Dear Parents and children,
Harih Om,
The following material was taught during the Balavihar session on Sunday, May 2, 2021 to your child.
1.Beginning prayers
2.We chanted all the six verses of Tapovan Shatakam
3.Sri Krishna in Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita enumerates 35 virtues or gems for us to live by. Bhagawan says that anyone who wants to come closer to me needs to live by these virtues and becomes "My Darling." Living by these set of values will help us to lead a happy and contented life. In the next few weeks, we will be teaching and discussing each of these gems or virtues in detail:
The gems discussed so far are: Gem 1 – Hate None (advesta sarvabhutanam): Gem 2 – Be Friendly; Maitrah; Gem 3 – Be Compassionate; Karunah; Gem 4 – Free from attachment, Nirmamah; Gem 5 – Free from ego, Nirahamkarah. We reviewed the first three Gems covered in the last class and discussed Gems 4, and 5 today.
4.Gem 4 –Free from attachment (Nirmamah)
Discussing the value of Nirmamah we on to discuss detachment and attachment. Students were asked to give examples if they have ever practiced detachment and attachment; subsequently we .When COVID 19 affected people in another country, none of us in the USA gave much thought or consideration to it. Once coronavirus started infecting large segments the population in the USA, and thousands of people perished, we became worried and started practicing "social distancing, limited excursions/visits, and following lockdown/stay at home protocols - this reflects our attached attitude. Attachment came only when it became my problem. Whenever there is 'I' and 'mine' involved attachment arises; Another example we can consider if a neighbor's dog dies we may not be that sad, but if our dog dies we are very sad – because it was 'my dog'. The only way to get rid of or be free of attachment is to detach from lower values and start attaching ourselves to higher values and higher ideals. We will then be able to lead a happier and productive life; opening up a pathway for higher possibilities. By practicing these values, we are trying to remove the negativity within our personality so that the beauty inherently within us can shine forth. Just like a jeweler, carefully chips at an uncut diamond and after many, many times chiseling away at the unwanted parts, the diamond becomes brilliant. If we want to get rid of the moss in a tank containing stagnant water, all we need to do is fill up the tank with water and eventually the moss will overflow, and water will become clear again. Similarly, if we continue to cultivate positive values and ideas in our personality, the negative values slowly but steadily will get eroded and eliminated
5.Gem 5- Free from Ego (NirAhamkarah)
A dog walking under a bullock cart thinking: "how strong am I that I am carrying the weight such a big load." Similarly, a lizard on a ceiling thinking, "I am supporting the entire ceiling!" The fight of the pen and the paper is yet another example of a story where ego is the problem. The pen says to the paper, "See how beautifully I write! And the paper replies, "without me what can you do?" All these instances are examples of how foolishly we behave and act and take pride in our successes and achievements. Have we ever thought who is responsible for our success?
Ego is nothing but a bundle of our past actions and reactions which needs to be thrown away. When we drop this useless bundle, we will experience the divine! When we study the scriptures, we feel lighter and up and up we go like a helium balloon. Finally, we reach a state where the mind and intellect fall away. Bhagawan the life principle operates in each one of us. We can function and are alive because of His grace alone.
We spent a significant amount of time practicing for our play scheduled for May 9th, 2021.
Thank you!
Sitaram Kuchibhotla
and
Mekhala Girish
