Hari om everyone,
Here is the synopsis of our class this Sunday. We started the class with meditation and Geeta chanting ch. 5.
Quirky Question (QQ) of the Day: I am HUGE, but I can be contained within a speck. What am I?
Our class had some interesting answers: Perfume - it is contained in a small bottle, but fragrance spreads everywhere. Ego- it is small but wants everything in the world!
Our students are giving us out-of-the-box answers and we love it!
The answer we were leaning towards was, a tree! Whichever tree, the entire tree is contained inside its tiny seed!! The seed of the biggest Banyan tree is just a small dot-sized!
We related this to how a thought, just like the seed, is a mere spec but it can grow tremendously.
We recollected from Chapter 2 that - Desire Destroys Me. It takes me down the ladder of fall.
We started Chapter 3. There were many engaging conversations. Here are a few of them.
We asked our students,
When you are not attending class in Bala Vihar what do you do?
- Eating, sleeping, studying, hanging out with friends, shopping, etc.
We got a range of answers, even breathing :).
Well, we got the answers we wanted! This established that no matter what, we are always 'do-ing' something. We pointed out how all their answers were verbs, meaning, we are always undertaking some action. A being can never be devoid of actions!
When such is the case, how can one remain action-less, as Krishna prescribed? Arjuna too, was confused. Krishna had said previously, that knowledge is better than action. Why then, was Krishna telling him to fight the war, which is an action?!
To understand this, we asked a few more questions. Students were asked to categorize some actions as good or bad. Below are some examples:
Eating ice cream - good
Going out with friends - good
Eating a dosa - good
Taking drugs - of course bad!
Cutting up people - Oh no! Bad!!
Killing - Very bad!
Now, we asked the same questions with some qualifiers:
Eating ice cream when I have a cough and cold - Hmmm.., bad
Going out with friends when I have a big test tomorrow - Oh o..., bad
Eating a dosa after I have eaten 10 already - Hahahaa.., bad
Taking drugs because they were prescribed by the doctor - Hmmm..., good
Cutting up people because I'm a surgeon - Well..., good
Killing, because he is a soldier protecting the country - Very good!
We understood that when the qualifiers changed, the categorization of the action also changed! This means, no action is good or bad by itself. It is the intention that matters!
When we perform our duties with yagna bhaava, meaning for the benefit of others rather than with selfish intent, it gives different outcomes.
For example, if I came to volunteer at the ashram only to get volunteering hours, I would be doing a selfish deed. Instead, if I came to do something selflessly, the volunteering hours become a mere by-product of a higher goal. This is yagna bhaava.
Krishna said the same to Arjuna - Perform your actions as an offering to Ishwara (the Lord).
Later, Partha Uncle and Adithya came to our class to record a documentary about our ashram. They came during our Unique Statement Review time. Our class chanted 10 verses from chapter 5 again for them.
We then went to the auditorium for aarati and pledge.
Next week is our Annual Movie Mania at Rashmi Aunty's house. Students are excited to watch the movie Rush Hour 
. More updates are sent on the WhatsApp groups.
. More updates are sent on the WhatsApp groups.Until next time, here's something to ponder -
Regards,
Rashmi.
Rashmi.
