Vedanta Center of Atlanta: September events

9/25/2016 10:30 AM

Vedanta Center of Atlanta: September events

Vedanta Center of Atlanta: September events

Time: There is silent meditation in the Chapel from 10:30-11am, before each Sunday’s talk. After the talk, devotees and friends meet in the Monastery from noon to 1:30pm, for tea, coffee, snacks and a continuation of our spiritual fellowship. Please join us! PS: Please be on time. The service starts promptly at 11AM. 

Venue: 2331 Brockett Rd, Tucker, GA 30084 
Contact: (770) 938-6673 ; http://vedantaatlanta.org, http://vedantaatlanta.org/calendar-of-activities-events/ 

See Calendar for details about any particular Sunday. 

​September ​4, ​11am (​Sun) - “Finding Reverence” w/ Br. Shankara

September is a month for study of Bhakti Yoga — the cultivation of a devotional relationship with God through prayer, ritual, and worship. In this practice, our thoughts, emotions and tendencies are given “a Godward turn.” A bhakti yogi (bhakta) uses every available energy and attribute in his or her quest for spiritual fulfillment.

Perhaps you, like Prince Hamlet, may come to feel, “How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” — Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2

What will you do? Often, in such a time of dejection and discontent, something totally outside your normal way of living will seize your attention. For one woman, it was a car speeding through a crosswalk that missed her by less than 6 inches. For another, it was standing on a forest floor among giant sequoia redwood trees, suddenly being truly overwhelmed by their age, their majesty and splendor.

The first was barely spared from death; the second given an entirely new sense of life. For both, it was a life-changing moment, the effects of which lasted for weeks. During those weeks, their gratitude and awe became reverence, and a strong desire to penetrate the mystery of what had happened to them. This yearning led them to explanations offered by the great teachers of religion, and to a life of daily spiritual practice.

This Sunday, we will explore reverence and its role in the dawning of a God- or Truth-centered life.

September 10, 10am-2pm (Sat) - SEVA SATURDAY

September 11
, 11am-12pm (Sun) - TALK: “The Path of Devotion” w/ Br. Shankara
September is a month for study of Bhakti Yoga — the cultivation of a devotional relationship with God through prayer, ritual, and worship. In this practice, your thoughts, emotions and tendencies are given “a Godward turn.” As a bhakti yogi (bhakta), you use every available energy and attribute in your quest for spiritual fulfillment.

This is what we will explore and discuss on Sunday morning. Swami Vivekananda said:
“Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy — by one, or more, or all of these — and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.”

A follower of Sri Ramakrishna’s path of devotion centers daily life on worship of the Divine Presence. Yet, she or he integrates Bhakti Yoga with work (Karma Yoga), with practice of concentration and meditation (Raja Yoga), and with principles of spiritual philosophy (Jnana Yoga).

The goal is purification of the body, mind, and intellect: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Mathew 5:8 Sri Ramakrishna says that not only will you see God, but talk with Him (or Her). He or She will guide you to the end of the bhakta’s path — total immersion in and union with the Divine Being.

September 16-18th (Fri,Sat,Sun) - WEEKEND RETREAT: w/ Pravrajika Vidyaprana, on "Liberation or Freedom from the Non-Self: Seeing Through the 24 Cosmic Principles"

RETREAT SCHEDULE:
Fri, 9/16, 7-8pm Part 1, Introductory talk w/short video
Fri, 9/16, 8-9:30pm, Potluck Reception for Pravrajika Vidyaprana

Sat, 9/17, 10am-12:30pm, Part 2, Morning Session
Sat, 9/17, 12:30pm to 2pm, Break for lunch, BRING A BAG LUNCH
Sat, 9/17, 2:-4:30pm, Part 2, Afternoon Session

Sun, 9/18, 11am-12pm, Part 3, Talk: “Sun Am -- Liberation Is Unity”

Description
Swami Vivekananda said:
Is God's book finished? Or is it still a continuous revelation going on? …We stand in the present, but open ourselves to the infinite future. …Salutation to all the prophets of the past, to all the great ones of the present, and to all that are to come in the future!

Traditional spiritual teachings on the nature of the Self relied on metaphysical explanations, leading to the common erroneous understanding that Brahman is something else. But the 20th century yielded a handful of teaches of non-duality who have pushed the limits of explanation beyond traditional arguments.

Using the twenty-four cosmic principles as a jumping off point, we will delve further into the insights provided by physics and the psycho-biological sciences. They experimentally reinforce and expand modern advaita’s understanding of how the ego or ‘sense of I’ grows until it dominates our entire human experience.

As much as possible, we will leave behind the language of substance and becoming in favor of the language of appearance and seeming. Then, via a few participatory exercises, we will explore various ways in which various modern advaitic teachers have shown us how to systematically dismantle this false identity, culminating in the ultimate freedom of the spirit.

*NOTE: Pravrajika Vidyapranaji is a nun of the Ramakrishna Order, based at the Vedanta Society of Southern California’s convent in Hollywood CA. She will again offer us a three-day retreat, beginning with her introductory talk from 7-8pm on Friday, Sept. 16 (immediately after Arati). This will be followed by a reception and potluck sipper in the Monastery. The retreat will continue with morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday, Sept. 17 (10am-12:30pm and 2-4:30pm) — please bring a “brown bag” lunch for yourself. Her Sunday talk from 11am-noon (Sun Am - Liberation Is Unity), and our fellowship in the Library afterward, will conclude Vidyapranaji’s visit with us. She leaves on Monday.

September 18, 11am-12pm (Sun) - TALK: w/ Pravrajika Vidyaprana. This Sunday morning talk is Part 3 (final) of the Weekend Retreat on "Liberation or Freedom from the Non-Self: Seeing Through the 24 Cosmic Principles" (You do not need to have attended the Weekend Retreat to enjoy this talk... but we recommend it!) Full details on our website.

September 25, 11am-12pm (Sun) - TALK: “‘Mahatma and the Mahatma-maker’ (Mahatma Gandhi and Shrimad Rajchandra)” w/ Uma Majmudar
Mahatma Gandhi, the world revered spiritual-political leader, is known to have positively influenced countless men and women around the globe. Yet, not many people know -- who was the key figure who influenced Gandhi in the most profound ways before he became known as ‘‘Mahatma” (Maha: great, and atma: soul) -- or the Great soul. If Mohandas Gandhi metamorphosed into Mahatma, who was the Mahatma-maker? We will explore and discuss this on the 25th!

COMING IN OCTOBER 4-WEEK MEDITATION WORKSHOP w/Steven Gold "Torah-Veda Meditation, Self-Discovery, and self-Transformation" Dates: Four successive Saturdays, Oct. 8, 15, 22, 29, 2016 Time: 11 AM to 1 PM Cost: Free and open to the public. Donations gladly accepted. Note: These sessions are cumulative, and there is benefit to taking all or most in the series, but drop-ins are welcome. Questions: Contact Steve Gold, torahveda@gmail.com or 770-270-8290. Click here for complete description of this workshop.


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