Jan 28, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

Sorry forgot to mention about the game we played towards the end of last class. 

It was a game of 4 sets of the same jigsaw puzzles. THe class was divided into 4 groups and each group was given an set of jigsaw puzzle 

1. One group gets the puzzle with a copy of the picture 
2. Second group gets the puzzle without the picture of what they are making 
3. Third group gets the puzzle with the picture and numbers written on the back to solve the puzzle 
4. Fourth group gets the puzzle with the picture but few pieces missing

Conclusion is  when the puzzle pieces are numbered, it serves as a roadmap to finish faster, When you know the whole picture, it is very easy to place pieces of the puzzle in the right place. When some pieces, even one piece is missing, the puzzle is NOT complete, the picture is not complete

 Same holds true in our life. If we have the whole picture of life, it is easy to arrange pieces of our life's puzzle. 

And when there is no picture given to the group, it was the most difficult for them to finish the puzzle. OUr life is made of 1000's of such pieces. In order for us to get some direction we talk and think about a goal in life. Even if they are small.

As simple as talking and thinking beyond today and deciding what direction you want to take in your life, so that each step you take and each choice you make is always in the right direction and consistent with your goal. 

Everything we do serves a purpose. You go to school. Goal is to graduate to go to college

You go to college to graduate to get a job. Then everything else follows.

This earth is the biggest school. We are here to learn our lessons and ultimately graduate. If we do not graduate, we will have to come back again and again.

 Graduation means that we learn our lessons so well that we no more will have to take births. This graduation is called liberation in our scriptures.

What is liberation?  It is liberation from pain, meaning, be happy forever. To be happy forever is the goal and that is what we all seek in all our endeavors.  liberation is the goal for every living being on Mother Earth 

Yaksha Prashna

How does one become a Brahmin - by heritage, conduct, study, or by listening to the scriptures? 

Not by heritage, not by study, nor by listening to the scriptures one. Only through conduct. 

Whatever you do not want others to do to you, you should not do to others, that is good conduct  

Thank You

Harish ji and Sapna ji

Jan 21, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

After discussing the  ten values of life that characterize Dharma, in this class we went back to our previous learnings of the Laws of Karma and definition of 

What is Dharma

• Dharma" stands for that which holds up (or supports) the existence of a thing. 
• The essential nature of a thing is therefore called its Dharma. (e.g. Water flows. Fluidity is its Dharma)

What is the is this essential nature or Dharma of man?

•  The Hindus strongly and emphatically uphold that it is the power of "becoming" divine    that distinguishes man from all other beings.

We started the class by randomly telling the kids that had to perform for a play. They were to come up with the concept, plot, characters etc and we gave them 7 mins ( in the interest of time)

As expected there was quite a chaos. After 7 mins of noise, we drew a parallel between life which in itself is a performance whose duration we do not know, we dont get to rehearse, we know we are a character in the play and the best of all we have no clue what the script of the play is. Then what can we do so our performance is stellar.

We learn 

• Facts of our lives  
• How to fix our goal 
• How to draft a roadmap and reach the goal so that we can be a victor in our lives.

Facts of life

• There are no rehearsals in life. Each moment is the real performance. 
• Life is a one-way street, from birth to death. 
• Once the moment passes, it never returns. 
• There are 6 stages in life
• Jayate - Birth
• Asti - We live in the world
• Vardhate - grow
• Viparinamate - bodily changes
• Apakshiyate - body decays
• Nashyate - death
• It is not possible to rewind our life
• Everyone of us will go through certain common experiences in life  regardless of which    kind of family we are born into
• We find ourselves at the crossroads of choices that we have to make.  What helps to        make a good choice is when we keep a goal in life. 
• Once we fix a goal, prepare and follow a roadmap to go through the maze of life
  
• We will reach our desired destination.   

Yaksha Prashna

• What is ego? 
• Ignorance is ego. 
• What is dambha (pretence)?
•  To show off one's own self as a greater being than what it is, is dambha. 
• What is daivam (divine)? 
• The result of dënam is daivam.
•  What is paiõunyam (cruelty)? 
• To point a finger (blaming) at others is cruelty

Hari Om

Sapna ji and Harish ji

Jan 7, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

After the starting prayers, we recited 15 shlokas from Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita.

We have requested kids to follow this link to practice.

Bhagavad Gita Chanting Chapter 12 | Swami Brahmananda (youtube.com)

We continued to discuss the rest of the 7 values of Dharm

Asteya 

means abandoning the very intent or desire to possess or steal anything—whether it is material, a talent, a relationship, a gift, achievement, success, time,or natural resources.

Other forms of stealing –

keep or take anything which one does not need is also stealing.  

Wishing you had the same things as someone else.  Two things – 

 we are stealing their moment to shine –

 causing self-harm by not allowing our own unique gifts to flourish

worrying about the future or brooding over the past.. .what are you stealing here --- our present.

You remain in your comfort zone and don't want to explore – you are stealing away our own possibilities to enjoy the best things in life.

We restrict our own potential ,progress, and growth into the world of undiscovered possibilities.

 So how do we practice Asteya 

Be content with what you have rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, then the desire for something more does not arise. 

This sense of contentment forms the basis of the practice of asteya.

Purity (soaucham)

What is purity (soaucham)? Purity or cleanliness is two-fold: Bahya,outer, external cleanliness and antara, inner, internal cleanliness

External cleanliness includes clean body, clean clothes, clean homes, and environment.The benefit of external cleanliness, we are aware of.

Internal cleanliness refers to cleanliness of our mind. Jealousy, anger, hatred etc. are the impurities of our mind.When we interact, the most important is our purity of motive. 

How can we achieve this

Keep your surroundings clean, diskspace , room, wear clean clothes, eat healthy, keeping your gut clean has a direct impact on your moods.

Get to minimalistic living. The more things you have more clutter in your room and head too.

Keep your phones away, spend some time in solitude, do some introscpection, spend time on reflection. will definitely improve your mental strength, creativity, empathy, and productivity:  

Some form of exercise like pranayama and meditation in later years. 

Control over the organs of perception. –

Control over the sense organs determines what we should see, hear, taste, touch, and so on.

If we know that just by seeing or hearing certain things itself our mind will be polluted or agitated with desire, we should not allow ourselves to see or hear them

The body is equated to a chariot where the horses are the senses, the mind is the reins, and the driver or charioteer is the intellect.

Dhí Discrimination
means the intellect or faculty of discrimination.

Every moment in our life, we are at the crossroads of having to decide what to do, or how to do.

It is only with this discriminative faculty that we can choose the right mode of action and adhere to Dharma. 

Yaksha Prashnas

Who is the undefeatable enemy of a human being? Anger is the undefeatable enemy of a human being. 

Which is the unending (incurable) disease? Greed is the incurable disease. 

Who is a noble person? One who is a well-wisher of all is a noble one. 

Who is ignoble? A heartless one is ignoble  

Knowledge

One must know what is true Knowledge.  The Know edge that liberates one from all psychological entanglements is the only real Knowledge," and that is the knowledge of the Self

 Just as glasses only make one see better and do not make one read and write, so also studies, going to school only provide for a comfortable life; we must also know the real, final goal of all our learning and effort  

Truthfulness

Satya means truthfulness. When we make a promise, we should fulfill it.

Whatever we speak should be true; and what is true, that alone we should speak. Always verify the truth of a statement before saying it.

We discussed on however hard it is and the consequences dire we should strive to remain truthful. 

Akrodha -  No Anger

Akrodha means no anger. Whatever may happen, there should be no anger in the mind. To discipline someone in anger is one thing, but when anger overwhelms the mind, we become slaves to it

We should have perfect control over anger and also have the discrimination to know when and where to show anger, if necessary.   

Yaksha Prashna 

What is moha (delusion)? Wrong understanding of Dharma is real delusion. 

What is mana(exaggerated self respect)? Exaggerated self-respect is mana. 

What is alasya (laziness)? Laziness is not to follow Dharma. 

What is soka (grief)? Ignorance (of the Self alone) is grief  

We discussed the activity of Dharma Thermostat. 

We have asked each student to pick a value that they will set a thermostat on. They will record each time they either succeed in the following the value or failed. Accordingly they will assign numbers. If they reach the number that the thermostat for that value is set, they have mastered that value.

Chapter 19 talks of the following Yaksha Prashnas

What is said as steadiness by rsis? To be steadfast in one's own Dharma is being steady. 

What is dhairya (patience)? Control of senses is dhairya (patience). 

What is the best bath? To renounce mental impurity is the best bath. 

What is danam(charity)? To protect all living being is danam(charity)  

Thank you

Hari Om

Sapna ji and Harishji

Dec 17, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

We introduced the ten values in life that characterize Dharma in our last class.

Today we elaborated on the first 3 values.

Fortitude - Dhriti - means the capacity to hold on to something

There are 3 kinds - Rajasic, tamasic and satvik

Of all Satvik Dhriti i is the ability to rise above all obstacles, difficulties, and doubts while pursuing a noble goal in life.  It is that strength, force, or ability with which we hold onto our noble values of life.

Forgiveness - Kshama

The highest form of forgiveness is when the feeling of being offended does not even arise in the first place.   

Control of the sense organs.

 

Dama means control of the sense organs—organs of perception and action .  We run after things and beings; we run after wealth, power, position, pleasures thinking that all these will make our life secure and more enjoyable. We get so much caught up in them and get trapped and forget the value of controlling senses

We discussed all the 3 values with real world situations that occur at home, school work places. Invaluable lessons emerged out of these discussions most of which we were able to extract from the kids. 

Yaksh Prashna discussed 

 What is Knowledge? Knowledge of Self, the Lord, is the Knowledge. 

What is sama(quietude)? Peace of mind is sama. 

Which is the best kind of daya(kindness)? Desire for everyone's happiness is the best kind of daya (kindness). 

What is meant by arjavam(straightforwardness)? To have equanimity is arjavam(straightforwardness  

We spent the rest of the class with an activity that involved preparing an event line by sequencing the episodes of Mahabharata.

Thank you

Hari Om

Sapnaji and Harish ji

Dec 10, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

We learnt that  Dharma has to be lived, not just learned.

 

The two important meanings of the scriptural injunction Achara prathamo Dharma (good conduct comes first) are:

Do your duty before asking many questions

Good behavior is of foremost importance in spiritual life  

"Hinduism is built upon duties and not rights,"

The glorious Sanatana Dharma recognizes the right to do duties as the fundamental privilege in life. 

When everyone performs his/her duties, rights of others are automatically preserved.

There are ten values in life that characterize Dharma and that should be followed by all people

    

•Dhriti (fortitude or forbearance), -- strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage

•Kshama  (for giveness or the ability to endure cheerfully),

•dama (control over our organs of action),

•asteya (non-stealing),

•soucha (purity),

•indriya nigraha (mastery over the organs of perception),

•dhí (using the faculty of discrimination),

•vidya (knowledge),

•satya (truthfulness), and

•akrodha (absence of anger) characterize Dharma.

Thank you

Hari Om

Harish ji and Sapna ji

Nov 5, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

We covered chapters 11 and 12 after our prayers and recitation of Chapter 12 Bhagvad Gita Shlokas.

Mahabharata transcends generations because it brings out human life in all its naked form and shows how people act and react to different experiences.  You can analyze the characters, compare and contrast the emotions attitudes and lessons learnt from it are completely relevant in current times.

We did character analysis of all the main characters of the Kauravas and the Pandavas 

Chapter 11

Bhishma - Bhishma although an authority of Dharma could not go against the atrocities of Duryodhana and the poor decisions of Dhritarashtra because his vow took precedence which was to always obey the ruling king. Is that justifiable?

Dhritharashtra - Dhritharashtra was too greedy for his son to assume the throne Thus he becomes blind to justice. His attachment to son possessed his mind and clouded his intellect. he tried to the shirk responsibility for his actions by evoking pity from others on account of his blindness

Gandhari - It was her choice to become blind but really did that help. She was also blinded somewhat by love but had constant warned her son that righteousness only wins. Love can be unconditional but not blind

Dushasana - He was just a shadow of Duryodhana and would follow him in whatever wicked plan the elder brother had. His loyalty rose above his individuality.

This shows us that loyalty is good and meaningful only when it is for a noble cause; otherwise, it is useless and creates problems.

Shakuni - His means of avenging the kaurvas. Is it  ideal? And who is he to take action against the decision made by his sister. He has caused her more pain that pleasure. SHe lost her 100 sons.

Drona and Drupada both avenging each other for their personal grudges both arrogant in their own rights. Lacking humility and honor.

The cause for the Kauravas' defeat lay in the fact that even though the great leaders knew in their conscience what was right, they could not rise above their own individual weaknesses, attachments, and ambitions, each playing his own game, for his own purpose.

When you have you own agenda when working in a group, you will never be able to work in the common interest and if you dont group never succeeds. Same idea you take to the real world.

We talked about Yaksha Prashnas

What is the highest Dharma - Non-violence is the best Dharma

which Dharma always yields result - Vedic Dharma always yields result

controlling what man does not grieve - Having control of the mind one never grieve

friendship with whom does not decay?" - Friendship with the good would never decay.

Chapter 12

Kunti - Her one mistake stole away from Karna his lineage, maternal love and Kunti had to live with the burden of this secret most of her life. This led to the rivalry between Arjuna and Karna also

Dharmaraja -- His name suggests that he is an epitome of Dharma. But his one weakness caused the destruction of 1000's of lives and brought misery to his family.

One small weakness ends up in a disaster when one crosses the limit!

Arjuna - A great hero still could not get himself to fight against his own blood. Leading to the dialogue between him and Lord Krishna that cover a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon moral and ethical dilemmas, and philosophical issues that go far beyond the war that Arjuna faces. No matter how many accolades and achievement we have under our belts we are always faced with dilemmas. 

A fearless warrior with superhuman strength and a voracious appetite and Heroic son of Arjuna- played key roles in the defeat of the kauravas. Abhimanyu rose to the needs of the war and volunteered to break the complex chakravyuha formed by the kauravas. He did not think twice about putting his life in danger in the face of crisis.

Mahabharata highlights , how and when the human personality reacts when insulted or dishonored, and how long the mind dwells upon it and seeks the destruction of the offender.

Yakshna prashnas that were discussed at length 

By giving up what one becomes dear? By giving up arrogance one becomes dear. 

By giving up what does one become free from grief? By renouncing anger one becomes free from grief. 

By giving up what does one become prosperous? By giving up lust one becomes prosperous. 

By renouncing what does one become happy? By giving up greed one becomes happy.  

Thank You

Hari Om

Sapna ji and Harish ji

Oct 29, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

We had a short class because we had a Saraswati Pooja.

We revised Chapter 20 shlokas after prayers

We covered Chapter 10 of our syllabus

• After transferring his knowledge to Yudhishtra, Bheeshma Pitamah leaves his body
• Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kuntí renounced worldly life and went to the forest, where they died in a forest fire.
  
• Yadava dynasty ends on account of a curse from the sages that were ridiculed by the yadava youth
• Lord Krishna loses his life when a  hunter mistakes the sole of His feet to be a deer's body and shoots  an arrow at it
• The Pandavas made Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, the king of Hastinapura  and, along with Draupadí and a stray dog, began their grand ascent toward the peaks of the Himalayas
  
• One by one everyone dies except Yudhishtra along with a dog who are both received by Indra
• Indra asked only Yudhishtra to enter the chariot, as there was no place for a dog in heaven. Yudhishtra stood steadfast and said that he would give up heaven rather than leave his faithful dog behind.
  
• Indra asked only Yudhishtra to enter the chariot, as there was no place for a dog in heaven. Yudhishtra stood steadfast and said that he would give up heaven rather than leave his faithful dog behind.
  
• The dog took on its real form--Dharmaraja, the god of righteousness--and welcomed Yudhishtra to heaven
  
• Lessons learned

           Live by Dharma

           Attitude of gratitude

           Do not think of any one as inferior as God is in and through everyone

• Few more questions from Yaksha were discussed at length.

             What is the best quality of a person who is praiseworthy? The best quality of a  

              praiseworthy person is dexterity.

             What is the best among the riches? Knowledge is the best among riches.

             What is the best gain? Health is the best gain.

             What is the best among joys? Contentment is the best among joy

We ended the session with a Saraswati pooja conducted for all Sunday PM students

Thank You

Hari Om

Sapna ji and Harishji

Oct 1, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

Our class started with regular prayers and since it was house inaugural day our class duration was very short. 

We spent 40 mins summarizing what we learnt and discussed the lessons learned. cause and effect from all the stories that we learnt so far.

We have a very vocal bunch of kids which makes the class interactive and interesting. 

We practiced our Bhagawad Gita shlokas as well

Thank you

Hari Om

Harishji and Sapna ji.

Sept 24, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

• This past Sunday we started with our regular prayers followed by Chapter 12 shlokas
• We played an Icebreaker game of passing the ball and calling out the names of the person that you are throwing the ball to. We now know names of all the students in our class.
• We reviewed  Chapter 3 - Sins of the mind. 
• We had a quick activity of scribing, so kids can experience the power of Lord Ganesha who was chosen by Sage Vyasa as a scribe to record the epic. To be a scribe, one must be alert, should possess concentration, and must write accurately with speed.
• We moved on to Chapters 4 and 5 where we introduced the Story of Mahabharata. Most of the kids knew the story as if it was fresh in their minds. The purpose of repeating the stories of Mahabharata is more to understand the essence of each of the stories as each of them imparts lesson to lead a meaningful life
• We covered the story of Shantanu, his intense desire to marry Ganga and his his impulsive agreement to her condition that he would never question her actions. The dire consequences of his decision led way to losing his 7 sons and his wife. 
  • Lessons learnt from this story  
    • Think before you act
    • Do not succumb to desire, lust
    • Do not agree on things without knowing all the facts
• Birth of Devavrata  and how he earned the name Bhishma (the one with the terrible vow)
• Shantanu does not learn from his mistakes and gives into desire again to marry Satyavati. The effect is the fall of the Hastinapura 
• Bhishma's love for his father resulted in him receiving the boon of Iccha Mrityu. One must serve parents because it always brings good to the person.
• We learnt about the ancestry of the pandavas and kauravas.
• The birth of the blind Dhritharastra and Pandu's curse to not be able to bear children by natural means
• Gandhari, Wife of Dhritharastra willingly bandaged her eyes, as she did not wish to enjoy what her husband could not. An idealistic emotional vow which if not taken would have helped in providing some direction to the decisions made by her husband.
• The couple supported the wrong doings of their children because of their love without discretion. All their children lived by adharma and ultimately died in the war. We cannot be carried away by emotions and blind love because they will eventually bring in disaster
• Kauravas forgot the laws of kharma and gave into jealousy, competition and performed wrong actions. Result is complete destruction and failure.
  
• Kunti wanted to test her boon given by Sage Durvasa. With that she bore a child who she had to give up, and harbor that secret which haunted her all her life until to the point that she had to admit. You must not be afraid of our mistakes. It makes it easier on us if we confess our wrong doings.
  

Your kids also must have received their house assignments. Please discuss with them

Please send in printouts of chapter 12 shlokas with your kids for next class.

Thank You

Hari Om

Harish ji and Sapna ji

Sept 17, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

Our first class in full, went very well with active participation from kids. 

Last week we introduced the syllabus and format of the class.

This week we started with how the line "Yato Dharma Tato Jayaha" came about.

We learnt the first 2 verses of chapter 12 of Bhagavad Gita. Before that we provided a background on Chapter 12.

Laws of Kharma

We learnt the two laws of Kharma

• The performer of an action alone gets the result. 
• Result of an action always comes at the right time

We conducted an activity to better explain Law of Kharma.

1. Objects (desirable or undesirable) were tied to the end of different sized and different kinds of strings.
2. The objects and part of the strings were placed in a box with a portion of the string hanging from the box.
3. Each kids was asked to pull the string out of the box and then see whether the object at the end of the string was desirable to not.
4. After pulling one end of the string, the other end may come very quickly, if the string is short, or it may take a long time, if the string is long. But we know that there is definitely the other end, whether we see it or not.
5. Just when one end of a string is pulled, the other end comes along automatically, Karma, an action, always comes with a result (karmaphala). 
6. One who performs the action, alone gets the result. When I pull one end of the string, I alone will get the other end of the string, and not someone else
7. Some actions give results very soon. For example, the act of eating; it appeases hunger. It is like a short string in our activity.
8. Some actions take long, very long time (maybe even another lifetime) to give the result. It is like a string that is connected with the whole yarn ball in our activity. But one thing is certain, result will definitely come

Right Action

We discussed what a Right Action is. And we answered the questions 

•  If there is  right time to start the work?
•  Who is the most important person?
•  What is the most important work?

Bhishma Pitamaha in Mahabharata says that one must give up ten karmas: three of body, four of speech, and three of the mind to lead a good life

Body - We discussed about the sins that need to be given up committed by the body

• To kill someone 
• To steal
• To hurt a person emotionally

Speech 

• To say bad words
• To say harsh words
• To lie
• To complain or spread rumors about someone to look good or gain a point or favor

Mind

• Sins committed by the mind are: 
• To think of taking away someone else's wealth 
• To have ill-feeling for anyone 
• To not have faith in the Law of Action
  

We also learn the following

• Give up the above ten sins, as the result of such actions are a miserable life is the lesson learnt
  
• Refrain from doing actions out of greed
  
• The right action is to build bridges where ever we go. To build bridges, to bring harmony wherever we go is Dharma. Thus, we must live by Dharma to be happy
  
• As you sow, so shall you reap - Never ever let jealousy, selfishness, greed, and competition influence our quality of action.
  

Next week we will begin with a summary of what we have learnt and continue on.

Hari Om

Harish ji and Sapna ji

Sept 10, 2023 - Grade 8 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents

Hope your kids returned home excited about the topics they are going to learn and we as teachers made a good first impression on them. :)

We gave them a brief intro of Mahabharata and touched on the episodes that led to the battle of Kurukshetra.  We had an interactive session with the kids on Performing right actions and the consequences that one can meet in the event that they are not done correctly in the context of Mahabharata.

All of the kids participated very well and gave us a sense of how interesting the coming classes will be.

Request to all of you to please participate in prasadam sign up whenever you are able to,

We have shared information on both Shloka and Bhagavad Gita classes. Please consider enrolling your children. If they cant do both atleast  Gita classes will be worth their time.

Meanwhile we are looking forward to seeing them tomorrow again.

Thank You and Hari Om

Harish ji and Sapna ji.

Welcome to Gr 8 - Sunday PM Session

Please look out for regular updates from 

the teachers 

soon after the session starts.