Hari Om,
Dear parents,
Please find the summary of the Balavihar class on 12/3
· Opening prayers: Om Sahana Vavatu , Vasudevasutam Devam (Krishna Shloka)
· Activity: My Vacha ( My words/speech) and started discussing about our monthly program ( our class is scheduled for 1/28)
Lessons: Mahabharata - conclusion; Yaksha Prashna
· Bhagavad-Gita: None( we will revise until 44 )
Shlokas: Geetha Dhyana
Ending Prayers: Poornamadah
· Next Balavihar class: 12/10/21
Summary: We started the class with opening prayers and then moved on to the My Vacha activity. Th goal of this activity is to introspect and reflect on one's choice of words when we interact with others. We are happy to hear the kids speak honestly about the harsh/bad words they have used and acknowledging that they could have reacted differently. Every week, we talk about tips and tricks that help us be more conscious about our choice of words
We then proceeded to the Mahabharata story. At the end of the war Yudhishthira was crowned king of Hastinapura. He took advice from Bhishma on the righteous way of governing after which Bhishma gave up his body by Lord Krishna's grace. Dhritarashtra and Gandhari were distraught after losing their 100 sons! Although Gandhari knew that their sons were Adharmis and their own actions were the cause of their demise, Gandhari was overcome by grief due to her attachment to her sons and she cursed Krishna that his clan too will be destroyed in a similar way! The lord graciously accepted this curse! In doing so, He established that Karma (actions) do have consequences that are unavoidable, even if these actions were performed for the sake of righteousness! They left for the forest along with Kunti and gave up their bodies in a forest fire! Yudhishthira ruled justly following Dharma and after many years, when Krishna left the Earth, the Pandavas crowned their grandson Parikshit and embarked on their final journey. One by one, they gave up their bodies. When it was Yudhishthira's turn, he refused to go to heaven leaving his faithful dog behind, as it was not his Dharma to abandon his loyal subjects! The dog, actually, was Yama himself testing his son's righteousness! He was very pleased and blessed Yudhishthira to go to heaven with his mortal body!
Although she knew that their sons were Adharmis and their own actions were the cause of their demise, Gandhari was overcome by grief due to her attachment to her sons and she cursed Krishna that his clan too will be destroyed in a similar way! The lord graciously accepted this curse! In doing so, He established that Karma (actions) do have consequences that are unavoidable, even if these actions were performed for the sake of righteousness! The law of Karma states that every action performed, whether good or bad, has consequences and the doer has to experience and accept the results! Even Bhagavan is not exempt from this! This was the topic of our cause and effect discussion.
We discussed several Yaksha Prasnas and had engaging conversations on why Yudhishthira's answers made sense. Kids had so many thoughtful questions. It was good to have that kind of engagement.
- How does one become learned? By listening.
We had good discussion about importance of listening; the difference between hearing and listening was explained. Various examples/instances in Mahabharatha were given to show what happens/consequences of when one does not listen and follow good advice. Knowledge we gain is by listening intently.
Symbolism of Lord Ganesha was explained: 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.. A person who listens intently, analyses, discriminates and stores wisdom can keep his/ her mind under control. A mind out control is stillness and so it all starts with listening! - How does one achieve greatness? Through tapas (austerity)
Here tapas means hard work, it also implies the necessity to sacrifice certain things in order 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 must sacrifice certain things we enjoy in order to achieve our career goals. For example, a person who is training to be a Doctor has to undergo years of rigorous training, work through the night shift several times in a month without proper sleep, will have to sacrifice time with his/her family, friends etc. One needs to work hard and give up on to achieve the goals they have set. In order to achieve greatness and success one must not deviate from the pagh of hard work and sacrifice. - How does one become fit to be a companion? We become a good companion when we listen to others and their viewpoints with patience and understanding. Each of us is brought up in a different environment and in a different way. If we can comprehend that all of us are unique then it will enable us to be tolerant towards each other and work in harmony
- How does one become Intelligent? One becomes intelligent by serving our elders. While they are from a different generation, our elders have gone through many more life situations and experiences since they have been in the world for a longer period. By serving them lovingly we can learn more about the world and its ways and through the wisdom that they share with us.
- Which is one step to Dharma: By being efficient, able, and competent, we do our duties properly. If we do our duties properly, we are following our Dharma.
- Which is one step to fame: by being charitable one achieves fame. By sharing our wealth, food with the less fortunate, we earn their good will and blessings and that is what fame is.
- Which is one step to heaven: By being truthful, one is one step closer to heaven. Speak the truth and speak what is pleasant. Do not speak if the truth is hurtful or unpleasant. Do not speak the untruth even if it is pleasant. This is Sanatana Dharma. We had a lot of discussion around this and how one can be truthful and clever is not speaking hurtful truth
- Which is one step to happiness? By being a person who has good character, one is happy. If we lead a moral life with good thoughts those lead to good actions and those make our character.
- What is the best quality of an accomplished person? A person who possesses the dexterity, the ability to perform the right task at the right time efficiently is a praiseworthy person. This very ability of such a person is their best quality.
- What is the best of riches? The best of riches is knowledge. Knowledge cannot be stolen from a person and it cannot be divided like a tangible wealth (riches). Knowledge will only increase and cannot be reduced.
- What is the best Gain? Health is the best gain. One cannot enjoy any material gains unless one is healthy.
- What is the best of joys? Contentment is the best of joys. This, however, does not mean that a contented person has no ambition to improve productivity. A contented person does not have any hang ups or disappointments looming over them, bogging them down. They have their entire mind fully available to focus on the tasks at hand and thereby, increase their productivity.
Finally, we finished with the ending shlokas. We will meet again next Friday with more interesting discussions and activities. Until then, please stay safe and be well!
Regards,
Mythili and Anandi