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December 2010 1. It is a great pleasure to inform you that The Vedanta Society of Calgary has established . S W A M I V I V E K A N A N D A S C H O L A R S H I P . fund at the Mount Royal University which will award one scholarship par year in the amount of $1000.00 for ten years period ,to an undergraduate student who has demonstrated advocacy for PEACE and INCLUSIVENESS. . 2. On 19th.December,Sunday,2010,the society will sponsor the "Lunch for the Needy" program through THE MUSTARD SEED STREET MINISTRY [ The Mustard Seed Ministry is a Christian Charitable organization that provide FOOD & SHELTER to the homeless people in Calgary] . The MANTRA of 'generosity' from Rig-Veda Sanhita,book 10,sutra 117,translated by Ralph T.H.Griffith: " The Gods have not ordained hunger to be our death;even to the well-fed man comes death in varied shape. The riches of the liberal never waste away while he who will not give finds none to comfort him." . 3. On 24th .December,Friday,2010, the Society will celebrate the X-mass eve at the Center from 2PM. . Please participate along with your family and enjoy. . JOY SHRI RAMAKRISHNA Ramananda Chatterjee   NOVEMBER 2010 1. The " INAUGURAL CEREMONY" of 30th October,2010,held on the "VEDANTA CENTER" at #405,4655-54th Avenue NE,Calgary,AB T3J3Z4, was extremely successful. 2.At the Welcoming address,I read the messages from the respected Swamijis of the Ramakrishna order: a] Revered Srimat Swami Atmasthanandaji Maharaj,President, Ramakrishna Math & Mission; b]Revered Srimat Swami Prameyanandaji Maharaj, Vice-President,Ramakrishna Math & Mission; c] Revered Srimat Swami Prabuddhanandaji Maharaj, President,Vedanta Society of Northern California,San Francisco,USA; d]Revered Srimat Swami Shantarupanandaji Maharaj, President,The Vedanta Society of Portland,USA.. 3. ADORATION of Sri Sri Ramakrishna,Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda was conducted by Revered Swami Kripamayanandaji,President of the Vedanta Society of Toronto,Canada. 4. Inaugural lecture was given by Revered Swami Bhaskaranandaji ,President of the Western Washington,Seattle,USA. 5. The Vedanta Society of Calgary gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by the Government of Alberta to purchase this place. 6. The Vedanta Society of Calgary gratefully acknowledges the CSP-grant in the amount of $10,805.42 ,awarded by the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit,Government of Alberta. 7. At this occasion ,Revered Swami Bhaskaranandaji gave a cheque of $10,000.00 from the CSP-fund to Ms.Gail Burton of the Mount Royal University , to establish a scholarship. I would like to thank all the volunteers ,participants and the audiences. JOY SHRI RAMAKRISHNA Dr. Ramananda Chatterjee President,The Vedanta Society of Calgary N.B. From now on, the " Vedanta Center" will be kept open from 2pm to 4pm on every SUNDAY. All are WELCOME. R.C   OCTOBER 2010 Inaugural Invitation   The Vedanta Society of Calgary (VSC) cordially invites you to the inaugural ceremony of the recently acquired building for conducting the spiritual meetings of the society. ADDRESS: 405, 4655-54th Avenue NE, Calgary, AB T3J 3Z4 DATE: Saturday, October the 30th, 2010. TIME: 10:30 am- 1:00 pm. PROGRAMME 1.  Welcoming address 2.  Inaugural lecture: Revered Swami Bhaskaranandaji of the Western Washington,  Seattle, USA. 3.  ADORATION of Sri Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami  Vivekananda will be conducted by Revered Swami Kripamayanandaji of the  Vedanta Society of Toronto, Canada. 4.  Speeches: Special guests 5.  Vote of Thanks 6.  Vegetarian Lunch: 1:OOpm. JOY SHRI RAMAKRISHNA Executives The Vedanta Society of Calgary The Vedanta Society of Calgary E-mail: ramchatteriee97@gmail.com.   OCTOBER 2010 GOOD NEWS  1. It is a great pleasure to inform you that due to the grace of Shri Ramakrishna,Holy Mother Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda ,the Vedanta Society of Calgary purchased a building on 30th September,2010, in the Westwinds complex[ #405,4655-54th Ave NE,Calgary,AB T3J3Z4 and thus finally fulfilling the dream that started in 1973.  2. Revered Swami Bhaskaranandaji of the Vedanta Society of Western Washington and Revered Swami Kripamayanandaji of the Vedanta Society of Toronto will bless our inaugural ceremony to be held on October 30th[Saturday] and October 31st[Sunday]. Thank you JOY SHRI RAMAKRISHNA Dr. Ramananda Chatterjee President, The Vedanta Society of Calgary.   June 27th/ 2010, Sunday ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2010 Place: Pushpita Indian Restaurant             1221-12th Avenue South- West             Calgary, Alberta, T3C 3S7 TIME: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon Agenda: VSC – Financial Statement Resolving the Donations in 2002 The Executive Resolution of the 11th April, 2010 Sale of Land and Purchasing a Building for The Vedanta Society of Calgary. Miscellaneous Executives Present: Ramananda Chatterjee, Kishore Arora, Dharshini Paramanathan, and Vinay Dey. This VSC-AGM,2010 ,was attended by THIRTY NINE members[ MORE THAN 50% OF THE MEMBERSHIP] Meeting Minutes The AGM of the Vedanta Society of Calgary started with a Vedic chanting and invocations to Sri Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. The President of the Vedanta Society of Calgary apologized for the delay in starting the meeting at 10:40 am. The agenda of the Vedanta Society of Calgary’s AGM held on June 27th,2010 was APPROVED and PASSED. A few copies of the Financial Statement for the VSC were distributed among the members who were present at the AGM of the VSC. Agenda 1: VSC – The Financial Statement The President started with his report where he particularly emphasized the Vedanta Society’s achievement of securing the grant from the Govt. of Alberta through their Community Spirit Programme. The money from this grant was donated to the libraries of the Mount Royal University and the Calgary Public Library to buy books on Hindu Philosophy. Furthermore, it is reported by the President that the Vedanta Society of Calgary gratefully acknowledges in receiving over ten thousand dollars from the Govt. of Alberta through their Community Spirit Programme in this year of 2010. The financial Statement (2009) of the Vedanta Society of Calgary was APPROVED and PASSED. Agenda 2: Resolving the Donations in 2002 In order to resolve the issue of donations in 2002, it is proposed that VSC would return the donations to each donor ONLY upon receipt of a letter from CRA authorizing the VSC to refund such donations. This offer expires by May 31st, 2011. This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED Agenda 3: The Executive Resolution of 11th April, 2010 The executive Resolution of 11th April, 2010 reads: “ It is resolved that unless the Lawyer Mike Hrabok’s letters, dated July23, 2009, August 25, 3009, and September 1st, 2009 have been withdrawn by 30th of April,2010, saying that the matter mentioned in those letters has been closed completely, the memberships of the signatories of these three letters will be revoked. It must be noted that these persons will not be considered as valid members of the Vedanta Society of Calgary.” As the above executive resolution has not been complied with, it is proposed that the membership fees paid by the signatories of the above mentioned letters be returned This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED. Agenda 4: Sale of Land and Purchasing a building for The Vedanta Society of Calgary   A.  As the Rocky View MD has turned down the rezoning application of the Land legally described as M4,R28, T20, S28; so be it resolved that the said land be sold with agreement of the other parties.   This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED.   B.  To Build the Vedanta Centre independently   It is proposed that the President of the VSC be authorized to secure the permission from the Govt. Agency to purchase a building for the Vedanta Centre.   This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED.   C.  It is proposed that in order to purchase a building for the Vedanta Centre, a committee be formed with the following persons: Kishore Arora, Vinay Dey, Rupak Datta, Ramananda Chatterjee, and a treasurer of the VSC.   This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED. Agenda 5: Miscellaneous A. Rectification of the By-Laws To rectify the practice of submitting of two financial statements instead of one, it is resolved that from next year our fiscal year for financial statement will be from June 1st to May 31st. This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED. B. Membership of The Vedanta Society of Calgary The first and foremost criterion of the membership is to PARTICIPATE in the ACTIVITIES of the Society. Secondly, those who wish to be members must apply formally to the executives of the VSC expressing their allegiance to the OBJECTIVE of the Vedanta Society of Calgary. Finally, a new member has to wait for three months before he/she can have the voting privilege. This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED. C. Filling up the vacant position of the second Treasurer It is proposed that the vacancy of the position of a Treasurer be filled by Shipra Sarkar. This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED. D. Spiritual Advisor for the Vedanta Society of Calgary It is proposed that Swami Bhaskaranandaji of The Vedanta Society of Western Washington be the Spiritual Advisor, Guide and Master of VSC. In order to protect the name and integrity of the Society, it be resolved that no disconcerted member will spread unfounded rumours, but take all his grievances to the Swamiji. Violation of this rule will be considered as a “willful act of defaming the Society” and the member concerned will lose his/her membership for good. This Resolution was APPROVED and PASSED. The Annual General Body Meeting of the Vedanta Society of Calgary held on the June 27th,2010 ended at 12:00 noon with a Vedic chanting.   MAY 2010 Message  1. The matching donations of the year 2007 from the CSP-program,Government of Alberta was donated in 2009, equally between Calgary Public Library and Mount Royal University towards the purchase of books in Hinduism.  2. I am pleased to inform you that VSC-application for the CSP grant for the matching donations of the year 2008,to the Government of Alberta has been approved in the amount of $10,805.42 and the final report of disbursement of this amount is due on MAY 1,2011. Thank you JOY SHRI RAMAKRISHNA Dr. Ramananda Chatterjee President, The Vedanta Society of Calgary.   September 13th, 2009 THANK YOU The VSC gratefully acknowledges in receving funds in the year 2009 From: 1) The matching donations of amount $2450.00 of the year 2007 from the Government of Alberta, Community Spirit Program (CSP) Alberta Cultral and Community Spirit 2) Donations from the United way of Calgary" through 2008 donor choice proceeds 3) All the members and well wishers. Thank you JOY SHRI RAMAKRISHNA Dr. Ramananda Chatterjee President, The Vedanta Society of Calgary.   July 14th, 2009 PUBLIC LECTURE On GURU AND DISCIPLE RELATIONSHIP Speaker: Swami Bhaskarananda President, The Vedanta Society of Western Washington Seattle, WA, U.S.A. Date/Time: Friday, August 14th. 2009 at 7.30 PM Place: India Canada Association of Calgary             826, Edmonton Trail NE Calgary AB T2E3J6 ALL ARE WELCOME Dr. Ramananda Chatterjee President, The Vedanta Society of Calgary.   April 12 ,2009 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2009 Members present:   Mr Anirban Bosu,  Mr Biren Das Biswas,   Mr Nirmal Ghosh,   Mr Surhid Sen,   Mr Dilip Kar,   Mr Subhas C Majumdar,   Mr Dipten Chakravorty,   Mr Mintu Bose,   Mrs Paromita Bosu,   Mrs Jayashree Mukherjee,   Ms Dharshini Paramanathan,   Mr Sital C Khan,   Mr Kish Arora,   Mr Chayan Datta,   Mrs Sathi Datta   Mr Vinay Dey,   Mr Shankar Banik,   Mrs Ratna Chatterjee   Dr Ramananda Chatterjee,   Mr Rupak Datta Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Vedanta Society of Calgary held at 2:30 p.m. on April 12, 2009 at INCA Hall, Edmonton Trail NE, Calgary. The Annual General Meeting of the Vedanta Society of Calgary is chaired by Mrs Ratna Chatterjee, and she commences the meeting as the required quorum is present. The meeting starts with the chanting of “Ramakrishna Saranam” by the members. The minutes of the last AGM is read out and accepted by the members present. The President, Dr Ramananda Chatterjee reads out the report of activities of the past year with specific mention about the programme for affiliation to the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. He also describes briefly the “Community Spirit Program” (CSP) of the Provincial Government of Alberta related to the matching grant of donation raised by any society doing Community Work, while reading out the Project Proposal submitted by the Vedanta Society of Calgary to the Government of Alberta for the CSP grant. Mr Nirmal Ghosh asks about the expected amount of CSP grant the Society could receive, and Dr Chatterjee answers that it is not known but the upper limit is $25,000.00 per year. Mr Biren Das Biswas asks about the future plan of use of the funds available under CSP grant. Dr Chatterjee replies that the CSP grant can only be used for the Vedanta Society’s Building purpose. Mr Nirmal Ghosh requests for an estimate for maintaining the Swami from Ramakrishna Math at a Calgary residence. Dr Chatterjee says approximately $3,000.00 per month including $2,000.00 towards mortgage. The members present generally suggest and accept that the Vedanta Society of Calgary should make an appeal for membership subscription. The Financial Report of 2008 is read out and discussed. It is proposed to be accepted by Mr Biren Das Biswas and Mr Dipten Chakravorty seconds the proposal. The Financial Report 2008 is accepted by the members present. Mr Vinay Dey suggests that an appeal can be made to the AGLC for use of money received from AGLC, to meet the expenditure of visits of Swamis and also towards the maintenance costs of the Swami at a residence in Calgary Youth member Mary Anne Thaya Thangaraja reads out a passage on “What is the real Man” discussing the aspects of Krodh (anger) and Ahankara (ego) and how to deal with them in our lives. The Chair commences the Election of Executive Committee and Trustees of the Vedanta Society of Calgary in the Land Committee. Dr Ramananda Chatterjee mentions that in the proposal submitted for the CSP Grant, the signatories Mr Mintu Bose and Dr Ramananda Chatterjee had to commit themselves for three years in their current respective positions. So, Dr Ramananda Chatterjee has to remain the President and Mr Mintu Bose will remain the Treasurer, of the Vedanta Society of Calgary for the next three years Mr Subhash C Majumdar proposes the name of Mrs Jayashree Mukherjee as the second Vice President and Mr Biren Das Biswas seconds the proposal Dr Ramananda Chatterjee proposes the name of Ms Dharshini Paramanathan as the Joint Treasurer and the whole house seconds the proposal with a big applause. Finally, the Executive Committee of the Vedanta Society of Calgary for the next two years 2009 and 2010 stands as follows: President : Dr Ramananda Chatterjee Vice President : Mr Kish Arora Vice President : Mrs Jayashree Mukherjee Treasurer : Mr Mintu Bose Joint Treasurer : Ms Dharshini Paramanathan Secretary : Anirban Bosu Mr Rupak Datta proposes Mr Vinay Dey as a Trustee, and the proposal is seconded by Mr Kish Arora. The proposal is accepted by the members present except three members, Mr Biren Das Biswas, Mr Shankar Banik and Mr Dilip Kar, who voiced their opposition. The Trustees of the Vedanta Society of Calgary in the Land Committee are: Mr Dipten Chakravorty, Mr Dilip Kar, Mr Biren Das Biswas, Mr Vinay Dey. The Annual General Meeting and Election of the Executive Committee and Trustees of the Vedanta Society of Calgary is concluded after Vedic Chanting by the members.   August 23rd, 2008 PUBLIC TALK: Questions & Answers Speaker: Swami Bhaskarananda President, The Vedanta Society of Western Washington Seattle, WA, U.S.A. Topic: ADVAITA VEDANTA Date: 24th.OCTOBER,2008 Time: 7-30PM Place: India Canada Association of Calgary 826, Edmonton Trail NE Calgary AB T2E3J6 N.B: Swami Bhaskarananda's book on this topic entitled "Journey from many to one, essentials of Advaita Vedanta" will be available to purchase at this meeting. ALL ARE WELCOME Dr. Ramananda Chatterjee President, The Vedanta Society of Calgary.   June 13th, 2008 AN APPEAL FOR DONATIONS TO THE VEDANTA SOCIETY OF CALGARY: The Vedanta Society of Calgary was formed in 1973 through the encouragement of one of the Monk from the Ramakrishna Mission [RKM] & it is a non-profit charitable organization whose membership is open to anyone irrespective of race or religion. The objective of the society is to study the unity of all religions as propounded by the Vedanta philosophy & also to preserve the interest of the members of the society as a religious group [www.vedantacalgary.com] With Sree Ramakrishna'grace & the devotees'efforts, the VSC will apply to secure the affiliation to the RKM[Belur Math.India] andthis appeal is for the pledge of "ONE DOLLAR PER DAY" donations for THREE-YEARS[2008-11] period to support a Residence MONK from RKM at Calgary. The VSC will apply for the matching donation funds to the CIP [community involvement projects] from the Alberta govt. The VSC will issue the Tax-deductible receipt to the donors at the end of the year [donors will get back nearly 40 to 50% of the donations as tax refunds,depending on the income level]. Again, with Sree Ramakrishna' grace & the devotees' efforts, we hope to achieve this GOAL. Dr. Ramananda Chatterjee [President, VSC] 39, Edgeridge View, Calgary, AB T3A5Y9   Message from President Friday, April 4, 2008 It is a great pleasure to inform you that Swami Bhaskarananda presented a ten minutes talk on "Meditation & its Benefits" in www.youtube.com/watch?v=QShsWtvAnyk [video]. Six more copies of his book on "Meditation, Mind etc...." are available to purchase from VSC. We are continuing to meet on the 1st & 3rd Sundays of each month at INCA, 2pm-4pm, where Patanjali's yoga sutras as interpretated by Swami Vivekananda, are read & discussed. [All are welcome to participate in these meetings] I would like to remind you the date of the AGM of the VSC which will be held on Sunday 1st of June 2008, INCA, 2pm-4pm. In this AGM, we will introduce a By-law where the criteria for the membership to the VSC will be explicitly defined. If anybody wants to contribute to this item, please let us know before the meeting. Once again, I would like to assure you that the Kali Temple-Vedanta center building project is progressing well [ADAL applied to secure the rezoning permission from MD of Rocky View] & hope to get the response before the end of this year. The Kali Temple-Vedanta center is a joint project of BAC & VSC, therefore the Trustees of both the societies will be responsible for operating all the building funds [jointly], thus, there will be another By-law to materialize this objective. All the materials of VSC, are with the auditor Shipra Sarkar & I will provide the auditor's report through e-mail, before the AGM [please make your own copy before coming to AGM [as I am trying to cut down the cost of Xeroxing]. AS Mr. Kalyan Roy became the president of BAC, so his position of Treasurer&Trustee will be filled by Mr. Biren Dasbiswas [I requested him & he agreed]. I sincerely hope that all of you will endorse this position at the AGM. If any of the executive or trustee want to relinquish your position, please let me know before the AGM. IN the forthcoming AGM, the administrative load will be distributed according to the constitution & the books of the society should be properly maintained in order to make it available to the auditors of the AGLC & Revenue Canada, possibly in next year. More participation is required in the bi-monthly meeting of the VSC, in order to justify the existence of the VSC. N.B. Although, the Mustard Seed Lunch programme was responded well by our community, but our appeal to the donation of dry food for food bank during Swami K' visit, was not responded at all. May I request all of you to donate some dry food & then we will take it to the "Food Bank". DONATION TO THE VEDANTA SOCIETY ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE [At this Tax-return time one will get upto 50% of the donation amount as refund]. Cheers, Ramananda Chatterjee, President, VSC   Message from President on Sunday, Mar 9, 2008 Some Thoughts on Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa [Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya; 1836-86] British established themselves firmly in India roughly 100 years & Lord Canning was the Viceroy of India, Cacutta was the capital city, it was Queen Victoria's reign in England. 1828: Raja Rammohan Roy founded BRAHMO SAMAJ along with Debendra nath Tagore & latter on Keshub Chunder Sen took charge of it. 1829; Law of banning "Satidhaha" was passed due to Ishwar Chandra [Vidyasagar] Banerjee, who was the principal of the Sanskrit College [Calcutta]. 1856: Law of the remarriage of Widows, was passed. 1857: The University of Calcutta was established. 1858: SIPOY MUTINY & Queen Victoria declared the full juridiction of British Parliament in India. 1875: Arya Samaj was formed in Bombay by Dayananda Saraswati& he also met Sri Ramakrishna in Calcutta. 1876 : Dr. Mahendra Lal Sarkar established "Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science" [a research institute]. Dr. M.Sarkar was the physician of Sri Ramakrishna 1882: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who was one of the creators of the modern Bengali literature & he composed the poem "VANDAMATARAM"[ hail to mother land,the national song of India] & published the story, entitled "Anandamath", which inspired young Bengali peoples to revolt against the British rule in India. 1885: The Indian National Congress was established due to U.C. Banerji, Surendra Nath Banerji & others. 1867: Actor, writer,producer; Girish Chandra Ghosh introduced the open-stage theatre & he was a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna. 1897 : Ramakrishna Mission was established at BELUR [a few km outside Calcutta] by Swami Vivekananda. Sri Ramakrishna lived in an age in which India was torn by conflicts of creeds, cultures, dogmas & doctrines and Sri Ramakrishna brought back the "Hindu Spirituality" in the centre core of the society and thus the wheel of progress began. At the birth-tithi day [9th. March, 2008, second day after the Phalguni New moon], we pray to Sri Ramakrishna to provide us the strength, to be an effective member of the community at-large. Cheers, Ramananda Chatterjee [President, VSC]   Latest Message from President, December 2007 The Vedantasociety of Calgary On behalf of the Vedanta Society of Calgary, I would like to THANK you for your support during the year of 2007 & I wish you all well. I would like to provide you about the plan of the new year of 2008: 1. The VSC is trying to secure from AGLC to retain the CASINO-funds for the construction of KALI TEMPLE-VEDANTA center, untill, July 2008 & within that timeperiod, we are expected to get permission of rezonning of the purchased land. 2. The society will be continuing its regular activities as mentioned in the society's web-site. 3. The Society will be continuing the traditional policy of inviting Swamis which is as follows: The VSC can only sponsor Swamis only when somebody could share the major part of the expences. Lunch for the Needy, 2007 On the first of December, 2007, [SATURDAY], The Vedanta Society of Calgary will sponsor the "Lunch for the Needy" program through: THE MUSTARD SEED STREET MINISTRY 102-11 Avenue SE Calgary AB T2G0X5 Phone: (403) 269-1319 The Mustard Seed Ministry is a Christian Charitable organization that provide FOOD & SHELTER to the HOMELESS peoples in Calgary. I would like to draw your attention to the RIG-VEDIC mantra [book 10, sutra 117] of ‘generosity’: The translation of the first line [quoted from the 19th.century translator Ralph T.H. Griffith]: “The Gods have not ordained hunger to be our death; even to the well-fed man comes death in varied shape. The riches of the liberal never waste away while he who will not give finds none to comfort him." [The translator's remark: Men must not attempt to justify their refusal of food to the hungry by saying that the Gods send hunger as a punishment for sin.]   \