Special Program – Tue. April 25, 7:15 -8:30 pm
A celebrated singer and devotee from India Subhadra Desai will sing devotional songs today – April 25 from 7:15 -8:30 pm. Pt.  Nitin Mitta will accompany her on tabla. This will be replacing today’s Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Class.

 

Special Lectures by Pravrajika Gitaprana:

On Fri Apr. 21, 7:30-8:30 pm on “How to Practice Viveka”  and on Sun. Apr. 23, 5:00-6:00 pm on “Spiritual Practices For Busy People”
Pravrajika Gitaprana is a senior Nun and Resident Minister at the Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely Manor, Stone Ridge, NY.

 

Swami to Toronto, Canada – Apr. 22, 23
Swami Yogatmananda 
will be visiting Vedanta Society of Toronto, Canada, for coming weekend and will give lectures on various Vedanta themes. He will return on Monday, April 24.

 

Music Concert – April 30, 6:00-7:30pm (After the Sun. Service)

Shakir Khan (Sitar) Amit Kavthekar (Tabla)

 

Hatha Yoga Classes Start Again:

Every Tuesday 5:30-6:30 pm from May 02
Fee: $40 For 2 Month Course, $10/Per Class
Contact Vedanta Society by phone or email or contact Roshni Darnal at 401-226-5421

ANOTHER DONATION AVENUE

You can donate now by purchasing your needed things at AmazonSmile. Please click the following link. Your donations will be remitted directly into our bank a/c. Thanks.
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/05-0385129

 

Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)

Friday,
April 21
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation
7:30 – 8:30 PM: Pravrajika Gitaprana will speak on ‘How to Practice Viveka/Discernment’.
Saturday,
April 22
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma Yoga/Cleaning

11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation (by Pravrajika Gitaprana) and Chanting/singing

7:00-8:30 PM – Aarati (devotional music) & Meditation

Sunday, 
April 23
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Lecture: Pravrajika Gitaprana will speak on “Spiritual Practices For Busy People”

6:00 – 6:10 PM: Aarati
6:15 – 7:00PM: Soup Supper

7:00 – 8:00PM: Meditation in Chapel

Tuesday, 
April 25
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation

7:15 – 8:30 PM: A celebrated singer and devotee from IndiaSubhadra Desai will sing devotional songs. This will be replacing today’s Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Class.

 

Daily Programs

Morning : 5:45  6:45 AM: Meditation
6:45 
 7:00 AM: Chanting followed by a short reading from ‘The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 7’
7:00 – 7:25AM – A short ritual worship/Puja. Open to all.
Evening : 7:00  7:15 PM: Aarti (devotional music), with a short reading from THE STORY OF AN EPOCH: Swami Virajananda and his Times’, by Swami Shraddhananda
7:15 
 8:00 PM: Meditation. Open to all.

Past Events

Click here to see photos of Easter Decoration in the Chapel.

 

Synopses of Past Classes

(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)

 

Study Class on ‘Jnana Yoga‘ – Apr. 14, Friday

Class #59: (Chapter – REALIZATION)
The path to Realization is long and arduous, but as spiritual aspirants we should never aim for anything less.  If we put in enthusiastic, sustained efforts, and are patient, Bliss Absolute will be ours.  On the journey toward God realization we undergo a spiritual evolution.  For example, at a lower state of our evolution, we run after sense pleasures.  Upon examination, we find that they were not worth running after, and next time these enjoyments present themselves we may be able to avoid them.  Developing dispassion for worldly things is part of our spiritual evolution.  This evolution is dependent on renunciation.  Each next step is only possible when we have renounced or finished with that which is lower. It is like moving up the rungs of a ladder. As we progress, we must willingly leave the last step behind. Renunciation is the ideal set forth by great world teachers, including Jesus, Buddha, and teachers of Vedanta. Until we reach our goal, and there is nowhere left to climb, we must keep evolving through the practice of renunciation.
Sunday Talk – ‘The Journey from Hatred to Love’ – Apr. 16Sunday

Jesus exemplified the resurrection – rising above physical form. Love is a spontaneous, automatic expression of Oneness. Love is our intrinsic nature. Hate is the perpetuation of multiplicity. We see ‘I and the world’, and hold onto multiplicity, so love gets expressed in a distorted way. When we resurrect from multiplicity, we are able to love. Jesus said, that the main spiritual requirements are to love God with all your heart, soul and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. God alone is the object of love. Jesus said to love your enemies, which means that there are no enemies. In the world, we engage in bargaining, expectation, attachment, like/dislike, fear, and bondage. We say: I will love you as long as you give me what I want. It is painful to get separated, so we call our relationship love. Those who really love, such as the Buddha, Jesus, Sri Ramakrishna, and Holy Mother, have no attachment. Jesus even loved the one that he knew would betray him. He blessed those who crucified him. Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother loved even those who did harm to them. Love is not carnal attraction, sense enjoyments, fulfilling demands, appeasing, or trying to enslave someone. In Kahlil Gibran’s book The Prophet, the prophet was asked to speak of love. He recommended having the pain of much tenderness, as love is not always pleasant. We need to find the source of love, which is God, and then we can love others. It is like watering the roots of a plant to feed the leaves and petals. When we see intrinsic Oneness, hatred vanishes.

 

Study Class – The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – Apr. 18, Tuesday
Saturday, May 7, 1887 p 988-9

While Sri Ramakrishna’s monastic disciples had realized God, they were practicing spiritual disciplines as they had a different purpose. They were Niyasiddhas or Iswarakotis who were born to assist Sri Ramakrishna in propagating his message. They were  concerned with going away of Prasanna, a brother-disciple. However, they were watchful that their concern for Sarada was not of the nature of worldly attachment, Maya.
Another word for Maya is Avidya (absence of knowledge). This Avidya is not passive but very functional. It leads to Avarana (covering the reality), Vikshepa (projecting reality incorrectly as what it is not) . According to some scriptures Sannyasins (monks) should not live together as it  engages them in worldly concerns due to Maya. Being Niyasiddhas, Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples did not need similar injunctions. Sri Ramakrishna had Himself asked them to live together. One who has realized God is free and does not need such do’s and don’ts. Scriptures describe two types of renunciation: Vidvat Sannyasa – where renunciation comes as a byproduct of knowledge; Vividisha sanyasa: where renunciation is practiced to attain knowledge.
Bhavanath, one of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples played an important role. We owe to him the photograph of Sri Ramakrishna, that we worship. Sri Ramakrishna looked at His photograph in Holy Mother’s room and remarked that this shows a person in a very high state of consciousness. He Himself worshipped the photograph by offering it some flowers. Thus, this photograph of Sri Ramakrishna is very special.