Here is this week's update.
Class began with opening prayers -3 OMs and followed by SahanAvavatu.
Key to Success- Vibhishana Gita Amala achala mana trona samana- quiver which stands for a pure and steady mind. Selfishness is the biggest enemy for a seeker. Pure mind means mind devoid of selfishness. There are two types of mind- (pure and impure) In entire spiritual sadhana, Pooja, japa, keertan, yatra, study, seva, havan- all these disciplines are aimed at making a pure mind. Our enemy in the spiritual path is selfishness. we must try and remove it! How to remove selfishness?
1. Start taking up/ doing selfless work.
2. Increase selfless works
3. To have a seva bhava slowly in our entire life. Commit to selfless work - gradually make life, selfless life (to purify ourselves)
Pure mind is a quiet mind. But usually the mind keeps continuously moving. How to reduce the fast movements of the mind and make it slow?
Firstly, continuous thoughts (moving) (Chala) of the mind to be kept steady (Achala)
The thoughts are moving at a particular speed, we must try to reduce the speed. Mind will be running and running all the time. If we focus on one thing, the flow of thoughts will be less/reduced. More the thoughts, more wandering we are.
If Body and mind are in the same place (alignment) the speedy movements of the mind can be reduced. If the practice of keeping Body and mind aligned, mind will be pure and steady. When we are into performing any act, we must give full attention to the mind, then the speeding of the flow of thoughts is reduced, which helps in purifying the mind. BM in alignment, we live in the present and could feel the thought flow is less, slowly the mind will become steady. Therefore we should start living in the present.
The next part is arrows. Sama Jama Niyama seela mukha nana.
Mind being balanced is the quiver- Sama- Peacefulness of the mind
5 Noble values of life- Jama
Daily disciplines- Niyama
In Yoga sastra, Acharya Patanjali speaks about Yama(Jama) and Niyama for a disciplined lifestyle.
The Following are Yama(Jama) values of life
1.Ahimsa (Non harming, non violence in thought, deed and word. When we think of violence, we generally think only about physical or verbal abuse. Negative thoughts are also considered violent as repeated thoughts lead to action in the future and the spread of negativity. So it is very important to practice non-violence in thoughts, words and deeds.
2.Satyam (Truthfulness) As Mark Twain once said, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." The truth is always constant but a lie keeps changing its path. We have to spend unnecessary energy in fabricating stories when we speak the truth. It is always easier to tell the truth than lie.
3.Asteyam (non stealing) Stealing, as we understand is stealing physical and intellectual property of a person. Most of us, who are innocent in this respect, are guilty of a different kind of stealing. The resources and energy that we steal from Mother Nature brings about lasting damages unseen. Nothing can be a better example than the present Pandemic situation that the world is finding itself in today. Our pledge says, 'giving more than what we take'. We should try to give more of ourselves to others and to Mother Nature as well.
4.Brahmacharyam (self control or right use of energy) Self Control is Self-discipline. Most of the famous achievers have reached their position due to their rigorous discipline and self control. We observe this in our kids who are into various performing arts and sports. When they are passionate about it to excel in it, they are willing to go through the rigor that it entails.
5.Aparigraha (non greed/ non hoarding) Greed is a bottomless pit. There more we try to satisfy it the deeper it gets. Keeping others in mind, we should avoid hoarding. We can take a spoonful for the first serving and comeback, if we need a second, in our ashram when we eat together. Instead, if we load our plateful, often we end up throwing food and we might indirectly make some last ones in the line to turn disappointed as the food will be over!
WE will learn about Niyama and the rest of the lesson in the coming sessions.
We played a Kahoot game, reviewing the Kishkindha and Sundara kaanda from Ramayanam.
We then had the second chariot presentation of the day.
Our next class is on May 9th
House Contests:
Art works for art contests and Baking contest videos- you may submit now until May 9th. Parents are welcome to participate in the ART contest as well.
If the child completes a minimum of 10 pages of likhita japa, please take pics and send it as an attachment/link. The email to be sent is cnjbalaviharhouses@gmail.com (Due by 5/9)
Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions.
Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer
