Dear parents,
We had a great class today. Here is what we did:
Opening prayers: Om saha naavavatu, karagre vasate lakhmi, saraswati namastubhyam, brahamarpanam, shubhm karoti kalyanam and Guru strotam
Meditation followed by focus exercise
Quote of the day: Happiness depends on what you can give, not what you can get.
Here is what our students had to say:
Anish kumar: This means that you can only achieve happiness by giving not taking stuff. This also means that you must give to the needy. For example, When you give to the needy and they say , " God bless you". That phrase gives you the most joy.
Nikhita Gadde: I think this quote means if you give to people, they will fee happy. For example, if you give to the homeless they will feel happy and realize people care about them. You shouldn't expect to get things from people to spread happiness between you and others.
Sahithi: This quote means you'll only feel happy when you give something to someone. Be generous not greedy.
Shlokas: Sri Ram, Ram Rameti, Rame, Raame manorame
Ramayana story: We covered the part where Vishwamitra takes Rama and Lakshmana to the forest and they kill Tadka. We also talked about Mareecha who was cursed to be a rakshasa along with his mother Tataka and brother Subahu, Maricha initially led his life terrorizing sages. He was defeated by Rama at the behest of the sage Vishwamitra. He tried to kill Rama but had to run for his life again. Ultimately, Maricha assumed the form of a golden deer and helped Ravana kidnap Sita. We also talked about Mahabali, who was the great grandson of Hiranyakshipu, the grandson of Prahlada. After he failed to fulfill his promise to provide three paces of land to Vamana, Vamana sent him to netherworld for some time.
Bhagwat Geeta Chanting with Swamiji
Key to Success:
We discussed the mechanics of mind. Mind is man. If the mind is disturbed, the individual is disturbed. If the mind is good the individual is good. Mind is a flow of thoughts. Mind is made up of a soft matter, as it were. As each thought passes through it, an impression is left on the mind- matter like a scratch and when similar thoughts are repeated, it deepens into a channel. We need to create a new channel deliberately to take away our negative habits and replace it with positive ones. When we are quiet, our mind becomes sharp; to sharpen our instrument we need to be quiet. Living by noble values will help us in becoming quiet.
The class ended with aarti and pledge.
Thank You,
Suma and Ruchi
7th Grade Sevikas
