Jun 7, 2020 - Grade 8 (Sunday AM)

Hari Om Parents,

Following was discussed in the e Balavihar class on June 7.

1.      Class was conducted again using Zoom conferencing technology.

2.      Initial prayers and Tapovan Shatakam verses were chanted.

3.      Today was the last day of Balavihar! Our book title was – Yato Dharma, Tato Jayah. We divided the students into two teams and let them discuss the topics discussed throughout the year with examples given from Mahabharata, other puranas or their own life experience – power point presentation.

 

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 7.      We showed video clips of Kungfu Panda movie – which drives home this message of faith in oneself.

 

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10.  We would like to sincerely thank all the parents for sending their children to the classes all through the year and thank all the coordinators who have worked so hard to make sure  Balavihar ran smoothly both at ashram and remotely.

 11.  We also profusely thank Swami Shantanandaji for giving us this opportunity to teach this year. We know that through teaching your children we have learnt and benefited a lot throughout the year. We hope to continue to reflect and put in practice various values we have discussed with the children.

12.   We take leave by seeking Pujya Gurudev and Swamiji's blessing. Have a safe, healthy and enjoyable summer!!

 

Pranam,

Mekhala Girish

Devender Akula

Sun AM 8^th Grade Teachers

May 31, 2020 - Grade 8 (Sunday AM)

Hari Om Parents,

Following was discussed in the e Balavihar class on May 31.

1.      Class was conducted again using Zoom conferencing technology.

2.      Initial prayers and Tapovan Shatakam verses were chanted.

3.      After the prayers we showed short video about 'prayer' so they can appreciate better the need to pray and importance of chanting the mantras. Pujya Gurudev says that prayer is not a spare wheel to be taken out in the times of trouble but it is a steering wheel that directs us in the right path. Our mind is essentially flow of thoughts; if we analyze thought they are sentences; sentences are words; words are letters and letters are sounds. All sounds are vibrations; hence our mind is essentially vibrations. Our rishis understood the science of sound vibrations and gave us mantras. When we chant the mantras repeatedly they will create positive attributes in us like compassion, courage, concentration, peace etc. With repeated chanting of these mantras we tune ourselves to the higher in our personality. It helps us to unfold and get in touch with the divine within – that essentially we are! (All video show today was by Swamini Supriyanandaji – Chinmaya Mission)

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. Bhagwan 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 20 - Untroubled – gatavyathah; Gem 21 - Renounce all undertaking - sarvarambhaparityagi

; Gem 22 and 23 - Neither rejoices nor hates – na hrsyati, na dvesti; Gem 24 - Grieves not – na socati; Gem 25 - Desires not – na kanksati; Gem 26 - Free from good and evil – subhaasubhaparityagi; Gem 27 - Be equal to friend and foe – samah satrau ca mitre; Gems 28, 29 & 30 - Same in honor and dishonor, in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain – samah mana-apamanayoh, samah sita-usnasukhadukhkhesu.

5.      Gem 31 - Be equal in censure and praise, tulyanindastutih

Being equal in censure and praise does not mean that one is immune to insults or cannot understand them.  But when one is true devotee of the Lord, he does not give any significance to the praise or criticism that other people level at him.  He understands people and circumstances change all the time.  The same person who might be praising us at one time may come back and criticize u at a different time.  Moreover we cannot please everyone all the time.  Even in Mahabharata, Lord Krishna was not able to please Duryodhana to avoid the war.

Once a son and father were going to a town to sell a donkey.  The father asked the son to ride on the donkey, on the way - the first person who met them started criticizing that the old father was walking while the son was riding.  After this the son got down and the father sat on the donkey.  Little later they met another man who commented how cruel the father is that he is letting his son walk.  After hearing this both of them sat on the donkey.  Little later they met a third person who commented how cruel both of them are, as the poor donkey is going to die with their weight.  Now they did not know what to do, they started carrying the donkey, seeing which people started laughing at their foolishness!  In the same way we can never satisfy everyone.

Once Buddha was sitting under a tree.  People around him started praising him, his expression did not change.  He had a calm composure and beautiful smile full of compassion.  Then a man came and started saying abusive words to Buddha.  His expression did not change.  The man got tired of shouting, went home and slept.  He could not sleep properly.  Next morning he went straight to Buddha and asked him that despite his shouting and abusive language, why did Buddha not get mad at him.  Buddha had the same beautiful smile on his face and asked him, if your stomach is very full and somebody brings you gourmet food would you like to eat it – the man replied no.  At the same time if someone brings you bad food would you eat it.  The man said no because I am already full.  Exactly said Buddha, when you are full with God's love, you do not need anything from outside to make you happy or mad.  You are always full and content. The man realized his mistake and became his disciple.

6.      Gem 32 – Be silent, mauni

It not only implies external silence but also silence within. It implies control over all senses. Pujya Gurudev states that when man is left alone he will become spiritual. Once we start thinking, materialism does not survive. We are afraid of loneliness because we do not have the courage to meet ourselves. When we're alone we will see a parade of our past deeds and thoughts; recognize how base our values are. With regular introspection we can change ourselves. The problem is we have a great image of ourselves but our real self is not as good as anything we imagine. Gurudev states emphatically that - Be with yourself, and you will turn to God!

We viewed couple of you tube videos - once an old devotee of Tapovan Maharaj, along with his grandson visited him. The old gentlemen complained that his grandson does not listen to him and lives his life like a vagabond. Tapovan Maharaj agreed to meet with the boy. When the boy entered he did not have any reverence towards Tapovan Maharaj. Tapovan Maharaj received him warmly and discussed with him about Bollywood movies, his college and all other things that youngsters are interested in. Looking at this Pujya Gurudev's jaw dropped, as he was not used to his Master speaking anything unnecessarily and being austere with his speech and interactions. As the boy was leaving the Tapovan Maharaj asked him if there was one thing he could do - he told him not to worry about prayer or poojas; but to get up in the morning at 5 o'clock, go for a walk and spend about 10 - 20 minutes in the park by himself. He can then come back and sleep if he wants to. He asked him to do this for a month. After couple of months a letter came from old gentleman saying that the grandchild has changed. When Pujya Gurudev met the boy several years later he asked how he changed. The boy said on the first day when he went to the park he enjoyed the sunrise, the birds and the nature in general. After a few days the experience was the same, so the only thing that came to his mind was his deeds that he had done in the past. When he looked at his past actions; he realized what an ugly life that he was leading. After few days of early morning introspection in the park he decided to change. Thus the boy became spiritual through solitude. When we look at ourselves we invariably make changes; think about what we do when we see a mirror. Similarly when we start looking at our thoughts/mind in solitude we want to make it better. Gurudev states if you don't like your own company don't impose it on others. Improve it, make it better, be happy and spread the happiness. Few moments of daily solitude and silence will facilitate this change in us.

We asked the students what they felt was a difference between loneliness and aloneness. They had several different ideas, afterwards we agreed that in loneliness a person is dejected and depressed to be with himself, but in aloneness person is happy to be with himself. In aloneness one becomes more aware of his own self, his own thoughts and observes what is happening to oneself. One can be in a crowd of people yet feel lonely. So aloneness and loneliness does not have to do with people surrounding us, rather it is our state of mind. Gurudev states – be silent and understand how really silent silence can be. In sleep mind is silent, but dull and unaware. True silence is when mind naturally stops chatter out of peacefulness and contentment. In this state the mind is dynamic and beautiful. All creative and constructive activity stems from that silent mind.

7.      Gem 33 - Be content, samtustah

Being content is to be happy whatever may be the condition of the body or the outer circumstances. If we seek happiness outside ourselves we never find complete and everlasting satisfaction.

There is a certain type of rat trap where dry coconut is placed on top of the wheel and the door to the trap is left open. The rat gets in and tries to reach the coconut, but as it is too high it steps on the wheel - it almost reaches the coconut when the wheel starts to move. Each time the rat thinks that it is close to the coconut the wheel starts moving. After doing this many times the rats gets exhausted and gets trapped. This is exactly the picture of ours, who live to fulfill our desires from outside world of objects and persons. We run after them even though our experience teaches us that we never get total satisfaction in indulging in them. All we gain is exhaustion and disappointment as the rat does in the trap! The students were told that it does not mean that they should not have goals or ambitions in life. Firstly we should be happy for what we have and then vigorously pursue goals/ambitions with the understanding sometimes we gain what we want and at other times we won't.  Contentment helps us to maintain equipoise. This can be achieved if we always remember God in our mind in all our pursuits.

In a forest there was an ugly looking tree, around which there were many beautiful looking trees – in perfect shape. Ugly tree always used to feel sad and sorry for itself. One day woodcutter came to the forest looked at all the trees and cut all the beautiful and shapely trees. Ugly looking tree was left alone. Now that tree smiled within and thanked Lord for his ugliness. We need to be content with how we are as we do not know what the Lord has in store for us.

8.      Gem 34 - Homeless, aniketah

One who has no possession, home. Having a roof over our head and four walls around us does not make it home. We go to vacations and live in hotels but don't call them home despite staying there for several days. Only when we have a sense of possession over the property we feel it is our home. In addition home is a place where we feel comfortable, where we can live as we want to, where we are loved by people around us. It is a place where we share equally and sacrifice together. If we extend the same sense of possessiveness towards the whole world, and are willing to share with everyone in the world and work together with everyone in the spirit of sacrifice then the whole world will become our home with the blue sky as the roof over our head. A true devotee of the Lord realizes that Lord is the father and guardian of the whole world. To him the entire universe is Lord's kingdom and his home. So in this sense he is 'homeless', because he lacks a sense of possession over a particular object or property. He takes shelter only at feet of the Lord.

9.      Gem 35 – Steadfast, sthiramatih

Steadfast in the intellectual understanding of goal of life. We had previously discussed that the ultimate goal of this human life is attaining moksha. So in and through our daily activities and worldly pursuit we should not forget our ultimate goal. A true devotee of the Lord has intellectual understanding to pursue this goal in all circumstances. To such a devotee the Lord himself will grace him with strength and courage to pursue the path. If someone persistently keeps knocking at your door how long can we resist before we open the door. In the same way if we keep calling the compassionate Lord, He will surely shower His grace on us.

Once a father gave his son a $10 bill and told him that he can buy whatever he wanted. Later in the day the father asked the boy what he did with the money. Boy replied that he gave to a man who looked very hungry. Father got a little upset, and told him that he should have bought something for himself. Now he won't be able to get that money for his own needs. The son told father that he was told in Balavihar that we should help the poor and the Lord himself will take care of us. Touched by the son's simple faith, the father reached out to his pocket and gives him another $10 bill. The boy then said he was sure that he would get his $10 back, only he did not know that it would come back to him so soon. So please encourage your children to follow the values that they have learned all through the year.

10.  We briefly talked about the ongoing protests and how students were feeling about it – all of us felt that racism should be rooted out from the society and all humans need to be treated equally irrespective of color and race. Antidote for hate is love – we shared a last you tube video about love. Love is the means to get to the goal of love. Pujya Gurudev said that love is an art and skill. It is not something that happens randomly for most of us. Like any other skill it can be learnt, developed and improved. We need to learn and practice it. Love alone enhances love! Keep Loving!

 

 

Pranam,

Mekhala Girish

Devender Akula

Sun AM 8^th Grade Teachers

May 17, 2020 - Grade 8 (Sunday AM)

Hari Om Parents,

Following was discussed in the e Balavihar class on May 17.

1.      Class was conducted again using Zoom conferencing technology.

2.      Initial prayers and Tapovan Shatakam verses were chanted.

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. Bhagwan 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 16 - Free from dependence, anapeksah; Gem 17 - Be Pure, sucih; Gem 18 - Be alert, be prompt, daksah and Gem 19 – Unconcerned, udasinah.

4.      Untroubled – gatavyathah:

When the Lord himself is carrying our burden why should we be troubled or worried? We should learn to do our best and leave the rest. People complain that God has forsaken us, especially with this Corona virus pandemic going on. But can mud ever forsake the mudpot? Gold forsake an ornament? In the same way God has never really forsaken us. Once a man had a vivid dream at the end of his life. He could see himself walking with Bhagwan on the beach and was able to replay his entire life. He saw two sets of footprints on the sand most of his lifetime, but during difficult times he saw only one set of footprints on the sand. This disturbed him and he asked Bhagwan that when I needed you the most I see only one set of footprints how could you forsake me? Bhagwan kindly replied and asked him to look carefully, the footprints that he was seeing was the footprints of Bhagwan himself. Bhagwan told him that during troubled times he was carrying him! So whatever happens we should remember that the Lord is with us. We should remain untroubled and unperturbed.

5.      Renounce all undertaking - sarvarambhaparityagi

Means one who has renounced all desire prompted activities. Aaramba means beginning. To end all beginnings does not mean not to undertake any new actions. It implies that we do all the activities without having an egoistic feeling that I am solely responsible for any action we perform. If we carefully analyze and dig deep into the meaning of it we see that all our actions are controlled, regulated and governed by the world of things and situations around us. We are only a part of a long change of events that are happening in the world. No undertaking in our life in fact has an independent beginning or end. For example when we decide to play a game of football, we get the football out and have some friends over; play the game, enjoy and have a good time. But to play the game we needed a football which we did not make, gravitational force that needs to bring the ball down, we did not invent or manufacture the material with which the ball was made, have other people around us to participate with us so that we can enjoy etc. So even for a simple game there are so many factors involved, hence we should give up the attitude that I am solely responsible for doing certain thing or performing certain action.

6.      Neither rejoices nor hates – na hrsyati, na dvesti

Does not rejoice upon gaining what is desirable and does not hate upon gaining what is undesirable. When we have mistaken expectation it will only result in disappointment. The fundamental mistake we make is that we wish permanent happiness in the world which is continuously changing. World is nothing but a play of pair of opposites. Joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, heat and cold, darkness and light all are unavoidable. For example if you take a magnet it has north and south poles. If we cut it into two, each piece will have north and south pole, so no matter how small we cut the magnet into these two poles exist. Similarly two pairs of opposites exist in the world all the time. It doesn't mean we have to run away from the world, but we have to face it. We should not get too overjoyed when we get the desired object and not get too dejected or depressed when our desire is not fulfilled. A great devotee realizes these and rises about these pairs of opposites. We should face them bravely with equipoise holding onto the Lord. Short youtube video about equipoise shown (Swamini Supriyanandaji) – Lord Krishna is usually seen standing on one foot with flute in hand, more difficult to balance, here He is referred to as Banke Bihari (tribanga pose in dance). He is showing that no matter whatever twists and turns come to us either from within or outside we need to stay rooted – that is, we need to maintain equipoise. This can be achieved if we stay centered or rooted in our ideal.

7.      Grieves not – no socati

Implies having no grief even while parting a beloved object. If analyzed carefully the happenings in the world, everything is bound by time and space, and nothing remains permanent. Things, objects and people decays with time.  We bought up conservation of energy and matter. We can neither produce nor destroy matter, but matter when disappears it change into energy form even though we may not be able to see or perceive it. In the same way the substratum which holds the whole universe together, the Lord, neither changes nor decays; while the objects or people can decay & die. Knowing this we should not grieve excessively.

8.      Desires not – na kanksati

When the whole area is flooded with water what is the use of a bucket of water. In the same way true devotee completely identified with the Lord is always satisfied. He does not have any egoistic desires. For him all his desires have been fulfilled as he has found eternal happiness within himself. Pujya Gurudev says that we need to understand we will never be fully satisfied by indulging in our desires. In fact the more we indulge the more our desires will increase. Moreover uncontrolled desires by themselves will lead to bondage and sorrow. For example if feel like eating a sweet, the first time we eat it might taste very nice and we feel happy, second or third time you may still be happy but extent of happiness decreases, it follows law of diminishing returns. But if somebody were to eat 10 or 20 sweets at same time he will start feeling miserable and positively uncomfortable. In the long run this habit can cause its own health problems. Understanding this fact we should know to control our desires, and channelized our energies in proper way.

9.      Free from good and evil - subhaasubhaparityagi

Pujya Gurudev states that the objects of outer world yield joy or sorrow to us as a result of our healthy or unhealthy attitude towards them. The objects in themselves are neither good nor evil.

A farmer had an old horse which escaped. His neighbor came in sympathized with him because of his bad luck. The farmer said "good luck? bad luck? who knows?". Few days later the horse came back with a herd of wild horses. Now everybody started saying that the farmer had good fortune. Farmers again said "good luck? bad luck? who knows?".  Later the farmer's son was training with the wild horses, fell down and injured his leg. Again the neighbor came to sympathize with him. Farmer again said "good luck? bad luck? who knows?".  A few days later the Army came into the town and took all the young people to the war, the farmer's son because of his broken leg could not join the Army. The neighbor now said that his son was lucky. The farmer again said "good luck? bad luck? who knows?".

Things happen in the world, we label them as good or bad and then either feel happy or sad. But instead if you have faith in God, and accept whatever situations we face.  Remembering everything happens for my own good for He knows what is good for me. This is the attitude of the true devotee. He has identified himself completely with the Lord and does not get affected by pair of opposites. He renounces totally the concepts of good and evil.

10.  Be equal to friend and foe – samah satrau ca mitre

My right hand is neither a foe nor a friend to me, it is myself! Similarly for a man of wisdom, who realizes the oneness in everyone, he does not have any friend or foe, for he sees divinity in all. However estimation of people is a psychological assessment based on our prior experiences. Our attitude or persons may change with time. Our friend may become our enemy and sometimes one who was our enemy becomes our friend. Nature of relationships keeps on changing. Understanding this we should not get perturbed if people around us do not react the way we expect them to. But rather we should maintain equanimity in our relationships with others. If there is somebody that we cannot get along, we should avoid the person or situation but not create trouble or spread gossip about them. Short youtube video was again shown (Swamini Supriyanandaji). Our reaction to the external events or people depend on our likes and dislikes. Pujya Gurudev has said when faced with small irritations and frustrations we should learn to accept them with quiet cheer (titiksha). If we can change them then do so. If can't change people or external happenings, then we should accept the situation cheerfully. In this way or mind gets trained not to be reactive to our likes and dislikes. By doing so we will develop a pleasant and cheerful personality.

11.  Same in honor and dishonor, in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain – samah mana-apamanayoh, samah sita-usnasukhadukhkhesu

Heat and cold indicate experiences at body level; pleasure and pain at level of mind; and honor and dishonor at intellectual level. Thus these pairs of opposite constitute the entire possibility of experiences in life at physical, mental and intellectual level. Things and people around do not produce similar reaction in everyone. The reaction is dependent upon interpretation of our own mind and intellect which is based upon our past experiences. Hence to an alcoholic a beer bottle will be very attractive while a teetotaler will shun away from the same beer bottle. What may cause pleasure to one may cause pain to the other. On analysis it is obvious that pleasure or pain is not inherent nature of the objects of the world, if they did they would have caused the same reaction to everyone. For example, nature of sun is heat; therefore heat is a common experience with the sun. On the other hand we don't see uniform experience of pleasure or pain with any object. Honor and dishonor are intellectual evaluations, and they also change with time. Only when we transcend our egoistic attitude and vanity we will be able to overcome these labels. Our interpretation of things and person are colored by our own mind and intellect. If you are able to detach from these equipments and attach ourselves to the Lord we can maintain equipoise.

12.  Free from attachment - sangavivarjitah

The more one thinks about an object, the more one gets attached to it. When our thoughts run continuously towards an object it creates attachment. If we can reduce the thought flow towards an object the attachment will also get reduced.

Story - once there was an Emperor who had 20 precious, beautiful flowerpots. He was very fond of them and announced that if anybody breaks them, that person would be killed. So the servants were extremely carefully when they were cleaning the spots. Unfortunately one day while a servant was cleaning the pot, it slipped and broke into pieces. Emperor got extremely angry and told him that he will be put to death. Next day the servant was brought to the court. Suddenly in the court an old man appeared and told the Emperor that he can fix the broken part exactly as it was before. Emperor got very happy and brought the broken pot. But the old man said he wanted all the other 19 pots also to be brought to the court, so it was done. Now the old man took a stick and broke all the 19 pots. Emperor got extremely angry with this action and wanted to punish the old man. The old man told the Emperor that he got too attached to his pots because of which he was willing to take the life of his servant. The other 19 pots would have taken 19 more lives, instead you can take my life now. The Emperor realized his folly and forgave the old man and the servant.

In the same way extreme attachments makes perform wrong actions leading to unhappiness and misery. Unintelligent attachment to our body, mind and intellect is what causes us to dance to the happening around us. Again if we can detach from them we won't be slaves to these instruments but will become master of them. For this we need to continuously hold onto the feet of the Lord.

 

 

Pranam,

Mekhala Girish

Devender Akula

Sun AM 8^th Grade Teachers

May 10, 2020 - Grade 8 (Sunday AM)

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 8^th Grade Teachers

May 3, 2020 - Grade 8 (Sunday AM)

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 8^th Grade Teachers

Apr 26, 2020 - Grade 8 (Sunday AM)

Hari Om Parents,

Following was discussed in the e Balavihar class on April 26.

1.       Class was conducted again using Zoom conferencing technology.

2.       Initial prayers, Tapovan Shatakam and 30 verses of Bhagavad Gita chapter 1 was chanted.

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". 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 Today we discussed two other values – Self-controlled and firm conviction.

4.       We continued discussion from last class - the need to have control over the mind which was also explained as yoga. Normally our mind is in a state of constant agitation, it is compared to a river, we can say that our mind is in a state of gushing floods. Just as it is difficult to control a river which is in flood it is also difficult to control your mind which is gurgling with many thoughts. It was explained to the student that the state of flood in our mind is contributed by three main streams which are memories of the past, fears of the future and anxieties of the present. Unnecessary regrets of our past mistake impede us from doing what we need to do now, also over anxiety while performing our activities in the present and excessive fear of future should be avoided. When we can achieve this to some extent - the flood of thoughts in our mind calms down, then it's easier to control the mind. We can build a dam across the 'calmer river'; this dam is built by following right values. Today we used the illustrations on drawing board during the zoom classes to get across this point! We can also imagine that these three portals - regrets of the past, anxieties of the present and worries about future - are the three dissipating channels by which the energy of the mind is dissipated. When we plug these dissipating channels, we can conserve our mental energies. Mind can be made focused and single pointed. Controlling mind is not easy, but will come with patient and practice. This can be facilitated by various means including prayer, study and reflection on our sastras, surrendering to God and devotion, japa and of course by meditation. Thus yoga - the integration of her personality can be achieved by detaching ourselves from the lower and yoking ourselves to the Higher/Lord.

5.       Self-controlled, yatatma

initially we had open discussion if self-control is beneficial or not, how can it be pursued – students gave some examples that they are following during these lock down times – getting up early; doing school work in time …. It was reminded that freedom comes with responsibilities. Unless self-control and discipline is followed one cannot achieve anything productive in this life. Pujya Gurudev has said without self-discipline, concentration and total dedication one cannot grow and shine forth. We have seen numerous examples in our own lives of people practicing for many years to perfect themselves in their own specific professions, for example a musician or a dancer or painter probably had put in many hours and years of hard work before they achieve success and recognition. All the professional athletes that we see have worked for years before they could have achieved the pinnacle of the success in the respective sports. Without having self-discipline and self-control we will not achieve anything meaningful in our life. Even when we look at the word discipline and add all the numbers of the alphabet - that is D represents the fourth alphabet; I represents the ninth alphabet; S represents the 19th letter of the alphabet so on so forth the total of all alphabets in discipline adds up to 100%!!! The word itself is showing that we need to put in hundred percent discipline to achieve our goals. As Pujya Gurudev says one who has subjected himself to discipline is a disciple.

6.       Firm conviction, drdhaniscayah

firm conviction or resolve means having steadfastness, determination to make up one's mind. When we know value of anything then we make a resolve to get it. Students were asked if they wanted $100 note everybody said they would like to have it. When we said that the hundred dollars note was all crumpled up, still they wanted it, this is because they knew the value of hundred dollars. Similarly only when we value a thing then we make a resolve to achieve it. We asked what is their understanding about belief and faith. They came up with different explanations, ultimately we all agreed that - belief born out of understanding is faith. We also explained that there are many definitions or explanations possible for this word faith or sraddha, it has been said that there is no good meaning available in English language to explain all the deeper imports of sraddha or loosely translated as faith. It was emphasized to the students that they should have faith in three factors - faith in our sastras, faith in God/Guru and faith in oneself. Just because we cannot see God we cannot conclude that he is not present. There are many things that we cannot see but can experience such as emotions, even though science says that the earth is round and moving all the time we perceive earth as being relatively stationary. But when seen through the eyes of science we understand that the earth is moving all the time. Similarly we need a special 'mirror' to be able to see God, the mirror is the purified mind. We achieve this purification by following the teachings of our sastras. When you watch a movie we don't see the screen, but without the screen the movie cannot play, similarly without God the world cannot exist. Our inability to recognize him is because of our agitations and impurities in our mind. Pujya Gurudev said that the pilgrimage leading to the temple of truth is not easy one may have to go through dangerous forest, tunnels or precipitous steeps. On this pilgrimage we may experience despondence, despair and hopelessness. Hence we need to have unlimited exchequer of power and strength, and this exchequer of infinite strength is called faith. Students were then asked to read questions like - people say you are very smart but I don't think so, can you help me my problem?  - four or five such statements were read, and students were asked to comment on them. Obviously none of these statements sounded polite or nice or rational. It was then pointed out to the students that this is what exactly we do when we pray to God. Most of the time we are so busy with our life that we do not acknowledge God for what He has given us, but when we need something from Him, then we remember to pray to Him. In fact what we're doing is not 'praying' but we are 'preying' on God. All we need to do is just to look around in the nature or even analyze how miraculous this human body works, how the heart pumps blood continuously without a break to understand the greatness of the Lord. He is the one who is running the show of the world and making our body function seamlessly. We are too busy playing with his toys that we fail to recognize and acknowledge them. We forget the Giver!

7.       Story - one night a family woke up from sleep detecting smoke and fire in their house. Frantically the father grabbed the one-year-old and a five-year-old and started running out. Five-year-old remembered that he left his favorite teddy bear in the bedroom so he let go of his father and ran back to the bedroom. In the anxiety and confusion father did not realize that the five-year old son left him to get his toy. Once he got out he realized that his other child was still in the house. By now the fire got much worse which prevented the father from going in. The son was shouting from the bedroom window asking for help. There was lot of smoke. The father could see the son and asked him to jump from the window.  Unfortunately son could not see him because of all the smoke, so he hesitated. Father assured the son that it is okay that he will catch him to trust him and jump, the son jumped and was saved by the father.

8.       Similarly we don't know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future. We just need to hold onto the feet of the Lord, and he will take care of us.

9.       Pradyun did the ending prayers and Varun lead the pledge at end of class.

Pranam,

Mekhala Girish

Devender Akula

Sun AM 8^th Grade Teachers