Dear Parents!
Harih Om!
The following material was taught to your child on January 30th, 2022
1. Today was our monthly program day!!! We can see the students were excited to see their performances and see how the whole play came together – since we recorded it night before we continued with the class till we had to join the main assembly.
2. Geeta Chapter 2 chanting: verses 56, 57 and 58 were practiced. The following children recited it independently: Vickram, Kavin, Anwita, Hasini, Srividya, Nitya, Yahsvi and Venkat.
3. We continued discussion about Dharma – it has to be lived, not just learnt. Examples were given – Duryodhana, Dhritharastra, Ravana all studied & learnt sastras yet perished as they never lived those values. Story – once in a forest a kind ornithologist saw that the hunter was laying nets and capturing birds. He wanted to warn the birds. He went deep into the forests, looked up and told the birds – "a hunter will come with nets, spread it on grains, if we are not careful we will be caught in the nets". He wanted to make sure the birds understood his message and he asked them to repeat his advice. Birds said "a hunter will come with nets, spread it on grains, if we are not careful we will be caught in the nets". Satisfied the ornithologist went home. Next day the hunter came to the forest to his surprise he heard all the birds singing - "a hunter will come with nets, spread it on grains, if we are not careful we will be caught in the nets" – he was shocked and disappointed. He laid the grains and net on the floor and slept. When he woke up he was surprised to see a flock of birds caught in his net. They were all singing - "a hunter will come with nets, spread it on grains, if we are not careful we will be caught in the nets". He happily carried away the trapped birds! We should not be like the birds just mechanically repeat about good values etc. but should live them – otherwise just having book knowledge of the values will not be of any use to us.
4. We introduced the concept of RT, RP & RT principle – dharma is to do the right thing, at right place and at right time (source Brni Shubhani Chaitanya's talks on Mahabharata). We used this as our basis to present our monthly program. Dharma also is one which will lead to prosperity, peace and purity of mind (Guruji Swami Tejomayanandaji– talks on Dharma Sastra). We had good discussion in understanding these two ideas to expound what dharma is ….
5. Good conduct comes first – Acarah prathamo dharma or acarah paramo dharma. One should do our duties before asking questions. Good behavior is not only of foremost importance in spiritual life, but for success and happiness even in material world.
6. Pujya Gurudev had said that Hinduism is built on duties and not rights. When everyone performs their duties others rights are automatically preserved.
7. Values when practiced over a period of time get imbibed as virtues in our character. We should first expose our mind / ourselves to good things – satsang. Then the mind will become a fertile soil to plant the eternal values of life. These values when nurtured and practiced over a period of time become imbibed and imbedded as virtues in our character. Acceptance and love of others flow naturally towards such virtuous persons. Other get attracted and respond to our ideas & thoughts – one naturally becomes a leader in whatever field he /she pursues.
8. Manu smriti gives us ten values of life that characterize dharma and should be followed by all. They are eternal values or Sanatana Dharma. These are universally applicable to all – young or old; men or women; east or west; past or in future – hence they are Eternal values or Sanatana dharma.
9. These ten values are – dhriti (fortitude); ksama (forgiveness); dama (control over organs of action); asteya (non-stealing); sauca (purity); indriya nigraha (mastery over organs of perception); dhi (discrimination); vidya (knowledge); satya (truthfulness); and akrodha(absence of anger).
10. Dhriti – fortitude or forbearance – capacity to hold on to something. Three kinds of dhritis was discussed by Lord Krishna in 18th chapter of Bhagavad Geeta– sattvika, rajasika and tamasika. Sattvika dhriti exists with an individual at all times, with everyone and under all circumstances. They apply to task on hand and overcome all adversity – they try & try till they succeed. To achieve this one needs to have patience with one's own mental and physical shortcomings. Rajasika dhriti – is shown towards some people, with some tasks and sometimes. They work hard inconsistently and stop when they encounter obstacles. Tamasika dhriti is to hold onto a wrong notion or wrong course of action. For example a person who is alcoholic will say 'what if I die from drinking'. We need to cultivate sattvika dhriti. We watched Swamini Supriyanandaji's video about fortitude - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hhOa4n8&list=PLm6DKuwwu5zp_gmpEGjVmVGiETi6pBA-r&index=10
11. Ksama – forgiveness: at highest level it means when the feeling of being offended does not even arise in first place. Forget and forgive is the way to live – by forgiving we benefit more than the person whom we forgive. We watched Swamini Supriyanandaji's video about forgiveness - Spirituality and Virtues - Forgiveness: Thinking About It | #ChinmayaMission - YouTube
12. Dama – control over organs of action. We all get caught up in our desires. More we fulfill our desires – more desires pop up in us. Only way to lead a healthy and happy life is by having our desires / mind under control. Live with contentment.
13. We also took some time to prepare for our monthly program presentation / pledge. Here is the link to the program which was recorded. We would like to thank all the parents for their cooperation especially those parents who took time to get their children ready for the play with makeup / costumes etc. You need a gmail account to open in google drive.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q5WSk-wsfBJ5R0eeNQ9z7a74drq6p8oG/view?usp=sharing
Pranam,
Devender Akula
Mekhala Girish