Hari Om Parents,
Following was discussed in the e Balavihar class on May 10.
1. Class was conducted again using Zoom conferencing technology.
2. Initial prayers and Tapovan Shatakam verses were chanted.
3. We hope everyone had a wonderful and happy Mother's Day – despite Covid situation. We started the class with video song - Matrustavanam - Hymn to Mother, which is a beautiful composition of Pujya Guruji Tejomayanandaji.
4. We continued with the values taught by Sri Krishna in Chapter XII of Bhagavad Gita, where He enumerates 35 virtues or gems for us to live by. Bhagawan says he is showing us these gems so that we can make use of them and be happy. He says "anyone who lives by these virtues is My darling". Last class following values were covered Gem 12 - Mind & Intellect Centered in Lord, mayyarpitamanobuddhih; Gem 13 – By whom world is not disturbed, yasmannodvijate lokah; Gem 14 – Whom the world does not agitate, lokannodvijate yah and Gem 15 – Free from joy, fear, envy and anxiety; harsamarsabhayodvegairmukttah.
5. This week we had some technical problem with Zoom signing in for the students, by assessing the new link and password most of the students were able to join, we're sorry if any of the students were missed. So the class started about 15 – 20 minutes late. We will try to make sure that such issues don't come up again in future as much as possible.
6. Gem 16 - Free from dependence, anapeksah.
One who is free from wants or to be free from dependence. True devotee of the Lord is not dependent upon the external objects or things for his sustained happiness. We all feel happy when favorable things or situations happen, and feel upset when facing unfavorably situations. For most of us our happiness or sadness depends upon external objects or relationships over which we have little control. In contrast devotee of the Lord draws his inspiration and joy from his attachment to the Lord, his happiness spring forth from deeper source inside him, so external objects and happenings have little influence over his inner peace and joy. Once we realize, that the external objects emotions and thoughts are constantly changing and hence cannot give us everlasting happiness we will try to find the source of happiness within us. Pujya Gurudev says that when we experience sorrow, tragedy, happiness we need to shift our attention to the one who is aware of these emotions. Then the attention is not on the object or on the experience of sorrow, but is directed towards the consciousness within us. If you are alert and attentive, we can clearly see that many life circumstances show us that the joy or happiness that you experience from objects of the world or relationships is only temporary in nature. In fact our sastras clearly state that these pleasures are not only temporary, but they also create bondage and have sorrow associated with him. For example if you eat a food item that you like, initially it may give us pleasure, but if we continue to eat too much of it, then we will experience only misery and sorrow. In the long run this habit can also cause detriment to our physical health. God has given us so many precious things, in fact most important things that we need in life are freely available such as air, water and sunlight. We need to be thankful to God for this. Focus on what we have rather than dwell on what we don't. In fact if you make a list of things that we need/want, most of us usually have 80% or more of what we need or want. Thus by reorienting our mindset and focusing on positive aspects we can learn to be happier and less dependent.
7. Gem 17 - Be Pure, sucih.
We need to maintain purity both external and internal. Maintain cleanliness in our relationship with others and keep our surroundings clean. Our sastras have a lot of emphasis on externally cleanliness, because without external purity, internal purity will be a distant dream. Hence we have to keep our body and our surroundings clean and organized. In addition internal purity, that is, having pure intentions and clear thoughts is also extremely important. Pujya Gurudev states that we should not be satisfied by practicing passive goodness. We need to live a disciplined life following our values sincerely. When majority of people in a society have honest intentions and pure motives; then that generation will lead the nation to glorious summits of joy and success. Once a poor man decided to invite the King to his house. The kind King granted his wish. Royal messengers came before the King came and cleaned up his house, spread the carpet and decorated the place to receive the King. When the King visited everything was already set and ready. Similarly if we invite God to take his seat in our hearts he will do what is necessary, he will send his messengers to clean our hearts so that our heart is a fit-place for him to arrive. One of the simple ways to invite God and achieve purity is to pray to him regularly with devotion. Prayer should be done not to ask God some specific material stuff but is done to ask for His blessings and guidance. We all need to learn to 'pray' to God but not 'prey' to God.We showed short video clip about clean heart (Swamini Supriyanandaji) – we need to clean up our act, Purity or sucih - is emphasized in Bhagavad Gita so many times. External cleanliness is easy to achieve but with regards to internal cleanliness we may not even be aware that we have a problem. We don't pay attention to our own thoughts. Regular introspection is necessary to look at our thoughts. We can then identify and remove those thoughts that are not serving any good purpose for us. We should always question what are we doing and why are we doing a certain thing – thus explore our motives behind our actions. This helps us to keep our mind clean and free from malice etc.
8. Gem 18 - Be alert, be prompt, daksah.
It implies that we need to be clever in determining what should be attended immediately among variety of matters. One who knows 'first thing first' is a daksah or alert person. Pujya Gurudev says that opportunities come to everyone in life. Unfortunately either we are out or sleeping in and not prepared to make use of them. We need to be alert and awake to make use of these opportunities. We briefly played a game of zip, zap zop - randomly testing alertness of the children. Despite zoom setting students were able to participate in it in a meaningful way. Being alert and vigilant is the price that will have to pay for leading spiritual life. In our day-to-day life, we are busy and don't pay attention to many small things and focus on big issues. If one is alert and aware and pays attention to all the details, we will know where our energies should be directed to and how we can best utilize our time and resources. Being alert also implies that we should always remember the final goal, moksha as we go through our life's journey. One may question how is this possible? When we are traveling from work to home, despite all the traffic issues and possible detours due to construction, we never lose sight of our destination which is reaching home. Similarly we should never forget our final destination!
Story – King Akbar had a wise minister by name Birbal. He was always king's favorite because of his wisdom and cleverness. But it made many people jealous of Birbal. Once the king's barber told King Akbar that he had neglected to inquire about his forefathers in heaven. He suggested that they send Birbal to heaven to check them out. King liked the idea. So they prepared a fire ritual as a way to heaven. Barber and his friends started thinking Birbal will sit on the fire and he will burn to ashes. The fire was started and Birbal was asked to enter the fire. Birbal entered the fire without hesitation. People thought he was burnt. But Birbal who learnt about the vicious plan of the barber and his friends, had secretly made a tunnel for himself where the fire was lit so that he could escape from the fire. He appeared before the king a few days later and told him that he went to heaven that all his forefathers were living happily. But they had one problem that their hairs and beards were growing too long because they did not have a barber in the heaven (similar to our covid situation!). So King order the barber to enter the fire to go to heaven. Barber got burned into ashes. Hence it always pays to be alert!
9. Gem 19 – Unconcerned, udasinah.
One who is fair and does not take sides is said to be unconcerned. Unconcerned attitude helps to consider our energies. It does not mean that we don't have empathy and sympathy, but instead of reacting to a situation we think and act wisely. In life we all have difficulties, discomforts and sorrows. We tend to exaggerate their importance and try to run away from them. In this way our life is a constant struggle trying to adjust to various situations and difficulties. Instead we need to learn to overlook the small pinpricks in our life. This overlooking is called udasina or unconcerned attitude. It does not mean being lazy. It is a cheerful attitude of accepting various situations and circumstances that come across in our life and facing them bravely. This is the intelligent way of living. It has been beautifully said that God keeps us in water not to drown us but to clean us. It is only when a diamond is chiseled the beauty inherent within it comes out. Similarly difficult or sorrowful conditions, depending on how we react and respond to it, can help to polish your personality and lead to inner unfoldment.
10. This year we discussed the importance of prayer and devotion towards the Lord many times. Today we had the opportunity to show brief YouTube video of Pujya Gurudev, which was an animated flame addressed to children where he discussed the importance of prayer. Same pot will be called honeypot, milk pot or ink part depending upon its contents. Similarly if our mind is full of bad thoughts, we will become bad people. If it is filled with good thoughts then will become good people and responsible citizens of the nation. Prayer is easy way to develop good thoughts and to purify our mind. Pujya Gurudev recommends in this video that children should pray daily. In addition as soon as they get up from the bed and before going to sleep they should remember the Lord and thank him.
Pranam,
Mekhala Girish
Devender Akula
Sun AM 8th Grade Teachers
