Harih Om Parents,
1. After initial prayers we continued with Bhagavad Gita Dhyana slokas. We have taught them upto verse 6 of Geeta Dhyanam. The following children chanted verses from the Geeta Dhayam individually. Vikram (verse 1), Shrey (Verse 2), Anwita (Verse 2), Srividhya (Verse 3), Kavin (Verse 4), Satvik (Verses 4 and 5), Hasini (Verse 5), Nitya (Verse 6) and Srividhya (Verse 6)
2. Bhagavad Geeta Chapter 2 chanting: We have taught the children verses 45 through 48 this week. Please encourage your children to practice these verses at home as well.
3. Mahabharata story continued - In their thirteenth year of exile, Pandavas went to live in disguise in King Virata's kingdom. Draupadí as Malini became the queen's maid. Yudhistira disguised as Kanku Bhattu advising & playing dice game with the king; Bheema as cook named Ballava; Arjuna as female Brihannala teaching dance & music; Nakula as Granthika tending horses and Sahadeva as Tantipala taking care of cows. Captivated by Draupadi's beauty, the queen's brother, Kichaka, wanted to marry her and continued to harass her despite her objection. One night Draupadí tricked him into meeting her in private and at that time Bheema killed Kichaka. Suspecting that Pandavas were hiding in Virata's kingdom, according to Kauravas plan, Susharma attacked Matsya kingdom from south. He was defeated with help of Pandavas (except Arjuna/Brihanalla). At same time Duryodhana and Kaurava army attacked the palace from the north front. Only Uttara, the son of King Virata, was in the palace. Arjuna became Uttara's charioteer and took him to the battle field. Seeing Kaurava army Uttara got scared and wanted to turn back. Then Arjuna / Brihannala fought the battle and defeated the Kauravas. This was the auspicious day of Vijaya Dasami –when Pandavas finished their 13th year of exile and secured victory over Kauravas. Pandavas later asked King Dhritharastra and Duryodhana for their share of kingdom. They sent peace emissaries – even Lord Krishna himself went on behalf of Pandavas to secure peace. But Duryodhana refused to give the Pandavas their share of the kingdom and declared a war on them. Many Kuru elders pleaded with Duryodhana to avoid war but he did not listen. Thus war became inevitable. Armies were being mobilized on both sides. Duryodhana and Arjuna went to seek the help of Lord Krishna. Lord said "One of you can have my army and the other can have me, but I will not bear arms." Arjuna was given the first chance to ask as Lord saw him first seating at His feet. Arjuna asked for the unarmed Lord Krishna and asked Him to be his charioteer. Duryodhana, who was initially upset that he did not get the first chance to ask, felt very happy that he got the Narayana army. Where there is Lord Krishna, Dharma is there – where there is Dharma, Victory will always be there – Yato Krishna, Tato Dharmah; Yato Dharmah, Tato Jayah! Choose Lord in your life and you will be always victorious. That is why Pandavas ultimately became victorious. We watched few movie clips showing the characters of Virata Parva and their roles – hopefully children enjoyed them.
4. Yaksha story – Was briefly recapped from last week. One day when the Pandavas were in exile in the forest, a Brahmin requested them to help fetch his Arani sticks which had got entangled on a deer's horn. Pandavas chased the deer but unfortunately could not catch the deer. Exhausted after the grueling chase they rested under a tree and looked for a source of water to quench their thirst. Nakula, Sahadeva, Arjuna and Bheema fell unconscious drinking water from a lake. Finally, Yudhisthira came to the lake in search of his brothers. He saw all his mighty brothers unconscious/almost coma like state and got very sad. When he was about drink the water from the pond, a crane sitting on a tree told him that he (the crane) was a Yaksha (a celestial being) and that he was the owner of the lake and that he needs to answer his questions before drinking from the lake. Yudhisthira paid his respects to the crane and said he would try and answer the Yaksha's questions to the best of his abilities. This section of the Mahabharatha were the Yaksha asks Yudhisthira many questions are referred to as "Yaksha Prashna".
5. From this lesson on we will be discussing few "Yaksha Prashnas" every class:
a) How does one become learned? A – by listening.
We had good discussion about importance of listening; the difference between hearing and listening was explained. Examples of Ravana and Duryodhana was given to show what happens when one does not listen and follow good advice. Knowledge we gain is obtained by listening intently. Most of us guilty of not letting another person complete what they are saying without interjecting.
Example of Lord Ganesha was used – His large ears symbolize ability to listen and assimilate knowledge. His large head symbolizes ability to analyze, understand and retain the information. Trunk indicates the ability of mind to discriminate between good and bad; Once information is heard, analyzed and discriminated – it becomes wisdom, symbolized by Lord Ganesha's pot belly. Mouse represents our mind which is constantly wandering with numerous thoughts. The subdued mouse sitting at the feet of Lord Ganesha represents the mind which is under control. So a person who listens intently, analyses, discriminates and stores wisdom can keep mind under control – so it all starts with listening!
b) How does one achieve greatness? – through tapas (austerity)
Here tapas means hard work, it also implies the necessity to sacrifice certain things to achieve our goals. Students must sacrifice playing video games/ watching TV/socializing with friends etc. before exams to get good grades. Similarly, we too have to sacrifice certain things we like on the way to achieve our career goals. For example, a person who is working towards his/her Doctorate degree has to undergo many years of rigorous academic work, many disappointments when a particular hypothesis does not work, making a small amount of money when others of the same age are earning much more with an undergraduate degree and so on. One needs to work hard and unwaveringly to achieve the goals they have set. They must not deviate from the path of hard work and sacrifice to achieve greatness and success.
c) How is one a fit/good companion? A – by patience.
With patience we can understand our companion/friend's viewpoint better, accept their strengths and weaknesses. If we are patient, it helps us to get along with different people with different backgrounds and understand that they were brought up differently and be accepting of different view points.
d) How does one become intelligent? A – by serving elders.
Elders have considerable amount of wisdom acquired through decades of living in this planet, through personal experiences which can be passed on to the next generation. This can happen when the younger generation associate themselves with the elders and serve them. This knowledge comes to the elders from their own lifetime of trials and tribulations; and is not something one can learn from the 'books'.
The concluding prayers were led by Anwita and the Pledge was led by Srividhya.
Pranam
Mekhala Girish
Devender Akula