Hari om everyone,
Here's our synopsis for the week. We started the class with meditation and chanting Chapter 3 of BG. It is such a pleasure to listen to them chant in unison!
The Kyun Kyun (QQ - Quirky Question) of the day was - When I am open, I can see myself in the mirror. If I am closed, I can't see me at all! Who am I?
One of them said it was Jack-in-the-Box. But then, it won't satisfy the 'I can see me in the mirror' part... To see the Jack-in-the-Box we don't need a mirror. The answer, as rightly answered by some, is 'Eyes'!
This opened up a few interesting thoughts. We see everything in the world. But have we ever seen our own eyes or our own self, for that matter? One may dispute, 'of course! I have seen myself in the mirror or in my photos!' But what I have seen is only a reflection of myself or an image of myself. In the truest sense, I have never seen myself without an external aid or device!!
We go to holy places, stand in long lines, wait for hours..., only to get a few seconds of darshanam in the sanctum sanctorum. When we get there, we close our eyes and pray! Isn't it an irony that we went to 'see' God and we closed our eyes and prayed?! Not really! It is actually a profound reminder that to see God, we have to look within ourselves and to do that, we don't need open eyes. It is perfectly alright to close our eyes and look within!! That all-powerful, all-knowing, almighty is the same entity that enlivens us too!
Krishna had spoken about all these topics to Arjuna in chapter 11. He also said He can be worshipped in manifest as well as unmanifest forms. Arjuna asked, which is the better type of worship - manifest or unmanifest? Krishna didn't give a direct answer. He quoted the pros and cons of both kinds. Devotion (bhakti) is essential for either kind of worship though. In fact, devotion is the very underlying factor for any type of relationship with the Lord.
When we worship an unseen, unchanging power, He is the unmanifest Lord. When we worship a form (moorti) in the temple, it is the worship of the manifest Lord. Some may call it idol worship. The worship of idols is perceived somewhat as taboo. Idols are mere statues. It is better to refer to the Gods in the temple as 'moorti' rather than 'idols'. These moortis in the temple are a convergence of energies and they are the manifested representations of the Supreme bhagavaan. We established this with a story where one of our students was a king and a sage made him understand the meaning of moortis. (Story, in short - King is against moorti pooja. A sage asks the king to disfigure a picture of his grandfather. Obviously, he refuses as it is not just paper and ink, but the very representation of his grandfather! The sage said, 'Similarly, moortis are not just stone/wood, but they are the very essence of bhagavaan!! The king understood his mistake and apologized.)
We should be very proud of who we are!! We are born into a culture into that has NEVER resorted to extremism at any time in History!
Here, we discussed some very important and intense topics. Hinduism has NEVER insisted that we should worship in a specific way or that one God is greater than the other, unlike in many other religions!
Our students had many questions at this time. We discussed other religions, forced conversions and radical extremism if others don't conform to their beliefs. We spoke about History as it happened vs. how the media projects that reality. We discussed many examples and how our understanding of those incidents is distorted. We spoke about the extremities some religions go to, including jihad.
We should be proud of who we are and aware of the richness of our culture. Otherwise, we will not be sure of what we stand for! If someone comes to us with their book and asks us to convert, we will be confident enough to say, 'No, thank you. I have my book (geetaa) that gives me my peace!'
Until next class, here's something to contemplate upon.
See you next (Jun 4th) for the last class of this academic year!
On June 10th, our seniors will be graduating and we will have a wonderful ceremony at the ashram! (More details will be shared soon.) We invite you all to join us and hear the speeches of our wonderful 12th graders!
Have a great break during the upcoming long weekend!
Regards,
Rashmi.
Rashmi.
