Hari om Parents,
It was wonderful to be back in the ashram and see the joyous faces of all the students!
We had an information session with students, parents & teachers of all grades in the stage area at the main temple. The teachers and the 9th grade students, then, went to the classroom. Our classroom is 'Govinda' and we will directly meet there Sunday mornings going forward.
We did basic introductions in the class. The class was broken up into groups and given a task to make something from scratch. The class then went outside and picked whatever they could in 10 min. Some very creative works of art were done by them in a short time - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sjPcebwTkwboqmHud0nTtoK19ZgjB8Zt/view?usp=sharing
(You may need to download this to see the video)
After an explanation of the artwork by them, we asked them "Was this really made from scratch?" Where does the material come from? All matter is made from earth, water, fire, air and space. These combined with the inner elements - Mind, Wisdom & Ego comprise all matter manifestations. So, can we really make something from matter?
We continued this thought exercise to question if all matter including our body is going through change constantly then who am I? Does our identity change when everything around it is changing?
We know there is something different about us that distinguishes us from others? What is that? Similarly, we know that a set of people like us have something that makes them similar and at the same time different from the rest. This common similarity shows itself in the way we dress, we celebrate our festivals, our beliefs, our eating habits, etc. This is our culture.
Our culture is unique because it is ever evolving but never old - It is sanatana. It is adapting to changes but its kernel has remained unchanged. It is the oldest living civilization in the world! It is derived from the Vedas that are eternal truths. Just as there is no beginning for physics, we believe, there is no beginning for Sanatana Sanskriti.
This year we will be exploring this culture and attempting to imbibe its principles.
regards,
Seetaram Kuchibotla
Partha Turaga
