December 17, 2017

This class blog written by Dhruv Hemmige. 

Last week, during Balavihar, our class covered many topics and lessons. We began class as usual with the opening prayer and got settled, when a question came up: What is the point of a Bhiksha? We learned that a Bhiksha is a food offering to Monk/Sadhu. After that, we went back to the Dharma Chariot. We reviewed what we learned last class: the bow. We talked about how the bow is used to kill enemies such as Spiritual ignorance and other negative tendencies. This ignorance can be destroyed with the bow, that is the knowledge of the Self.

If we get rid of these bad qualities such as anger, greed, hatred, jealousy etc., we can become happy. Also, to be happy, we need to get rid of attachment. Otherwise, we will always be worrying about so many bad things, we won’t be able to see all the good things right in front of us. After understanding that, we moved on to new qualities in the chariot.

The two things we learned were the quiver and the arrows. A pure and steady mind is the quiver (trona). The arrows, silimukha, stands for quietude of the mind. These are connected because if you want your mind to be quiet, it needs to be pure and steady, otherwise you will always be thinking like crazy. The mind can be compared to a river. The same way that a river flows, your minds has thoughts. When the waters are clean, the river is clean. When the water is muddy, the river is the same way. That's why it is important to have clean thoughts.

A second example we used to understand this was the race between the hare and the tortoise. The hare obviously had a unsteady mind, since he was so overconfident. The tortoise, however, had a steady mind as he was focused on winning the race. To be steady, is to stick to your decision and follow the path to goal patiently. Slow and steady won the race for tortoise.

We also learnt how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly with patience.

After that, we looked at multiple pictures. We saw kids cheating on tests and doing other bad things, and instantly knew that they were thinking bad thoughts. In the other pictures, we saw kids getting along and having fun, again knowing instantly that they were having good thoughts. A phrase we learnt was Acala Amala Mana, meaning steady, pure mind. The lesson we took away from this part of class was that if you think pure thoughts, you get pure words, and then pure actions. And if you are around negative people, you will become negative.

We then moved on to the next part of class, which was our value from the Bhagavad Gita: Stairyam. Sthairyam is steadfastness, which means determination, or perseverance. Then, we were told a quote from Swami Vivekananda: “Arise! Awake! Stop not until the goal is reached!” Basically, if you fail, get up and try again. We learned two words: Shreya(path of good) and Preya(path of pleasures). Since we were on the topic of determination and perseverance, we learned about Sudha Chandran. She was a Bharatanatyam dancer who was in a car accident. After hurting her leg in the accident, it got infected and had to get amputated. After getting a prosthetic leg, she kept training and practicing, eventually dancing how she used to.

After learning about her, we moved on to Na Karmana, practicing many times so we would say it properly in front of Swamiji. Following that, we also practiced the Geeta Dhyana Sloka multiple times. We said our closing prayers and then went down to the cafeteria for the Bhiksha. After chanting our slokas, we ate lunch, and then we asked Swamiji questions.

December 10, 2017

Hari Om, Parents

Pleased to present the December 10th Class summary from the eyes of our student blogger, 'Suchir Peyyeti'.

     During Balavihar last week, our class accomplished many things. After chanting the opening prayers, we reviewed everything we had learned from the previous week. Next, we continued our learning of the Dharma Chariot. So far, we had learned about the four horses, the wheels, the flags, the reins, the shield, the charioteer, the ax and the sword. All of these having their own different morals as well as traits on how to act and be as an individual. This past week, we learned about the bow on a chariot. The bow symbolizes self-knowledge and understanding yourself. It also represented learning from the past and prior experiences. In addition, the teachers told us a story of a man who walked into Paradise. While in paradise he realizes that he is very tired and needs some rest. He then takes rest under a gorgeous tree. When he wakes up in the morning he finds that he is very hungry. As soon as he wishes he had food, food appears. After eating, he becomes very thirsty. The second he thinks of a drink, a drink appears in front of him. So, whatever he wished for, it appeared instantly. Over time, the man wished for many things. Suddenly, he wonders whether there are ghosts who are giving all these things to him. As soon, as he thinks of a ghost, a ghost appears. The man is frightened and ponders on whether the ghost will eat him or not. When he thinks about this, the ghost comes over to him and eats him. As a class, we came to the conclusion that the clear moral of this story was to not be greedy. The man never had enough and didn't think of the consequences of his actions. After hearing this story, we moved on to vasanas. We learned that vasanas are your impressions from the past. For example, as a baby, you are playing in a river and suddenly get pushed down by the sudden current. Although you are okay, this could come back to haunt you later. Such an experience could make you constantly afraid of water. Once we finished talking about vasanas we briefly talked about Dvaita and Advaita. Dvaita is the belief that you and God are different. On the other hand, Advaita is the belief that you and God are one, the same. We then learned about Sankara, a man who preached Advaita. Once we wrapped up Advaita and Dvaita we talked about this weeks value of the Bhagavad Gita: Soucham. Soucham means cleanliness. The two types of Soucham are internal and external. Internal meaning a purified mind, and getting rid of bad thoughts. External meaning when you brush your teeth, take a shower etc. After talking about Soucham we finished our class with the Sannyasa Suktam. We finished practicing the Suktam and the Geeta Dhyana Sloka as we will be chanting these two slokas next week at our Bhiksha. Lastly, we wrapped up our class with the closing prayers. 

December 3, 2017

Hari Om, Parents

As mentioned earlier, beginning with Dec 3rd class, this blog will feature Student Summary of the class happenings. We are pleased to present the summary from our first student blogger, 'Maanas Gopi':

In our Balavihar class, we learned a lot about the Dharma Chariot and about the values we can take away from it. After our opening prayers, we started to review what the parts of the chariot symbolized, and how it related to our wellbeing and mental state. We went over how the horses were necessary to pull the cart, and at the same time, the charioteer was necessary to guide the cart. We also relayed what the wheels, flags, weapons, horses, and reigns represented.

Wheels:
• Sauraja - Courage

• Dhiraja - Fortitude

Flags:

• Satya - Truthfulness

• Sila - Good Character

Horses:

• Bala - Mental and physical strength

• Viveka - Good Decision Making

• Dama - Control of Senses

• Parahita - Caring for Others

Reigns:• Ksama - Forgiveness

•Kripa - Compassion

• Samata - Equal-mindedness

Weapons:

• Shield - Dispassion

• Sword - Contentment

• Axe - Charity

• Bow - Self-Knowledge

Afterwards, we worked on chanting Na Karmana. We were, ourselves, able to chant the whole prayer, but we still need practice.

Lastly, we preformed many different asana's while doing yoga. We recited a prayer before starting, and we soon started stretching out our legs, arms, hands doing 16-point asanas. At the very end, requested by the majority, we "practiced" the sleeping asana, until we finally said our closing prayers, and ended this week's Balavihar session.

November 19, 2017

Hari Om, Parents

Gratitude ! We are so thankful for so many things - especially the opportunity to teach this year's brilliant and fun Vijayam Class. As somebody pointed out at today's thanksgiving luncheon speech, Balavihar is not just for kids, we are also learning in the process - about our culture, scriptures, and most importantly, about ourselves, and are thankful for that opportunity. (As your kids would tell you, what we are learning this year - 'Self Knowledge' is the Key to Success.)  Thanks for all your active engagement, dedication and support to the class activities, and encouragement to the kids. 

We had a new child in the class today, and for his benefit, and for everybody's benefit, we reviewed the lessons learnt so far. We also practiced 'Sannyasa Suktam'. (Words and meaning elsewhere in the blog). 

Reminders:

• Please mark your calendar for Bhiksha on December 17th, that we will offer at the Cafetaria.  For those unfamiliar with Bhiksha,  

"Bhiksha is 'an offering to the teacher from whom one has received knowledge'. BBNJ is a satellite chapter affiliated to Chinmaya Vrindavan Ashram located in Cranbury. Swami Shantanandaji visits us about once a month, during which each class takes turns to offer Bhiksha. Students/parents volunteer to bring some dishes, and we offer to Swamiji, and have a joint lunch with him, after which the kids get to have some Satsang/Q&A with Swamiji. We also chant Guru Stotram, Sannyasa Suktam etc., at the session. More details are found in the following website: 

http://www.chinmayamissionalpharetta.org/seva-groups/yagnas-and-camps/bhiksha-to-visiting-acharya. 

It is an offering to a teacher from whom one has received knowledge. It is a sadhana, an act of reverence, and an expression of gratitude. By gaining knowledge one can understand oneself better. Devotees have the privilege of inviting a Sadhu to their home or serving him where He resides, with humility and devotion.

• We need couple of parent volunteers to coordinate the Bhiksha. We have expert Sevaks who can guide you with what needs to be done. Please let us know ASAP if you can volunteer.

• Please ensure that your child carries a note book, and a folder with Pens/Pencils, along with Slokathon, and 'Values in Bhagavad Gita' Manual.  Taking notes during the class is highly encouraged.
  
• Please share this email and blog with your child. In case you want yours kids' emails to be added, please forward. Thanks! This is very important, because they are also getting an opportunity to write the blog ! This is going to reinforce what they learnt and reflect on them, and also showcase their 'writing' talent! Talking about which, these are the student volunteer blog writers for the upcoming weeks:

Suchir - Dec 3, 2017

Maanas - Dec 10, 2017

Dhruv - Dec 17, 2017

Nikitha - Jan 7, 2017

• Homework: 
• Please help the kids to practice Sanyasa Suktam
• Children are asked to pre-read the lessons in the 'Values from Bhagavad Gita' Manual. (Chapters upto Arjavam have been covered so far) and attempt the questions.  Acaryopasanam will be covered next class. This year's lesson homework exercises require them to reflect on what they learnt in the class, do some introspection, and complete the homework. Please encourage them to attempt the questions. 

Have a great thanksgiving,

See you next class - Sunday Dec 3, 2017.

With Om & Prem,

Vijayam Class Teachers

November 5, 2017

Hari Om, Parents

We are progressing well with 'Sanyasa Suktam' chanting, and are planning to chant at the December 17th Bhiksha. Please mark your calendar for the same. More details to follow.

We are also marching along nicely in our quest to learn the Dharma Chariot. After learning about the various parts of 'Dharma' Chariot - valor, and fortitude as wheels, Steadfastness in truthfulness, and good character as flags of victory and safety, Strength, Discrimination, self-control and caring for others as the horses, forgiveness, compassion, equanimity as the reins, today we learnt the most important part of the Chariot - an intelligent Charioteer. This is 'Isa Bhajanu', that is, devotion to God. When you completely surrender to God, HE takes charge of our life. When you want Him to do as you want, it is not surrender but command. 

The Lord bears the burden of the world.  Whose fault is it if the traveler, instead of putting his luggage in the cart, which bears the load anyway, carries it on his head to his own inconvenience ? Surrender to HIM and accept HIS will. This important point was driven home, with the help of the kid volunteers who tried to carry the load themselves, but chose to use the 'hand truck' because it is so easy. and intelligent to do that way. Here's Maanas, with 'complete devotion to God', using the hand truck to carry the load.

Next we learnt about the Shield of Dispassion (Birati), that we should use against our enemies - attachment and passion. We talked about our attachments, and passions, and did a small exercise to illustrate how we want to hang onto what all we have and we want to collect more and more! Ask the kids about it, and what they learnt !

Attachment Detachment Yoga:

Life is a practice of attaching ourselves to the higher goal and detaching ourselves from the lower habits. The ultimate goal of each human being is to attach ourselves with the Lord who is within and without. We learnt this through a demo using a step ladder where the kids have to 'detach' themselves from the lower step, so they can 'attach' onto the higher step.  This attaching ourselves to the higher step, detaching from the bottom step is called yoga. As you know, this is in line with our pledge, 'ever ready to fight against all low tendencies and false values, within and without us'.  Let us detach ourselves from goofing off, gossiping, cheating, and lying and so on and be passionate about loving, serving, being truthful, etc., Below, Diya is 'attaching to a higher goal, and detaching from a lower one'

Dispassion is the shield to protect ourselves from our attachment and passion. How do we develop dispassion? By 'letting go' and not clinging on to worldly objects which yield only finite happiness. We also learnt a story about a man who was walking on a mountain road heading home, who tripped and fell off the side of the road. He saved himself from further fall by grabbing a protruding tree root, and spent a nervous and painful night by clinging tightly to the root only to discover in the morning that the ground was only a foot away. Similarly, we grip tightly onto this world, afraid to let go. We need the sun, the knowledge to dispel the shadows and illuminate the truth about ourselves.

We also learnt a value from Bhagavad Gita, Arjavam - Straightforwardness

Reminders:

• Please mark your calendar for Thanksgiving Luncheon on Nov 19th. You must have received the invite. If not, please let us know. Here's the link for the Thanksgiving Potluck: 
• http://www.luckypotluck.com/cgi-bin/display/potluck.pl?id=15092908276472475385
• Also for Bhiksha on December 17th. More details to follow
• Please ensure that your child carries a note book, and a folder with Pens/Pencils, along with Slokathon, and 'Values in Bhagavad Gita' Manual.  Taking notes during the class is highly encouraged.
  
• Please share this email and blog with your child. In case you want yours kids' emails to be added, please forward. Thanks! This is very important, because they are also getting an opportunity to write the blog ! This is going to reinforce and reflect on the values learnt, and also showcase their 'writing' talent!
• Homework: 
• Children are asked to pre-read the lessons in the 'Values from Bhagavad Gita' Manual. (Chapters upto Arjavam have been covered so far) and attempt the questions.  Acaryopasanam will be covered next class. This year's lesson homework exercises require them to reflect on what they learnt in the class, do some introspection, and complete the homework. Please encourage them to attempt the questions.

See you next class - Sunday Nov 19, 2017.

With Om & Prem,

Vijayam Class Teachers

October 29, 2017

Hari Om, Parents

Our Sunday session began with a rejuvenating Yoga Session focusing on mind and body alignment. We went on to review the Dharma Chariot, and continued on to learn about the 4 horses, which are the driving forces. They are:

Bala: Not just physical strength, but also, and most importantly, Inner strength of mind, fearless action. discussed what fear does to individual

Viveka: Discriminating good vs bad, right vs wrong. We discussed making a thoughtful, mindful decision in real life situation, and the kids participated actively voicing how they would handle the situation using their 'Viveka'. 

Dama: Self-Control, where 'you' control the senses and not the other way around. We learnt the story of a monkey deciding to go on an 'Upavas' but ultimately started eating, succumbing to its senses.

Parahita: Caring for Others. Help people in need

The four horses are guided by the Reins, which are:

Ksama: Forgiveness. Discussed how keeping grudge affects both involved

Kripa: Kind hearted, feel and share others' sorrow. Give a shoulder to a friend who is sad

Samata: Balance Vision. Viewing Success or failure, happiness or sorrow with balanced mind

We also learnt about Ksanti - Forbearance/Patience. To illustrate this value, we reviewed the story of Dhruv, and how he, as a small boy, meditated and did penance for months together until the Lord appeared before him. Fast forward to 20th century, Christopher Reeves, who captured the hearts of millions by playing the role of the Super Man, and who was immobilized by a near fatal spinal cord injury, continued his fight, became an activist for research for Spinal Cord injuries, and various other causes, and kept his spirits up, until his death.

Reminders:

• Please mark your calendar for Thanksgiving Luncheon on Nov 19th. You must have received the invite. If not, please let us know. Here's the link for the Thanksgiving Potluck: 

http://www.luckypotluck.com/cgi-bin/display/potluck.pl?id=15092908276472475385

• Please ensure that your child carries a note book, and a folder with Pens/Pencils, along with Slokathon, and 'Values in Bhagavad Gita' Manual.  Taking notes during the class is highly encouraged.
  
• Please share this email and blog with your child. In case you want yours kids' emails to be added, please forward. Thanks!
• Homework: 
• Children are asked to pre-read the lessons in the 'Values from Bhagavad Gita' Manual. (Amaanitvam,  Adambhitvam, Ahimsa and Ksanti were covered so far) and attempt the questions.  Arjavam will be covered next class. This year's lesson homework exercises require them to reflect on what they learnt in the class, do some introspection, and complete the homework. Please encourage them to attempt the questions. 

See you next class - Sunday Nov 5, 2017.

October 15, 2017

Hari Om, Parents

Kudos to the children who did a good job with the '5 take aways' from the last class. After reviewing, we moved on to learn other components of the Dharma Chariot. Satya (Truthfulness) and Sila (Good character) are the flags of the Dharma Chariot. The chariots of war in India had two flags - the main flag above called Dhvaja and below it was another smaller flag called pataka. As long as the flags were seen on the chariot, they were a sign of victory and safety of the warrior. 

Truthfulness 1] means being factually accurate and forthright 2] is when a person gives his word and fulfills it. King Dasaratha keeping the promise given to his wife Kaikeyi, even though he could not bear to see his dearest son go to the forest, is a classic example of truthfulness - keeping one's word. We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf, which depicts the result of lying even though it was only to have fun. The famous story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree demonstrates how the young George could not tell a lie, and how he owned up to it.

Good character implies good conduct, integrity and modesty. Rama is a great example for good character. One day he was told that he was going to be the king, and the next day he was asked to go to the forest for 14 years, which he gladly accepted, and responded sweetly to his mom that his father had given him the kingdom of the forest ! THIS is called GOOD CHARACTER. The question is how can we develop such good conduct ? The answer is contained in the story of 'the power of Satsanga'. Once Narada asked Lord Narayana what the results of being in the company of good people were, for which the Lord asked him to go to a certain tree and ask a baby parrot newly hatched on that tree. When Narada asked the question, the baby parrot died. Narada went back to the Lord, narrated what had happened and asked him for the answer for his question. Lord Narayana then asked him to go to a certain stable where a new calf had been born. The calf also died after seeing Narada and hearing the question. The same thing happened to a newly born foal also. Narada not wanting to have anymore beings killed, asked Lord Narayana about all these deaths, and the answer to his question. The lord asked Narada to ask the same question to the newly born Prince of the Kingdom, and that he would have his answer. With much reluctance and concern, Narada did the same to which the baby prince answered that it was because of the divine association with him that the parrot got reborn as calf and so and so forth, and thanked Narada for the few minutes of the association and 'Punya' that he got. That's how good company inspires us to have good thoughts, good thoughts prompt us to do good actions, and good actions develop good habits and good character. Good actions give positive good results and they make us happy resulting in good destiny. 

We also shared another story of Seva Ram, a rich, generous, kind man who always helped the needy people. He had a beautiful horse that many wanted to get but he would not part with it. Mool chand is one of those who wanted to get the horse, and plotted a scheme to steal it from Seva Ram. He disguised himself as a sick old man, and was lying down on the road that Seva Ram usually took on his horse. Seeing the "sick old man", Seva Ram dismounted from his horse, and offered to take him to a hospital. Once seated on the horse, Mool Chand turned around to Seva Ram, and called him a fool and said that he did all this so he could steal the horse from Seva Ram. A shocked Seva Ram said that Mool Chand could have his horse but requested him not to tell this episode to anybody as he was afraid that people won't trust anyone nor help anyone in need. Mool Chand got his lesson, and gave the reins of the horse back to Seva Ram, and turned back homewards. The lesson here is noble actions change the wicked and multiplies. 

Also remember that a strong wall is made up of strong bricks - and so is our character. To have a good character, we must make repeated right choice of thoughts and action.

We followed this with the values from Bhagavad Gita - Ahimsa, with stories of Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mahavira, MLK Jr., etc., 

Today we started learning Sanyasa Suktam, which is one of the prescribed Slokas for this year. Sanyasa Suktam, a part of mahAnArAyaNopaniShad is chanted while welcoming or paying respect to Sanyasis. The Mahanarayana Upanishad is an ancient Sanskrit text and is one of the minor Upanishads of Hindusim. We will continue to learn, and will recite at the upcoming Swamiji Visit.

न कर्मणा न प्रजया धनेन त्यागेनैके अमृतत्व-मानशुः ।
परेण नाकं निहितं गुहायां विभ्राज-देतद्यतयो विशन्ति ॥ १२-३-४॥

वेदन्तविज्ञान-सुनिश्चितार्थाः सन्यास-योगाद्यतय-श्शुद्धसत्त्वाः ।
ते ब्रह्मलोके तु परान्तकाले परामृतात्परिमुच्यन्ति सर्वे ॥ १२-३-५॥

दह्रं विपापं परमेऽश्मभूतं यत्पुण्डरीकं पुरमध्यसंस्थम्।
तत्रापि दह्रं गगनं विशोक-स्तस्मिन् यदन्तस्त-दुपासितव्यम् ॥ १२-३-६॥

यो वेदादौ स्वरः प्रोक्तो वेदान्ते च प्रतिष्ठितः ।
तस्य प्रकृति-लीनस्य यः परस्स महेश्वरः ॥ १२-३-७॥

na karmaNA na prajayA dhanena tyAgenaike amRRitatva-mAnashuH |
pareNa nAkaM nihitaM guhAyAM vibhrAja-detadyatayo vishanti ||

vedantavij~nAna-sunishchitArthAH sanyAsa-yogAdyataya-shshuddhasattvAH |
te brahmaloke tu parAntakAle parAmRRitAtparimuchyanti sarve ||

dahraM vipApaM parame.ashmabhUtaM yatpuNDarIkaM puramadhyasaMstham|
tatrApi dahraM gaganaM vishoka-stasmin yadantasta-dupAsitavyam ||

yo vedAdau svaraH prokto vedAnte cha pratiShThitaH |
tasya prakRRiti-lInasya yaH parassa maheshvaraH ||

Translation

Neither by actions, nor by (acquiring) progeny and wealth, but by renunciation alone is immortality attained. (That Supreme State ) is far beyond the highest heaven, and the sages perceive it,hidden in the cave of the heart, shining brilliantly therein.

(Those) sages, who have a clear understanding of the principles of Vedanta,who have purified themselves by means of the yoga of renunciation,and who are (thus) established in the state of supreme beatitude,are totally liberated in Brahman at the time of dissolution of the body.

Located in the center of the city of the body is the subtle lotus of theheart, pure and untainted, which is the abode of the supreme. Meditate on the supreme being residing in that inner expanse, which is subtle and free from sorrow.

The which is described as the primal sound (om) in the beginning of the vedas, has been fully established as the supreme truth at the end of the Vedas ( the Upanishads) . The one who realizes that Supreme Principle is beyond the pale of those totally immersed in physical realities. Indeed, He is none other than the supreme Lord !

Reminders:

• Please mark your calendar for Thanksgiving Luncheon on Nov 19th. More details will follow.
• Please ensure that your child carries a note book, and a folder with Pens/Pencils, along with Slokathon, and 'Values in Bhagavad Gita' Manual.  Taking notes during the class is highly encouraged.
  
• Please share this email and blog with your child. Have added the available children's email ids above. In case you want yours to be added, please forward. Thanks!
• Homework: 
• Children are asked to pre-read the lessons in the 'Values from Bhagavad Gita' Manual. (Amaanitvam,  Adambhitvam and Ahimsa were covered so far) and attempt the questions.  KSanti will be covered next class.
• Kids are doing good with taking notes, and bringing in the '5 take aways from the class'. This year's lesson homework exercises require them to reflect on what they learnt in the class, do some introspection, and complete the homework. Please encourage them to attempt the questions. 

Happy Deepavali / New Year to you all! 

Have a happy, healthy, prosperous and blissful time!

See you next class - Sunday Oct 29, 2017.

With Om & Prem,

Vijayam Class Teachers