Upcoming Events

Sun, Oct 18, 10:30-11:30 am: Swami will give the monthly lecture mainly for the devotees of Vedanta Society of Connecticut via YouTube channel of the Providence Center. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFof5116HcBYIpUFvKet1Uw). Topic of the lecture: Worship of Shakti

Sun, Oct 18, 7:30-8:30 pm: A special lecture by Swami on “Worship of Living Durga’ on the Providence Center’s YouTube Channel given above. The lecture is mainly for the devotees from Queens-Bronx region, but of course others can join too.

Saturday, Oct 24, 11 am to 1:00 pm: Durga Puja Celebration
Registration IS COMPLETE – ALL SPACES TAKEN. No more registration available.
All those who have already registered will soon get an email of confirmation and guidelines.
Of course everyone is welcome to join ONLINE.
For convenience of everyone, the event will be streamed live online on our YouTube channel.

ALL REGULAR PROGRAMS (DAILY MORNING & EVENING MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS, TUE & FRI VEDANTA CLASS, SUN SERVICE LECTURE) STARTED & OPEN FOR IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE, WITH CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS.
Lectures are also webcast on our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFof5116HcBYIpUFvKet1Uw

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

 All lectures/classes will continue to be webcast LIVE on our YouTube channel.

Weekly Schedule (in addition to Daily Schedule given below)

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

Friday, Oct 09 – Stories from Srimad Bhagavatam
Class 26 – Vidura meets Uddhava
As spiritual aspirants, we can learn the art and science of devotion by connecting ourselves with the lives of the great devotees. The great devotee Vidura lived a life centered in ethical and spiritual values and devoted to God. While on pilgrimage, he encountered Krishna’s friend and associate from childhood, Uddhava. These two great devotees of Lord Krishna are overjoyed by their chance meeting. Due to the intensity of emotion, Uddhava lovingly recounted many stories from the life of Sri Krishna, including the following: Krishna’s destruction of the evil tyrant Kamsa; Krishna attending the school of Sage Sandipani, and, as a mark of indebtedness, bringing back the teacher’s son from the deepest depths of the ocean; Krishna’s move from Mathura to Dwarka; his marriage to Rukmini and Satyabhama; his killing of Narakasura; the destruction of the Yadavas; Krishna’s last moments; and Krishna’s narration of the Bhagavatam. Each incident is replete with allegorical meanings. Krishna’s move to Dwarka from Mathura, for example, demonstrates his tremendous spirit of detachment. The gopis discontent at being unable to see Krishna demonstrates the devotion manifest when the whole mind is offered to the Lord. The killing of Naraksura (hell demon) demonstrates that lust must be vanquished if we are to avoid landing in a “hell” realm. Many other allegories were discussed. Uddhava was with Krishna during  his last moments of earthly life. Krishna was meditating, sitting alone on the bank of the Saraswati, absorbed in the consciousness of the Atman. To Uddhava, he was the kindest, wisest, most loving friend. Krishna then related the Bhagavatam, the highest spiritual wisdom. Uddhava was never perturbed by the objects of the senses and thus was a qualified recipient of this wisdom. Through contact with the Lord’s great devotees, may we learn to transcend the senses and thus attain to supreme devotion and self-knowledge. Uddhava then told Vidura to go to sage Maitreya to learn Bhagavatam.

Sunday, Oct 11 – Mind: Super-Duper Info-Storehouse #2
We get so used to perceiving divisions that we say that we live in them, instead of understanding that we generate them. The ‘ true Self’ is all-pervading bliss, just like the sun reflected in a thousand pools of water is really the one sun. Swami Satprakashananda says in Mind According to Vedanta: Unlike in the west, Vedanta knows that the mind is matter. The mind is not self-conscious.

The mind and body are used to remove thirst. The wrong way is aggression on the perceived source (the world). The right way is to remove the line of separation between ‘I’ and the world. The two expressions of thirst are desires for food and sex. Sages are the experts on the mind, which has four ways of collecting, processing, and storing information: 1) deliberation (manas), 2) determination (buddhi), 3) memory (chitta), and 4) ego (ahamkara). Samskaras, or impressions, are stored in the mind. The mind is unimaginably huge. The wrong way to remove thirst leads to never-ending frustration, bondage, and suffering. The mind goes from one body to another, lifetime after lifetime, until ‘I’ understands the mistake. Otherwise, there is no end to suffering. We learn from the sages, through holy company. The right method of removing thirst means removing the line of separation between ‘I’ and the world. We are everything: knowledge, existence, and bliss itself. Where there is no form, there is no in-formation. There are no wants, thirst, or aggression. The method for attaining this is called yoga.

Tuesday, Oct 13 – Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play
Story of Vaishnavacharan and Gauri, Page # 555 – 556
As the title of this book depicts Sri Ramakrishna, like an actor, played many different roles in this Divine play. He played the role of a child, an earnest spiritual aspirant, a spiritual teacher etc. without getting entangled in any of these; knowing fully well His true Divine Identity.

The manifestation of intense divine love in Sri Ramakrishna’s life caused many extraordinary conditions which. To a common eye, looked physical abnormalities to be treated by physicians. But Bhairavi Brahmani understood the real reasons behind these abnormalities such as burning sensation in the body, unusual hunger or even significant bodily changes at times. This was not a result of pathology but due to His intense spiritual mood. Changes in the mind brought over the changes in the body. Bhairavi Brahmani was the first one to find this out and she not only stopped there but suggested that it can be validated from the well-known spiritual scholars of that time.

Based on Bhairavi Brahmani’s suggestion, Mathur Babu invited Vaishnavacharan. The meeting took place in the presence of Vaishnavacharan, Bhairavi Brahmani, Mathur Babu, some other pundits and Sri Ramakrishna. As they were discussing about Sri Ramakrishna’s condition, He was listening to the conversation as if they were talking about a third person. He was sitting in the meeting with his child-like simplicity without any trace of ego. After hearing from the Brahmani about Sri Ramakrishna’s condition, Vaishnavacharan compared Him to Radha and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, based on the spiritual signs manifested in Him. But that comment did not create any ripples in the Master’s mind, rather He was relieved to know that there is no disease which is causing these physical symptoms.