Hari Om Parents,
Following was discussed in the e Balavihar class on May 3.
1. Class was conducted again using Zoom conferencing technology.
2. Initial prayers, Tapovan Shatakam and verses of Bhagavad Gita chapter 1 – Swami Shantanandaji's video chanting was telecast.
3. 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". So far following values have been covered Gem 1 – Hate None (advesta sarvabhutanam): Gem 2 – Be Friendly; Maitrah; Gem 3 – Be Compassionate; Karunah; Gem 4 – Free from attachment, Nirmamah; Gem 5 – Free from ego, Nirahamkarah; Gem 6 - Equal minded in pleasure and pain, samaduhkhasukhah; Gem 7 – Forgive, ksami; Gem 8 – Ever content, samtustah and Gem 9 – Steadfast in meditation, yogi; Gem 10 - Self-controlled, Yatatma and Gem 11 - Firm conviction, drdhaniscayah.
4. This week we started by remembering what we discussed last week. We reemphasized two important facts first one - having faith in oneself, faith in sastras and faith in God / Guru. The second one was to understand that excessive regrets of past, too much anxiety in present and uncontrolled fears of future are the three portals that make our mind turbulent and keeps the mind from becoming laser sharp.
5. Gem 12 - Mind and intellect centered in the Lord, mayyarpitamanobuddih
The lobby was buzzing with a lot of candidates who were waiting for an interview for an important job. An announcement was made from the public address system which was very soft, only one person who was alert heard the announcement. He entered the interview room and was rewarded with the job. Others had to go back home. Similarly we need to develop ears to hear His announcements, have eyes to see the substratum of the universe. How do we develop these faculties? When a movie is over only then we see the screen behind, so also when we're able to quieten our mind and thoughts the projection behind our thoughts - the Lord is experienced. One of the easy ways to try to quieten the mind is by praying regularly to God and developing devotion towards Him. We can chant His name and keep Him in our mind all the time. Pujya Gurudev stated that our actions should sing His glory and our feelings should have the fragrance of His purity, and our thoughts should express His dynamism. Such God centered life is true hymn praising the Lord.
6. Gem 13 and 14: By whom world is not agitated and whom the world does not agitate, yasmannodvijate lokah, lokannodvijate yah
Devotee of the Lord will not create any agitations in the world around him. Similarly when we are with our friends and family we should try not to spread negative feelings and create agitations and confusions in other minds. Things in the world are constantly in state of flux, especially now with this coronavirus pandemic, there are many things that are happening that we never expected. A true devotee of the Lord, who is rooted in his devotion to the Lord, does not get disturbed by the happenings around. He does what needs to be done and sees the play of the Lord in all the various changes that are happening around. He is like a lighthouse which is firmly rooted in its foundation, erect and motionless, which watches all the waves crashing onto it. Similarly we should also get firmly rooted and hang onto the Lord who will protect us.
7. Today we also shared couple of videos from Chinmaya Mission Hong Kong (Swamini Supriyanandaji) relevant to what we were discussing with children. Pujya Gurudev says that most of us exist only few people live. To live we need an ideal. This will bring out the hidden potential within us. We generally think only about ourself and our welfare, when we expand our vision and invest in others we can become a better person. We have to aspire for a higher cause then we will dig deeper in – and find hidden potential manifesting to help us achieve our goals. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Malala Yousafzai (youngest nobel prize winner) and Emma Watson ( Harry Potter fame, champions equal rights) are all such examples. We can start by doing something small like cleaning up a park in our community, working for a good lunch menu in our cafeteria etc. By investing in more than ourselves and having a greater ideal we have the potential to unfold our personality and achieve bigger things in life, and more importantly experience more peace and happiness. For this it is important to have an ideal. When asked about their individual ideals, several students stated that they wanted to be successful, we had some discussion about what success meant to them. At this point we briefly discussed life of Abdul Kalam, the former President of India. Even though he was born in a poor family, he worked hard and with his intelligent was able to go through school and college. It was his dream to be always an Air Force pilot. Unfortunately he was not selected for this job despite all his hard work. He was disappointed and dejected. But with the help of some good advice and by inner introspection he accepted a job in government of India. Rest we all know is history. He became one of the most preeminent scientist that India has ever produced. Even though he did not achieve what he dreamed of as a child, he made use of the opportunities that came to him and became a very successful man. He was a man of great humility and values. Similarly we should not to get disappointed if we don't get what we want - like not getting into our first choice college, but we need to make optimum use of the opportunities that come our way. With faith in ourselves and the hard work we can also achieve great things as Abdul Kalam. Success it has been said is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
Pujya Gurudev – start doing what is necessary, then what is possible, suddenly you will find doing impossible. This is easier with body but also has to be applied to the emotions. It is necessary to say sorry when you are wrong, as we practice simple courtesy with time we become more sensitive and as time goes by with diligence we will start anticipating what others need. We have to start small, but not stop there – we need to grow in our capacity until we surprise ourselves (Swamini Supriyanandaji).
8. Gem 15 - Free from joy, fear, and will, and anxiety; harsamarsabhayodvegairmuktttah
When we get the desired object we feel happy, if you don't get the desired object we are envious of those who have it. Once we procure the desired object we have the fear of losing it and if the object goes missing there is an anxiety for the object - all this is not there for somebody who does not have too much desire or attachment for an object. Fear is always because of unknown or uneasiness in our heart. Such emotions when left uncontrolled can prevent blossoming of our personality. This happens due to lack of faith and lack of understanding of Lord. A child might feel fearful in the dark, but holding onto the mother the same child can walk in darkness fearlessly. Similarly if we hold onto the Lord we can have the courage to face any challenges and overcome our inner agitations such as uncontrolled joy, envy, fear, and anxiety.
9. Story - once in the depth of ocean lived a fish, which was restless to explore and swam up to reach the surface of the ocean. It saw the vast sky and looked down below at the deep ocean which was many miles deep. The fish overcame with fear. He thought it is going to drown in the ocean. So it only swam on the top of the ocean. Lord of the ocean appearance asked the fish why it was only rolling on top of the water on the top and not swimming gracefully. The fish replied that it is trying to catch his tail by mouth so it may hold onto the tail and prevent itself from drowning. The Lord smiled and said that you should use your fins to swim gracefully; I am the one who is supporting you. It is my job to make sure that you float. The fish did not listen, and succeeded in catching its own tail. Now the fins could not move so it slowly sank to the bottom of the ocean, the Lord could only look on. Similarly we are given a healthy body, hands and legs, utilizing which we should work and be free to act. We need to give up unnecessary worries and have trust in God who supports us. Do we get into the train and then carry the luggage on our head? Don't we put the luggage on the train so that the train can carry your burden. Similarly while we are traveling in this life journey, we need to put the burden of her problems on God and let him support us in this journey. Make Him our friend and supporter so that our journey may go on smoothly.
Pranam,
Mekhala Girish
Devender Akula
Sun AM 8th Grade Teachers
