Dear Parents
Harih Om!
The following material was taught to your child on Sunday, November 6, 2022, during Balavihar.
1.We began class with the Beginning Prayers
2.We connected with the children by asking them to describe whether they had enjoyed Halloween. Prisha said she was part of a Halloween parade in her school. Most children felt that Halloween this year was lack luster and many did not feel the need to wear a costume when they went out for candy. Navneet in his words was dressed as a biotic being (i.e he was himself).
3.The first two verses of Geeta Dhyaanam were taught. Navneet chanted verse 1 and Sahana verse 2 of Geeta Dhyaanam independently.
4.The first six verses of Bhagavad Geeta chapter 3 were taught.
5.Next, the children concentrated and tried to recollect what had been taught the previous week. They recalled that Karmaphaladaata is always watching us! So, we need to live by Dharma alone by performing righteous actions. If we have faith in the law of Karma, then all wrong actions will automatically end. To explain the concept of God better to 8th graders we gave them the example of rain. How the Sun heats up the ocean and water vapor go up and get condensed then clouds are formed. The clouds then come down as room Who arranged these processes? None other than the Lord. Who placed the sun at the appropriate distance so that we get Surya Bhagavan's energy to be able to grow plants, sustain life on this planet? None other than Bhagavan Himself.
While always we should have a conscience, Conscience is not the Lord. Consciousness is the Lord. Conscience can change but not Consciousness.
6.We then reflected on the content for the day through discourse and some discussion. Mahabharaata was written in Samskritam by Veda Vyasa and has 100,000 verses. It is the story of the Kuru dynasty where Kauravas and Pandavas waged war against each other. Yudhisthira was crowned King of Hastinapura. Inspite of being crowned King, Yudhisthira is and sad and dejected about the loss of life of his cousins, relatives and teachers. He had many questions about life. Sri Krishna advised him to seek the counsel of Bhisma who was lying on a bed of arrows. Sri Krishna tells Bhisma that He wants everyone in the world to remember him (Bhisma) as a treasure house of knowledge. He was given a boon by Bhagavan where in he could not feel any pain. Bhisma answered all of Yudhisthira's questions patiently including how repeatedly he had advised Duryodhana to live by Dharma, but he chose not to listen. To be victorious one must know how to act (karma) and live a Dharmic and happy life. This is the essence of the Grade 8 syllabus for the year.
The Mahabharata story begins with King Shantanu walking along the river side and seeing Ganga for the first time. Smitten with her beauty, King Shantanu wants to marry her. However, Ganga puts the condition that Shantanu should never question her (Ganga's actions during their marriage. Shantanu readily agrees and they marry. However, when Ganga delivers their first child, she calmly walks towards the river and throws her newborn baby into it. Shantanu is aghast but remembers his promise of never questioning her actions. Ganga repeats this deed of killing her new born every time she gave birth to their child. When the 8th child was born, Shantanu could no longer contain himself and asks Ganga to stop! Ganga then explains that the 8 children born to them had been Vasus in their previous life. In that earlier janma they had once visited the ashram of Sage Vashistha and one of the Vasu's wives had begged her husband to steal the Sage's cow (Nandini) for her. The Vasu urged the other Vasus to help him kidnap Nandini. When Sage Vashishta could not find Nandini in his ashrama he cursed the Vasus that they would be born as mortals. The Vasus begged Sage Vashishta for forgiveness and so he relented and told that the 7 of the Vasus would be released from their mortal birth as soon as they were born.The 8 Vasus then requested Ganga to be their mother in their next janma and asked that they be released from life immediately after birth. The 8 th vasu who was the actual instigator of the kidnapping even was however not given this alternative and had to live his entire life in the mortal world. This was the 8th son of Ganga and Shantanu (called Devavrata) whom Ganga took away with her so that she could teach him the scriptures, archery etc. She later brings him back to the same spot by the river side to hand him back to Shantanu. Shantanu is overjoyed to be able to get his son back. However, Shantanu falls in love with a fisherman's daughter by the name of Satyavati and wants to marry her. However, Satyavati's father does not give permission for their marriage as he feels Satyavati and Shantanu's children will not be future heirs to the throne as Devavarata is the first born. Shantanu is dejected and depressed. When Devavarata gets to know of Shantanu's sadness he meets Satyvati's father and promises him that he would never marry and would dedicate his life unbroken chastity. For this reason, Devavrata is known as Bheesma (the one who took a terrible vow). Satyavati and Shantanu have 2 children Chitrangada and Vichitraverrya. The former died in a war. So now Vichitrirvirya is the sole heir to the throne. As soon as Vichitravirya came of age, Bhishma began searching for multiple potential wives for his brother to marry. (It was not uncommon for the kings of ancient India to have more than one wife as that bettered the chances of perpetuating the kingdom).
It just so happened that the king of Kashi had three daughters named Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika, who were ready for marriage. In a tumultuous turn of events, Bhishma arrived at their swayamvara ceremony (an event in which princes competed for a bride), fought off all the other potential suitors, and took the three princesses back to Hastinapura (the Kuru capital) to marry Vichitravirya.
The Kuru dynasty was incredibly prestigious, and so the two younger sisters, Ambika and Ambalika, were delighted to wed Vichitravirya. Amba felt differently, however. Approaching Bhishma, she explained how she and Salva had already given their hearts to each other, and that the swayamvara was actually pre-arranged for his victory.
After careful consideration, Bhishma arranged for Amba to be escorted to Salva's kingdom so she could marry him instead.
When Amba arrived at Shalva's palace, however, she did not get the reception she had anticipated. Shalva wanted nothing to do with her. He felt humiliated by Bhishma, and as a proud warrior, refused to accept "charity" from him.
Though she begged and pleaded with him, he wouldn't budge. Heartbroken, Amba eventually gave up and returned to Hastinapura, where she explained to Bhishma what had happened with Shalva, and that she now had no other choice but to marry Vichitravirya.
Bhishma, however, to Amba's shock and dismay said the option of wedding Vichitravirya was no longer an option because she had already given her heart to another.
Quickly realizing she was running out of options, she then suggested Bheeshma marry her. After all, it was he who caused Amba to be in this predicament by kidnapping her. But Bheeshma insisted that he could not and would not break his vow of celibacy. Amba was advised to return to her family.
Amba was devastated and she developed an intense hatred for Bheesma. She prayed to Lord Subramanya who gave her a garland of ever fresh lotuses and told her that the wearer of that garland would kill Bheesma. However, no one was willing to take up that challenge and the garland hung on the gates of King Drupada's palace. Amba then went to Sage Parasurama who said he would talk to King Salva and make him accept her as his bride, but she refused. Sage Parasurama was moved by Amba's story and his hatred for kshatriya race that he fought with Bheesma but was defeated. Amba then does penance and is granted a boon by Lord Shiva who told her that in her next life she would indeed play a part in Bheesma's death. Determined to fulfill her goal as soon as possible, Amba immediately killed herself. She immediately plunged into the funeral pyre and was born as King Drupada's daughter. One day as a young girl and seeing the garland of never fading lotuses she wears it around her neck. King Drupada is shocked and worried for her safety sends her to the forest where she transforms herself into half man half woman named Shikandin who would ride Arjuna's chariot during the Mahabharata war. Aware of Shikhandi's past life as Amba, the next day the Pandavas mounted an attack on Bhishma with Shikhandi leading the charge, followed closely by Arjuna, the most skilled fighter of the Pandavas. Refusing to engage Shikandin in battle, Bheeshma became vulnerable, which allowed Arjuna to take him down with a volley of arrows.
- We initially focused on analyzing actions of certain characters:
- Shantanu's desire was the reason he married Satyavati (the fisherman's beautiful daughter). However, this was done at the expense of Shantanu's son's (Bheesma's) life being on hold. Since the latter took a vow never to get married or beget children, it led to the ultimate downfall of Hastinapur.
Lesson learned (LL) – one should keep one's desires under control and think of the impact it has on other people's lives as well. We should not be selfish in pursuing and fulfilling our needs alone. - Bheesma's vow: this signifies his love and the sacrifice he was willing to make for his father. He was blessed with many blessings including one of "Icchya Mrutyu" a boon that meant that Bheesma could choose the time of his death.
LL – One should serve their parents willingly - Gandhari's vow: She blindfolded herself since her husband Dhritharastra was blind; however, this decision was taken rather emotionally. If either Dhirtharashtra or his wife had seen the wrongdoings of the Kauravas, they could have corrected them and guided them better. Instead, their parents literally turned a "blind eye" to the actions of the Kauravas.
LL - Do not take decisions without thinking through the consequences, and don't make decisions based on emotions alone. - Kunti's boon: As a young teenage girl, she had served Sage Durvasa and in return she was granted a boon by the Sage. The boon given to her was that she could have a child by just visualizing any man as her child's father. Out of frivolity and curiosity of youth she tested Sage Durvasa's boon imagining Surya to be her child's father and lo and behold gave birth to Karna out of wedlock. She felt scared and her instinct was to abandon him, and she set him afloat in a river. The infant was rescued by a charioteer, Adhiratha and his wife Radha. Later, Karna became a key figure leading to the Mahabharata war.
LL – First, one must have faith in Sage's / Rishi's words. Second, if you commit a mistake you should own up and be ready to face the consequences. Even though one may be punished in the short term, in the long term your conscience will be clear. This will lead to a better quality of life.
The 8th graders did an awesome job leading the concluding prayers and pledge at the assembly hall.
Thank you!
Grade 8 Sunday A.M. sevaks
