Hari Om parents of 9th graders,
Hope all is going great with you and your families. This Sunday we continued with our karma discussions and went over in detail the types of karma namely Sanchit, Prarabhdha and Agami. While we still recapped some of the topics from a couple of weeks ago on Karma: Law of cause-and-effect , types and the principles of Karma we went into detail with tons of examples with each type of karma fructifications. Here are the two analogies we've explained so it kids could easily grasp the abstract:-
Imagine Lord Arjuna as a bowman. During the Mahabharata war let's say the bowman has already sent an arrow and it has left his hands which he cannot recall. Then he is about to shoot another arrow. The way these are easily distinguishable are : The bundle of arrows in the quiver on his back is the Sanchita karma; the arrow he has shot is Prarabdha; and the arrow which he is about to shoot from his bow is Agami. Of these, he has perfect control over the Sanchita and the Agami, but he must surely work out his Prarabdha. The past which has begun to take effect needs to be experienced by him.
There is another beautiful analogy also. The granary represents the Sanchita Karma; that portion taken from the granary and put in the shop for future daily sale corresponds to Agami; that which is sold daily represents Prarabdha.
Taking a step further we continued to challenge if one can change Karma?. This connected us to understand concepts of Prarabdha and Purushartha and how one can through their self-effort and free will change the so-called destiny. We also went over papa and punya in Sanchit karma.
We had some excellent questions and discussions on hierarchy of birth and how Karmas get accumulated over the course of several births and how we, as Hindus, perceive this concept thereby trying our best to exhaust these karmic bonding. This led into who is a Karma yogi and what are the characteristic traits of one?
Thus, the conclusion here, the Law of Karma when correctly understood is the greatest force of vitality in our Hindu philosophy. It makes us the architects of our own future. We are not helpless pawns in the hands of a mighty tyrant, God, who, it is believed, has created us so weak or fearful to live our lives of limitations and pains.
We also continued through verses 7 and 8 of Guru Stotram. Looks like everyone is getting a great rhythm and understanding of this Stotram which is the way to go!!!!. Guru Stotram is a selection of 14 verses from Guru Geeta, found in Skanda Purana. It is a conversation between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati on the glory of the Guru. Gu-Darkness: Ru-Remover. The goal is to understand all of these 14 verses before the end of the curriculum.
Looking forward to the next class before Diwali break the week after. Please talk to your kids, discuss their understanding on the topics taught and do let us know if you/your kids have any questions or need any further clarifications.
Hari Om,
9th grade Teachers