Dear Parents!
Harih Om!
Today was the last day of the current academic year of Balavihar: The following material was taught to your child during this session.
Beginning Prayers:
The remaining gems from 22 to 35 were taught:
Gem 22 and 23 - Neither rejoices nor hates – na hrsyati, na dvesti;
We rejoice from a sense of fulfillment or satisfaction when we get a desired object. However, we are filled with hate or revulsion when we are handed difficult situations/circumstances to deal with. One must understand that everything is relative. To a rich man a gourmet dinner is a given but for a poor man a basic meal of dal and roti is something he is truly grateful for. Just like without cold, hot cannot exist similarly joy and sorrow are different sides of the same coin. The mistake we make is to expect continuous happiness in world that is always changing. If faced with difficult circumstances, do not run away. Face it full determination. One must fall a couple of times in order to tame the ego. Once we drop our likes and dislikes automatically the ego will vanish.
Gem 24 - Grieves not – na socati;
One should not grieve when parting with the decay of things. To be filled with grief about things which are going to decay with time is meaningless. Matter is bound by time and space and with time, matter must decay. Everyone things the other person does not have any bad situations and is happier than himself. The person who has the courage to declare is happy is one who has given up all desires and is free from anxieties and worries.
Gem 25 - Desires not – na kanksati;
Nobody looks for a reservoir of water when the place itself is flooded. Similarly for the man who has known the Self, the Vedas are of not much use. Desires never subside. Desires are endless. Just like a dying fire is revived by adding ghee (clarified butter) similarly, a desire fulfilled creates more desires.
Gem 26 - Free from good and evil – subhaasubhaparityagi;
When a person who has know the Self and has lifted himself from the world of mind and intellect, for this man remains unaffected by pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow. This person completely gives up the concept of good or evil. The outside world can yield to us their sorrows and joys not by themselves but because of our attitude towards them. The objects are by themselves neither good nor bad. Based on our perspective we imagine outcomes of particular situations to be good or bad. There is no such thing as good luck or bad luck. Things will keep happening in the world. My attitude should be such that I have faith in the Lord and be convinced that whatever happens to me is for my own good.
Gem 27 - Be equal to friend and foe – samah satrau ca mitre;
We estimate our friendship with another person as a friend or foe based on psychological reaction. This reaction belongs in the heart. If we do not identify with our mind's judgement of who is foe or a friend then we will be equanimous and can maintain a pleasant relationship with everyone.
Gem 28 - Same in honor and dishonor, in pleasure and pain – samah mana-apamanayoh,
A situation is judged by our intellect as good or bad based on our cultivated habits of thinking. We tend to respect honor and belittle dishonor. Honor and dishonor are due to evolution of the intellect and changes from time to time and from place to place. Both are the same for the person who has known the Self.
Gem 29: same in in cold and heat (samah sita-usnasukhadukhkhesu)
Pleasure and pain are experiences of the mind while heat and cold are experiences of the body. When one has given up identifying with the body, mind and intellect then cold, heat, pleasure and pain all are one and the same. What is pleasurable for one is painful for another. If things in the world were in their own nature, then they would have evinced the same reaction from everybody! But since the things in the world do not produce the same reaction from everybody, we can thereby conclude that our reaction to something is due to the interpretation of our mind and intellect which in turn is colored by our past experiences.
Gem 30: Free from attachment: Sanga vivarjitah
The more we think about something, the more we yearn for it and the more we get attached to it. Continuously flowing thoughts towards an object create an attachment to it. If thought flow can be reduced, then attachment will be reduced.
Gem 31 - Be equal in censure and praise, tulyanindastutih
Behaving equal in censure and praise does not mean that one is immune to insults or that one cannot understand them. But when one is true devotee of the Lord, he does not give any significance to the praise or criticism that other people level at him. He understands that people and circumstances change all the time. The same person who might be praising us at one time may come back and criticize us at a different time. Moreover, we cannot please everyone all the time. Even in Mahabharata, Lord Krishna was not able to please Duryodhana to avoid the war. The following story illustrates the point:
Once a son and father were going to a town to sell a donkey. The father asked the son to ride on the donkey, on the way since it was a long way off. The first person who met them criticized the son for making his aged father to walk while he was riding on the donkey. Hearing this the son got down and made the father sit on the donkey. Still later they met another man who commented that they were not making proper use of the donkey. So both father and son sat on the donkey. A little later they met a third person who commented how cruel both of them were and said that it was likely that the poor donkey was going to collapse due to the weight it was carrying! Now they did not know what to do, they started carrying the donkey, seeing which people started laughing at their foolishness! This story illustrates that one can never please everyone.
Once Buddha was sitting under a tree. People gathered around him and praised him for his equipoise and calmness. However, Buddha's expression did not change. He maintained his calm composure and beatific smile. Then a man came and started abusing Buddha. His expression still did not change. The man got tired of shouting, went home and slept. He could not sleep properly. First thing the next morning he went to Buddha and asked him why he did not get angry at him even though he had shouted and abused him. Buddha had the same beautiful smile on his face and asked the man if his stomach was full and somebody brought him gourmet food would he still eat it? The man replied that he would not be able to. Next Buddha asked the man if someone brought bad food to him would he eat it. The man said no because I am already full. Exactly said Buddha, "when you are full with God's love, you do not need anything from outside to make you happy or mad." You are always full and content. The man realized his mistake and became his disciple.
Gem 32 – Be silent, mauni
It not only implies external silence but also silence within. It implies control over all senses. Pujya Gurudev states that when man is left alone he will become spiritual. Once we start thinking, materialism does not survive. We are afraid of loneliness because we do not have the courage to meet ourselves. When we're alone we will see a parade of our past deeds and thoughts; recognize how base our values are. With regular introspection we can change ourselves. The problem is we have a great image of ourselves but our real self is not as good as anything we imagine. Gurudev states emphatically that - Be with yourself, and you will turn to God!
Once an old devotee of Tapovan Maharaj, along with his grandson visited him. The old gentlemen complained that his grandson does not listen to him and lives his life like a vagabond. Tapovan Maharaj agreed to meet with the boy. When the boy entered he did not have any reverence towards Tapovan Maharaj. Tapovan Maharaj received him warmly and discussed with him about Bollywood movies, his college and all other things that youngsters are interested in. Looking at this Pujya Gurudev's jaw dropped, as he was not used to his Master speaking anything unnecessarily and being austere with his speech and interactions. As the boy was leaving the Tapovan Maharaj asked him if there was one thing he could do - he told him not to worry about prayer or poojas; but to get up in the morning at 5 o'clock, go for a walk and spend about 10 - 20 minutes in the park by himself. He can then come back and sleep if he wants to. He asked him to do this for a month. After couple of months a letter came from old gentleman saying that the grandchild has changed. When Pujya Gurudev met the boy several years later he asked how he changed. The boy said on the first day when he went to the park he enjoyed the sunrise, the birds and the nature in general. After a few days the experience was the same, so the only thing that came to his mind was his deeds that he had done in the past. When he looked at his past actions; he realized what an ugly life that he was leading. After few days of early morning introspection in the park he decided to change. Thus the boy became spiritual through solitude. When we look at ourselves we invariably make changes; think about what we do when we see a mirror. Similarly when we start looking at our thoughts/mind in solitude we want to make it better. Gurudev states if you don't like your own company don't impose it on others. Improve it, make it better, be happy and spread the happiness. Few moments of daily solitude and silence will facilitate this change in us.
We asked the students what they felt was a difference between loneliness and aloneness. They had several different ideas, afterwards we agreed that in loneliness a person is dejected and depressed to be with himself, but in aloneness person is happy to be with himself. In aloneness one becomes more aware of his own self, his own thoughts and observes what is happening to oneself. One can be in a crowd of people yet feel lonely. So aloneness and loneliness does not have to do with people surrounding us, rather it is our state of mind. Gurudev states – be silent and understand how really silent silence can be. In sleep mind is silent, but dull and unaware. True silence is when mind naturally stops chatter out of peacefulness and contentment. In this state the mind is dynamic and beautiful. All creative and constructive activity stems from that silent mind.
Gem 33 - Be content, samtustah
Being content is to be happy whatever may be the condition of the body or the outer circumstances. If we seek happiness outside ourselves we will never find complete and everlasting satisfaction.
There is a certain type of rat trap where a piece of dry coconut is placed on top of the wheel and the door to the trap is left open. The rat smells the coconut and is attracted to it. It gets in and tries to reach the coconut, but as it is too high it steps on the wheel - it almost reaches the coconut when the wheel starts to move. Each time the rat thinks that it is close to the coconut the wheel starts moving. After doing this many times the rats gets exhausted and gets trapped. This is exactly how most of us live our life. We live to fulfill our desires from outside world of objects and persons. We run after them even though our experience teaches us that we never get total satisfaction in indulging in them. All we gain is exhaustion and disappointment as the rat does in the trap! That does not mean that one should not have goals or have ambition in life. First, we should be happy with what we have and then with determination pursue the goal or ambition with the clear understanding sometimes we get what we want and at other times we won't. Contentment helps us to maintain equipoise. This can be achieved if we always remember God in our mind in all our pursuits.
In a forest there was an ugly looking tree, around which there were many beautiful looking trees – in perfect shape. Ugly tree always used to feel sad and sorry for itself. One day woodcutter came to the forest looked at all the trees and cut all the beautiful and shapely trees. The ugly looking tree was left alone. Now this tree smiled within and thanked Lord for his ugliness. We need to be content with how we are as we do not know what the Lord has in store for us.
Gem 34 - Homeless, aniketah
Having a roof over our head and four walls around us does not make it a home. We go on vacations and stay in hotels. However, despite staying in a hotel room for several days we do not call it home! We have a sense of possession over the property, and we feel it is our home. In addition, home is a place where we feel comfortable, where we can live the way we want to, where we are loved by the people around us. It is a place where we share equally and sacrifice together. If we extend this same sense of possessiveness towards the entire world, and are willing to share with everyone in the world and work together with everyone in the spirit of sacrifice then the whole world will become our home with the blue sky as the roof over our head. A true devotee of the Lord realizes that Lord is the father and guardian of the whole world. To him the entire universe is Lord's kingdom and his home. So, in this sense he is 'homeless', because he lacks a sense of possession over a particular object or property. He takes shelter only at feet of the Lord.
Gem 35 – Steadfast, sthiramatih
Steadfast in the intellectual understanding of the goal of life. The goal of this human life is attaining moksha. In our daily activities and worldly pursuit, we should keep reminding ourselves of this goal. A true devotee of the Lord has the intellectual understanding to pursue this goal in all circumstances. To such a devotee the Lord himself will grace him with strength and courage to pursue the path. If someone persistently keeps knocking at your door how long can we resist opening the door? In the same way if we keep calling the compassionate Lord, He will surely shower His grace on us.
Once a father gave his son a $10 bill and told him that he could buy whatever he wanted. Later in the day the father asked the boy what he did with the money. His son replied that he gave to a man who was hungry. The father was upset with his son and told him that he should have bought something for himself and that he would not have money for his own desires. The son told father that he was taught in Balavihar that we should help the poor and the Lord Himself will take care of us. Touched by the son's simple faith, the father reached out for his wallet and gave him another $10 bill. The boy then said he was sure that he would get his $10 back, only he did not know that it would come back to him so soon!
Please encourage your child to practice these values that they have learnt this year.
We are grateful to have had the opportunity to teach your child during the current academic year. We enjoyed teaching them and learnt a lot from them. We wish your family and you a safe and happy summer.
Thank you!
Sitaram Kutchibhotla and Mekhala G
