New President of the Ramakrishna Order – Swami Smarananandaji Maharaj
Swami Smarananandaji Maharaj was elected as the President of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission at the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Math and the Governing Body of the Mission held on  July 17, 2017. He is the 16th President of the Order.
Click here to read a brief biography.

Summer Schedule 

  • Beginning Wednesday morning, June 21, 2017, the Center’s daily and weekly activities will be suspended until FRIDAY, September 08.
  • The new session will begin on Sept. 9, 2017, with a day-long spiritual retreat by Pravrajika Satchitprana, a nun of Sri Sarada Math of India.  Please check back later for registration.
  • The LIBRARY and book-store will be open only on Tuesday evenings (July 11 – August 22) through the summer. Please return any/all books ASAP, so library inventory might be updated.
  • Next newsletters will be posted Wednesday, AUG 02 and then Wed. AUG 30.

Upcoming Events

Swami to Pittsburgh and Alaska,  Fri June 23-July 04
Swami Yogatmananda will travel to Vedanta Society Pittsburgh, PA to conduct a retreat and deliver talks. From there, Swami will travel directly to Anchorage, Alaska to visit devotees and deliver talks. Swami will return TUES afternoon July 04 for the July 4th program here at the Center.

Tuesday evening Summer Classes – July & August 2017
Swami will conduct Tues evening summer classes- July 11 through Aug 22, from 7:15 – 8:30 on Khalil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’. All are welcome to attend.

Hath Yoga Classes with Roshni Darnal– Tuesdays, 5:30 – 6:30pm
Appropriate for all levels.
$10.00 per Class; $40.00 for a two-month session
Click here to see the flyer.

Guru Poornima – Sun. July 09, 11:00AM – 1:00PM
Followed by Shuchita Rao Devotional Music Program 2:00PM – 4:00PM

Adult Silent Meditation Retreat – Fri. July 14, at 6:00 PM through  Sun. July 16  at  5:00PM

Swami Vimokshananda from Singapore Speaks – Fri. July 21 from 7:30 – 8:30pm
Topic: ‘Living a Spiritual Life’
All welcome. No fee. Click here to see the flyer.

Residential Young Adult Retreat – Fri. July 28, 6:00PM through Sun. July 28, 1:00PM
Topic : Exploring Possibilities (Readings, meditation, discussion, yoga)
Prior registration required. Contact Swami Yogatmananda

Music Concert – Sun. Jul. 30, 6:30 – 8:00PM
Anita Kulkarni will present  Indian Classical Vocal Music Concert. Nishikant Sonawalkar will accompany on Tabla.
All welcome. No fee. Donations accepted. Click here to see the flyer.

Children DAY Camp – Tue. August 08 – Sat. August 12Prior registration required.

Morning Melodies Concert by Pt. Ujjal Banerjee  – SAT. August 26  from 9:30 – 11:00AM

Krishna Festival – Sat. August 13, 11:00 AM – 4:00P
worship, readings, dance, discussions and kirtan with Steve Sherman & group

Other Summer Programs Include:
Vedanta Retreat, Rochester, NY – Wed. August 02, 6:00PM to Sun. August 06, 1:00PM
Five-Day retreat on Shiva Sutra at Hindu Heritage Summer Camp, Rochester, NY.
For registration Visit www.omhhsc.org

To Honor ‘M’ Gathering – Sat. August 19 , 11:00AM – 2:00PM
At the home of T.K. Roy, West Wareham MA. Please RSVP at 508-748-9797 or [email protected] only.

Canton, CT Vedanta Society – Sun. August 20, 10:00AM – 4:00PM
Daylong Retreat
 on: ‘Aparoksanubhuti’ by Sankara- taught by Swami Yogatmananda at
100, Cherry Brook Rd, Canton, CT

The daily morning & evening programs REMAIN SUSPENDED from WEDNESDAY, June 21 – Fri.   Sept. 08.

Past Events

Swami to New Jersey – June 17
Swami went to  Vedanta Center, Voorhees, NJ and Adyapith Temple, Somerset, NJ to deliver talks. He returned late Sat night. The attendance was 30-35 at each place.

Yesenia & the MC’s Concert – Sun June 18
About 30 music enthusiasts listened to Yesenia and the MC’s perform their Latino-Cubano-Afro style jazz-fusion music from 6:30 – 7:45 pm after the Sunday Service Lecture.

Click here to see photos.

The last Hatha Yoga class for this session was on Tuesday June 20, 5:30-6:30 PM
Next series of  hatha yoga classes will be announced soon. Contact: roshnidarnal-AT-yahoo.com

Synopses of Past Classes

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

Study Class on ‘Jnana Yoga’ – June 16, Friday
Class #67: (Chapter – Freedom of the Soul)
Freedom and bondage cannot coexist.  Either freedom is an illusion, or bondage is an illusion.  We have to decide.  If we are free, then nothing can ever bind us.  If we are bound, then nothing can ever free us.   Vedanta says that we are ever-free.  Swamiji states that monistic Vedanta is the simplest form of truth, for what could be simpler than One? Ascribing God with a name and a form is limiting; God without a name and without a form means God is everywhere, even in each of us–“I am that!”  The division of “I and you” engenders complications.  These artificial boundaries that impose on our world lead to conflict and war.  Vedanta is the process of learning to step out of this imaginary separateness. The process to transcend name and form is intricate, and requires courage, but the conclusion is very simple.  There cannot be anything simpler than this ONENESS.  In this reality of oneness, there is no possibility of death, because the self is not associated with the body and mind.  The self always is.  All desires are fulfilled in that oneness, for we are happiness itself.  We must endeavor to see this oneness. Spiritual life lies in giving up the false sense of separation between us and the world, means living in spirit, rather than living in the name and form that comes and goes.  The goal is for all separations and divisions to vanish, so that we are left with the ultimate truth.  This is the idea that makes us free.  So again we must ask, do we want to live in bondage or do we want to be free?

Sunday Talk – ‘What Do We Know? And How?‘ – June 18
As our knowledge increases, our ignorance also increases, because we are more aware of what we do not know. We acquire knowledge through the senses (input devices), and respond to this knowledge from within (the processor). Swami Vivekananda said that everything is a combination of the infinite and the finite. For example, a rose becomes infinite because no one knows everything about a rose. Ignorance should decrease with knowledge, so what increases ignorance cannot really be called knowledge. Mundakopanisad says that whatever we know about the changing things is only variety of ignorance and is thus lower knowledge, while knowing that which does not change is higher knowledge. The scientist James Jeans compared scientific knowledge to measuring shadows. The process of seeing changes what is there, so we see what is not there. Sri Ramakrishna taught M that knowing God alone is knowledge. When the ego is decimated, knowledge dawns, because it is the ego that obstructs knowledge of God. Sri Ramakrishna told M that it is enough to have faith in either God with form, or God without form – to follow one path, but not to think that it alone is the truth. An argument is that people create images, so an image cannot be our creator, but here, God is only symbolized by the image. Sri Ramakrishna called it an image of spirit (consciousness). We think that if the world listened to us, it would be a better place, but the world does not listen to our ego, but listens only to find fault. If we know we are not the ego, there is no pain when the ego is crushed.  Sri Ramakrishna said that, supposing there is an error in our worship, God still knows that it is He that is being worshiped.

Study Class – The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – June 20, Tuesday
P 996, Sunday May 8, 1887
Buddhism prescribes three refuge for the spiritual progress – refuge in Buddha –‘The Wise One’, refuge in religion or Dhamma and refuge in the organization which teaches and practices the core principles of the religion. These three act as the essential pillars for spiritual development. Organization is required to hold on to the teachings of the incarnation. It may have some drawbacks, but the value it provides to the community in practicing the ideal is immense. Similar organization was formed in the name of Sri Ramakrishna by his monastic and lay disciples. Both play a fundamental role in this machine. Monastic disciples provide holy company to the householder devotees and kindle the fire of spiritual practice.
Sri Ramakrishna made Narendra, who was like a blazing sun, the leader of all the direct disciples based on the extra-ordinary qualities he possessed. Along with the extra-ordinary intelligence he was full of love and compassion for everyone and has great leadership skills. He was guarding and guiding all his brother disciples after the passing away of the Master.
All the direct disciples renounced their homes under the leadership of Narendra. But their family members were trying to persuade them to go back to the worldly life. The world has no substance but it has so much influence on us and it draws us towards it. The worldly attachment appears like love but is not as pure as the love of the Guru. That love is without any expectations and attachments. The worldly attachment binds us but the love expands our awareness. Ignorance creates a distorted view in our mind. Worldly attachment and bondage appears to be love. God alone can render pure love.