Hari OM Parents,
We began with the Opening Prayers. We continued to learn to chant Bhagavad Gita chapter 2 verses, Swamiji's video – Verse 6 & 7 was shown and we started learning Lingashtakam.
Today we started the class by giving the following questions to the students, just to get them more involved. They were given a few minutes to answer the questions; then we discussed each question and answer to reinforce what they have learned in the previous classes.
A. Match the following
a. Karma kanda a. Restlessness of mind
b. Upasana kanda b. Lack of Knowledge
c. Jnana kanda c. Impurities of mind
B. Find the odd one out
a. Rg veda
b. Yajur veda
c. Dhanurveda
d. Atharvana veda
C. What we meet in life is _____________; how we meet, what we meet is ____________
D. There is a wall with yellow color paint on it and you start painting blue paint on it. In this example
a. yellow paint is prarabdha / purushartha
b. act of applying blue paint is prarabdha / purushartha
E. For Hindu culture, the principle source book is the ____________
Recap - We recalled the three kandas of the Vedas and laid emphasis on Karma Kanda which is more relevant to us (students) who are young adults. There are different types of Karma that are done or endured. However performing one's duty with the right attitude is superior. Although the principle of destiny called Prarabdha is one aspect of law of karma, we do have the freedom to change or shape our destiny with self-effort, Purusartha.
How do we prepare ourselves to face Prarabdha and put in our best effort?
We go back to our scriptures which provide the Science of Life and the Art of Living, a prescription, if you will. Just as laws of Physics and other sciences are universally applicable and timeless, so are the scriptures which provide a plan of life to suit all at all times, says our Gurudev.
Here is a story before we discuss the prescription of life.
Story is from Chandogya Upanishad that narrates the conversations that take place between Rishi Uddalaka and his son Svetaketu. Svetaketu leaves home to study and master scriptures under a learned Guru and returns home after many years with a sense of pride in him. Noticing his pride the father asks a few questions but Svetaketu is unable to answer having not learned the wisdom of Vedas. He asks Svetaketu to bring a banyan fruit and slice one of the tiny seeds inside into half. The father asks, What do you see inside? Nothing the son says. The rishi smilingly tells his son, from that nothing this huge banyan tree has come. Svetaketu continues with the conversation and learns that which cannot be seen with the eyes but present and which cannot be known by the mind but exists, is Brahman. Brahman is substratum for everything that exists. Like You, Me, Us, Universe... That is Brahman. When we know Brahman, we graduate from earth.
How do we experience "That"?
"That" which is not seen by our eyes or heard by our ears or known to our minds? Our scriptures give us the prescription to experience Brahman. First, follow the Samskaras. What are Samskaras? The acts performed to implant noble qualities and to remove blemishes are called Samskaras. Simply put, be good, be honest, be faithful, remove all impurities of the mind and steer away from Vikriti.
Why Samskaras? It prepares our mind to become eligible to know Brahman. Just like from a healthy seed one gets a healthy crop, by planting a healthy seed in the womb one gets a healthy child. So Samskara karmas or purificatory rituals are performed in sequence in one's life starting from the womb stage till the end stage, sannyasa. We will learn about 16 common samsakars prescribed in Manusmrti in our coming classes. Of course we will focus on samskars relevant to student life.Pujya Gurudev's simple advice is as follows: Live your life continuously in the consciousness of the Divine Supreme. Play your part exactly as required or intended like an actor on a stage expected to follow the playwright's script. Since all of you are students now study and gain knowledge as much as possible and pursue your goals. Be noble, follow ethical and moral rules of life. Analyze, Detect and Fix your daily activities to recognize the Lord!
According to Gautama Dharmasutra it is not enough that we go through samskaras mechanically but we must cultivate eight inner qualities which will help us to attain liberation or graduation from the earth.
1. Daya / Kindness - synonyms are compassion, sympathy, gentleness and consideration... When we start thinking what we have achieved in our life, and how different people have contributed in various manners for us to achieve different goals, we start becoming humble and kind. Story-once there was a school boy who was selling some goods on a hot summer day, he started feeling hungry and thirsty. He had only a few cents, not enough to buy any food. So he knocked on door of a house, where a young lady open the door, the student asked for some water. Looking at him the lady understood that he was tired and hungry, she gave him a glass full of milk which quenched both his thirst and hunger. Many years later this lady was admitted to the hospital, she had to go through many tests and several days of hospitalization to get better. She was really worried about the bill as it would likely wipe out her whole life savings. When she opened the envelope she was shocked to see a note saying "paid in full with a glass of milk!" The boy whom she had helped out was a doctor at the hospital and took care of the whole bill. No kind act goes unnoticed by the Lord.
2. Ksanti - Forbearance or patience. We all need to have ptience to suffer silently the small pinpriks that we face in life and keep on pursuing our goals. Need to have enough patience to forgive anyone who troubles us. Once Saint Eknath was coming back after taking a bath in the river. A young man spat on him. The saint looked calmly at him and went back and took a bath again. This event repeated hundred and eight times! Finally the young man fell at the feet of the Saint and asked for his forgiveness. He told him that people in the town asked him to make the Saint angry, for which he would receive money. Saint Eknath told him that son don't worry because of you I have had the great blessing of taking bath in the holy river 108 times. If I only knew your intention I would have gotten angry so you could earn some money. Saint suffered silently and forgave the person.
3. Anasuya or Absence of Jealousy - When we understand that what we meet in life is because of our past actions we would automatically become free from jealousy. This is how wise people live their life. We should have jealousy for no one. It was Duryodhana's jealousy for his cousin Pandavas that bought about the ruin of the whole Kaurava clan. Even though Duryodhana had all the riches and comforts in his kingdom, he could not stand Pandavas having all the name and fame, and this led to his downfall. Once two friends who were jealous of each other went and did tapas to please God. When God appeared the first friend told God that go to the other friend and give me twice of what he asks. So God went to the second friend and asked what he wanted. The second found out what first friend has asked for and without hesitation asked God to please take away his one eye! So the first friend lost both his eyes. Jealousy hurts all. It benefits no one.
4. Sauca - Cleanliness or purity - We need cleanliness both within and without. Without we have to we have to keep our surroundings clean, take a bath daily and wear clean and neat clothes. The surrounding environment has effect on our mind and thoughts, if surrounding is clean mind automatically becomes calm. Similarly if mind is free from agitation we naturally keep our surroundings neat and organized. Having inner purity, by entertaining good thoughts and following noble virtues is very important for our personal growth.
5. Anayasa or Free from mental strain - It is very easy for us to get caught up in our day-to-day activities, especially in this competitive world and create a lot of mental strain and worry for ourselves. We should learn the art of not living under mental tension, we should learn to be flexible and perform our duties to the best of our abilities. We should be able to accept whatever we get in life with the understanding that Lord will provide us what we deserve but not what we desire.
6. Mangalam - Auspiousness and happiness - We should be always cheerful and happy wherever we go. There is already a lot of stress, strain and tension in the world. We don't need to add more to it. When we spread joy, more joy comes back to us. Once there were two patients in a hospital. One patient was near the window the other one was away from him. The second patient would ask the first patient to describe the scene outside the window. Every day he would describe a beautiful scene of a beautiful Lake, colorful flowers, ducks and ducklings in the water. He would talk about different flowers blooming in the garden and all the colorful butterflies. One day this patient was discharged, so the second patient asked the nurse to shift his bed closer to the window. When he looked out of the window he saw a blank wall. Shocked by this man asked the nurse how did the other man describe so many beautiful things. The nurse replied that the first patient was blind, he could not even see the blank wall. He said all those things just to make the second patient happy. So no matter what situation we are in we should always try to spread joy and happiness around.
More to follow …
Pranam,
Rukmani Sriram
Devender Akula
