Hari Om!
Dear Parents,
Here is the summary of our class on Friday, Feb 05, 2021.
Opening prayers:
Om Sahana Vavatu
Om Sri Ganeshaya NamaH
Om Sri Saraswatyai NamaH
Om Sri Sadgurubhyo NamaH
Vasudevasutam Devam (Krishna Shloka)
Activities: Q&A with Swamiji
Lessons: Rights and Duties, Sanatana Dharma - the ten values and ; Yaksha Prashna
Bhagavat Gita: Ch. 2 Verses 21, 22
Next Balavihar class: 2/19/21
Summary: We had a very engaging class with the gracious presence of our Swamiji. We kicked off with opening prayers and welcomed Swamiji to our class. Without wasting any time, We started the Q&A session with Swamiji. Kids asked very interesting questions which really demonstrated their curiosity and interest in finding more about Mahabharata, dharma, our culture and the various customs we have. Some of the questions we had were 1)Dhritarashtra was on the unrighteous side. Yet, how was he blessed to see the viswaroopa 2)Where did animal sacrifice come from 3)Why do Hindus have so many gods?4)In olden days, we had Dharma by categories/castes.. In modern times when these categories are fading away, what is today's dharma. 5) Every religion claims that their God created the universe, who actually created it 6) Why do we offer Naivedyam 7) Why do we wear Bindi 8) We have so many scriptures such as Vidura neeti, Bhagavadgita, yaksha Prasna all teaching Dharma.. what is the difference in the message? .. We had many more questions similar to these and Swamiji very patiently answered all these questions at a level that the kids can easily consume the answers. We hope that the kids thoroughly enjoyed this session and found it informative.
After the Q&A session, we moved on to the topics of the class: Sanatahana Dharma and the 3 of the 10 values described by manu Bhagavan.
Manu Bhagavan has said that "there are ten value sin life that characterize Dharma and that should be followed by all people'' - Dhriti (Fortitude), Kshma (Forgiveness), Dama( control over senses), Asteya (Non-Stealing), Sauca (Purity), Indriya Nigraha (Mastery over the organs of perception), Dhi ( ability to discriminate between good and bad), Vidya(Knowledge), Satya (Truthfulness), and Akrodha (absence of anger) characterize dharma
Dhriti - Dhriti is the ability to hold onto something. Bhagavadgita describes Dhriti to be of 3 kinds - Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic. Tamasik Dhrithi is holding onto things like sleeping, eating etc, Rajasic is holding oto money, power, pleasure etc, Sattvic Dhriti is ability to rise above all obstacles, difficulties and doubts while pursuing a noble goal in life. We took simple d2d examples to describe the three types and how we can all practise Sattvic Dhriti with everything we do.
Kshama (Forgiveness)- The highest form of forgiveness is when the feeling of being offended does not even arise in the first place . We spoke about this value in detail highlighting the benefits of forgiveness to oneself more than doing a favor to others.
Dama (Control of the Sense Organs) - Dama is control of all 10 sense organs - Organs of perception and Action ( Karmeyindras and Jnanendriyas). Through a couple of very intriguing stories, we explained how we make it harder ourselves to let go and we invite trouble. We get attached to worldly things so much that we lose our true self and the true happiness that we can achieve by raising above and beyond these attachments.
The Yaksha Prasnas we covered this week are the following. Each of them was discussed with examples and details that supports the answers given by Yudishtira.
1) What is Knowledge - Knowledge of self, the Lord is the true knowledge
2)What is sama - Peace of mind is sama
3)Which is the best kind of Daya - Desire for everyone's happiness is the best kind of Daya
4) What is meant by Arjavam - To have Equanimity is Arjavam (Straightforwardness)
After the discussion we practised Geeta verses with Swamiji's video and ended our class with closing prayers. We look forward to continuing the discussion on the rest of the values described by Manu Bhagavan in the coming classes. Please have kids practice the Geeta Dhyana. Until we meet next week, stay safe and warm!
Regards,
Mythili and Anandi
