Harih Om Parents,
1. Following was discussed/taught to the children during Bala Vihar class on April 10, 2022.
2. Initial prayers.
3. We started learning Tapovan Shatakam. Completed two verses of Tapovan Shatakam
Satvik, Nithya verse 1 of Tapovan Shatakam
Vikram, Yashvi Verse 2 of Tapovan Shatakam
We are teaching the values taught by Sri Krishna in Chapter XII of Bhagavad Gita, where He enumerates 35 virtues or gems for us to live by. Bhagawan says he is showing us these gems so that we can make use of them and be happy. He says, "anyone who lives by these virtues is My darling". We briefly reviewed values taught last class – hate no one; friendly to all; compassion and non-attachment.
4. Gem 5: Free from Ego (Nirahamkarah); without egoism; one is free from ego. Pujya Gurudev says ego is a noun not a verb. Ego is nothing but a bundle of past actions and reactions, from birth till now. He commands us to throw away this stinking bundle down and look at the world without this muddy poison. Where ego is dropped, divine experience arises. Ego is false identification with our body, mind and intellect. When ego is divinized, the individual will automatically remain equanimous in both success and failure.
The Balloon Effect – when balloon filled with helium is let go it rises up as it is less dense than atmospheric air. With greater displacement of air, it will go higher and higher and, in the process, it expands, until the elasticity of the rubber is reached and it bursts. The balloon shrivels and falls. Similarly, we, the perceiver, feeler and the thinker – the ego entity – will get filled up with "helium" as we study scriptures and follow value-based lifestyle. The vasana burden in us gets reduced and the mind & intellect get an upward thrust. As we progress in our sadhana a time will come just like the balloon our mind and intellect will explode and we will merge with the Reality. The Reality / Bhagawan – whose is functioning as the life principle in us and keeps us going; just like a battery keeps the flashlight going.
5. On a practical note, we can see that too much ego leads to its own problems. We can get angry with people, hurt our family and friends – even though we know we did wrong our ego prevents us from saying 'sorry'. When we say sorry, we should really mean it. We are unable to do that because our ego prevents us from acknowledging our mistakes.
6. Story – in a forest lived an egoistic elephant and it treated everyone badly. One day a bunny who never heard about the elephant, did not greet the elephant, and went about singing. Elephant got angry and wanted to crush the bunny. A mosquito nearby decided to teach the elephant a lesson. The mosquito challenged the elephant to fight with it and to leave the bunny alone. The mosquito got into the trunk of the elephant and started biting him. The elephant jumped and rolled but could not get rid of the mosquito. All the animals started cheering for the mosquito. Finally, elephant realized the result of his egoistic attitude and asked forgiveness from all the animals. Mosquito then left the elephant alone.
7. When we learn to detach from lower values and start attaching ourselves to higher values and higher ideal, we will be able to lead more happier and productive life, opening up a pathway for higher possibilities. By practicing these values, we are trying to chip away the negativity within our personality so that the beauty inherently within us can shine forth. When we want to get rid of the moss in a tank all we need to do is fill up the tank with water and eventually the moss will overflow, and water will become clear again. Similarly, if we continue to cultivate positive values and ideas in our personality, the negative values slowly but steadily will get sublimated and eliminated. It is like removing the impurities around the diamond, when it is done successfully, the natural beauty of the diamond shines forth itself.
8. Gem 6 - Equal minded in pleasure and pain; samaduhkhahsukhah.
One needs to be balanced in our responses to various situations we encounter in our daily lives. Balance the mind does not mean living like a statute. Normally we get very happy when we get things that we like or if persons behave according to our liking. We are unhappy when we get what we dislike or if circumstances are not conducive to our liking. What we need to realize is strong likes and dislikes make us unhappy. For example, I must sit in my favorite dining chair to eat my food, I must eat pizza every Friday that to only from Pizza Hut, I cannot eat pizza without Coke, or I get upset if I do not see my favorite TV show. We should avoid such strong likes and dislikes which will inevitably make us unhappy. Instead, if we have a balanced mind, we will be more peaceful and happier. Likes and dislikes depend upon background and environment. When we put finger in ice water for a few minutes and then put the same finger in warm water it will feel very hot. When the finger is put in lukewarm water, then put in warm water the water will not feel that hot. So too all our feelings are relative. Our likes and dislikes are conditioned both by circumstances and environment. We discussed the movie "Gods must be Crazy", in which all tribal people fight for a magic God-given instrument which was a coke bottle that was accidentally dropped in their village from the plane. Since the villagers never saw any coke bottle before, they thought this was a God given gift, which had many utilities. But ultimately the peace and tranquility that was in the village got destroyed as everyone wanted to possess the coke bottle with "special powers." Finally, the tribal chief throws the bottle away in a valley and then peace returns to the village. Pujya Gurudev says – if we can give up our likes and dislikes, world will become double its space. As we will stop chasing what we like and running away from what we don't like. Everything in the world changes, if we come across difficult situations and circumstances, we have to keep the thought in the mind that "even this will pass". Knowing that nothing is permanent we need to keep a relatively balanced mind.
9. Gem 7 - Forgive, Ksami.
God is all forgiving. All we need to do is pray and ask for his forgiveness; He immediately responds. There are numerous stories in our Puranas which show the extreme kindness of the Lord. Shri Ramji did not even entertain any thoughts of hatred towards mother Kaikeyi; despite her asking boons to send Shri Ramji away to forest for 14 years. Lord Rama always treated her with love and respect. Similarly, when Jesus was being crucified he prayed to God to forgive everyone as they did not know what they were doing. Pujya Gurudev gives example of sandalwood which gives perfume to the very axe that brings the sandalwood tree down. The more we rub Sandalwood to the stone more fragrance it gives. Such is the beauty of forgiveness in life. Once a holy man was invited to a town to judge wrong doers to see what punishment they can be given. The holy man entered the town dragging behind a basket full of holes filled with sand. People did not understand his behavior. The holy man replied - like this sand my sins are running behind me. I do not see them, but I have coming here to judge others. It only means that what right we have to judge others. Just as we forgive and overlook our own sins, we should learn to forgive others. When we forgive people, it is we who benefit more than the person whom we have forgiven. We need to forgive and forget. A lot of times people say they have forgiven a person, but every time they meet the person, they'll remind him about the incident. It is important that we forget the hurt that incident caused even if we can't forget the incident. Forgiving somebody despite the harm or ill that they have done to us is what we should strive for. We should forgive everyone without exception, maintaining grudges against one or two persons will still poison our mind. For example one may say I forgive everyone except my in-laws, this is not good enough. Forgiveness should be complete. "To err is human, to forgive is divine." – Alexander Pope. "It is by forgiving that one is forgiven." – Mother Theresa.
10. We watched following video
Spirituality and Virtues - Forgiveness: Thinking About It | #ChinmayaMission – forgiveness
