Hari Om Parents,
We began with the Opening Prayers. We continued chanting of Siva Panchakshari stotram – we followed Guruji's video and chanted along with him.
Continuing on Grhastha ashrama..
Pujya Gurudev's advice to householders was shared –
Our Hindu culture is based on duties not rights. Cultural perfection is the goal. We are trained to appreciate the values of love, kindness, charity – so that we come to value the spirit of sacrifice. Discover joy in performance; live moral values; increase excellence in performance; reduce or minimize likes and dislikes – none of these are possible unless we develop devotion of God. Prayer and surrender of our ego at His feet is the only means to guide the householder. Our puranic stories should be our inspiration. Moral values are not mere set of 'don't dos' – but a set of rules that impart positive dynamism to our life. Let us strive to live like Rama not follow Ravana, who despite having greatest wealth and pleasures in three worlds bought total destruction of his kingdom by following adharma. Life will have its ups and downs. We should constantly refer to our compass of inner purity and Selfward gaze and move ahead. Keep smiling. Accept adverse criticism – words are but disturbances in the air created by merely wagging the tongue. Live in self-control. Moderation in life should be practiced. Never give up self-study. Worship daily. Meditate regularly.
Pujya Guruji's advice to householder -
The household were women are respected and honored, Gods dwell there. If not, no work will bring fulfillment or happiness. Husband and wife should strive to make each other happy. Food should not be wasted. Any guest who comes should be treated with respect and food should be offered. Story of Shabari was shared. She had complete faith in her Guru Sage Matanga's word who told her that Rama would visit her one day. So daily she would collect finest berries and wait for Rama to come so that she can serve Him!
Householders should make sure children are groomed and raised in such a way, that they will become responsible citizens of the society following moral values. Householders should not get completely drowned in their daily activities; he / she should find time for satsang and spiritual pursuits. They should prepare themselves for the vanpratha ashrama.
Gratitude – I owe it:
Attitude of gratitude is very important in our life. There are so many people/things either directly or indirectly involved in making our life comfortable. We watched a video by Swamini Supriyanandaji – about gratitude challenge, in which she very succinctly explains how even having a cup of coffee – needs at least 20 – 30 people's involvement before we get to enjoy the sip of coffee – like the farmer who grew the beans, person who made the coffee machine; person who made to the coffee cup; person working in the store …. this list can infact go on and on… So we need to be grateful to the universe for even small things we have! All our lives are inter-dependent.
Our sastras have very nicely laid down five debts that we all have. We need to perform pancha yajnas daily to pay of these five debts (Taittiriya Aranyaka).
1. Deva yajna – offering to Gods. Yajnas, havans etc are to be performed to show our way of saying thank you to the natural forces and it also cleans the environment. Protection of the environment is our duty.
2. Pitryajna – offering oblations to our forefathers. What we are today is due to the work done by our earlier generations. We continue to build on their success for future generations to thrive. Personally we owe all our accomplishments to our parents. We have to acknowledge that and be respectful to our elders. Respect is shown many ways by standing up when they come; namaste; prostration etc. We prostate and touch the feet of our elders as a sign of respect for their age, maturity, nobility but more importantly for the knowledge / divinity that they stand for. Blessings and good wishes of our elders are held in very high esteem in our cultures. It also fosters humility in us.
3. Bhutayajnah – feeding animals and birds. It our duty to protect the animals and birds, as humans are highly evolved beings endowed with well-developed intellect. Traditionally a small portion of food was left outside the house before eating meals. Even rangolis were made with grain so that ants and insects could eat them.
4. Nr or manusyayajna – worship of fellow human beings. We have duties towards our fellow human beings. Need to take care of your immediate family. Need to participate in cooperative endeavors for better of society. Need to be polite to others, not cheat, tell truth, be kind ….
5. Rishi or Brahma yajna – worship of rishis. We are greatly indebted to the rishis. It is because of their untiring teaching that we are able to get exposed to the sastras and understand the real purpose of human life. We can show our reverence by studying scriptures daily, follow the path shown by the scriptures, praying daily etc. Daily prayers are a must – every house should have a prayer place and an altar. Ideal attitude is that the Lord is the owner of our house. If this is difficult then we can at least think of God as a special guest and offer him our best. Sacred thoughts and vibrations should pervade the prayer room; so that when we sit there we get out of our tiredness and feel calm, rejuvenated and spiritually uplifted.
In every Indian household a lamp is lit daily. Light symbolizes knowledge and darkness - ignorance. Lord is the Knowing Principle that dispels ignorance. Hence lamp is worshipped as Lord Himself. Traditional oil lamp has further significance. The oil/ ghee symbolize our vasanas and wick the ego. When lit by spiritual knowledge the vasanas slowly exhaust and the ego dies away. Lamp always burns upwards. To acquire spiritual knowledge we need to turn towards higher ideals. A single lamp can light many lamps; despite which the brilliance of the light does not diminish. Similarly a man of knowledge can give knowledge to many more. In doing so, the knowledge does not lessen.
Yajnas represent our attitude of gratitude. Now there is ample evidence in scientific field how these noble values, like gratitude, affect our body in a positive. Research has shown when we practice these noble values endorphins, dopamine and serotonin is secreted in the frontal lobe of our brain which create a sense of well- being. The more we practice gratitude more coherence, calm and order we feel. Research citations were shared with students. Also Dr. David Hawkins map of consciousness was shared – which depicts progressive increase in energy levels as our consciousness raises from negative to positive thoughts / fields.
We gave a task to the students – for next one week before they eat or drink anything to send a prayer of gratitude to everyone who might have been directly or indirectly involved in making the food/drink available to them ( from gratitude project – Swami Supriyanandaji). We are eager to hear their feedback next week…
Pranam,
Rukmani Sriram
Devender Akula
