During 2001, the Vedanta Society of New York continued its work of spiritual ministration under the leadership of Swami Tathagatananda.

Sunday services were conducted at 11 A.M., and classes were given on Tuesdays and Fridays at 8 P.M. The Sunday services addressed varied aspects of spiritual life, while the Tuesday classes were mostly on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and the Friday classes were mostly on the Bhagavad-Gita. Group devotional singing, open to the public, was held on Saturday and Sunday evenings at 6:00. After Sunday services, Swami Tathagatananda met in the study for about an hour with those who were interested to have further discussion.

The birthdays of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda, and Durga Puja (the autumn worship of the Divine Mother) were observed by both public and private celebrations. The private celebrations consisted of morning meditation, worship and music in the chapel, beginning at 8:00, followed by a buffet breakfast upstairs. The public Sunday celebrations featured a talk by the swami in honor of the occasion, music by the choir and congregation, and lunch, prepared by devotees, served to the congregation. Special Sunday services also honored the birthdays of Buddha and Krishna, Christmas and Easter. Christmas Eve was celebrated as usual by the swami's talk on the Sermon on the Mount and carol singing by the congregation.

Swami Tathagatananda continued to conduct a class one Saturday a month at Ved Mandir in Milltown, New Jersey.

Before the Center closed for summer vacation, the Swami invited the members to the usual end-of-the-season supper on Friday, June 15. A mostly Indian meal, prepared by devotees, was served in the chapel, preceded by singing of two of the vesper chants. After supper, Robert and Patrick Gupta, talented sons of two of our members, gave us a violin and piano recital. Robert also played at our celebration of Sri Ramakrishna's birthday on February 25, after the regular service.

On July 4th the Center celebrated its fortieth annual Swami Vivekananda Festival at Moss Hill Farms, the country home of one of our members. Swami Atmarupananda, resident minister at the Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely, NY, was our special guest. After the usual pitch-in buffet lunch the choir offered a program of songs and readings entitled "Aspects of Swami Vivekananda." Beginning and ending the program were prayers offered by Swami Atmarupananda; the congregation joined the choir in singing the vesper hymns.

The Center was host to six other visiting swamis during 2001. Swami Gautamananda, President, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, India, was our guest in April. On Sunday, April 29,he gave a talk on the spread of Ramakrishna-Vedanta idealism in India, with accounts of remarkable devotion and service by lay and monastic members of the movement. On Sunday, May 27, Swami Tyagananda, Assistant Minister of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of Massachusetts, gave a talk entitled, "Escape from God." Swami Atmatattwananda, of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, was our guest on May 29 and 30 and again on June 3 and 4. Swami Nirmalatmananda, Head of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Ashrama in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Swami Yogatmananda, Assistant Minister of the Vedanta Society of Providence, were our guests from August 1 to August 5. On Sunday, October 7, Swami Bhaktirupananda, in charge of the The Ramakrishna Mission, Fiji, gave a talk on "Vivekananda and the Modern World."

During the summer Swami Tathagatananda visited several places in the United States and Canada and gave a number of talks. He participated in a three day symposium, "Vedanta in the Third Millennium," sponsored by the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago at its retreat and monastery in Ganges, Michigan, June 22 to 24. Eleven swamis and 600 to 700 devotees from the United States and Canada attended the function. On June 26, Swami Tathagatananda gave a one-hour talk before about 20 people at the home of a devotee in Phoenix, Arizona. On June 29, he gave an evening talk at the Hollywood Temple of the Vedanta Society of Southern California. On July 1, he gave a lecture at the Society's Vedanta Monastery in San Diego, and on July 4 he spoke at the Society's Vivekananda Festival at the Ramakrishna Monastery in Trabuco Canyon. In San Francisco, the swami spoke at the New Temple of the Vedanta Society of Northern California on July 7, Guru Purnima Day.

Swami Tathagatananda had several speaking engagements in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At the home of his hosts, he gave a one-hour talk to about 25 people on July 21. On July 22, he spoke at the Hindu Temple in Halifax. On July 28, he spoke for two hours before a youth meeting at the temple. On the same evening, at the request of a professor at the University of Halifax, the swami gave a talk at the home of his hosts on the message of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda.

The swami's outside engagements in the United States included a visit to Swami Sarvagatananda, the Order's most senior monk in America, in Boston on August 27. On Sunday, September 7, he was guest speaker at the Vedanta Center of Greater Washington, D.C., in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Swami Tathagatananda also had a number of engagements in New York City. In preparation for an article on the Vedanta Society which appeared on January 28 in the New York Daily News, a reporter for the paper interviewed the swami for 90 minutes at our center on January 7, and a photographer attended our Sunday lecture on January 21 and took a number of photographs of the swami. On May 5, 15 undergraduate students from Fordham University, accompanied by Professor Ron Ditmars, came to our chapel. The swami spoke to the group for 90 minutes.

Following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, National Mourning Day was observed on September 14. Swami Tathagatananda participated in a memorial service at the Forth Unitarian/Universalist Church, at 76th Street and Central Park West in the early evening, speaking and reading verses from the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2. At 9:00 the same evening, silent meditation was observed for one hour in our chapel. On September 30, the swami participated in a prayer meeting at Union Square organized by the Hindu Community. Among many other speakers were Mr. Yashvant Sinha, the Indian Foreign Minister, and Mrs. Tripathi, Consul General of India in New York.

On November 15, the swami gave a talk at Trinity School, 139 West 79st Street. This was his 14th annual visit to the school.

We record with sorrow the passing away of two close members of our center. Mary Hoffman, a member since 1982 and a daily participant in the Center's work for many years, passed away on February 4. Her service and her warm, cheerful nature are treasured memories of the Society and its members. A memorial service for her was held in the Society chapel on May 12.

Erik Johns, Vice-President of the Center since 1997 and a beloved member and important supporter of the Society since 1955, passed away on December 11 in a fire that consumed his home in Carmel, New York. The Center's annual July 4th Vivekananda Festival had been held there for 4O years, since the Festival's inception in 1962. Erik's important services to the swamis and the center and his many good personal qualities are an important part of the VSNY history. A well-attended memorial service in his honor was held in the Society chapel on December 16. Swami Tathagatananda chanted and read from the Gita; Courtenaye Olden, Bill Conrad, John Schlenck, Stanley Quinn and other members and friends spoke. Erik willed most of the 24 acre Moss Hill property to the Vedanta Society, hoping that a spiritual retreat could be developed there in future.

The membership count for 2001 was 99 voting members and 81 associate members.

Books by Swami Tathagatananda:

1. The Vedanta Society of New York -- A Brief History, 2000
2. Mahabharat--Katha (Bengali), 1998
3. Ramayan Anudhyan (Bengali), 1996
4. Healthy Values of Living, 1996
5. Meditation on Swami Vivekananda, 1994
6. Meditation on Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, 1993
7. Glimpses of Great Lives, 1989
8. Shubha Chinta (Bengali), 1988
9. Smaran--Manan (Bengali), 1987

You can order these books from The Vedanta Society of New York.

Other books on Vedanta can be purchased from any Vedanta Center.

Please check out our Lecture and Class Schedules.