Hari Om
This week's student volunteer blogger is Harshita Ramakrishnan. Here is her write up of last class's happenings:
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Last class, we started stating what we were thankful for, since
Thanksgiving was around the corner. A few common answers were family,
friends, a home, and food. But after an interesting activity, we
realized that there is one more thing we should appreciate. We are
fortunate enough to have no disabilities and mental or physical issues.
We learned this by participating in an activity that was set up by the
Vijayam class teachers. One group of children covered their eyes (like a
blind person). One group covered their ears (as if a deaf person). One
group covered their mouth ( like a dumb person). And the last group had
their eyes, mouth, and ears disabled. The object of the activity was to
communicate a message amongst the groups with your disabilities. This
way we could see how hard life was for the disabled. Each group tried
different methods to communicate including sign language and tracing
letters on people's hands. Still, we were not able to get the message
across clearly to the other groups. We realized the difficulties the
unfortunate experienced everyday and understood that we should be grateful that god created without any problems.
For the second half of class, we reviewed a topic covered in the
previous grades of Balavihar. We discussed and interpreted the 24
Preceptors. The earth, air/breeze, sky, fire, the sun, pigeon, python,
sea, moth, elephant, ant, fish, Pingala the courtesan, arrow-maker,
infant/playful boy, the moon, honeybee, deer, bird of prey, maiden,
serpent, spider, caterpillar and water.Let's talk about a few.
The Earth. All animals and humans step on the earth. Earth provides food
for all living things. People plow, dig, and pollute the earth. Still,
the earth is patient and loving. This teaches us to care for the welfare
of others.
The air. The air is everywhere. It sweeps through flowery gardens and
dirty dumps. Though it holds the scent for a moment, but after a while
it goes back to it's odorless condition. The air teaches us not to be
affected by the dualities of life, joy and sorrow. Our feelings should
be unaffected and our speech shouldn't be contaminated with vain
thoughts.
The moth. Moths are attracted by bright lights. Often, they go into the
source of the light and burn to death. This teaches us not to let
material desires affect our mind.
In conclusion, last class we thanked god for how fortunate we were. Not
only did he give us a house, food, water, nice clothes, and an
education, he also created us without any disabilities. Life is really
hard for people with mental and physical problems. But we should look
beyond just what is on the outside or the appearance and realize how
good that person is on the inside. Finally, we freshened up our memory
of the 24 Preceptors. We learned that each element of nature, from air
to a moth,taught us an important life lesson. We learned so many amazing
things last week, who knows what learning adventure we will embark on
next class!
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Reminder: There will be Yoga class this Sunday 12/8/13. Please bring along your Yoga mats and come dressed appropriately.
Regards
BBNJ Vijayam Teachers
Sri & Aparna
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