Hope you are all doing well and staying safe in the crazy changes in weather!
Today's class we did a quick review of the previous class, where we talked about the 4 steps of Vairagya (ways to remove your addictions and attachments).
We then dived into the topic of "Friendships" or those people we got along with very well at some point in our lives. We asked the students who their first childhood friend/acquaintance was, what they liked about them, and why they enjoyed spending time with them? After a round robin discussion of everyone's response, we gathered that the majority of us chose our friends based on similar interests and positive characteristics (ie: trustworthy, helpful, caring, etc).
This transitioned into the conversation of "Satsangha" vs "Dusangha". Satsangha is being in association with those of like-minded, positive influence, people. Dusangha is being in association with people who are bad influences, constantly share negative thoughts, etc. We also discussed how it is hard to catagorized anyone as a "bad person", but rather to acknowledge their bad actions and thoughts that will determine whether or not it is beneficial to keep them in your company/friendship.
All in all, we want to make and keep friends that provide more of the "Satsangha" atmosphere, because that will help us grow in a more positive and uplifting direction.
We hope that the students took away some positive thoughts about today's class, especially when they continue in their high school years, and eventually progress towards college and beyond!