Harih Om Parents,
Following was discussed/taught to the children during Balavihar class on February 28th, 2021. The class was an abbreviated/ shortened version because of a play/ presentation by Grade 5 students
- Initial prayers.
- Swamiji has completed upto 28 verses of Bhagavad Gita chanting: chapter 2 – please have your children practice at home.
- We also practiced first shloka of Tapovan Shatakam.
- The following children chanted a verse each from Geeta Dhyanam:
Ragahva (Verse 1), Roshan (Verse 2), Nivedha (Verses 3 and 4), Aarya (Verse 5), Radha (Verse 6), Anshu (Verse 7), Roshan (Verse 8), Gahan (Verse 9)
- The Beauty of Speech: No matter how upset or angry we are, absence of deviousness in speech must be cultivated. The quality of speech determines how ugly or beautiful the person behind it is. A personality which is shattered often seeks gratification or reinforcement through gossip, vicious speech. A person who speaks sweetly, with sincerity reflects the purity of his/her soul. We should be able to understand the infinite beauty of life in spite of its imperfections. If we understand this then there will always be tenderness in our actions and compassion towards one and all.
- The World is a Stage: Pujya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda says, "The world is a stage, you are the actor. Live continuously and all the hours, round the clock, your life in the consciousness of the Divine and the Supreme, the True and the Eternal. Play the game of life; play the part to which you have been called on to the stage, but forget not the greater mission in life, the greater goal that is to be achieved. Live the stage life perfectly, and play the part exactly as the Lord, the manager, the playwright, had intended it to be played. His intentions are codified and indicated in the great textbooks on Dharma which preach the higher values of life, viz. the ethical and moral rules of life. Live well. Live in kindness, love and understanding." We discussed this paragraph in detail with the children and were able to get them to understand it through examples.
- Facts of life: There are six stages in life: Jaayate (we are born), Asti (we live in the world), Vardhate (we grow), Viparnimate (body changes), Apaksheeyate (body decays) and Nashyati (we die). There are no rehearsals, no turning back in life. Life is a one-way street. Each minute we are closer to death. Each moment in life is the real performance. So, it is important that we live each moment of this life fully, consciously, and righteously. Most of us are living life day to day, aimlessly without any goal. Just like the puzzle pieces in a box cannot be arranged without the picture in front of us, similarly we cannot achieve moksha unless we fix a goal, prepare, and follow the roadmap to go through the maze of life.
- The Goal: If we think of our life and its thousands of pictures, we know eventually we will get old and die. But we know we are more than the body. If we break the various phases of our life into smaller segments, we can ask ourselves the following questions in order to figure out the goal of life and also create a roadmap to reach that goal: Do we know what we want in life, why do we want it? do we have a clear picture of where we want to be one year, five years from now? Are we going in that direction? By doing this interesting exercise, we can make a blueprint for our life. Here we are not talking of each microscopic detail but simply talking about thinking beyond today and deciding which direction we want to steer our life. In doing this, we think through each step we take is in the right directions and each choice is the correct one and that is consistent with our goal. The goal of human life is to graduate from this life and not come back to this Earth! This is liberation. In seeking liberation, we also need to continue with our Earthly duties, as a student, as Doctor, as an Engineer, as a parent have friends, support relatives and so on.
- Yaksha Prashnas:How does one become a Brahamin? Is it by heritage? Or by learning the scriptures? Or by conduct? Yudhisthira replied to the Yaskha that one becomes a Brahmin not through heritage, neither through studying or listening to the scriptures. One becomes a Brahmin through good conduct alone. Good conduct is leading a moral life and treating everyone with respect and love.
Thank you!
