Hari om everyone,
Quick synopsis from our class this week:
We started the class with meditation. In our chanting segment, we chanted verses 39 - 72 from 'BG chapter 2'.
Continuing our conversation about our dharma and that our prerogative is towards doing actions without expecting results, we asked our students a set of questions. The first question was, how would they feel if they didn't get what they expected? They all said in different words, that they would be upset, angry, frustrated, sad, etc. Upon extending the question to - what would they do when upset/angry, they said they would take irrational, hasty, bad, thoughtless, vengeful, impulsive decisions. The outcome of these decisions...? They said will be bad or not in their favor. They unanimously agreed that they cannot decide right from wrong in that delusional state of mind!
We said: Bingo! That's EXACTLY what Krishna said to Arjuna and it is termed as the 'Ladder of fall!'
Our students already knew what Bhagavaan was saying to Arjuna in chapter 2 :). Krishna gives these steps of one's downfall as shown below.
When we are fixated upon getting an object, our mind can lead us to our own downfall very quickly! The nature of the mind is to churn up thoughts one after the other, like waves in the ocean. But we have the liberty to choose not to take a surfboard and ride on them! :) Our tendency is to catch a wave, ride on it, and go places. We saw with an example of how someone saw a rasmalai and the leading thoughts ended up in a fight with their neighbor :)). We can choose to not entertain our whims and fancies.
Even if our desires are fulfilled, they can lead us towards destruction! How so?! Isn't it a good thing if my desires are satiated?! This chart explains such a scenario too -
Our students beautifully explained how fulfillment can lead to greed, arrogance, envy and fear (of losing the object).
Whether desires are fulfilled or not, they are trouble! When there is impending danger, a tortoise withdraws its limbs into its shell. Similarly, one should withdraw from wants/desires, remembering that they are bringing danger to oneself.
Then, should we not want to eat, play, watch tv, etc. Some actions are okay. So, how can we differentiate? What is the difference?
We saw in the water bottle example how we crystalize ourselves and think we are separate from the rest of the world. We perceive ourselves as invincible and go out of control. We end up doing both good and bad actions. Is God someone up above in the sky, who is keeping track of our faults and merits? Which God will punish us for what mistakes?
This led us to the question, are we polytheistic or monotheistic? We saw a wonderful video that explains this precisely. Due to the size of the file, we are unable to share it in the email. Please check it out on our blog post here instead.
Contemplate these thoughts and we will see you next week.
Regards,
Rashmi and Raghav.