Hari Om,
We started our class with 3 Om chantings, followed by our regular shlokas.
We continued with our study of the Saints of India. Our first Saint was Gautama Buddha. He founded Buddhism, which is one of the major religions of the world today. Buddha was born in 563 BC as a prince in Nepal. His parents named him Siddhatha. At the time of his birth, some Saints had indicated the arrival of a great soul. They also said that either he would be a great king or the greatest saint. His father, the king, was worried about the prophecy. He kept Siddhatha away from all sorrows and pain, so that he won't turn to sainthood. But fate had something else destined for the prince. His curiosity got the better of him. He saw an old man, a dead person, and a leper who was physically deformed and very sick. This prompted him to seek the Truth. He quietly left the palace in the night to find his answers and for six years he continued his penance. He received his final enlightenment under the Bodhi tree where he was meditating-hence he is called Buddha, which means the Enlightened One. His core message consists of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The key messages are to Meditate, Give up greed, Hate none and Harm none.
We also learnt about another Saint, Suradasji. Suradasji was born blind to a poor Brahmin family near Delhi in 1478. He was neglected by his family and no one would play with him. He was a lost and lonely boy. Suradasji was keen on learning music. He tried following a group of singers but they abandoned him as well. Suradasji ended up staying under a tree and started to sing the Lord's praises. One day, he felt the call of Krishna and left for Vrindavan. He kept singing and also felt the presence of Lord Krishna. Suradasji was also invited by Akbar to sing in his court. In his lifetime, the Saint composed many Bhajan on Lord Krishna.
We had a discussion on the values and teachings of the Saints. Each student picked up one value that the Saints preached and described how they practiced it. We also had a detailed conversation about what procrastination means to each of us. Finally, we concluded with our concluding prayers and pledge.
See you all next week!
Regards,
Rekha and Raji
