Hari Om parents!
Here is the summary of our class on Friday, Dec 11, 2020. Sorry about the delay in sending this update.
Opening prayers:
Om Sahana Vavatu
Om Sri Ganeshaya NamaH
Om Sri Saraswatyai NamaH
Om Sri Sadgurubhyo NamaH
Vasudevasutam Devam (Krishna Shloka)
Activity: My Vaca, Gratitude Journal
Lessons: Mahabharata - Character analysis of Duryodhana,Duhsasana, Sakuni, Drona ; Yaksha Prashna
Quote of the day: The mind acts like an enemy for those who do not control it
Chanting: Gita Dhyana Shloka
Bhagavat Gita: Ch. 2 Verses 8-9
Ending Shloka
Next Balavihar class: 12/18/20
Summary: We started our class with 'My vacha' exercise and everyone reflected on their week. We had a few kids share some of the instances where they could have used better words and could have been nicer in their interactions. The point of the exercise is to be conscious about our speech and what words we use. Hopefully, by the end of the year we all will be able to replace any harsh words with kinder ones! We also spent a few minutes on the gratitude journal where some of the kids shared what they were grateful for during the past week.
We then proceeded to the discussion around the main topic of the day: We discussed in detail the following characters: The character analysis helps us review how good and bad exists in everyone and how one can control his /her actions using one's own intellect more wisely.
- Duryodhana: His ambition and greed was fanned by Dhritharastra's silent approval. Again, his intellect was clouded by all his negative traits – he was not able to follow any right guidance. Duryodhana himself confessed that he did not have the will to follow dharma inspite of understanding the consequences of following adhrama. It is quite clear to any impartial observer of Mahabharata's story that his army/ warriors would be no match for Pandavas in the war. Arjuna was proven to be better than Karna several times, yet he blindly believed that Karna could kill Arjuna. One person's megalomania leads to the destruction of an entire clan! We see reflections of Duryodhana's personality even in the modern world - One person's ideology can lead to so much destruction and suffering. One of Duryodhana's positive attributes was that he was a devoted friend to Karna. And for this friendship, he was more than willing to do anything. Again, one can argue that the foundation of this friendship was based on selfish motives.
- Duhsasana is a strange character. He was very loyal to his brother. It's great to have brotherly love. But the person shouldn't be blinded by that love to an extent that it would lead to doing incorrect things. Loyalty is meaningful only when it is for a noble cause. He blindly followed whatever Duryodhana asked him to do – leading to his demise in the war.
- Sakuni is Gandhari's brother, had a grudge against the Kuru dynasty as his sister was married to a blind king, Dhritharastra. He could not oppose Kurus as they were stronger, so he vowed that he will ultimately cause the destruction of the Kuru dynasty. He succeeded in that by poisoning Duryodhana's mind, defeating Pandavas in a deceitful dice game – eventually leading to the Kurushetra war.
- Dronacharya was the teacher for Pandavas and Kauravas. He was the most preeminent archer of his time. Very learned in shastras and dharma; was righteous and disciplined. His yoga practice was so powerful that he was able to sit in meditation in battle battlefield and give up his life! He was Brahmin by birth but followed his passion for learning various arts, at a gurukula, along with friend Drupada. Later when Drona went to ask help from his friend Drupada, who was a king then, Drupada insulted him. He carried a grudge against him and later with the help of Pandavas(in the form of Gurudakshina) he was able to avenge his insult – Drupada was defeated, captured in war, humiliated and later released. Thus he pursued his profession in Hastinapur mainly for his own personal ambition. He silently followed Bheesma's actions when Pandavas and Drupadi were humiliated – did not even voice opposition like Vidura or Vikarna. As a Brahmana, there was no need for him to participate in any warfare . Yet he took part in many wars. He degraded himself as a paid tutor and ultimately had a sad demise in Kurushetra war. His life almost gives us a vivid picture of Lord's teaching - that by following 'paradharma', one gets destroyed. Even though the Kaurava army had so many great warriors they ultimately faced defeat as each one had their own individual weakness, attachments and ambitions – and they were not able to rise above them.
We discussed some Yaksha Prashna questions:
- What is the highest Dharma? Non violence is the greatest Dharma. Everybody in this world has the right to lead a peaceful and harmonious life. We should not tread on anybody's rights. In Gandhiji's words, " an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
- Which Dharma leads to results? Vedic Dharma leads to results. If we follow Dharma prescribed in the Vedas, we will lead a fulfilling and happy life. We have been given this body to serve others and to do good to others.
- Controlling what one does not grieve? Controlling our mind, one does not grieve. We should be an intelligent witness to all that is happening around us. We should let ourselves live this life joyfully and live through our "Prarabhdhas" and not question "why me?" when we are going through challenges and difficulties in our life.
- Friendship with whom does not decay? Friendship with a person of upright character and values does not decay. People who are straightforward, sincere and compassionate are the people with whom our friendship will never decay.
We reviewed the Geeta Dhyana Shlokas. We encourage the kids to keep practicing at home too. Our goal is for the students to be able to chant it fluently by the end of the 8th grade year. This was followed by Geeta chanting verses with Swamiji's video.
We wrapped up our class with closing prayers.
Regards,
Mythili and Anandi
