Hari om everyone,
Here's a quick synopsis of our previous class. We started with meditation and Geeta chanting. We have learnt verses up to 35 from Chapter 4.
The Kyun Kyun (QQ - Quirky Question) of the day was - The more you take from it, the bigger it gets! What is it? There are a couple of possible answers. Which one can you come up with?
Our smart students came up with a 3rd option too :). They said, 'debt'.
Oh, yes! Let none of us get into it please..., the more we take, the bigger it gets!
Our two answers were - a hole; and also, knowledge. The more you take from the knowledge bank, the bigger it gets! Knowledge is such a repository that both the receiver and the giver get to keep it! So, let's never hesitate to share and grow!! :)
We continued with summarizing the story of Mahabharata. We discussed the portions of war where Drona was the commander-in-chief of the Karuava army. After his death, Karna was appointed c-i-c. We discussed the death of Dusshaasana and Karna as well.
Many perplexing circumstances and events happened in this part of the story. Our students raised a very valid question - "Aren't the Paandavas doing wrong as well?!"
Well, let's see...,
A burglar breaks into someone's house. He is surprised to see that the residents are still in the house. He kills them in his effort to get away. He was caught while he was escaping and sent to jail.
On that same day, at the border of the country, intruders were trying to cross the border stealthily. They had devious plans for harming the nation! Luckily, a soldier caught him in the act and shot them dead. A major catastrophe was thwarted!! The soldier was commended for his courage and was awarded a medal for his service.
Wasn't there killing involved in both of the above situations?! But the end results were different between the two situations! One was sent to prison while the other was hailed a hero!! Why the difference?!
Well..., actions themselves are not categorized as adhaarmic or dhaarmic. It is the intention behind the action that makes ALL the difference! One was selfish, the other was selfless. The outcome of any event is based on the intent of the doer. Hence one was adhaarmic and the other was dhaarmic!
So, the take-away lesson from this discussion was -
This is exactly what Krishna told Arjuna! So, let's keep our intensions pure and dhaarmic.
We played a game of Jeopardy after that. We divided the students into 4 groups and challenged their knowledge of Mahabharata. They were all awesome! There was a tie between two of the teams, so we had to give a tie-breaker question -
Who was the father of Veda Vyaasa? (This is homework for parents. If you want a hint, check with your children :).
Wishing everyone a great rest of the week. See you Sunday.
Rashmi and Sirisha.
