Parent Portal 2019-20: JCHYK Gr 10-12

Showing posts with label JCHYK Gr 10-12 - Sunday AM. Show all posts

Jun 7, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

This was the last day of Bala Vihar for the year! Can't believe we are already finishing up. Seems like we just started a few months ago...

We started the class as usual with meditation, opening prayers and chanting aaditya hRudayam and bhagavadgeeta chapter 1. Everyone has gotten way more comfortable with their pronunciations than they were at the beginning of the year and we are super impressed by them. Here are the links to the recordings for anyone who may want to practice more -

aaditya-hRudayamAudio - Google Drive

BG Ch 1 - Google Drive

Last week's Brain Teaser: What is it that if I have, I cannot share..., if I share, I cannot have? Hmmm..., what can it be?!

Answer: A secret! If I have it, I am not allowed to share it. The moment I share it, it won't remain a secret anymore, does it? :)

This brought us to the topic of an 'open secret'! Have you heard of any such thing? Either something is a secret or it is open knowledge, right?! What is this 'open secret'?!!

Well, it is the knowledge in our scriptures! Vedaanta is an open secret because, 'the books may be readily available to anyone, anywhere. But interpreting them and understanding them in the right sense is not everyone's cup of tea!' There is a saying 'guru-mukhena vidyaa' which means, this knowledge of the Self should be learnt through a guru who has learnt from his guru, who has learnt from his guru, who has learnt from..., well... you get the drift! This system of learning from the learned gurus is called 'guru paramparaa'. Our guiding light, our GPS, should be the 'guru paramparaa sampradaaya' (GPS). The words in the scriptures mean different things at different times. One cannot pick up a book and expect to read it on their own and be able to interpret the meanings correctly! So, one has to beware of where their source of knowledge is. We as teachers too, attend our Swamiji's classes to be sure we have understood the essence of the teachings properly before teaching in class.

We then discussed the essential attributes that Krishna told Arjuna as important, no matter what form of the Lord he worships. The list is very long, but we discussed a few - no hatred towards any beings, friendly demeanor, compassion, no intense emotions towards me and mine, no arrogance, equanimity, happy disposition at all times, etc.

We discussed what these things mean to us, in the light of the current situations prevailing in the world - the virus, the riots, Black Lives Matter movement, etc. It turned out that if we truly understood what Krishna was saying to Arjuna, we would not have any requirement for riots for rights or faltering from our duties!!

The students were given an activity to write a sentence about these 5 words - Equanimity, Speech, Rights, Duties and Happiness. They all had wonderful thoughts to share with the class. We then watched the attached short video by Swami Swaroopananda ji that tied down everything we were talking about in class.

This brought us to the end of our last class for the year on a beautiful note! We bade goodbyes and finished up with ending prayers and pledge.

But before we leave from here, we want to share some excerpts from the write-ups the students submitted after watching the movie Dr. Strange a couple of weeks ago. We were very impressed with their thought process and the way they presented their analysis! So, here they are -

I'd watched the Dr. Strange movie with my family when it came out in 2016. Back then I thought it was cool and fun, but I remember being mostly attracted by its visual effects. Even now I'm not that into superhero movies, but I'll definitely watch them.
I was still glad to be able to rewatch the movie because this time around I found its messages more meaningful. Stephen Strange struggles with his ego throughout the film and I found myself wanting him to just stay and listen during his first visit to see the Ancient One. At the same time, I understood that he was feeling a lot of pain because of his injuries and his inability to go on as a surgeon. I didn't think he was in the right for treating Dr. Palmer so poorly after his accident, but I understood why he did; I was more empathetic to his situation my second time watching.
Overall, I'm glad I watched the movie again. It reminded me of the mistakes adults make, the harm of drinking and driving, the way your ego can contribute to the mistakes you make throughout your life and how you can fix or at least acknowledge those wrongs.
I enjoyed this movie and its perspective on spirituality. It takes a really interesting angle of an arrogant doctor who rejects ancient ideas but comes around to find value and strength from said teachings.
The movie taught a valuable lesson that just because teachings are old does not make them obsolete. There obviously was a lot of science fiction involved about the powers of spirituality, but quite a bit of it holds true.
Meditation and breathing exercises can improve health.
Recognizing the existence of a spirit and working to grow it can lead to many benefits down the line.
Another aspect of the movie that tied in with the class was when it threw reference to certain Hindu aspects including location and language. Ultimately, the movie being a Marvel one was thrilling, but watching it with a critical lens allowed me to see morals and lessons that connected to this year's class.
I think that the movie although it is a Marvel and made up movie, the ideas can be real. I believe that it is true that even if your body is hurt, your soul and mind are still there and you can heal through them. I also think that many of these spiritual magic was possible way back in history when there was more belief. I think this because there are certain events that lead me to believe so.
This movie shows that there is more than any of us know, even Einstein. It was a great movie. Thank you for showing it to us.
For today's class, we watched Doctor Strange and personally, I enjoyed it. I am a fan of the marvel universe and Doctor Strange being a part of it just makes it better. With all these different ideas the movie proposes such as the mystical arts and the mirror dimension, it takes a new point of view in the movie and makes it more interesting rather than it just being another normal superhero movie. Furthermore, the movie was enjoyable not only because of the new ideas it proposed but also because of its plot and how it was demonstrated in an enjoyable manner. To conclude, the movie was a great time pass and was worthwhile watching because of its interesting ideas and overall plot.

We had a wonderful bunch of students this year and enjoyed teaching them every Sunday! They adjusted to the new normal with Zoom classes and we truly appreciate that.

We bid adieu to our class seniors who will be stepping out into the world and entering college this Fall! We have seen that their footing is firm and their thought process rooted. With the demeanor we have seen in class, they are going to be successful, no matter where they go! So, we are very proud of them.

Until next year, have a safe summer, stay healthy, have fun and happy contemplating!

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

May 31, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

We started the class with meditation and chanting. We chanted Aaditya hRudayam and the first half of bhagavadgeeta ch. 1. As we say, we don't learn bhagavadgeeta just for the competition. We learn and practice beyond that. We are very happy with the progress in their pronunciations and inflexions as well!

Last week's Brain Teaser: What is it that if I have, I cannot share..., if I share, I cannot have? Hmmm..., what can it be?!

We forgot to discuss the answer in class. But this time, we will not be giving the answer via email. We will discuss in class next week. Think about it and be ready with the answer :)

We continued our discussion on chapter 12, bhakti yoga. In this chapter, Arjuna had a question - "Krishna, you said we can worship you in manifest or unmanifest form. Please tell me which is the best way to worship you. I will simply follow that!!"

Arjuna, just like us, wanted a readymade, easy, straightforward answer so that he could blindly follow and not be accountable for the choice he made! :) It would be on Krishna to decide and tell him which path to follow!

But does the Lord make it so simple? Absolutely not! :) He explained to Arjuna the requirements for each of the paths.

To worship the manifest form of the Lord, one should - fix his mind on the Lord, have self-control, have complete faith.

To worship the unmanifest form of the Lord, one should - restrain all senses, be equanimous, aim for the welfare of all beings.

Asking which path is better is like asking, "I am extremely hungry. Will my hunger be satiated if I eat with hand or with a spoon?" :))... Exactly! Satiating the hunger is dependent on the availability of food, not the tool to eat it with, right?! Whether we eat with a spoon or without a spoon, feeding the stomach is more important. Similarly, whether we worship the Lord with a form or without form, the devotion and purity of mind are much more essential.

So, Lord Krishna said, "no matter which path you chose, it is important for you to have certain attributes! These qualities are absolutely essential, whichever way YOU prefer to worship the Supreme!"

A few of the essential qualities we discussed today were - no jealousy, no arrogance, kindness, compassion towards all beings, mind fixed in good thoughts, neither agitate the world nor be agitated by the world (calm demeanor), etc.

We then questioned - Are these attribute required for us now? How are these attributes applicable to our day-to-day lives? Isn't it enough if we study well, get great scores, go to top-notch colleges with perfect GPAs, make a good career and lots of money...? We would have gained lots of knowledge and specific skills in our field of expertise...! What more do we need?

To answer these questions, we saw a beautiful video with a simple demonstration. Check out the video attached below.

So, just like in the video, a right attitude is absolutely essential no matter where we go, what we become or how well we turn out in life! Arrogance never pays. In fact, this point was established very well in the movie we saw last class - Dr. Strange. What stops our learning are: Arrogance and Fear! It is up to us how we build our character and inculcate these valuable traits in our lives. A value become valuable when we value it!! They mere words otherwise!

We discussed a few real-life examples that they may face when they go out into the world, to better understand how and where attitude matters. We all agreed that it is a very valuable trait that each and every one of us has to develop for our own good!

We finished the class with these thoughts and wound up for the day with closing prayers.

Until next time, happy contemplating! Don't forget seeing the video.

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

May 17, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

Today at Bala Vihar, it was Movie day. Yay! We started with meditation and prayers.

We watched the Marvel Movie "Doctor Strange". It was a great movie with 'many dimensions' (pun intended). As it was a long movie, we had asked the children to login early, at 9 am itself. We finished class at 11:15 today!

We had a full house and all enjoyed the movie. It was interesting and connected with many of the aspects we have been learning in class as well.

One of the interesting points was, Dr. Strange was asked to forget everything he knew before entering the monastery. With our prior knowledge of things, we tend to become stereotypical and see through a keyhole rather than widen our vision. It breeds arrogance and we fail to see the perspectives of others.

Each of them has been asked to write a synopsis and email to us, teachers. We didn't have enough time to discuss. Hence, the homework, for the first time. We have received a few and awaiting from others'.

In the meanwhile, below are some salient points that struck a cord -

Have an open mind!
Spirit within, heals the body.
We are what we think.
Mind over matter.
Never tamper with natural laws.
It is easy to slip to the 'dark side'.
Death is a leveller!
There is a very small difference between the truth and a lie.
When you work beyond your ego, you can do wonders!
It is all about the choices we make.
Our future is in our own hands.
What stops our learning are: Arrogance and Fear!
Death is what makes life so interesting, else we would think we are invincible!
In life, lessons are taught after the exams are given - (just as warnings come after spells in the movie :).
There are ALWAYS consequences, no matter who we are.
The 'mirror dimension' can be equated to 'reflected consciousness' of our vedaanta.
If we don't work in the right direction, we can be trapped for eternity in the circle of birth and death (janma and mRutyu) - (just as with the time machine in the movie).

It is a really good movie for anyone to watch and we all enjoyed it!

We do not have Bala Vihar next weekend as it is Memorial Day break. See you all online on the following Sunday, May 31st. Looking forward to seeing your writeups soon.

Until then, stay safe and stay home!

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

May 10, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

In this week's class, we did meditation and chanted aaditya hRudayam, followed by the last 1/3rd of BG chapter 1. We are getting more comfortable with the chanting these days!

Last week's Brain Teaser: Have you seen or met anyone who has never lied in his entire life?

Answer: A baby who is yet to learn how to speak! We didn't get a chance to discuss this in class today. We will do it in the next class.

Today's Brain Teaser: What is it that if I have, I cannot share..., if I share, I cannot have? Hmmm..., what can it be?!

We used a cool feature on Zoom today. It has an option where we can create small breakout rooms and enable discussions on specific topics within each small group! We broke the class into 5 groups and assigned different questions, based on the topics we have already learnt in class. It was nice to see that they were able to analyse and come up with the right answers and logic to establish the same!

Some of their thoughts are as below:

Things are not as bad as you think. Be optimistic
Consider everyone's viewpoint before jumping to conclusions
We need the knowledge to gain experience and make wise decisions
Fate is very much there. But you have to work towards getting there. Death is inevitable; you don't work towards it. But you have to live life to set an example, like bheeShma
Idols make it easier for us to focus and channel our devotion. But it is not only in the stick or stone in a temple. It is what we make of it! It is also in our thoughts
Negative thoughts cloud the judgement and we cannot see the right perspective. Hence clarity of thought is very important!

These are a few examples of their line of thought. Three cheers to them all!

Today being Mother's Day, we asked each one of them what they have learnt from their moms in this past year. We had many interesting responses and endearing ones too! Most of them spoke about the current situation where we are all under lockdown and it is a completely different world out there. They spoke about what they have learnt in the past 2 months from their moms!! We were very happy to hear their thoughts. Below are some of them -

Learnt the importance of cleanliness, both mind and surroundings
Helping with the dishes
Thinking more; admitting my mistakes
Realized that it is not easy at all, for the moms who stay-at-home!
Baking..., baking without burning
Learnt cooking; cutting veggies; helping in the kitchen; doing the dishes
Time management skills
Siblings time (up to us - we can either fight or be good :)
Patience - to take one day at a time and not crib about the monotony!
Volunteering and driving with mom to help people during this time of crisis!

Thank you, moms, for being such wonderful role models to your children! Due to your guidance, these children will certainly turn out to be wonderful samaritans of tomorrow!!

We ran overtime today and had to finish up with chanting shaanti mantra (poorNamadaH poorNamidam...)

We are looking forward to seeing you on Sunday. It will be a movie week at Bala Vihar and we are going to be bringing you a fun and exciting movie :). Look forward to it.

See you all next week.

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

May 4, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

Class started with meditation and chanting. We have finished learning all of the verses that we were scheduled for this year. We have finished learning aaditya hRudayam and BG ch. 1. Below are the links to the audio of the entire set of verses.

aaditya-hRudayamAudio - Google Drive

BG Ch 1 - Google Drive

Last week's Brain Teaser: What is it that even a blind person can see? And no, the answer is not darkness :). Think, think!

Answer: Dream! There is no stopping for that. Any kind of disability does not come in the way of having a dream or making it a reality. Reminds of Helen Keller's saying - "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision."

Today's Brain Teaser: Have you seen or met anyone who has never lied in his entire life?

We revisited the topic of 'viShvaroopa' of the Lord. We saw that the Lord is in each and everything. As a natural progression, Arjuna was overwhelmed with reverence, that turned into devotion towards the Lord. This brings us to the 12th chapter of bhagavadgeeta called 'bhakti yogaH'.

A question arose in his mind. "Krishna, as children, we learnt Vedas in the gurukulam. There, we are taught that the Lord is formless, imperishable, unchangeable, unmanifest, etc. But now, you have shown me this unfathomable, enormous, gigantic form of yours! Which one should I worship and what kind of devotion is dearest to you?"

Arjuna wanted Krisha to give him a readymade answer served on a platter so that he could simply take that path. But does the Lord give answers so easily?! He makes Arjuna think through and find answers himself.

Krishna explains to him the true aspects of each of the path. To develop devotion towards anything, one needs to have 'shraddhaa' (faith). Without shraddhaa, no devotion can develop.

We established this with a couple of examples - the story of the Monk and the King. The king had no value for idol worship. A monk came to visit the king at his palace. He asked the king to disrespect a picture of his great great grandfather. The kind hadn't seen him anyway (just as he hadn't seen God), so why can't he be disrespectful to a picture? It is not the real person anyway! The king understood the depth of the monk's words. The monk had taught him that the value of an idol is not in the material it is made up of, but in the thought that invokes divinity in the object.

While scrolling through our Facebook feed, we express our emotions to different pictures differently. Facebook even gives a few select emojis to express our emotions. Our computer screen was the same. A picture of Coronavirus is a bunch of pixels and so is the picture of a baby shared by a friend. How come it generates different emotions in us based on the structure of the pixels?! Similarly, the 'moorti' (we prefer not to call it an idol) is an embodiment of the attributes of the Lord. It means something higher to us than just a piece of stick or stone or mud (whatever it is made up of).

We discussed how in our schools (6th grade) here, children are taught about World History. In the tiny segment that is reserved for Hinduism, a lot is spoken about 2 biggest misnomers - one is casteism and the other is idol worship! They are presented in a belittling fashion. It is our responsibility to understand these aspects of our culture in their correct sense. When we know and understand the truth, we will develop more faith and love for the rich fabric of our culture! This love builds into devotion and as a result, we become better humans.

Devotion is 'not just rituals'!! Devotion towards the Lord is shown by every selfless act we undertake, big or small. When we have faith in the higher good, we will set our egotistic agenda aside and act selflessly! That's the truest form of devotion.

We will discuss more regarding types of devotion in the upcoming classes.

Until then, happy contemplating!

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

Apr 26, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

In today's class, after meditation, we finished learning aaditya hrudayam fully. Below is the link to the recordings. We then revised BG ch. 1 verses 1 -15. We will be revising it in 3 parts from now on as our chanting time has increased with more new verses.

aaditya-hRudayam.26-31.wav

Last week's Brain Teaser: What is it that is hidden from both the Sun and the Moon?

Answer: Darkness! The sun and moon and self illumining that they can NEVER see darkness. Wherever they go, they just can't find it.

Today's Brain Teaser: What is it that even a blind person can see? And no, the answer is not darkness :). Think, think!

We got our thinking caps on for last week's brainteaser and one of them came up with the correct answer! Cheers!!

Our topic for the day was BG ch. 11. In this chapter called 'viShvaroopa sandarshana yoga', bhagavaan reveals his true form to Arjuna!

One cannot see His humungous form with naked eyes. Why not? Can we see the current raakShasa, Coronavirus, with our naked eyes? Can we see the galaxies and their details with our naked eyes? No! We need special apparatus to see microscopic objects as well as macroscopic ones. Similarly, with our regular vision, we cannot comprehend or perceive the Lord's true form. So, Krishna blessed Arjuna with 'divya dRuShTi' (divine eyesight) so that he could see the Lord. In 10th chapter, His glories were described. Now in this chapter, they were shown. It is almost like 10th chapter was the theory class and 11th chapter was practicals or labs, as you may say :).

Arjuna was awestruck by the awesomeness of the Lord's form!!! He could see the Lord wherever his eyesight reached, however farther he gazed! Left, right, top, bottom, around, beyond... it was 'JUST THE LORD!' Arjuna saw the many, many facets of the Lord and sang His praises. He described him vividly and revelled in the experience! It was a horripilating experience to see this form of the Lord. Then he got so frightened that he prayed to Krishna to take back His 4-armed form. When Krishna did that, Arjuna pleaded for forgiveness! He said, "without knowing your eminence, I may have teased or chided you as Krishna (the dark one), Yaadava (cow herder), etc. Please forgive me!!"

Here we discussed how the Lord didn't mind at, all the childish pranks Arjuna might have pulled on Him, thinking of Him as a friend! There can be many types of 'bhakti' (devotion) toward Him. We will discuss this in detail in the next chapter, but just to get a glimpse of examples, maa Yashoda showered motherly affection on Him; the Gopas and Gopis of Vrindaavan considered Him as a friend, just like Arjuna; Meera Bai and others considered Him as the Lord and themselves as devotees; so on and so forth.

We posed a question here. This was happening on the battlefield. No one could see this form of the Lord except Arjuna, because he was given the special vision. But there was someone else, who got to see this form! Who was this blessed soul? Our students quickly landed on the answer. It was Sanjaya, dhritaraaShTra's charioteer who was blessed with 'divya dRuShTi', to see the war scene from the palace. He was able to see this and also narrate it to dhritaraaShTra as he already had the required divya dRuShTi. Good going, class!

Our next point was, it was great Arjuna saw this, but what do we take from this to our real lives? We need to be able to see divinity in EVERYTHING we see around us. That truly is seeing 'viShvaroopam' in real life. To be able to do that we should start with 'chitta shuddi' (clarity of thought). An important aspect for that is 'integrity'. We need to start watching ourselves and our actions at all times. What is 'integrity'? "Integrity is what we do, even when no one is watching us!" When we embrace this principle are aware that the only person watching us is the Lord. We make it a part of our personality and our thoughts/actions will become dhaarmic!

With this intense discussion, our class came to an end. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Until then, happy contemplating and stay safe.

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

Apr 19, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

Today's class was super special! Our students were assigned to different classes to be teachers!! We met in our Zoom classroom briefly for initial prayers and pep talk. They dispersed to login to their respective Zoom classrooms after that. They taught for 45 minutes and then re-convened in our classroom to share their experiences.

While they were actively teaching, we were popping in and out of the different grades, to see them live in action. Some were telling a story, some were playing a game, some were questioning the youngsters about what they had just taught. Overall, we were very impressed to see them be able to hold the attention of the youngsters all on their own!

ALL the teachers were extremely happy with the way our children conducted themselves starting from preparation, execution as well the statement they made as role models to the youngsters! Each and every class gave us very positive feedback about our students. Even kids requested to have these bhaiyya-s and didi-s to come back and teach in their classes again. We are SO proud of our JCHYKs for a job well done. They were poised and presented their material skillfully!

Below are some of the thoughts they shared when they came back to class. They were interesting, to say the least :). This teaching assignment did teach them many valuable lessons!!

● it was a lot of fun!

● the teaching part was more fun than preparing (ahem, ahem :)

● preparation was ok..., little fun

● had forgotten so much from previous years', had to brush up to prepare for class

● preparation was soooo fun because we as a team spent more time goofing off than preparing (we did prepare after goofing though :)

● loved preparing games for them and coming up with funny options on Kahoot! :)

● we were nervous in the beginning

● the silence was nerve-wracking

● we were probably as clueless as they were in the beginning :)

● when their teachers started calling out by their names, they started interacting better

● we ran out of material sooner than we expected

● we spoke too fast

● have done it in previous years; it was more fun to teach in person than online

● we enjoyed interacting with the children

● the little ones liked us so much that they wanted us to come back!

● it felt good to have their attention

● loved the role-playing

Best for last - "Aunty..., we understood how you may feel when we don't answer...!" After teaching, all of them kept their videos on without having to be asked! No one was keeping their cameras focused to a silhouette or to the ceiling!

So, looks like we got back more than what we gave! :) Teaching truly teaches us a lot!

We didn't have time to discuss last week's Brain Teaser. Hence, below is the answer and a new one for next week.

Last week's Brain Teaser: What is the sweetest thing in the world? What could it be?

Answer: Thoughtful speech! It is so pleasing to the ears and heart that it is relished by one and all.

Today's Brain Teaser: What is it that is hidden from both the Sun and the Moon?

Happy solving! See you all next week.

Stay home and stay safe.

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

Apr 5, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

In today's class, after meditation, we chanted Aaditya hrudayam, learnt till verse 25 and chanted the second half of BG ch. 1. Below is the recording for the new verses.

aaditya-hRudayam.21-25.wav

Last week's Brain Teaser: Which is the best and most useful flower in the world and why? Feel free to dig for answers. You may learn something you never knew!

Answer: Cotton! The white puff-like inside of the flower is what is used to make our clothes! It undergoes all kinds of processing to provide us with our coverage. Had shared the below video to get a better idea about how the cotton flower is woven into usable material. Check it out -

# O Tecelão - Full Cotton Story from Planting to... | Facebook

# O Tecelão - Full Cotton Story from Pl...

Today's Brain Teaser: What is the sweetest thing in the world? What could it be?

After answering the Brain teaser, we started planning the logistics for the teaching assignment. As we have been speaking on the WhatsApp group, you all know that our students have been assigned to different grades. On Apr 19th, Sunday, they will be teaching those grades (via Zoom), instead of being students! We were happy to hear that most of them had already approached their respective class teacher groups to get their assignments.

Below are the thoughts were shared regarding this project:

we are NOT doing any favors to anybody by teaching in their classes
in fact, we are grateful to the teachers who are sparing their class time to provide us with this wonderful opportunity to be on the other side of the table and experience teaching
we HAVE to be pro-active in approaching them and finding out their curriculum and what they need us to do while we are in their class
we HAVE to be fully prepared and ready to teach by Thursday, the16th
send any slides/screens/videos you want to share in class to the teachers ahead of time (you won't have access to share during class, only teachers can.)
we are NOT going to show up in their class unprepared, then try and 'wing it'!
we HAVE to respect their time and the space they are providing us
make the best use of it to enrich the students in class as well as ourselves
we have to keep in mind that we are representing the Chinmaya Mission principles, what it stands for and conduct accordingly.

We have full faith that our students will do very well in front of our Bala Vihar youngsters. They will be looking up to our class children and aspire to be like them one day! Be true role models to them.

Be sure to update the spreadsheet as required, at the different stages of preparation.

Below will be the timeline to follow on Sunday, Apr 19th

We will be meeting in our classroom first at 9:15 till 9:30
Students will teach their respective classes from 9:30 to 10:15
Re-convene in our class at 10:15

Good luck with the prep work. Happy working!

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

Mar 29, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

We started our class with meditation and chanting. We learnt aaditya hRudayam till verse 20. Below is the recording. Since the number of verses are increasing, we have decided to do half of the BG ch. 1 each week. (We have finished learning the entire chapter already.) Hence, we chanted until verse 25 today.

aaditya-hRudayam.16-20.wav

Last week's Brain Teaser: Tell me something about that which never was and never will be! (na bhooto na bhaviShyati). What is it?

Answer: Today! It never existed before nor will it ever come again!! That's why it is called 'present'. Let's live it to the best possible extent.

Today's Brain Teaser: Which is the best and most useful flower in the world and why? Feel free to dig for answers. You may learn something you never knew!

After discussing the previous Brain Teasers, we continued our discussion - the 'vibhooti-s of the Lord'. We continued to understand the 'rope snake example'. It led us to another example, the example of a dreamer. Once a dreamer (I) was standing in a checkout line at Costco and started daydreaming. The dream had multiple layers, meaning - dreams within the dream! After a lot of funny and scary events, I woke up... only to find out that the fact that I was standing in the Costco line itself, was a dream, to begin with!! I was just in my bed, imagining to be at Costco, that turned into a forest where I was sleeping under a tree when I was swallowed by a python and I was struggling inside the python's tummy to escape! :)).

When I kept zooming out I saw the reality from sleeping in the python's tummy; sleeping under the tree; daydreaming in the Costco line; dreaming in my bed... What if I zoom out further from my waking state also?!! That is the true awakening to my real nature.

This is a quest of many births! We have to contemplate on this continually and realize the meaning of these intense words. These thoughts we share in class function like seeds. Contemplation, intrigue and effort act as soil, water and the Sun that allow these seeds of thought to sprout and grow!

The Lord while explaining His true nature to Arjuna, said, I am the very essence of what makes an object to be defined as that! To explain better, He said, I am the sapidity (wetness) in the water. I am the heat in the fire, etc. He also proclaimed that I am the best of the bests. In this chapter, Krishna enumerated a few categories and identified who He is.

Funnily enough, after explaining the concept, we named the categories and the students identified most of them themselves! Here they are -

Us: He is the brightest of all luminaries. Who is He?

They: Sun

Us: Biggest of all bodies of water?

They: Ocean

Us: Best of the rivers?

They: Ganga (we had leaked the answer for this one while explaining itself :)

Us: Best of the mountains?

They: Everest (Well, they were close - it is the Himalayas)

Us: Among seasons?

They: Ah...

Us: Well, Spring is said to be the King of all seasons because it brings forth life! The leaves spring through after a long spell of winter; bulbs break the ground and put forth flowers; bunnies, deer all over... So, spring is said to the best of the seasons! Yay! Spring :)

Us: Now, how about among the birds?

They: Garuda?

Us: Right, Eagle it is! How about among animals?

They: Lion

Us: Among all knowledge?

They: Knowing about God!

Us: Well, close enough... The knowledge we get from the scriptures, knowledge about the Self. What about in ALL living beings?

They: Ah... that they are living?!

Us: Well, kind of... The Lord is that awareness, that consciousness in all beings that makes them alive! If there is no awareness there is no life. I wouldn't wake up in the morning if that awareness of existence left my body, isn't it?! That very reason why a living being can be categorized as a living being is bhagavaan Himself!

These thoughts should help us identify His presence in the world whenever we see anything around us. This brings us to the end of Chapter 10.

As you have all see on the WA group as well as emails, our students have been given a teaching assignment in the younger grade classes. You have received instructions in separate emails. Those of you who are not on the WA group already, you have received a join link in that email as well. Please follow up diligently. This is a great opportunity for seva and learning for them! The grade teachers are expecting to hear from our students by this weekend. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

See you soon in class. Until then, happy planning for the teaching assignment :).

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.

Mar 22, 2020 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone,

This Sunday was our very first eBalaVihar class ever. In light of the ongoing World crisis, our Swamiji guided us towards going digital but not stop the learning! Our sincere thanks and gratitude to our Swami Shantanandaji, admins and the digital team who set up the logistics in record time, made sure it was communicated precisely to everyone and executed seamlessly!!

We logged into class 10 min early so that we are better prepared for the new medium of instruction. We saw that 4 students were already in waiting! We had the maximum attendance, with two new students who were unable to come to classes from the beginning of the year.

Thank you, parents and students, for taking to this new structure, like fish to water! We will be doing eBalaVihar until further notice and your participation sure is encouraging.

Also, thank you for signing on to the WhatsApp group. It will definitely make our communications easier. If you are not already, please send us an email and we will send you the link separately to join.

We started with meditation and chanting. We learnt aaditya hRudayam till verse 15 and finished learning ALL of the 47 verses of bhagavadgeetaa chapter 1. Below are the links for the new verses.

aaditya-hRudayam.11-15.wav

Gita1.43-45.wav

Gita1.46-47.ending.wav

In our excitement with the new mode of learning, we forgot to discuss the answer to last week's brain teaser! So, here's the answer.

Last week's Brain Teaser: You have to fill up a dark empty room in 3 mins. How would you accomplish this?

Answer: Light a lamp. The light will fill up the room in no time!

Today's Brain Teaser: Tell me something about that which never was and never will be! (na bhooto na bhaviShyati). What is it? Send in the answer.

Before going into the class mode, we shared our views about the ongoing Coronavirus situation. We spoke about how Mother Nature has Her ways of setting things right and how we have to be respectful of the dharma of everything around us. We also saw a short but very powerful video that put these thoughts into perspective. Do check out this brief video, voiced wonderfully by Julia Roberts -

Nature Is Speaking – Julia Roberts is Mother Nature | Conservation International (CI)

Nature is nothing but the Lord's order. If we disrupt the order, we pay dearly!

We learnt a story about Krishna, Balarama and the demon named Fear. The demon grew to the size of the person's fear. He claimed, "I am a demon, the size of your fear!" Krishna said, fear not and take necessary measures to face the fears. The demon shall shrink in front of you!

We briefly reviewed chapter 9 and started learning the topics addressed in chapter 10 of bhagavadgeetaa. This chapter is called 'vibhooti yoga'. We will learn about the glories of the Lord in this chapter.

Krishna said to Arjuna, since you are dear to me, I shall explain my glories further. He said I am 'sarva-loka-maheshvara', meaning He is the Lord of the entire world. Lord here doesn't mean that He is the owner, but He is 'in and through' everything. In the following discussion, we understood some important concepts.

They: What does 'in and through' mean?

Us: Remember the example of the 'Spider and the web'...? How we said, that the spider was the maker of the web and he made it using the secretion that came from his own body? The spider had the web in him already (in the form of secretory juices), but the material of the web didn't have the spider in it. To explain it further, the existence of the web is dependent on the spider, but the spider's existence is NOT dependent on the web. Similarly, if we connotate the spider as bhagavaan and the web as the world, we will understand how His existence is 'in and through' the web (world).

We continue: Here, it is very important for us to understand two other words - 'Ishwara sRuShTi' and 'jeeva sRuShTi'. The creation of the Lord is Ishwara sRuShTi. Whereas the creation of us mortals is called jeeva sRuShTi.

Them: What?!

Us: Let's understand this with another example. This one will stay with you for a looooong time and will come up in all vedaantic discussions. Adi Shankaracharya's very dear example - the 'rajju sarpa nyaaya'. The example of the 'rope and snake'.

(With a funny story, we learnt how a man mistook a rope to be a snake and actually imagined that he was going to die due to its bite. When he saw the rope in light, he calmed down :))

Us: So, here the truth was the existence of the rope, which was Ishwara sRuShTi. The superimposition and mistaken identity of that rope to be a snake (due to the ignorance of that man), was jeeva sRuShTi. The snake didn't really exist but was 'brought to existence' by the man's mistaken cognition. Our goal is to see the truth, rather than harp on our misplaced cognition. This applies to my perception of 'myself' even!

Understanding this is easier said than done. It will take us many lifetimes to understand the depth of this statement! It is for us to contemplate, ponder and come to understanding over time.

Them: So, you are saying that we don't know our identity?!

Us: Yes! Our perception of ourselves is based on external factors. Let's see. If you came to the ashram in a BMW or a Mercedes, would you say 'I came in my BMW' or 'I am BMW'?!! As silly as it sounds, we do a similar mistake!! The body that we possess is nothing more than a vehicle. We do NOT identify ourselves with the vehicle that we drove in, but we claim our nature to be the nature of the body - I am short; I am tall; I am pretty/handsome; I have great hair/skin; etc.

We continue: This is a concept we will have to dig deeper and understand better. As we are running out of time, we will have to discuss this in the next class. Let us finish with our ending prayers :).

Don't forget to send in your answers for the brain teaser.

Happy contemplating!

Regards,
Rashmi and Kishore.