December 1999
Vedanta Society of Portland
The following are the Society's services and special events for this month. Except where noted, all lectures are given by Swami Shantarupananda.
All are welcome.


Sunday Mon.  Tuesday Wed. Thursday Fri. Sat.
1 2
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 3 4
5
 11:00 AM Service
Faith and Reason

 

 6 7
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
The Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna

 8 9
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 10 11
12
 11:00 AM Service
From Death to Immortality		 13

 

 14
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
The Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna

 15 16
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 17
 12 Noon  Special
Celebration:
Swami Premananda		 18
19
 11:00 AM Service
Christ and His Message		 20 21 22 23
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 24
 

  6 PM  Special
Program:
Christmas Eve

 25
26
 11:00 AM Service
Holy Mother		 27 28
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
The Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna

 29
 
 

 6 PM  Special
Celebration:
Holy Mother

 30
 
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 31
 
 

 7:30 PM  Special
Program:
NewYear's Eve

Special Programs

Friday, December 24, 6:00 PM
Christmas Eve: Reading from the Holy Bible,  worship of Christ, flower offering, and potluck dinner.
Wednesday, December 29, 6:00 PM
Worship of Holy Mother, flower offering, and potluck dinner.

Personal

Swami Shantarupananda visited Utah from October 17 to 20. He gave lectures at the Kimball Art Center, Park City, and the University of Utah, Salt Lake City.
 

Thus Spake Holy Mother

God is one's very own. One realizes Him in proportion to the intensity of one's feeling for Him.
             As you progress in your spiritual practice you will see the same Being in you as in me, and that He is in all men, be they of the lowest castes. Then only can you get humility.

             Have intense devotion to God. One must work hard. How can one achieve anything without effort? You must devote some time for prayer even in the midst of the busiest hour of the day.

             From desire comes this body into being. When there is no desire at all, the body falls away. With complete cessation of desire there comes the final end.

             When a man sees defects in others, his own mind first gets polluted. What does he gain by finding faults in others? He only hurts himself by that.

             Mind is no better than a wild elephant. It runs with the wind. Therefore one should always discriminate and strive hard for the realization of God.

             One cannot escape the effect of one's past Karma. But, then if a person lives a prayerful life, he gets off with only the prick of a thorn in the leg where he was to suffer from a deep cut.

             Practice meditation, and by and by your mind will be so calm and fixed that you will find it hard to keep away from meditation.

             Can you call him a man who is devoid of compassion? He is a veritable beast.

1999 Karma Yoga

Taking the opportunity to serve the Lord is an important part of spiritual life. This year, Mother's temples in Scappoose provide abundant chances for Karma Yoga.

The Scappoose retreat has four on-going project areas:

  1. South deck off the main Temple.
  2. Landscaping/walkways around the main Temple.
  3. Shrine repair and maintenance (Buddha, Native American, Jewish, particularly).
  4. Trails - completing the Karma Trail, Dhyana Trail, and better defining all the trails.
Those interested, please contact Swami Shantarupananda for details.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.