Hari om everyone,
Below is the synopsis of this week's class. Class started with meditation and chanting Bhagavadgeeta ch. 3. Only a few of them are registered for the individual chanting during Geeta Yagna. If you haven't already and are interested, please do register at the earliest.
Our Kyun Kyun (QQ - Quirky Question) of the day: I am light as a feather, but even the strongest person cannot hold me for longer than 5 minutes. Who am I?
Ans: Breath (Our students were on point! :))
We had a surprise quiz today to check our understanding of the topics taught so far! The quiz was their favorite Kahoot :). We started the Kahoot quiz with some basic trivia about the Geeta and moved on to more intricate questions. We discussed the answers along the way as well. It was heartening to see most of them knew the answers to most of the questions!! There were a couple of questions that were trip-ups, but then, we had good laughs about the wrong answers chosen :).
One of the questions was, 'Why did Krishna ask Arjuna not to grieve?' The answer was, 'because our bodies are like worn-out clothes that we discard'. One of the wrong choices given was 'YOLO (You Only Live Once)'. One of our students said, 'how can that be? In reality, we die Only Once!' He was right :)). Yes, we need to focus on living our lives minute by minute, in a fulfilling manner.
But there's another aspect to this. We discussed how else this statement is illogical.
Me: If I live only once, where do I go after death?
Them: Hell/heaven, based on whether you were good or bad
Me: Great! For how long?!
Them: Forever!
Me: Oh! So, it's an eternal hell/heaven?
Them: Ya!
Me: So, to determine whether I'll go to hell/heaven eternally, I'll have to live a handful few years on this earth?! Btw, if this hell/heaven is eternal/forever, then why was I not there from before?
Them: uh...
Me: Also, why is there a time of entry into an 'eternal' place?! Isn't this an oxymoron?!
Them: Hmmm...., makes sense!
Me: Anything that has a beginning WILL have an ending. If I entered heaven/hell, I will have to exit as well!! So, the rebirth concept of our Sanaatana dharma is absolutely logical and makes total sense! We DO NOT live only once.
Continuing the discussion,
Me: How about mokSha (liberation) then? When will I get mokSha?
Them: When you get it! :))
Me: Great! But did we just not say that whatever has a starting point WILL have an ending point? So, will I get temporary mokSha and it will be over at some point? Because, I have to 'get' mokSha at a certain time, right?!
Them: huh... what? That's not good!
Me: That's the misnomer!! We think we need to 'get' mokSha. But in reality, we ALL are 'ever liberated (nitya mukta-s)'!! We only don't 'know' about it!!
Them: huh? We don't know what we already are?!
Me: Yep! That's why this is called 'raaja vidyaa raaja guhya' (biggest/royal secret knowledge). Let's see if we can draw a parallel. When I was born, did I know if I were a girl or a boy?! But did that change the fact of who I was?! My 'knowing or not knowing' doesn't change the fact of who I am. Similarly, I AM actually ever liberated, but I mistake myself to be this limited BMI (Body, Mind, Intellect).
We concluded the discussion of chapter 9 with a few more such interesting discussions. During review time, our students summarized all the points wonderfully. We are so proud of our attentive and alert students!
We will leave you with these thoughts for now -
Have a great rest of the week. See you Sunday.
Regards,
Rashmi.
