Upcoming Events

Sat, Jan 09 – Birthday of Swami Shivananda. A special chant in the morning and evening; birthday Bio-reading in the evening after Arati.

All lectures/classes will continue to be available LIVE and stored on our Youtube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFof5116HcBYIpUFvKet1Uw) too.

Entrance door remains open for limited times as follows:

• Tue & Fri lectures:   6:45 – 7:35 pm
• Sun services:  4:45 – 5:05 pm
• Morning meditation :   5:45 – 5:55 am
• Evening meditation:  6:45 – 7:15 pm

Weekly Schedule (in addition to Daily Schedule given below)

Past Events

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 11 am – 1 pm: Kalpataru (Wish-fulfilling Tree) Day & Worship for Holy Mother’s Birth Day
Attended by 42 in-person, 100+ online.
Click here to view photos.

Sat, Jan 02, Noon to 8:00 pm – Day-long silent meditation – Attended by 8

Synopses of Past Classes
(All classes given by Swami Yogatmananda)

Friday, Jan 01 – No Friday class

Sunday, Jan 03 – ‘Symposium on Life & Teachings of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’
Sarah Phat: Though she seemed like an ordinary village girl, Holy Mother became a world teacher. Though she stayed in a small room and often did not come out, her days with Sri Ramakrishna were spent in unmixed bliss. For Holy Mother, managing the household was worship. She said that we need to remove the bondage of work with work. She surrendered completely to God, and faced illness or other difficulties cheerfully, and with forbearance.

Arunim Roy: As a child, the speaker felt that Holy Mother always listens. Superheroes in comics have the following features: superpowers, appearing in secret as ordinary people, exhibiting their powers when necessary, and freeing others from fear. Holy Mother, in flesh and blood, was more than a superhero. She led a life of self-effacement. She experienced fear and physical ailments. She exuded power. She did mantra japa 100,000 times per day. Sri Ramakrishna offered Holy Mother everything, calling her a Goddess. She later managed the Ramakrishna order. No one was excluded from her grace, be they of any caste or race, or be they saint or sinner. Though she kept her powers concealed, she was a bestow-er of fearlessness and joy. She forsook her own comfort and health for others. She took on the sins of her disciples. She initiated all who came to her for initiation. She had no ego, and love for all.

Prof. Ioana Jucan: Holy Mother being modest and doing housework did not resonate with the speaker’s feminist ideals at first. Sister Nivedita said that Holy Mother was Sri Ramakrishna’s final word on womanhood. Swami Vivekananda said that people will understand Holy Mother gradually. Holy Mother exhibited selflessness, ego-lessness, and love. When Sri Ramakrishna was moved to Kolkata for his health, Holy Mother overcame her need for privacy and adapted to the situation immediately. She was a model of strength. She gave individual instruction to each person. She never found fault with anyone. She made all her own. She shared her divinity with all, regardless of caste, color, merit or demerit. Her freedom was grounded in divinity, not in biology.

Swami Yogatmananda: She was purity incarnate, and firm in upholding the right of all to call her Mother.

Tuesday, Jan 05 – Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play
Page #578-580 : Volume 4, Chapter 2 – Sri Ramakrishna as a Guru, and Sadhus of Various Orders
Sages tell us that we should not run after sense enjoyments. But we don’t like this idea and try to combine religion and enjoyment. In doing so, only the enjoyment remains and religion just becomes the façade to help us enjoy without the prick of conscience. If we want God, we must renounce enjoyment. The more we renounce, less we suffer and more will be our bliss. This biography is an extraordinary story of Sri Ramakrishna’s renunciation and his divine experiences. People will accept according to their own constitutional abilities. A select few will renounce everything immediately. Many will be on a graded course of renunciation. But one should not lower the ideal. The direction of life (away from enjoyments) is more important than speed. When one completely renounces enjoyment, the subject-object idea disappears and the same ONE life is seen everywhere.
Ramlala was not a piece of metal for Jatadhari but a living manifestation of his beloved. In association with Sri Ramakrishna, Jatadhari realized that Ramlala is everywhere. He didn’t need the idol anymore for his spiritual progress. He noticed that Ramlala was happier with Sri Ramakrishna and was happy to leave Ramlala with Him. Ramlala stayed with Him thereafter. Worship of an image or a person is used to go beyond the subject-object and realize the oneness of God everywhere. You take up a symbol (an image or a person, some limited object) and assume that it is Infinite. Once you realize the Infinite, the symbol is not needed anymore. At this stage you see your beloved symbol everywhere and there is no separation. Happiness of the beloved becomes your happiness. This is true love. True love is a triangle with three angles: 1) Love knows no fear 2) Love knows no bargain and 3) Love has no competition.