Harih Om Parents,
The following was taught to your child in the Balavihar class on Feb 16th, 2020.
1. Initial prayers.
2. Swamiji has completed 30 verses of Bhagavad Gita chanting:We have practiced these verses with the children, please have your children practice at home as well.
3. We practiced first three shlokas of Tapovan Shatakam.
4. In the final conversation with the Yaksha, when asked to choose which one of his brothers to be revived, Yudhisthira choses Nakula. When asked by the Yaksha why he chose Nakula over Bhima or Arjuna; Yudhisthira said, "one who lives by Dharma is protected by Dharma. Therefore I do not discard Dharma lest it may destroy me." He states that impartiality is the highest Dharma. One who follows Dharma will eventually attain moksha/ Self Realization.
5. Dharmo raksati raksitah – one who lives by Dharma is protected by Dharma. In Mahabharata, it is evident that the Pandavas went through lot of hardships despite being righteous. This might prompt some of us to not have faith in the statement that those who live by Dharma will be protected by Dharma. But, if we carefully analyze the story and the situations we will agree with the statement. For example, in spite of the Pandavas being exiled in the forest, all wise men accompanied them, such that Yudhistira had satsang with great Mahatmas all the time. They were also able to provide/serve food to their guests. Their needs was taken care of by Akshaya Patra given by Sun God which provided them with an unlimited supply of food. Veda Vyasa, Sri Krishna and others always guided them and lead them on the right path. Even adversities eventually turned to benefit them. When they were at the cross roads or were troubled about decisions – inevitably some Mahatma or Lord Krishna appeared to guide them. So this makes it very clear that when we follow dharma we will/may face challenges and difficulties; but when we have complete faith in Dharma, the Lord will help and guide us. It may be in the form of a person; something we read or hear. In other words, help will come in unexpected ways. So no matter what, we should not deviate from the path of virtue and Dharma. This will eventually lead us to victory and success.
6. Since we know that your goal is liberation from this birth/death cycle, we need to create a roadmap or plan to achieve it. In order to reach a destination, we need to set up the GPS on our phone to the correct destination. If instead, we forget our phone/navigation system at home and we think we know the route and are enjoying the journey, a stage will come when we realize that the destination is nowhere in sight! Although, we may have put forth the effort/work to reach the destination, we realize that in time we do not have complete knowledge of the right path to reach our destination. So before we map out our destination, we must turn to our scriptures and learn that there are three cardinal principles upon which Hindu dharma is based. They are Brahmacharya, Ahimsa and Satyam. Whenever these three principles are followed on an individual, communal and societal level, we find that peace and serenity exists. We finished discussing Brahmacharya in the last class on February 9th.
7. Ahimsa – it is not to cause injury or hurt someone even in our mind. Our scriptures urge us not to even think of hurting anyone on a mental level because we believe in the eternal value of life. This means that we should not curse anybody, never wish/ harm on anyone or have ill feelings towards anybody. Golden rule is – do unto others, as you want done unto you. Sometimes you may have to cause physical pain in order to help others – for example a Doctor cutting off an infected leg to save the person's life – this is not himsa. There are several types of Himsaa:
- Himsaa by Action: Most of us civilized enough not to be physically violent. We know that physical violence is frowned upon and there are repercussions if we get into physical fights with anybody. Fear of suspension, fear of facing the wrath of parents etc. will often prevent us from being violent with anybody.
- Himsaa toward the Environment: We hurt the environment by not recycling, by polluting the air, by dumping effluents from factories in rivers, by damaging our forests, by not maintaining the cleanliness of our home/room and indiscriminate cutting down of trees etc.
- Himsaa towards Animals: Some people hunt and kill wild animals for the thrill of hunting and for pleasure. The animals are killed and then either eaten or stuffed and/or mounted on living room walls. Some animals are also killed for making leather handbags, shoes and still others for making mink coats. Another way of himsaa towards animals is taking them away from their own natural habitat and confining them to a narrow cage. Hinduism advocates vegetarianism – there is scientific basis for this - we don't have claws or sharp front teeth to tear meat. In addition, our digestive tract is 10 times longer than our body whereas for carnivores it only about 3 times longer. This means that the waste products of digestion of meat remain in our body for a longer time exposing us to more toxins. One does not need to eat meat to be strong: the horse, elephant, bull are all examples of strong animals that are vegetarian!
- Himsaa towards Self: We harm ourselves by having poor eating habits, watching excess amounts of television, gossiping about others etc. Our body is a gift given to us by God and we need to take care of it, nourish it with good healthy food, with clean thoughts, by keeping it clean, by exercising regularly, by saying good and serving others well.
- Himsaa through Speech: Although animals and birds communicate with each other, we humans have this God given ability to be able to speak and communicate and express ourselves. With proper use of words we can make friends, acquire wealth and success. Improper use of words can lead us into a lot of trouble. Very often we see that people like to gossip – this makes them feel important and that they are the center of attention; they feel they can influence others and win over more friends - in the end it comes to hurt them only. Story – once a woman spread untrue rumors about her neighbor. The news went around the community and reached the neighbor eventually, who was hurt and upset. The woman who spread the gossip later found out that the gossip she had spread about her neighbor was wrong. Surprisingly her conscience bothered her and she went to a Sage and asked him how she could atone for her sins. The Sage asked her to drop one feather in the backyard of every person to whom she had spread this gossip to. She was surprised at his advice but followed it diligently. Next day, when she told the Sage she had followed his advice, he asked her to bring back all the feathers that she had dropped in each person's backyard. When she went to fetch them she found that the wind had blown away most of the feathers. The woman now realized the impact of her gossip. It had created havoc in the other person's life. It is easy to spread a rumor but impossible to undo. So we need to be very careful about what we say. Guruji says – 'Word power is far greater than weapon power'. Our sastras say – that Lakshmi dwells at tip of the tongue; friends & relatives, bondage and death all are at the tip of the tongue. Vaachikam tapah is a discipline in which we should maintain the quality of our speech. The four parameters of speech are: Anudvegaram vakyam, Satyam, Priyam and Hitam. Anudvegaram vakyam means speech that is non-hurtful. Satyam means speech that is truthful, Priyam means speech that is cheerful and Hitam means useful speech. In other words, impulsive speech should be avoided and speech needs to be thought out and be deliberate.
8. Satyam – we started discussing about satyam in the class. To live up to one's intellectual convictions and to act in harmony with them is satyam. When we compromise our values and live a life of dishonesty that is asatyam. We must consider and reconsider an ideal if needed thousand times – but once we accept the ideal – we should live up to it despite all obstacles – this is truthfulness. We will discuss this in detail in the next class.
9. The most important trait in a successful person is integrity. We talked about how to develop an integrated personality. When the intellect inspired by an ideal works with single pointed focus towards that ideal, personality unfoldment takes place. Mind is not distracted in million different ways. Intellect becomes integrated. Just like when sunshine is focused with help of a lens it can burn the paper – the focused mind/intellect can achieve stupendous goals due to its focused concentration.
10. Story – there were 2 brothers Munnu and Chunnu – Munnu was elder brother, disciplined and did all his work in time. Chunnu –the younger brother was naughty and lazy. Despite Munnu's advice Chunnu does not prepare well for his exams, keeps postponing his studies. Even night before watches more TV, thinks he will get up in the morning and study – but wakes up late. Does not read all his material thoroughly – goes to the exam in nervous state and ultimately fails the exam. Munnu then gently comes and tells him to prepare better next time – this story was dramatized in the class – Munnu is our Intellect and Chunnu is our Mind. Despite our Intellect holding on to higher values/ ideals – the Mind does not follow Intellect's advice – runs around a million things and gets dissipated. This leads to our personality being shattered – then we complain that we have no concentration, can't get good scores or succeed. When Mind implicitly follows the ideals held in the Intellect – we develop an integrated Mind & Intellect or an integrated personality. When the integrated person takes up any task, he/she accomplishes it. This is secret of all success. As Pujya Gurudev said "Geniuses are not only born; Geniuses are made".
11. Pujya Gurudev also said Keep Your Mind, Where Your Hands Are. This will help us to develop a focused and concentrated mind/intellect. Swami Mitranandaji, Chinmaya Mission Chennai, says we all need this MBA degree - that is Mind Body Alignment. Swamiji says "In India Geniuses are made" … to be continued.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Devender Akula and Mekhala Girish ( 8th Grade Sunday A.M. Balavihar teachers)
