Hari om everyone,
Today's discussion was about 'kaama' meaning, desire.
The first thing we did was, classify - Is having kaama a good thing or a bad thing? Isn't our dharma to learn about our true nature and attain mokSha? Then how can kaama have any place in our lives?
Through discussion, we figured that kaama itself can be classified as need-based and want-based. It is essential to first figure out whether the object of desire is a 'need' or a mere 'want'.
The discussion, of course, addressed the luxuries that are around, starting with the phones :). Is it a need or a want? Well, that depends on HOW we use it. The thing itself is not the problem, but how we put it to use, rather how we let the things use (enslave) us, is the issue! We talked about how homework on the phones/computers, research for learning, for bringing social awareness, etc. are good ways to use technology. Whereas, gaming all the time or binge-watching the entire weekend are examples of 'vikRuti' (abnormal behaviors).
One other point we discussed and established through examples is - we can do 'whatever we want!' But the only constraint is, 'it has to be dhaarmic'. If the action or desire is within the perimeter of dharma, we can certainly do it!
This brought the latest movie 'Avengers' into our discussion. Why was Thanos' action wrong/adhaarmic? His intention was to make the world a better place by eliminating half the world. Isn't that a good thing? He is making the world better, isn't he? The answer is, 'he, or anyone else for that matter, has NO AUTHORITY to decide who lives or who doesn't. Any person's decision will be colored by his thoughts, perceptions and emotions. So, annihilation is best left to the Lord!'
Let us just stick with doing our dharma and on the way, let us enjoy 'artha' and 'kaama' also, keeping in mind that 'mokSha' is our goal!
Today, we had a short class, so we couldn't do gitaa chanting. To commemorate Gurudev's 103rd birthday, we had guru-paadukaa pooja in the temple. Everyone got their own thaalis to perform the pooja in. It was a beautiful sight to watch all the kids sitting in nice disciplined rows and performing the pooja.
We have only 3 more weeks of Bala Vihar classes. The June 8th is the annual day.
Look forward to seeing you all next week.
Regards,
Rashmi and Sitaram.
Rashmi and Sitaram.
