Dear Parents! Harih Om!
The following material was taught to your child on March 21, 2021 during Balavihar:
1. Initial prayers.
2. Swamiji has completed all the verses of Bhagavad Gita chapter 2: We have practiced these verses during the year with the children, please have your child practice at home as well.
3. We practiced first three shlokas of Tapovan Shatakam. The following children chanted verses from the Tapoavn Shatakam:
Verse 1: Nimeesh, Anshu
Verse 2: Nivedha, Venkataraghava
4. In the final conversation with the Yaksha, when asked to choose which one of his brothers to be revived, Yudhisthira choses Nakula. When asked by the Yaksha why he chose Nakula over Bhima or Arjuna; Yudhisthira said, "one who lives by Dharma is protected by Dharma, therefore I do not discard Dharma lest it may destroy me." He states that impartiality is the highest Dharma. One who follows Dharma will eventually attain Moksha/ Self Realization.
5. Dharmo raksati raksitah – one who lives by Dharma is protected by Dharma. In Mahabharata, it is evident that the Pandavas went through a lot of hardships despite being righteous. This might prompt some of us not to have faith in the statement that those who live by Dharma will be protected by Dharma. But if we carefully analyze the story and the situations we will agree with the statement. For example, even though the Pandavas were sent on exile to the forest, at all times wise men accompanied them. They were able to provide/serve food to their guests. Their needs were taken care of by Akshaya Patra given by Sun God. This provided them with an unlimited supply of food even though they were poor. The enjoyed the company of wise people like Veda Vyasa, Sri Krishna and others who always guided them and lead them along the right path. In adversity and hardship, they learnt many life lessons which eventually were beneficial to them. When they were at the crossroads or were troubled about decisions – inevitably some Mahatma or Lord Krishna appeared to guide them. So, this makes it noticeably clear that when we follow Dharma we will/may face challenges and difficulties; but when we have complete faith in Dharma, the Lord will help and guide us. It may be in the form of a person; something we read or hear that gives us the strength to deal with the adverse situation with calmness and clarity. Help will come in unexpected ways. So, no matter what, we should not deviate from the path of virtue and Dharma. This will eventually lead us to victory and success.
6. Since we know that your goal is liberation from this birth/death cycle, we need to create a roadmap or plan to achieve it. For instance, if we are planning to drive to Orlando on a family vacation, we need to set up the global positioning system in our phone or car to the correct destination and address. If instead, we forget our phone/navigation system at home and we think we know the route and are enjoying the journey, a stage will come when we realize that the destination is nowhere in sight! Although, we may have put forth the effort/work to reach the destination, we realize that in time we do not have complete knowledge of the right path to reach our destination. So before we map out our destination, we must turn to our scriptures and learn that there are three cardinal principles upon which Hindu dharma is based. They are Brahmacharya, Ahimsa and Satyam. Whenever these three principles are followed on an individual, communal and societal level, we find that peace and serenity exist. We finished discussing Brahmacharya in the last class.
7. Ahimsa – it is not to cause injury or hurt someone even in our mind. Our scriptures urge us not to even think of hurting anyone on a mental level because we believe in the eternal value of life. This means that we should not curse anybody, never wish/ harm on anyone or have ill feelings towards anybody. Golden rule is – do unto others, as you want done unto you. Sometimes you may have to cause physical pain to help others – for example a Doctor cutting off an infected leg to save the person's life – this is not Himsa.
There are several types of Himsaa:
- Himsaa by Action: Most of us civilized enough not to be physically violent. We know that physical violence is frowned upon and there are repercussions if we get into physical fights with anybody. Fear of suspension, fear of facing the wrath of parents etc. will often prevent us from being violent with anybody.
- Himsaa toward the Environment: We hurt the environment by deforestation, disposing off waste chemicals/effluents into rivers, by littering, by not recycling, by polluting the air by not having proper, by not maintaining the cleanliness of our home, by excessive use of air conditioners which release chemicals that damage the ozone layer, overuse of chemicals to fertilize our lawns etc.
- Himsaa towards Animals: Some people hunt and kill wild animals for the thrill of hunting and for pleasure. The animals are killed and then either eaten or stuffed and/or mounted on living room walls. Some animals are also killed for making leather handbags, shoes and still others for making mink coats. Another way of himsaa towards animals is taking them away from their own natural habitat and confining them in a cage. Hinduism advocates vegetarianism and there is scientific basis for this - we neither have the claws nor the sharp front teeth to tear meat. In addition, our digestive tract is 10 times longer than our body whereas for carnivores it only about 3 times longer. This means that the waste products of digestion of meat remain in our body for a longer time exposing us to more toxins. People may argue that vegetarian food is not a source of complete protein. Agreed that no one vegetarian protein is a complete source of all the amino acids. However, the combinations of food items we eat in a balanced vegetarian meal or thali do provide all the amino acids necessary for proper growth and development. One does not need to eat meat to be strong: the horse, elephant, bull are all examples of strong animals that are vegetarian!
- Himsaa towards Self: How are we violent towards ourselves? We harm ourselves by having poor eating habits, watching excess amounts of television, gossiping about others etc. Our body is a gift given to us by God and we need to take care of it, nourish it with good healthy food, with clean thoughts, by keeping it clean, by exercising regularly, by saying and doing good and serving others cheerfully.
- Himsaa through Speech: Although animals and birds can communicate with each other, we humans have this God given ability to be able to speak and communicate and express ourselves. With proper use of speech and words, we can make friends, acquire wealth and success. Improper use of words can lead us into a lot of trouble. Very often we see that people like to gossip – this makes them feel important and that they are the center of attention; they feel they can influence others and win over more friends - in the end it comes to hurt them only. Story – once a woman spread untrue rumors about her neighbor. The news went around the community and reached the neighbor eventually, who was hurt and upset. The woman who spread the gossip later found out that the gossip she had spread about her neighbor was wrong. Surprisingly her conscience bothered her, and she went to a Sage and asked him how she could atone for her sins. The Sage asked her to drop one feather in the backyard of every person to whom she had spread this gossip to. She was surprised at his advice but followed it diligently. Next day, when she told the Sage she had followed his advice, he asked her to bring back all the feathers that she had dropped in each person's backyard. When she went to fetch them she found that the wind had blown away most of the feathers. The woman realized the impact of her gossip. It had created havoc in the other person's life. It is easy to spread a rumor but impossible to undo. So we need to be very careful about what we say. Gurudev said,"Word power is far greater than weapon power".
Vaachikam tapah is a discipline in which we should maintain the quality of our speech. The four parameters of speech are: Anudvegaram vakyam, Satyam, Priyam and Hitam.
Anudvegaram vakyam means speech that is non-hurtful.
Satyam means speech that is truthful,
Priyam means speech that is cheerful
Hitam means useful speech. In other words, impulsive speech should be avoided and speech needs to be thought out and be deliberate.
8. We also are making plans to put up a virtual play in May based on the lessons learnt from Mahabharatha and Dharma. Watch out for more details in the next few weeks!
Thank you!
Sitaram Kuchibhotla
And Mekhala G (Grade 8 Sunday AM. Balavihar sevaks)
