Day-long Meditation – Sat. March 04, 12:00Noon – 8:00PM
This is a continual long meditation session, starting with guided meditation at 11:00 AM. Must be IN bldg by 12 noon. Luncheon/snacks provided. No Cell phones; electronic devices allowed.
Swami Speaks at Concordia Center for Spiritual Living – Sun. March 05
Swami Yogatmananda will deliver a talk: ’Why Do We Love Sports?’ during the Concordia Center for Spiritual Living Sunday Program, which begins promptly at 9:15am. It is located at 292 W Shore Rd, Warwick, RI 02889. Swami will also conduct a workshop on ‘Reincarnation’ at Concordia from 11am-1pm. Please call Concordia only for details at: (401) 732-1552
Just Kids! Children’s Program – Sun. March 05
Children’s program (ages 6-12 only) will meet from 4PM – 6PM. All young children welcome.
Spiritual Retreat – Sat. April 01, 9:30 AM – 7:00 PM
Topic: ‘Remain in Bhava-Mukha’
Speaker: Swami Atmajnanananda, Vedanta Center of Gr. Washington DC
Prior Registration Necessary.
Registration Fee: $30.00 per person;
$20:00 if registered and paid on/before March 20.
(For online registration, $1.00 additional)
Click here for schedule and online registration.
Weekly Programs (in addition to Daily Programs given below)
| Friday, March 03 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music), followed by Shiva-Naam- Samkirtan on the occasion of Shivarati 7:30 – 8:30 PM: Jnana-Yoga Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda |
| Saturday, March 04 |
8:30 – 10:30 AM: Karma Yoga/Cleaning
11:00 AM – 12 noon: Guided meditation and Chanting/singing 12noon – 8:00PM – Day -long Meditation |
| Sunday, March 05 |
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Lecture: ‘Did Sri Ramakrishna Renounce Desires?’, by Swami Yogatmananda 6:00 – 6:15 PM: Aarati 6:15 – 7:00PM: Soup Supper 7:00 – 8:00PM: Meditation in Chapel |
| Tuesday, March 07 |
7:00 PM: Aarati (devotional music) & meditation
7:30 – 8:30 PM: Study Class by Swami Yogatmananda on ‘The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna’, Ch 52, pp 983 |
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 Classes
Shivaratri – Fri. Feb. 24
On the occasion of Shivaratri (the Great Night of Shiva), chant-singing of Shivanaama Sankirtanam was done in the evening.
Sri Ramakrishna Puja/Worship Day – Sun. Feb. 26, 11:00AM –7:00PM
Swami Yogatmananda conducted the 11am – 12:15pm ritual worship, followed by flower offerings by the assembled devotees. During Puja, there was reading and chanting-singing. In the afternoon, a DVD on Sri Ramakrishna was shown. From 5PM – 6PM, a symposium on Life and Teachings of Sri Ramakrishana was held. Dr. Mahendra Jani from Vivekananda Vidyapith, Wayne NJ, Sara Phat and Swami Yogatmananda participated. Symposium was followed by the chant-singing of Sri Ramakrishna Naam-kirtanam (108 names to Ramakrishna), with screens portraying translation of words, and photos. Lunch and Supper Prasad was served. About one hundred devotees attended the program.
Click here to see photos.
Synopses of Past Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda, unless otherwise stated)
Study Class on ‘Jnana Yoga‘ – Feb. 24, Friday
Class #53: There are two options available to us in life: to live the life of the senses, seeking pleasure and satisfaction but ultimately and inevitably experiencing dissatisfaction; or, withstanding the onslaught of sense pleasures, to look beyond to that which is the One Reality. True religion is not argument or assent, it is experience. Intellectually we might accept the existence of the “one reality” but practically speaking, our perception is still that of multiplicity. The divide between our understanding and our experience has to be bridged. Experience is the highest means of knowledge. Sensory experience is difficult to refute, but the direct experience of God is even more irrefutable than the experience of the senses. Any sensory experience is removed from reality, but the perception of God is, truly direct; not mediated in any way. The faith that comes from experience of God gives immense strength and power.
Symposium on Sri Ramakrishna – Feb. 26, Sunday
Sarah Phat: Sri Ramakrishna was a human being for all appearance and was surrounded by people with whom he spoke and joked, imparting the divine wisdom through humor. There are many instances of laughter in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna recommended the bhakti approach. Sri Ramakrishna often used parables, such as the one about one farmer who had the discipline to irrigate his field and one who did not. This parable is about renunciation. In the Gospel, it says that God laughs when two brothers divide their land, and when a doctor says he can save the life of a child, because only God can do these things. We need to remember what it is like to be around Sri Ramakrishna.
Mahendra Jani, founder of Vivekananda Vidyapith: Before and during the time of Sri Ramakrishna, religion in India was based on dogma and superstition, and the young thought God was an illusion. Gadadhar,( = Sri Ramakrishna), did not want a mere bread winning education, but wanted to realize the Divine Mother 24/7. He wanted to know if Mother Kali was real or just his imagination. Just at the moment when he was about to give up his life, he found that the Mother was real, and filled with consciousness, and he had constant bliss within. Those who became his gurus were amazed that he progressed further and more quickly than they had. The educated elite of Calcutta bowed down to Sri Ramakrishna, who was practically illiterate, not properly clothed, and who spoke with a rural dialect. He said that if we want to be happy, we need to develop love for God. He told Narendra, who became Swami Vivekananda, that realizing God and serving others is a higher goal than remaining in samadhi.
Study Class – The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna – Feb. 28, Tuesday
Sat, April 9, 1887; p. 984-5
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna gives the greatest gift to the humanity. It imparts the knowledge about our true nature, which is infinite and immortal. It provides the inspiration as well as the guidance for the spiritual journey. The conversations are compared with the nectar, the potion, which provides immortality. These teachings do not give the immortality to the physical body but it changes the awareness of existence. The focus is moved from the physical existence to the realization of its true nature, which is infinite and immortal.
Narendra and M were discussing about Narendra’s first meeting with the Master. Narendra sang two songs for the Master at that time. He was singing the same song again for M. The song tells the mind to go back to its own abode (true nature) rather than wandering in the foreign land (body-mind awareness). To go back to one’s own abode, one must inculcate the virtues like calmness of mind and self-control, and must get rid of greed and delusion. Holy company and the name of the God will be helpful on this journey. The days passed without the efforts to go back to one’s own abode are futile.