Hari Om! Parents,
We began class with Aditya Hridayam, we have learned 6 verses so far and children are chanting well. After learning Gita Chapter 2 verses - 21 and 22 from Swamiji's video we introduced Chapter 15. This is the shortest chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, but one of the most important. Titled as Purushotama Yoga, this chapter is usually chanted before sharing a meal at important events. The topic here is Nirguna Brahman. We reviewed the difference between God and Brahman, the main lakshanas of the three Gunas covered in earlier classes, and discussed what is meant by the descriptor nirguna.
After understanding Arjuna's state of mind and comprehension by this point in the Gita discourse, we analyzed our own. Are we yearning for moksha? Or are we very comfortable with the status quo? Is this driven by an informed intellect or by ignorance and fear of the unknown? If we don't attain moksha, where are we? Children participated actively answering these questions and introspecting aloud. One of them felt that it is a good idea to escape samsara so that we can be lazy and not do anything after attaining moksha! Some felt that there is no data point of someone reporting to us after they have died and attained moksha. So we revisited the Jeevanmukta Purushas, our great saints including Gurudev who were liberated while walking this earth, giving us many data points about the bliss of liberation! With this context we jumped into the chapter.
Lord Krishna starts with a beautiful and tangible comparison of Samsara with the Ashvattha (ficus) tree. We covered:
1. Similarities between the Universe and the Tree
2. What is important - the seen or the unseen? What should be our vision?
3. What binds us? How do we identify that which holds us back and free ourselves?
4. How do we know the right path? Where can we turn to for reliable guidance?
Children discussed their attachments, what they have dropped since elementary school, new desires they have since picked up, what things may have a grip over their happiness, etc. Details of the class can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CcDx9cJO65k3t2ABzF-E1IAJekyd3gFg/view?usp=sharing Also sharing here two wonderful videos of Gurudev explaining the Ashvattha tree - https://youtu.be/icBcIg-JThk https://youtu.be/C33xj8jYM_Y We ended the class with a 10 minute guided meditation. Children said it felt very calming and refreshing, even better than waking up from a nap.
We encourage all students to participate in class. As we have said before, this is a philosophy class and active engagement will increase understanding of these subtle topics. Participation does not require speaking all the time, active listening is good too. However, when a student's video is off and they do not respond when called on, unfortunately active listening is not happening. Keeping video on is for the student's benefit, not the teachers'. We would love to see all the children's faces every week!
Next week we do not have class due to the long weekend. We will continue with Chapter 15 in the following class.
Enjoy the Super Bowl!
Thank you,
Aruna and Sirisha
