Hari Om,
We are restarting this weekly report after a few months. Wanted to let all of you know that we have completed thes study of Ramayana. Now we are studying our second book called "Key to Success".
We started the class with a breathing exercise, chanted OM, and recited prayers.
This was followed by a Bhajan session with Swaminiji. The whole class sang two Bhajans on Hanumanji repeating after the Swaminiji who is an expert in playing guitar!
After this, the entire class chanted the Nama Ramayanam from the Prayer book. This included Bala Kanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya Kanda, Kishkinda Kanda, Sundara Kanda and Yudha Kanda.
We then started the third chapter of the "Key to Success" book. This chapter is called "Mechanics of the Mind". We discussed that the mind is man. As the mind, so is the individual. If the mind is disturbed, the individual is disturbed. If the mind is good, the individual is good.The mind can be compared to a river. A river is a flow of water. Similarly, a mind is a flow of thoughts. Think happy thoughts in order to be happy!
Mind is made up of a soft matter, as it were. As each thought passes through it, an "impression" is left on the mind-matter like a scratch and when similar thoughts are repeated, it deepens into a channel. Every subsequent thought wave has a tendency to flow through that ready-made thought-channel. Over a period of time these tendencies become a habit!
The mind, for purposes of our study and understanding, may be considered as constituted of two distinct sides---one facing the world of stimuli that reach it from the objects of the world, and the other which reacts internally to the stimuli received. The outer mind facing the object is called the objective mind. The inner mind is called the subjective mind (intellect) as it is facing the subject within (Om, the Lord). Through the five organs of perception (gateways of knowledge), all of us experience the world-of-objects around us at all moments. That individual is whole, healthy, and happy in whom the objective and subjective aspects of the mind work in unison with each other.
We then went outside our class to experience the five senses. With their eyes the students spotted an airplane flying in the sky, With their ears, the students heard the roar of the engines of the airplane. With their nose, the students smelled the grass in the garden. With the skin, the students felt a stone. With the tongue/mouth the students ate grapes!
After this we returned to our class and chanted select verses of Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 3 (Karma Yoga). We then joined the rest of the grades in the Temple auditorium where our students led the assembly in chanting all the Aratis followed by Pledge and Shanti Mantras.
REMINDER: Grade 7 monthly program is scheduled for Apr 23, 2023. In our next class we will brainstorm ideas for a suitable presentation.
Our next class is on Mar 19, 2023!
Pranaams!
Vyjayanti and Krishna
