February 2001
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
 
 
 

  7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 2
 
 
 

 

 3
4
 11:00 AM Service
Miracle of Sri Ramakrishna		 5
 		 6
 
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
"The Mahabharata" (DVD show)

 7 8
 12 Noon  Special Celebration
Swami Adbhutananda

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 9 10
 
 

 
11
 11:00 AM Service
Who is Shiva?

 

 12
 
 
 

 

 13
 
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
"The Mahabharata" (DVD show)

 14 15
 
 
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 16 17
18
 11:00 AM Service
Ramakrishna-The Incarnation of Yoga		 19 20
 
 

 

 21
 
 
 
 

 6 PM  Special Celebration
Shivaratri
(In the Shrine) 

 22
 
 
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
Viveka Chudamani

 23
 
 
 
 
 		 24
 
 
 

 6 PM  Special Celebration
Sri Ramakrishna 
(In the Chapel)
25
 11:00 AM Service
No Lecture		 26
 		 27
 
 
 
 

 7:30 PM Scripture Class
"The Mahabharata" (DVD show)

 28

Special Program

Sri Ramakrishna Puja (in the Chapel)

Saturday, February 24 at 6 PM, worship, devotional songs, Homa Fire ceremony,  flower offering, and pot luck dinner.
 
 

 
Please note our New Email Address:
swami@vedantasociety.org
 

 

New Booklet

The Last Disciple of Holy Mother: Reminiscences of Swami Aseshananda,
by Swami Shantarupananda.

It is a short booklet on the life of Swami Aseshananda written with depth of feeling and insight. Those who knew Swami Aseshananda will be reminded of his dedicated life, and those who never met him will be charmed by reading about his simple life permeated with depth of spirituality.

Price $2.95. Postage extra.
 

 

New Publication

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Vedanta Society of Portland.

Chronology of Swami Vivekananda in The West

A graphic presentation of the history of Swami Vivekananda's visits to the West,
Based on: Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries, by Marie Louise Burke,
complied by Terrance D. Hohner and Carolyn B. Kenny (Amala)

Price $19.95, plus postage and handling of $4.00.

 
M. (humbly): How, sir, may we fix our minds on God?

 Sri Ramakrishna: Repeat God's name and sing His glories, and keep holy
company; and now and then visit God's devotees and holy men. The mind
cannot dwell on God if it is immersed day and night in worldliness, in
worldly duties and responsibilities; it is most necessary to go into
solitude now and then and think of God. To fix the mind on God is very
difficult, in the beginning, unless one practices meditation in
solitude. When a tree is young it should be fenced all around; otherwise
it may be destroyed by cattle.
    To meditate, you should withdraw within yourself or retire to a
secluded corner or to the forest. And you should always discriminate
between the Real and the unreal. God alone is real, the Eternal
Substance; all else is unreal, that is, impermanent. By discriminating
thus, one should shake off impermanent objects from the mind.

 M. (humbly): How ought we to live in the world?

Sri Ramakrishna: Do all your duties, but keep your mind on God. Live
with all—with wife and children, father and mother—and serve them. Treat
them as if they were very dear to you, but know in your heart of hearts
that they do not belong to you.
    A maidservant in the house of a rich man performs all the household
duties, but her thoughts are fixed on her own home in her native
village. She brings up her master's children as if they were her own.
She even speaks of them as ‘my Rama' or ‘my Hari'. But in her own mind
she knows very well that they do not belong to her at all.
 —The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna