Vedanta Center of Atlanta: August events
Vedanta Center of Atlanta: August events
Times:
10:30am-11am: silent meditation in the Chapel before each Sunday’s talk.
11am-noon: talk and worship in the chapel.
noon-1:30pm: devotees and friends meet in the Monastery 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.
August is a month for the study of Jnana Yoga, a path to realization that requires analysis, discrimination, reason, and constant devotion to your goal. Your aim is liberation, freedom from all limitation.
Fri 8/4 7:30pm : Reception and Potluck Supper to honor Swami Ishtananda-ji who will visit with us Friday through Sunday. All are welcome. We look forward to see you!
Sat 8/5 11am : Swami Ishtananda, Head Minister of the Vedanta Center of St. Petersburg, Florida, will give a class at 11am in the Chapel on “Bhagavad Gita I.”
Sun 8/6 : Swami Ishtananda, Head Minister of the Vedanta Center of St. Petersburg, Florida, will speak on the topic “Bhagavad Gita II.”
Sat 8/12 10am-2pm - Seva Saturday Please join fellow devotees and friends as we work together to help revitalize Your Center and keep the premises beautiful. Lunch provided. Come as stay as long as suits your schedule.
Sun 8/13 : “The Reason Why” w/ Br. Shankara
Vedanta’s scriptures and teachers tell us that life’s misery — its pain, anxiety, and sense of imprisonment — is caused by seeing inaccurately, due to “maya.” As a jnana yogi, you may set aside that framework of delusion and see only Pure Consciousness — Brahman — everywhere, in everything and everyone, including yourself. This is realization, liberation!
As a spiritual seeker, you may have been troubled by questions like these:
- Why does this Universe exist? Does it have a purpose?
- Why am I here? Does my life have any special meaning?
- Why do I, and other human beings, behave the way we do?
- Why have we created such a painful, stressful world to live in?
Answers are found in the Upanishads and other scriptures, and in the teachings of Sage Vasistha, Adi Shankaracharya, Sri Ramakrishna, and Jesus Christ. This Sunday morning we will read and discuss some of those explanations, and explore how they can help you lead a life of ever-greater freedom and well being.
Sun 8/20 : “Think of Black and Black Will Think for You” w/ Br. Shankara
Vedanta’s scriptures and teachers tell us that life’s misery — its pain, anxiety, and sense of imprisonment — is caused by seeing inaccurately, due to “maya.” As a jnana yogi, you may set aside that framework of delusion and see only Pure Consciousness — Brahman — everywhere, in everything and everyone, including yourself. This is realization, liberation!
Happiness_StanThe title of next Sunday’s talk is from a song that introduces a modern fairy tale — “Happiness Stan.”
Stan’s adventure is a pursuit of knowledge. When his regular nightly pastime is upset — as the song says, “black had stolen half the moon away” — Stan is confused and frustrated. He sets off to discover what has happened.
What does Stan’s story have to do with Jnana Yoga? Well, as you read above, all our miseries are caused by seeing inaccurately, and as a Sage later explains to him, that is precisely what Stan has been doing.
Yet, for a student of Jnana Yoga, there is a deeper connection. It has to do with a verse from Chapter 2 of Bhagavad Gita. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna:
“Thinking about sense objects
Will attach you to sense objects;
Grow attached, and you become addicted;
Thwart your addiction and it turns to anger;
Be angry, and you confuse your mind;
Confuse your mind, you forget the
lesson of experience;
Forget experience, you lose discrimination;
Lose discrimination, and you miss
life’s only purpose.”
On Sunday morning we will explore this verse line by line, and discuss how Krishna’s admonition has a surprising application to a jnana yogi’s daily spiritual practice.
Sun 8/27 : 11am-12pm -
“Hanuman Sings the Highest Note”
w/ Br. Shankara
Vedanta’s scriptures and teachers tell us that life’s misery — its pain, anxiety, and sense of imprisonment — is caused by seeing inaccurately, due to “maya.” As a jnani, you may set aside that framework of delusion and see only Pure Consciousness — Brahman — everywhere, in everything and everyone, including yourself. This is realization, liberation!
Sri Ramakrishna showed us a way to realize the highest Truth, while still living in the world. He said, “Once Rama asked Hanuman, ‘How do you look on Me?’ And Hanuman replied: ‘O Rama, as long as I have the feeling of “I”, I see that Thou art the whole and I am a part; Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant. But when, O Rama, I have the knowledge of Truth, then I realize that Thou art I and I am Thou.’“The relationship of master and servant is the proper one. Since this ‘I’ must remain, let the rascal be God’s servant …”
A devotee asked: “Does this ‘I’ of the devotee never disappear altogether?”
Master: “Yes, it disappears at times. Then one attains the Knowledge of Brahman and goes into samādhi. I too lose it, but not for all the time. In the musical scale there are seven notes: sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, and ni. But one cannot keep one’s voice on ‘ni’ a long time. One must bring it down again to the lower notes …
“Live in the world like a maidservant in a rich man’s house. She performs all the household duties, brings up her master’s child, and speaks of him as ‘my Hari’. But in her heart she knows quite well that neither the house nor the child belongs to her … Likewise, do your worldly duties but fix your mind on God. And know that house, family, and son do not belong to you; they are God’s. You are only His servant.”
Sri Krishna and Jesus Christ also taught us how to be in, but not of the world. On Sunday morning we’ll “unpack” Hanuman’s reply to Lord Rama, and discuss how it can apply, moment to moment, to your daily life.
Note: Quotes above are from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Chapters 3, 25 & 29
September 15 - 17 (Friday to Sunday) - Pr. Vidyaprana will continue her talks on consciousness and Advaita Vedanta. The Weekend Retreat topic will be Cracking Consciousness: Current and Classic Approaches.
This Fall (dates TBA) - Swami Harinamananda is scheduling a long weekend with us for this Fall, dates and program TBA.
December 16 - 17 (Saturday & Sunday) - Swami Yogatmananda will be with us for the weekend (details TBA).
