Dear Parents, Harih Om!
The following was discussed in our Balavihar class on Feb 05, 2023:
1. After initial prayers we continued with Bhagavad Gita Dhyana sloka teaching and learned all nine verses. The children took turns chanting the verses from the Dhyana shloka independently. Shravani chanted verses 1 and 2, Prisha and Risha chanted verses 3 and 4, Rajan chanted verse 5, Shivan chanted verse 6, Hrithik chanted verse 7, Aditi and Anika chanted verse 8.
Our students are getting better every week!
2. Verses 19 and 20 from Bhagavad Geeta (chapter 3) were taught to the children. Please have your children practice at home.
3. We did a quick recap of the topics that we had covered and discussed in our last Balavihar session.
4. Today in class we discussed the topic of "Dharma" through the eye of Mahabharata Story.
Dharma:
The word Dharma is derived from the Sanskrit root "Dhr" which means "to uphold" or "to support". Everything in this Universe has its own "Dharma"-called "Svadharma" which is that essential nature of a thing without which it cannot exist. Simple example- Heat is the essential nature of fire – maintains the existence of fire and can be defined as the "Dharma" of fire. Similarly, every human being has his or her own "Dharma". For humans, one's Dharma manifests as one's thoughts and actions that uphold character, nourish life, give meaning to life, and strengthen the individual and society. This can be seen through duties towards others- family, community, country, environment, charity, goodwill etc. Often, we get attached to actions and consider them alone as Dharma. Dharma is that not only ensures the wellbeing of the individual but also that of society. Dharma refers to following ethical and moral rules of society. Our responsibilities as a student, as a sibling, towards our parents, society, our friends, our work etc. all are an expression of Dharma. Through these actions whether it is mental, physical, or intellectual, one can express one's true divine nature. The reason we do not see the divinity within ourselves or in others is that we are transacting in this world through our non-essential qualities (body, mind, and intellect) and not through our essential quality (our Consciousness).
What makes one personality different from another is the texture of thoughts entertained by him/her. The quality of thoughts entertained by a person are in turn determined by the vasanas (patterns of thinking) from the past. Every human being is unique because each person is born with certain innate talents, traits, and capacities. To understand this better, we asked children if they thought their personality was the same as their sibling. They narrated how different they were from their sibling in approaching their school assignments, hobbies, interacting with friends, preparing for their tests, likings/dislikings, even though they were raised in the same house by the same parents.
To act against one's own gunas and act according to someone else's gunas is called "Paradharma" and this is filled with danger. Dronacharya in the Mahabharata exemplifies this case. He was born a brahmin. And a Brahmin`s Swadharma is to impart knowledge and education to mankind without any personal gain and interest. However, he chose training in archery and then taught the Pandavas and Kauravas this skill. We later learn that he had an ulterior motive in doing this.
To live according to one's "Svadharma" and exhaust one's vasanas is the method of reaching our Divine nature and this is called "ParamDharma" (supreme duty). The mark of Dharma is Aachara (good conduct). Aachara is the ability to have the discrimination whether our actions are in accordance with moral values. A person who has detailed knowledge of the scriptures, did rituals but conducts himself/herself improperly then all his/her learning is in vain.
5. We continued with the Yaksha Prashnas:
a. The world is veiled by what? – Ignorance veils the world. Our vasanas/ ignorance prevent us from Knowing our own Self; resulting in the world to be projected for us to see.
b. Why does knowledge not shine? – due to Tamas. Lazy people do not achieve anything great. Laziness or tamas prevents knowledge from shining. Remember knowledge is real wealth. The Lord is the cause of this Universe. If we are tamsic we do not recognize this fact.
c. Why does one abandon friends? – Greed. Greed makes us lose friends and friends leave us if we are greedy. One must share and care if we want friends to stick with us; nobody wants to be around a selfish and greedy person.
d. Why does one not go to heaven? – due to attachment. Relationship of vasana driven mind with object of its fascination is called attachment. It will tie us down to the outer objects and our desires keep multiplying – preventing us from performing good deeds and to live by virtues. The solution is to try and detach ourselves from lower urges and attach us to a higher purpose (that is the Lord).
Our grade's performance is scheduled for Mar 26th. We brainstormed on ideas, and some children volunteered to collaborate and work on the script via the Google Docs platform.
Thank you!
Inchara, Rekha, and Mekhala (Grade 8 Sunday AM Balavihar teachers)
