Hari Om, Parents
This week's student blog write is
Rima Rajan.
This week in Balvihar, we started
off class by reviewing where Rama lives.
God’s address:
Rama lives in the heart of one
whose tongue, like a Hamsa bird (a swan), picks up only Rāma’s, virtues in the
Mānasarovara of His glory; meaning, sings the Lord’s glory in the world.
Just like the Hamsa bird picks up
only the milk out of a milk-water mixture, we must also learn to extract only
the good from the world.
(Hamsa Bird)
Who is Rama?:
We then proceeded to review who
Rama is. Rama is the son of Dasaratha, the conqueror of all senses and he was
born in Ayodhya. So therefore, if we live by self control, conquering all of
our sense organs, we create in our hearts Ayodhya, which signifies peace.
A visit to the zoo:
We were then told that when we go
to the zoo, we see a ginormous, majestic elephant with an ironically disproportionate
minuscule tail. We also see a colourful peacock with beautiful feathers but a
very screechy voice. Finally, a giraffe can be seen, with a small head, a very
long neck, and thin legs. Although all of these animals have flaws, we look
past them and accept things as they are. We need to be like the Hamsa bird and
find good in everything. We should also be happy with our talents and
weaknesses because that is what God wants in all of us. If we develop the habit
of seeing good in everything and everybody, we ourselves will become the place
where the Lord can reside.
(Elephant) (Peacock) (Giraffe)
Chame-Giraf-Eleph-Peacock:
Then we heard the story of the
chame-giraf-eleph-peacock. One day, there was a chameleon who just like all of
us, went to the zoo. It sees a giraffe and immediately wishes for the giraffe’s
neck. It’s wish is granted. It then sees an elephant and wants the elephant’s
trunk. It’s wish is granted. After that it sees a peacock and wants the
peacock’s feathers.Once the chameleon fulfills all of its desires, it looks
hideous and is no longer the unique chameleon it originally was. It could not
eat the fly that it used to be able to eat with its long tongue, nor able to
hide from its predators.
We learned that we should not be like
the chameleon in the story and desire what others have. We should be happy with
ourselves and accept others as they are. After all, we are the way we are for a
reason. We should also keep in mind that the world is the Lord’s glory and
everyone and everything is also part of His glory. Therefore, we should always
strive to see good in all beings.
The Puppy No One Wanted:
We were then told the story of a
puppy no one wanted. There was once a boy who longed for a puppy. He goes to a
pet store but is disappointed to see that all the puppies in the store are very
costly, since he only has a couple of dollars to spend. The boy then spots a
puppy in the corner, limping, and he asks the shopkeeper if he may have it. The
shopkeeper responds by saying the puppy is not for sale, but the boy is
desperate to buy the puppy. The shopkeeper tries to convince the boy that puppy
is a waste of money because it cannot walk. But the boy still wants the puppy
and says that the puppy can walk. He then shows the shopkeeper his artificial
leg. We see faults in each other when we don’t put ourselves in other people’s
shoes. In this case, the shopkeeper saw the dog’s limping as a fault because he
did not put himself in the dog’s shoes. This also proves that we need to be
like the Hamsa bird and pick out the good qualities in everyone so we can have
a fulfilling life as well.
(Unwanted Puppy)
God’s address:
Rama lives in the heart of one who
offers all fragrances, food, clothes, and ornaments first to the Lord and then
use them as prāsada from the Lord.
Our Senses:
Those who use their ears to listen
to Rama Katha (the stories of Rama) and whose eyes are waiting for Rama’s
Darsana (seeing Rama), their hearts are the Lord’s residence. Since our senses
are gifts to us from the Lord, we need to think about how we can use our senses
so that Sri Rama can reside in our hearts. A gift is no gift, if we do not
accept it. Therefore if we do not accept and use our senses, it is no longer a
gift.
Gautama Buddha:
To illustate the concept of
choosing to accept gifts we were told the story of Gautama Buddha story. One
day, Buddha went for bhiksha, since that is what he lived off of, when a man
abuses him, making mean and rude remarks about him. Instead of getting angry,
Buddha simply says, “Sir, I have no need for all these, though you have given
to me generously, please keep it”. In this story, Buddha chose not to accept
the man’s gift of hatred and anger. Therefore, it is not a gift. By not
accepting it, Buddha chose to not let another man’s anger hurt him. We learned
that we should do the same as Buddha, and not let the gift of anger and hatred
hurt us.
Conclusion:
Swami Chinmayananda once said,
“What you have is a gift from God. What you do with that gift is your gift to
God”. By accepting and using our gifts we are creating a place for God to
reside in our hearts. That is our gift to God.
