HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Click here to view New Year’s Greetings

Upcoming Events

Day-long Meditation: Sat Jan 05, 12 noon to 8:00 pm
Immediately after the Guided Meditation & devotional singing (11am -noon). You can meditate as long as you want, but once you go out of the building, you cannot re-enter, till 6:30 pm, when doors open again for the evening Arati. Simple veg. lunch, tea/coffee/snacks will be provided.

Just Kids! – Sun Jan 06, 4:00pm –6:00pm
All children ages five to twelve welcome in this monthly program.

Interfaith Poverty Vigil at the RI State House Rotunda: Tue Jan 08, 3:00-4:00 pm
Like past many years, members of various religious congregations will join to exhort the elected officials to rule with care and compassion and to work to remove the poverty. All are welcome.

Weekly Schedule (in addition to Daily Schedule given below)

Past Events

Sunday, December 30, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm: Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’s Birth Anniversary Celebration
The program began at 11:00 am, with ritual worship; there was devotional singing, reading from Holy Mother’s Teachings, Flower Offering by devotees, Lunch Prasad; (over 100 attended) Video  showing reminiscences of Holy Mother and about Jairambati, her native village. (60 attended)
There was the symposium on life and teachings of Holy Mother; Donna Maura and Alagawadi Viswanatha were the speakers; Swami Yogatmananda presided. 55+ attended. This was followed by 108 chants on Holy Mother and Prasad-supper. Given below is the synopsis of the symposium.
Click here to see the photos.

Tue, Jan 01, 11 am to 3:00 pm: Kalpa-Taru (Wish-fulfilling Tree) Day and Birth Day of Swami Shivananda Celebration
Started with the ritual worship at 11:00 am along with the devotional singing. This included the birthday-song too. There were readings from Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play and Life of Swami Shivananda. Lunch-Prasad followed. From 2:15 to 3:30 a Power-point Presentation was shown by Abhijit Sarcar about the activities of Vedanta Society of Providence in 2018.
Over 75 attended the Ceremony.
Click here to see the photos.

Synopses of Past Classes

Friday Study Class – Svetasvatara Upanishad  – Dec. 28
Class 12, Verses Ch. 2: 1
Let us concentrate all of our actions in one direction: the realization of our true, divine nature. When we decide, we desire to connect ourselves to the self-effulgent Reality, our ego is the big obstacle. Prayer is the answer.  Praying for the purification of our minds will subdue the ego and calm the mind, which, left to its own whims, is prone to passions, attachments, anger. We should pray, but that does not mean neglecting our responsibility; on the contrary, we must put in our full effort and do whatever we can to achieve realization. We must direct all our energies in that direction, but also pray for God’s grace, since realization is not entirely within our control. This is a nagging problem in spiritual life, this question of whether grace is all that’s needed, or if effort is everything.  It’s certain that we cannot make any progress in spiritual life without strong resolve. We must not give up our resolve to realize God the way we quickly “fall off the bandwagon” with New Year’s resolutions by the time March comes around. If we can cultivate this firm resolve, and not be tempted by worldly pleasures, we’ll see our problems and obstacles to our success begin to melt away. Oftentimes, we get distracted from the goal of realization by so-called “high aspirations in worldly life” (a prestigious position, a raise, etc.), which are really just hankerings for worldly enjoyments. However, these desires can never be satisfied, because there will always be the “next best thing.” We must be on guard and learn to control these desires; if we don’t push them away, they’ll keep cropping up and distract us from our goal.

Sunday Talk – Symposium on Holy Mother – Dec 30
Opening Song by Roshmi Joshi: Jagad Janani Ma

Prof. Donna Maurer: Swami Adbhutananda said that impatience is the greatest obstacle to spiritual life. Holy Mother had vast patience with her family, with young monks, and with her own physical suffering. Through patience, she extended love and compassion to others. When her niece Radhu threw something at her, Holy Mother prayed to Sri Ramakrishna to forgive Radhu. Holy Mother absorbed the pain and misdeeds of those who caused trouble. Holy Mother said that we should endure all patiently while taking the name of God. She felt that we should not be attached to outcomes in the material world. We need to focus on her purity, patience and perseverance, so that her presence can seep into our lives.

Alagawadi Vishwanath: Uniqueness of Holy Mother: Swami Vivekananda said that Holy Mother was even greater than Sri Ramakrishna. She had a mother’s heart, full of compassion and sympathy. She was able to be in communion with God while leading an active life. In this age, woman has a special position, as shown by Sri Ramakrishna’s worship of Mother Kali, his taking a female Guru, and his worship of Sri Sarada Devi as the goddess Shodashi. Sister Nivedita said that Holy Mother was the final word of womanhood. Holy Mother’s life with Sri Ramakrishna felt to her like a jar of bliss put in her heart. After Sri Ramakrishna’s mahasamadhi, she had a vision in which he told her to look after people. Holy Mother could kindle a spiritual fire in the people she initiated.

Swami Yogatmananda: Vishwanath presented a forceful affirmation of Holy Mother’s special role. Donna pointed out that since Holy Mother exemplified patience and perseverance. She was the example for all of us. Swami Vivekananda, with his superior intellect, challenged Sri Ramakrishna, and defeated Harvard professors in argument, but he would not argue with Holy Mother, who was practically illiterate. Her message was capable of directly going to the heart, without the jargon of logic. May her life become an inspiration for us all!

NO CLASS ON TUE JAN 01 DUE TO KALPATARU DAY CELEBRATION.