Hari Om!
Here is the class update from last week.
Stotram: We started the class chanting 3 OM's and our regular set of prayers. We learnt verse 5 of the Gita Dhyanam.
Bhagavad Gita: We learnt upto verse 9, with a good discussion on the meaning of "karmasannyasa", working without hate or attachment and how love and hate equally create attachment to an object. We also looked at how the yogi looks at voluntary and involuntary actions of the sense organs as a natural response to stimuli and is not attached to them.
Cause/Effect/Lessons Learned from Mahabharata: We looked at a few more episodes- 1.Yudhishtra taking the blessings of the elders and gurus (Bhishma, Drona, Kripa) even though they were on the opposite side. Here Yudhishtra displayed humility and propriety, thereby getting the blessings for victory. We were left wondering how things would have been if Duryodhana had come over and gotten blessings from Yudhishtra!
2. Bhishma revealing the secret to killing him - this was a natural extension to being ever open to receiving advice from elders. Yudhishtira (on Krishna's advice) just asked Bhishma for the best way to kill him. Bhishma too chose to be open to looking upon his death as a blessing from the Lord and facing his death without a fight.
3.Gandhari cursing Krishna - Gandhari blamed the Lord for allowing the destruction of her family, while not taking full responsibility for the adharmic behaviour of her sons. The Lord accepted even the curse of the devout lady. However, it is up to each of us to take responsibility for what we do and accept the consequences of those actions, good or bad. Blaming the Lord or circumstances is not a proactive choice.
3. Yudhishtira's refusal to enter Heaven without the dog that followed him - Yudhishtra standing steadfastly on the side of Dharma was the lesson.
We also broadly discussed some episodes like the killing of Drona, where Yudhishtira utters a white lie, the killing of Duryodhana where the Pandavas did not adhere to the letter of morality. In these instances, it was Krishna who guided them and where there is Krishna, there is Dharma. The path of Dharma is very nuanced and only the Lord can truly guide us in dire straits.
Yaksha Prashna: We continued with examining the questions from Yaksha Prashna. The answer today emphasized the need for attention and focus in life. DAkshyam (Attention/Efficiency/Skill) is one step to Dharma.
It was the grand finale of Surabhi, with the culmination of Radha Kalyanam celebrations, so we finished Aarti and Pledge in class and went to the temple hall to join the festivities!
Regards
Abhirami Shrinivas
Selvi Deepak
