Hari Om All,
We continued to discuss the pillars in "Roadmap to ourselves". These pillars are Brahmacarya, Ahimsa and Satya. Brahmacarya and Ahimsa were covered last week. This week we continued to the next pillar - Satyam (truth).
To introduce Satyam, we discussed the BMI model. This stands for Body, Mind, and Intellect. It is important to keep the body, mind, and intellect in balance. This involves consonance between the body and mind, mind and intellect, etc. There should be an agreement between one's actions, words, and thoughts. We discussed that if one fails to keep this harmony/balance, they will be left with a 'split' personality.
This is the other side of the coin of having an integrated personality. One who has an integrated personality will do what they say and have conviction in their words and through their actions. We should all aim to have such a personality, rather than a 'split' one where you say something but do something else. If your words, thoughts, and actions are not in consonance, one will be left with a lot of agitation and tension. This means that you will not be able to take yourself seriously! Upon reaching a balance or creating harmony between all your thoughts, words, and actions, you will have more confidence, which will be shown when you interact with others. We allow our values and ideals to be broken by our own weakness of mind.
To summarize the point of Satyam, the students were presented with a diagram:
Truth → Integrity → Resiliency → Ability to face all obstacles
*Satyameva jayate! By being one with the truth, victory will come upon you*
To create a more realistic model of the concepts being taught, the students were presented with various situational questions. These questions were moral dilemma type questions, where there is no right or wrong answer. It simply gauges one's mindset.
An example is:
Q - You go to a friend's house and accidentally break something without anyone seeing you and no one knows about it. What will you do?
A -
Tell your friend what happened, apologize, and offer to replace the object
Walk away and pretend nothing happened
Sneak out the broken item, throw it away, and don't tell anyone
Replace the item and don't tell anyone
None of the above
The students answered the questions very truthfully ;) and it was interesting to see that their choice did not waver even when the teachers played 'devil's advocate'. They had a general understanding of what the 'best' choice is in the situations or had solid reasonings for a different answer. In the end, we agreed that sticking as close to the truth as possible is the best way to not be weighed down by our untruths and live a peaceful life.
Apart from this, the students read a couple stories that highlighted the importance of Satyam, including the story of Kabir hiding a thief and Shiva's Jyotir Lingam. We also discussed some special cases - where we may have to deviate from truth to protect dharma. eg. for protecting helpless cow or a person.
Lastly, they were given a riddle that basically stated that "the truth never changes or goes away". So, even if it seems like we got away with something currently, we never know what the future holds. The truth will always come out in some way or form. It is best to abide by Satyam at all times!
Class ended with preparation for the year-end class program.
Best,
Nikhita & Partha
