Hari Om! Parents,
Happy Navaratri to everyone!
We began class with starting prayers and then continued with Lingashtakam.
We then did a body tense-release practice to experience relaxation in
the body that is then conducive to any meditation.We followed this up
with a quick demo with 2 clean cloths dipped in dirty water. One was
just dipped in soapy water and the other dipped in soapy water and
then scrubbed. Obviously, the scrubbed cloth became cleaner.
Hopefully, the message was driven home that all spiritual practice is
akin to scrubbing the dirty cloth, the dirty cloth standing for the
mind that gets sullied with negativities like anger, pride, greed,
jealousy.
We recapped the lesson on Prakrithi, Vikrithi and Samskrithi before
continuing with deeper exploration of samskrithi.
Our first example was how the quality and texture of the thread makes
the fabric so also the texture of our thoughts makes us smooth like
silk or rough like jute. Samskriti is all about learning to refine our
thoughts.
We then told the Leo Tolstoy's story of a boy finding a piece of iron
and asking a wise man what to do with it emphasized how refinement
adds value and subtlety. In the story, an iron piece if sold as is,
gets very little money, if worked on to make a nail, some more, if
worked on further to make a horse shoe, even more. But when it is
worked on to make the gears of a clock, it becomes very valuable.
Living by culture by refining our thoughts helps to groom ourselves to
be successful.
We had an interesting discussion about the difference between man and
animal. Man has intelligence to know right from wrong and is not
driven by instinct.This intelligence allows man to set choices and
work toward them. One view in class was that man is not as intelligent
as he thinks he is- and for sure many do function only at a base level
no different than animals. There are some who refine themselves and
connect with the source and thus lead the way.
The class shared goals- short term and long term.
Wanting to spend more time outdoors, excelling at cross country,
focusing on geometry, volunteering in the community and not just for
the hours, passing A.P exam, graduating HS early, learning more about
the software of robots, completing LA project, spending more time
meditating were some of the shares.
Becoming a teacher, working for NASA, becoming a doctor, running own
business, and just being happy were long term goals shared.
It is interesting to note that whether one knows for sure what one
wants to do or not, one is sure that being happy is paramount.
Concluded that all our long term goals fall under the category of
seeking permanent peace, security and eternal happiness in our lives.
We concluded with Geeta chanting. Listened to Swamiji chant verse
39,40 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Our next Bala Vihar class is on October 15th.
Pranams
Uma and Nirmala