Program Time: …8-9pm

Location: ... Meditation Hall, SRSG

Name of Chairman:…Maitra

Name of Reporter: …Lela Pierce

Main Points of the Lecture: .... Question and Answer…closing remarks.

Questions and Answers (name of person and details of question): … Laurie, Susan Gould-Fogerite, Drew Madson, Veena Maitra,

Swami Veda closed the conference with an informal question and answer session with all participants. He answered questions relating to the definition of the true self and how to speak and act from an egoless place. He clarified the integration of the yamas and niyamas by emphasizing the importance of practicing ahimsa (non-violence/non-harming). Swamiji explained that non-violence is the ultimate antidote to pain and a practitioner of non-violence will automatically suffer pain less than others. When asked a question about the violence and problems of the larger world, Swamiji stated that the problems of the world are the same as they have always been but it is the instrumentation that changes form over time. We must train ourselves so that violent thoughts don’t even arise in our own minds and this will be beneficial for all beings. After Veena Maitra commented on the conduciveness of the ashram environment toward non-violence (even to plants), Swami Veda stated that if nothing else he hoped that the conference participants would take this feeling home with them more than any specific techniques and material notes etc. He welcomed everyone to come back on their own for courses on meditation, to take a period of silence, or to just relax.