Hari Om Parents,
We had a great class today. Here is what we did:
Opening prayer; Om Sahana vavatu, Karagre vasate Lakshmi, Saraswathi namastubhayam followed by Gurustrotam
Meditation: With Focus exercise
Quotation of the Day: God helps those who help themselves
We had a great discussion on this quote: Anish Kumar shared the following thoughts:
The quote means that if you don't help yourself, God can't do anything. If you don't take the steps to accomplish something, God can't help you. For example, if you don't study for a test God can't help you ace it. On the other hand, if you study and take the initiative for the next step, God will help you take it but he won't pick up your foot, instead he will create the space for you to put your foot down.
Pratyay shared his thought here:
I think the quote means that people who try to figure something out and take the initiative will be helped by God.
After the discussion we went on to the main topic which was "The Secret to Success" The students were asked what is the secret to success?
A +B + C = Success
What did they feel A, B and C stood for? Many students said the following:
Knowledge, hard work, Perseverance, dedication, passion, effort and money. An interactive discussion took place about how money was not the key to success. Ishan Mungikar shared how he thought that money was more an effect than the cause. He thought that if you put in hard work and applied your knowledge, money will come. We shared the story of a boy who wanted to come to MIT from India to study but he had no money and belonged to a poor family and he did not know any English. With his determination and effort, he got a full scholarship to MIT.
We discussed the story of the fruit seller whose cart full of apples got stuck in the mud pit. The students were given the problem scenario and were asked to solve it. Srivatsa Kuthibotla came up with the solution that the apples should be taken down, the cart will be lighter and could be taken out of the mud pit. Great team effort to brainstorm the situation.
Inference: Hard work and Knowledge are essential to be successful.
We also talked about capacity to laugh: After hard work if we still fail, then we should have Prasada buddhi and accept the result with a happy face. Laughter removes anger and frustration.
Example; Thomas Edison was asked how he felt when he failed 2000 times before inventing the light bulb and he responded that there was no failure, but the invention of light bulb was 2000 step process.
How do we gain Knowledge?
We gain knowledge via our five senses, mind and intellect. BMI (Body, Mind and Intellect) which was the model taught by our Gurudev Swami Chinmaynanda.
Dhyana Shloka: We ended our class with Dhyana shloka : Sri ram ram rameti, rame rame manorame
Sahsranama tatulyam, ram- nam varanane
Pranams,
Ruchi and Suma
Announcements:
Please register for CORD Walkathon: Oct 28th, Sunday 10:00 AM at Mercer County Park. East Picnic area. More details at http://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/cord-walkathon/ . Note that walkathon is followed by Field Day activities. Please make sure you register for the walkathon. Yes - Please bring in all your friends and family members. $25/walker and the funds raised goes to CORD. Raffle prizes for the most number of pledges collected.
