Vedanta Center: October events

10/30/2016 10:30 AM

Vedanta Center: October events

Vedanta Center of Atlanta: October 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. 

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
Time11 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.

Sunday’s Talk, October 2nd @ 11am
“The Significance of Mother Worship according to Swami Swahananda”
w/ Br. Shankara

Swami SwahanandaOctober is a month for study of Karma Yoga, a spiritual path centered on selfless service to others. Working in this spirit, every activity of a karma yogi becomes a kind of worship of the Divine Presence within each person or other living being that is served.

Shakti is the Power that manifests our Universe. The nature of this Power is thought to be Feminine — the Divine Mother.

Swami Swahananda said:

“It is in the struggles, even in the lost battles (of life), that a spiritual seeker is to see the hands of the Mother. Then only is he or she established in steadfast devotion.

“The seeker is to steel himself against all fears and weaknesses, and the worship of the Mother as Power (in all Her aspects) prepares him for it.”

Karma means action; ritual worship is a special kind of action. It focuses the worshipper’s attention on specific methods of service to the Divine Presence. On Sunday morning, we will explore these ideas and discuss the results we can expect to achieve by practicing this particular form of Karma Yoga.

Seva Saturday
Date: Sat, October 8, 10am – 2pm
Seva means serving in the fellowship of volunteers or Karma Yogis!
Please join fellow devotees and volunteers on the second Saturday of each month who help revitalize the Vedanta Center and keep the premises beautiful.
We break for lunch for an hour around noon. If you are unable to join us for the full four hours, please come and spend as much time as you can.
At 11:30 we start taking sandwich orders for lunch. At 11:45 a run is made to RolyPoly to get sandwiches & chips. Lunch starts about noon, as soon as the food gets to the Center.
Sri Durga
Sun, October 9
Worship of Mother Durga w/Bhagirath Majmudar

- Followed by a potluck prasad lunch in the Monastery’s Fellowship Hall. Please bring food you wish offered during the worship to the Monastery kitchen no later than 11am.

My Divine Mother is not only formless, She has forms as well. One can see Her forms. One can behold Her incomparable beauty through feeling and love. The Mother reveals Herself to Her devotees in different forms. - Sri Ramakrishna

Swami Vivekananda said:
"Eternal, unquestioning self-surrender to Mother alone can give us peace. Love Her for Herself, without fear or favour. Love Her because you are Her child. See Her in all, good and bad alike. Then alone will come 'Sameness' and Bliss Eternal that is Mother Herself when we realise Her thus. Until then, misery will pursue us. Only resting in Mother are we safe." *

Devi Durga is the great goddess of India, the consort of Shiva, and she is worshiped in various forms that correspond to her two aspects — benevolence and fierceness. As our "sweet" Mother, she is Uma (light); Gauri (yellow or brilliant); Parvati (the mountaineer); and Jagatmata (the-mother-of-the-world). Her terrible forms are Durga (the inaccessible); Kali (the black); Chandi (the fierce); and Bhairavi (the terrible).

Durga Puja—worship of the Goddess over a period of nine days—is celebrated every year according to the Hindu calendar, in the month of Ashwin (September-October). Durga Puja also includes the worship of Shiva, who is Durga's consort (Durga is an aspect of Goddess Parvati), in addition to Lakshmi, Saraswati with Ganesha and Kartikeya, who are considered to be Her children.

* Complete Works, Volume 8: Notes of Class Talks and Lectures–Fragmentary notes taken on a Sunday afternoon in New York in June, 1900
Toto, Dorothy, The Lion
Sun, October 16
“The Wizard of Oz according to Vedanta, Part 1” w/ Br. Shankara
October is a month for study of Karma Yoga, a spiritual path centered on selfless service to others. Working and abiding in this spirit, every activity of a karma yogi becomes a kind of worship of the Divine Presence within each person or other living being that is served.

Toto, Dorothy, The LionAlbert Einstein said, “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

The Library of Congress has declared THE WIZARD OF OZ “America’s greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale.” Published in 1901, it remains an all-time best-selling book of children’s literature. More than three million copies had already been sold by the time it entered the public domain in 1956.

For us, it’s notable that the book’s author, L. Frank Baum, was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda. A student of Theosophy, Baum and his family were living in Chicago in 1893; they eagerly looked forward to the Parliament of World’s Religions. Baum, his wife and mother-in-law were in the audience on September 11th when Vivekananda received a two-minute standing ovation after the Swami said simply, “Sisters and Brothers of America …”

Baum attended more of Vivekananda’s talks, and was later captivated by the Swami’s best-selling book “Raja Yoga,” published in 1896. Theosophists of the time incorporated that book, and Vivekananda’s lectures on Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti yoga, into their teachings. Four years later “The Wizard of OZ” sold out its first edition, before it came off the press.

On Sunday morning we will look closely at the characters, and the most important events of L. Frank Baum’s fairy tale. Dorothy, young girl, makes a magical journey from the bleak plains of Kansas to the Land of OZ and — miraculously — home again. Along the way, she and her three extraordinary companions are utterly transformed.

We will explore how the spiritual principles and practices of Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, and Raja yoga, as taught by Swami Vivekananda are woven into the fabric of Baum’s story.

Sun, October 16, 5-6:30pm - MUSIC CONCERT: "Just Us Folk" featuring long-time devotees Jerry Brunner and Cyndi Craven. $10 suggested donation but don't stay away for lack of funds. We want you there!
Coffee, tea, light snacks and sweets available.
Free parking. Free hugs. Free fun. Peace. Love. Music.

Sun, October 23
“The Wizard of Oz according to Vedanta, Part 2” w/ Br. Shankara

Sun, October 30

“Hallowe’en & Fall Festivals”
w/ Br. Shankara

dia de los muertosMonday is Hallowe’en, trick or treat time, but you could be in for an early treat this Sunday morning at the Vedanta Center! Br. Shankara will come in costume, and we hope you will too. What fun!

Yet, there will be serious moments that morning, as well. We will take a journey through the ages, visiting fall festivals that celebrate the dead, and explore some lore and artistic expressions that surround the Goddess Kāli. We’ll talk about Samhain, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Hallowe’en (All Hallows Eve), Dia de Los Muertos, Divali, the Festival of the Lanterns, and identify how some of these events have a deep connection to Kāli Ma.

All Soul’s Day is a primarily Roman Catholic feast day when people remember loved ones who have passed away. In Mexico, this is widely and elaborately celebrated as the Day of the Dead. In Great Britain and the U.S. we have Hallowe’en, which has roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. That night, people lit bonfires to ward off the lengthening darkness, and wore costumes to disguise themselves from roaming ghosts and goblins!

In the 8th Century CE, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a holiday to honor all saints and martyrs. As we’ll see, All Saints’ Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before (October 31) became All Hallows’ Eve, known to us now as Hallowe’en.


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