55-56): What happens when one is established in wisdom? How are the day-to day actions of such a person? That person is free from the erroneous identification with body-mind and thus free from all desires in the mind. He/she always has steady contentment. There are the mundane problems of life - diseases, bereavements, financial problems, natural calamities - all come to such a person too; but they do not irritate/unsettle him. There is no craving for pleasure, because there is the unfading, infinite, pure joy right within. He knows nothing is really his; so no attachment for any thing. In addition he is free from fear and anger. Whom can he fear or get angry with if he sees God in all? This is the sign of a sage, one established in wisdom.
'What about love? And I do not see the possibility of love without attachment' - a Q was asked. A: It is natural to feel that way when one is established in ignorance. But if we calmly see and compare the characteristics of attachment & love, we will be able to see easily that not only they are different but are mutually exclusive. Real love has no idea of 'mine'. Vivekananda's BHAKTI-YOGA explains the difference very nicely.

Sunday - Sankara on Divine Grace - Swami Yogatmananda - April 27
Sankaracharya was the foremost exponent of Advaita Vedanta -the philosophy that emphasizes the oneness of the individual soul and the all pervading reality, Brahman. So it may appear that there is no room in this philosophy for seeking grace. The fact is this one-ness of the self and God, as we see Sankara explaining it, is total dissolution of the 'I' in God. And this requires 'grace', since 'I' is not capable of giving up itself. In his commentary on Isavasyopanisad, Sankara points out the limitations of the spiritual practices. When the aspirant is in dire need of God and has exhausted all his efforts and power in an attempt to realize God, then real prayer comes from the heart - 'O Lord, you have to uncover yourself so that I can see you.' Then the divine grace dawns and the Self is revealed. While commenting on Brahmasutras, Sankara says that grace is required to kill the ego which is an obstruction. In his commentary on Kenopanisad and Mundakopanisad, he makes it clear that the supreme knowledge doesn't come by human efforts, but through the grace of the divine. Human efforts are certainly required for they show the urgency on the part of that person and purify the heart. Then the Self manifests on its own accord. Sanakra's beautiful commentary on Bhagvad Gita portrays God as the compassion incarnate in human form to remove the sufferings of the people. Through unbounded grace the Lord lights the lamp of grace in the devotee's heart. The flame of this lamp is fed with the oil of pure devotion and enlivened by the air of intense loving contemplation. The wick is the intellect strengthened through spiritual practices and the practice of detachment provides the protective covering.
In his independent works like Vivekachudamani etc. and various hymns to Gods and Goddesses, he emphasizes the importance of grace of the divine within to break the cycle of birth and death.

Tuesday - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Class- April 29

An important special feature of Sri Ramakrishna is the complete harmony of the seemingly conflicting ideas. One test of the relative level of truth is how much harmony it brings in our understanding, how many seemingly contradictory facts get integrated and explained in the light of that truth. The highest Truth is that which harmonizes everything and thus removes all the doubts. Sri Ramakrishna is telling here about the path of knowledge, not as contradictory to the path of devotion but leading to the same ultimate goal. The three states of consciousness - the waking, the dream and the deep sleep - are considered as unreal, illusory due to their mutually exclusive nature. 'I am the All-pervading Absolute Brahman' is the thought that a follower of the path of knowledge wants to constantly meditate upon.
'Do we have to follow this path?' - a devotee asked Sri Ramakrishna. His answer to this Q will be discussed in the next class.
Many interesting Q/A followed the class.