Dharma 7 - Hindu Ideals and Values

Class Information -

This class covers: Inspiring life stories of Hindu/Jain Sages and Saints (such as Mahavir Swami, Tulsidas), Kings (e.g., Shivaji), political leaders (e.g., Mahatma Gandhi). Use these biographies to teach Hindu values such as Ahimsa, compassion, Bhakti and so on. Refresh how these values were reflected in the character of Rama and Krishna in the relevant Hindu scriptures. Students learn the 16 basic steps of Hindu Puja ceremony this year. This course focuses on ‘saadhaarana dharma’/ sanaatana dharma (general ethical precepts of Dharma) from a Hindu standpoint.

Ages: 10-11 / Grade: 5-6

Download PDF copy of book: CLICK HERE

Classroom: Classroom 2

Teachers -

Teachers:

• Bhakti Modi

• Kaushal Wadhwani

EMAIL teachers: CLICK HERE

Teenage Volunteers:

• Shreya Kakkad

• Ela Kanade

Class & Homework -

May 12

We had our end-of-year Jeopardy game in class with snacks and class party. Had a great time with everyone! Thank you all for the hard work through the year!

Note for students and parents: Please continue practicing and reviewing everything we've learned this year, and develop the practice of having conversations, discussions, and asking questions. From this age onward, its time to dig deeper and not just focus on historical facts and stories.

May 5

We had our class presentation and a follow up discussion in class. Thank you to all the students and parents for all the hard work!

Friendly reminder to all that we have end-of-year jeopardy and class party this coming Sunday!

Please review this link for the sign up sheet for the party NEXT WEEK. The class has about 12-15 kids and teachers.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1byoFrPiGRiryndsKQJp-uLjw7ZWQNC-hydg5zlbPknY/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you, and see you Sunday!!

April 28

We reviewed presentation for next week and went over every slide and material in detail. Kids learned how to do public speaking and oral/visual presentations.

HOMEWORK: PRACTICE YOUR SLIDE FOR THE PRESENTATION ON SUNDAY!!

Parents Reminder: Be in class at 10am sharp on May 5th!

Last Day Party Sign-Up

On May 12th (last day of Dharma 7) we will having an end-of-year Jeopardy game for the kids along with a small party.

• Here is the link for food sign up: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1byoFrPiGRiryndsKQJp-uLjw7ZWQNC-hydg5zlbPknY/edit?usp=sharing

• Please go through and add your and your child's name and what you plan on bringing. I've added few essential things with a *star. Feel free to add anything else as needed.

• Whatever you feel like bringing is great! In the past we've had a large variety of food: popcorn, cookies, juice, donuts, etc etc.

• Please do not sign up for food like ice cream or anything that can cause a significant mess :)

• Per the student registration, I don't have any listed food allergies for the students in this class. But if your child has some sort of food allergies, let me know! We will filter out the food accordingly.

• If all show up, we will have total of 15 students and 4 teachers

April 21

-Today we talked about our presentation!-

The kids shared what topics they did on their slide for the presentation, then the class gave some feedback to that person.

We went over everyone’s notes on their topic.

PLAN FOR REST OF THE YEAR:

April 28- Presentation practice

May 5- PRESENTATION FOR PARENTS IN CLASS!!

May 12- Jeopardy/Last class party

May 19- Annual Day

Below are the topics

Kirtan: Intellect

Aishwarya: Internal Enemies (broad)

Vaishnavi: Internal enemies (half)

Ananth: Internal enemies (half)

Sripad: Ideals and values

Amal: Habits

Aditya: learning

Atharv: chariot

Ira: Positivity and contentment

Vaidehi: ahimsa and respect

Ananya: hardwork and honesty

Shivani: prayer and its importance

Jai: ashtanga yoga

Shreya & Ela: Gita

Another thing we went over were the 4 vedas (Rig, Saam, Yajur, Atharva).

The root word for Veda is “vid” which means knowledge.

Rig— “gyan” knowledge

Saam— “bhakti” devotion

Yajur— “karma” action

Atharva— science and math

The Upanishads are summaries of the Vedas.

Puranas are summaries of the Upanishads

The Gita is a summary of the Upanishads!

(Pretty cool, huh? It’s a summary inception)

Homework

• BY WEDNESDAY every single student needs to send their slides/notes to “bhaktibm@gmail.com” for the kids presentation!!

• Think about why we have avatars when none of them are listed in the Vedas?

April 14

This class we discussed what learning is and how we learn in our daily lives by using both practical and abstract learning methods. We also talked about how when learning you should strive for progress, not perfection.

We only have 2 more classes before the presentation for parents (May 5th), so please make sure that your child is here and on time for the last few classes!

PLAN FOR REST OF THE YEAR:

April 21- Presentation practice

April 28- Presentation practice

May 5- PRESENTATION FOR PARENTS IN CLASS!!

May 12- Jeopardy/Last class party

May 19- Annual Day

For the students who were in class this weekend, topics were assigned. We still have a few topics remaining:

• Prayer and its importance

• Gita - can have multiple students presenting

• Yoga - can have multiple students presenting

• and any of the other values/chapters we have read

Any student who was not in class this past weekend, please pick one of these topics. This weekend I want the students to have a bullet point of their topic, so we can start reviewing the information, and start practicing next week!!

ABOUT CLASS PRESENTATION:

We are presenting IN the classroom on May 5th. All students and parents should arrive at the classroom no later than 9:50am, so we can start at 10am! The presentation will be between 15-20 minutes. Parents can leave after that and will have class as normal.

Next week I will send a signup sheet for our last day class party - so we can all sign up for treats/foods/supplies.

Below are the topics

Kirtan: Intellect

Aishwarya: Internal Enemies (broad)

Vaishnavi: Internal enemies (half)

Ananth: Internal enemies (half)

Sripad: Ideals and values

Amal: Habits

Aditya: learning

Atharv: chariot

Ira: Positivity and contentment

Vaidehi: ahimsa and respect

Ananya: hardwork and honesty

HOMEWORK

- Make an outline of a slide on a blank piece of paper for your topic(s) that you will be presenting

April 7

We had a class presentation and discussion on Ashtanga Yoga and how it applies to us in our day to day life. Also, knowing that YOGA isn't just an exercise, its a way of positive living. Something we can practice every day. The presentation outline can be found here: CLICK HERE

PLAN FOR REST OF THE YEAR:

April 14– Presentation practice

April 21- Presentation practice

April 28- Presentation practice

May 5- PRESENTATION FOR PARENTS IN CLASS!!

May 12- Jeopardy/Last class party

May 19- Annual Day

Homework:

• Think of presentation ideas

• REVIEW SHLOKAS!!

• Chapter 47- Purity of mind

March 24

Contentment (santosh)

not wanting more than you need

being satisfied with what you have

by being content, we will not have desire; this lets us fight the vicious cycle of internal enemies

HOMEWORK

• Review shlokas 62 and 63 from chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita. Students will be picked at random to recite it.

• Talk to your parents about the story of Jagran

• Write 5 lines about the 4 Vedas

• Find out what the Upanishad and Purnanas are

• Read chapter 45 and 46 in the textbook

• Keep working on your habit trackers - ADD AT LEAST ONE MORE HABIT

Reminder: HATS is off for spring break on March 31. Class will resume April 7.

March 17

Perseverance/Commitment

• doing stuff on time

• Want to do it

• Give it your all whole-heartedly/happily

• Best effort

• Determination

• Focus

• All of these are connected!!

The shlokas are saying that the internal enemies are all linked. It’s a vicious cycle.

• Desire — thinking, attachment, desire

• Anger— desire, anger

• Greed— desire, anger

• Delusion— anger, unknown, delusion, loss of intellect

• Ego— Destruction of intellect

• Jealousy — Destruction of intellect

It is each persons self battle to get out of the cycle. There is no certain way to get out of the cycle.

We also talked about the importance of habits and how they define us. We also talked about how it takes 21 days to develop any habit.

Our project through end of year is: HABITS. All students were given a tracking sheet. You can download it here if you missed class: CLICK HERE

From here on we will track our habits DAILY. If a habit is broken, you start again with day 1. Start with small, SIMPLE habits that can be performed every single day, no excuses. We will review tracking sheets every Sunday - please bring those to class every weekend.

Homework:

• Brainstorm ideas for in-class presentation for parents

• Habits project (track the habit)

• Read Chapter 44- Contentment

MEMORIZE Shloka - follow along with the youtube video: Practice singing: https://youtu.be/LkARYBHZJwM?t=2m11s - video from 2:12-2:48

shloka 62:

dhyayato vishayaan pumsaha, sangastesho upajaayate

sangaat sanjaayate kaamaha, kaamaatkrodhobhijaayate

• dhyayato vishayaan pumsaha, sangastesho upajaayate

• sangaat sanjaayate kaamaha, kaamaatkrodhobhijaayate

• dhyayato: thinking

• vishayan: objects

• pumsah: self

• saangah: attachment

• teshu: to those

• upajaayate: develops

• sangaat: attachment

• sanjaayate: develops

• kaamaha: desire

• kaamaat: from desire

• krodha: anger

• abhijaayate: develops

shloka 63:

krodhaat bhavati sammohah, sammohaat smriti-vibramaha

smriti-bramshaad buddhi-naasho, buddhi-naashaat pranashyati

• krodhaat bhavati sammohah, sammohaat smriti-vibramaha

• smriti-bramshaad buddhi-naasho, buddhi-naashaat pranashyati

• krodhaat: from anger

• bhavati: happens

• sammohah: delusion

• sammohaat: from delusion

• smriti: memory

• vibhramaha: loss of

• smriti: memory

• bhramshaad: from loss of

• buddhi: intellect

• naasho: destruction of

• buddhi: intellect

• naashaat: from loss of

• pranashyati: one is ruined

Cancellation for 3/3

Homework for missed class:

• Review homework for 2/17 & 2/24

• Be able to chant both Gita shlokas: 2.62 & 2.63

• Read chapter 41: Commitment & Perseverance

Cancellation for 2/24

Homework for missed class:

We will discuss Bhagavad Gita 2.62-63 next week, so please read it and find a meaning of it if you did not do it as homework last week.

Write a couple sentences of what you think the shloka (below) means in your own words and practice singing it

• krodhaat bhavati sammohah, sammohaat smriti-vibramaha

• smriti-bramshaad buddhi-naasho, buddhi-naashaat pranashyati

• krodhaat: from anger

• bhavati: happens

• sammohah: delusion

• sammohaat: from delusion

• smriti: memory

• vibhramaha: loss of

• smriti: memory

• bhramshaad: from loss of

• buddhi: intellect

• naasho: destruction of

• buddhi: intellect

• naashaat: from loss of

• pranashyati: one is ruined

shloka 63:

krodhaat bhavati sammohah, sammohaat smriti-vibramaha

smriti-bramshaad buddhi-naasho, buddhi-naashaat pranashyati

Practice singing: https://youtu.be/LkARYBHZJwM?t=2m11s - video from 2:12-2:48

February 17

Last week we taught the kids the basics of the Bhagavad Gita. This will be further taught in level 9. We focused on the message of the Bhagavad Gita: learning how to be an ideal person as it gives us spiritual knowledge, helps us understand the world, and is applicable in everyone’s day to day life.

HOMEWORK

We will discuss Bhagavad Gita 2.63 next week, so please read it and find a meaning of it if you did not do it as homework last week.

Write a couple sentences of what you think the shloka (below) means in your own words and practice singing it

• dhyayato vishayaan pumsaha, sangastesho upajaayate

• sangaat sanjaayate kaamaha, kaamaatkrodhobhijaayate

• dhyayato: thinking

• vishayan: objects

• pumsah: self

• saangah: attachment

• teshu: to those

• upajaayate: develops

• sangaat: attachment

• sanjaayate: develops

• kaamaha: desire

• kaamaat: from desire

• krodha: anger

• abhijaayate: develops

shloka 62:

dhyayato vishayaan pumsaha, sangastesho upajaayate

sangaat sanjaayate kaamaha, kaamaatkrodhobhijaayate

Practice singing: https://youtu.be/LkARYBHZJwM?t=2m11s - starts at 2:12

February 3

Humility-

being humble, not bragging, lowering selves with positivity/ lifting others/ motivation. Knowing that you are good at something, but acknowledging that others may be better than you. *Opposite of EGO*

Humility is accepting compliments, but not letting it getting to your head.

*Respect*-

SELF: don’t get walked over, physical vs. emotional:: (p)you have a body and you need to take good care of it. (e) If you’re too stressed (burn-out) you also have to take care of your mind, to be able to... function!

OTHERS: treat well, appreciation:: do something without them asking. Don’t do it to get a “good job”. Do it because you love them (out of the good of your heart).

HIGHEST LEVEL OF RESPECTING OTHERS:: Never GOSSIP about them. Talking behind someone’s back is so disrespectful. How do you think about them?

Vigor-

Hard working, not giving up, willing to do something that’s difficult, focus on goal, TRYING, determination, DRIVENNESS (the drive that you have), passion.

If you don’t have passion, or a drive, then what’s the difference between you and a pet?

Empathy-

Interactive with others, different perspectives, thinking about others, treating with respect, appreciate, NOT sympathetic, *LISTENING* is the key to empathy.

HOMEWORK:

Bhagavad Gita

what is it about?

Why is it important?

Chapter 2 shloka 62 & chapter 2 shloka 63

Cancellations for 1/20 & 1/27

Additional homework from cancelled weeks:

- Read chapters 48 (Self-Respect) & 31 (Empathy), write few sentences about how all topics are related to each other.

(random students will be selected to read their answers)

January 13

We discussed what happiness means to us. You can attain happiness when you are at peace with other people, the world, and yourself. Practicing these ideals brings intellect into your life. Respecting and understanding others’ perspectives is also very important because it helps you have peace toward people and yourself.

Homework

- find the fourth category similar to saint, sage, and seer

- read ch. 32 (Humility & Respect) and 42 (Hard Work & Vigor) and write a few sentences about how they are related to each other.

January 6

Recap

Internal Enemies

• Desire- kaam

• Anger- krodh

• Greed- lobh

• Delusion- moh

• Pride/ego- mad

• Jealousy- matsarya

Last times homework:

Difference between sage, seer, and saint

What the kids said:

Sage: wise, holy, connected to God, may not worship God

Seer: tells future, predict path

Saint: wise, holy, connected to God

Next time: do the same homework again, and go into more depth, and research someone specific, so next time we’ll have an awesome conversation!

In class:

Chapter 27: Ahimsa

Context? Not hurting siblings, Krishna’s stories, Gandhi,

What is it? Not hurting others emotionally or physically, avoiding bad thoughts, being compassionate and sympathetic, not causing pain.

Here’s the thing. When we think of violence, we think of the extremes: blood, gore etc. but we never think about “bad thoughts”, or emotionally hurting someone. In actuality, even when we think about something bad, it’s still considered violence. You’re hurting yourself.

VIOLENCE IS NOT PHYSICALLY HURTING OTHERS!! It all starts with bad thoughts.

The whole point of Gandhi fighting a war without violence is being loving, compassion, and sympathetic. Although he did hurt himself when he fasted, he did it for a good cause.

You know you're right if the reason you fight is for love, compassion, and sympathy.

More homework! Yay!

Give one example of how the media affects you or you notice that you haven’t before.

December

We hope everyone had a great winter break, and is returning back to the flow of school. Last class, we reviewed the six internal enemies by reading various stories and discussing the specific morals found within each. The homework is to find the difference between a sage, seer, and saint.

November 18

Homework Answers last week:

1.) 108 significance-

108 beads on a japa mala

108 attendants of Shiva

108 chants for a lot of prayers

108 sacred sites in India

108 energy points (8 chakras) *

108 moons make the diameter of our earth and 108 earths make the diameter of the sun. *

In the Hindu religion we accept that our religion is connected to science. The number 108 is the most natural number, that is common in many of our spiritual practices.

2.) Shiv Tandav Stotram

When Ravan tried to show his power to Shiva, he lifted a mountain. Shiva placed his toe on the mountain and crushed Ravan’s hand. He had enough knowledge and power to be able to create shiv tandav stotram. But- his ego and his internal deadly sins ruined him.

3.) Jealousy

Want something others have

Self-want

Jealousy is a manifestation of hope, taken to the next level

Thinking about self first

Accomplishment- comparison

We need to eliminate jealousy as a kid because in the adult years it’s much worse. There will always be things in the world that make us jealous.

4.) Internal Sins

Desire- kaam

Anger- krodh

Greed- lobh

Delusion- moh

Ego/pride- mad

Jealousy- matsarya

Many villains in books, movies, and in Hinduism go through this cycle. In fact, almost all of us go through this. We must use different ways to calm ourselves and try to diminish being in this vicious cycle. We have to look at situations from a different perspective, and try to step out of the cycle early. We will never be rid of internal enemies, they will ALWAYS be there. We just need to practice getting better at handling them.

Homework:

-After thanksgiving, the kids will be doing something special! They will attend a combined class with Dharma 9. These classes will have a guest visitor from a local synagogue and the children will be expected to participate in a productive interfaith discussion and learning about different a faith.

-To prepare for that, please read chapters: 32-Humility & Respect for Everyone & 35-Unity and Mutual Cooperation.

-Google/research at least one thing about synagogues or the Jewish faith.

November 11

This week we talked about the impact pride and ego have on our lives. Through the children’s discussion, they came to the conclusion that too much or a lack of control over your pride/ego will lead to self-centeredness and over-confidence. This often makes people think they are always right and superior. When someone insults us or says negative stereotypes, our ego is often hurt. That's because someone is belittling something that we worked on or are proud of.

However, there is also good pride. This is self-esteem and confidence. These motivators encourage people to work towards their goals.

We talked about Ram vs Raavana. The biggest difference between these two people was ego. And how ego changed Raavana and made him do bad things regardless of all the knowledge, skills, and experience that he had.

Next week we will discuss jealousy, so please make sure your child(ren) have read the chapter on that topic.

Homework

- what is and who composed the Shiv Tandav Stotram (ask parents or research)

- find out the importance of the number 108 in Hinduism (ask parents or research)

- read chapter on jealousy

November 4

Happy Diwali!

Why Diwali?

We celebrate Diwali because it is the triumph of good over evil.

Why exchange gifts?

We exchange gifts because it makes people happy. Diwali is the time to celebrate and have joyous feelings.

Homework recap from last week

How to desire less things? What kids said: “Forget it! It’s not worth my angry.”, “I took deep breaths.”, “I helped my friend with their homework even though I wanted to play games.”

Internal enemies: desire(kaam), anger (krodh), greed (lobh), delusion (moh), ego (madh), jealousy (matsarya).

Greed

want

Because of other factors

Want “more”

Not happy

Anger/wrath

Guilt/confusion

Takes over your mind

Changes your behavior

Lose focus

(Desire is similar)

Delusion

Imagining things

Over exaggerate

Very feeling driven

Homework next week

How are you feeling greedy? How about delusional?

Next chapter ego and pride

Significance of number 108

October 14

Reviewed the Sanskrit meanings of our 6 internal enemies which are all connected in a vicious cycle. Focused on desire (kaama) and anger (krodha). You are not able to stop these internal enemies from getting inside your head, but you are able to control how you react to these bad thoughts.

Desire:

- first internal enemy

- stems from a “want” not a “need”

- loss of control over the mind

There is good desire and bad desire. Good desire is ambition, where you want to improve yourself. This leads to growth and success. Bad desire corrupts the mind and leads to anger.

Anger:

- second internal enemy

- happens from bad desire

In order to control your anger take deep breaths, try to remove yourself from the conversation, distract your thoughts.

Homework:

- practice controlling your reactions to desire and anger in your day-to-day life

- read chapters 15 and 16 on greed and delusion

- find the importance of the number 108 in Hinduism by asking your parents and other research

October 7

Hello families, this is what we did today (October 7, 2018)

Why we say shanti 3 times at the end of prayers:

1.) PEOPLE- we want people to be calm, and happy so the world is a better place.

2.) NATURAL WORLD- we want people to be safe when something happens like a natural disaster.

3.) INNER SELF- we want ourselves to be stable.

Last weeks homework:

Intellect- make decisions. Capability of mind, controlling your senses

Ideals- principals

Values- principals, and standards, behaviors, qualities, intrinsic. Values come from your inner self.

TODAY'S TOPIC: 6 INTERNAL ENEMIES—

They are bad for you, negative feelings, affects mind, enemies for feelings, you don’t want to have them (we can try to control how we act/react in a situation)

1.) Desire

2.) Anger

3.) Greed

4.) Delusion

5.) Ego/ Pride

6.) Jealousy

Homework for next week:

•What are Ideals?

•How are they different from values?

•What are morals, and ethics?

•Differences between them?

•Sanskrit words for 6 internal enemies.

•Read chapter on desire page 75

September 30

On Sunday, we discussed the importance of intellect in our lives and how it shapes who we are. Intellect also effects each of our 5 main senses differently.

The kids compared Ram and Raavan. Both were equally strong (physically and mentally), smart, and ruled over their people prosperously. However, as we all know, Ram was triumphant, while Raavan wasn’t. A good intellect and control over the mind was ultimately the key decider between success and failure.

The homework will be to:

Look up definition of intellect and write an example

Look up the difference between ideals and values

Also, many children take notes in class, so keep a notebook and pencil handy

September 23

We covered meditation in class today. Parents can practice meditation techniques with kids as homework :)

September 16

Materials Covered in Class:

• This week in Dharma Level 7 we talked about the importance of our human body and the uniqueness of human beings. We also began talking about the importance of each of our sense organs, including the mind which is considered the master sense organ. We briefly discussed the chariot relationship to our soul as well.

• The teachers of this class will be Bhakti Modi and Kaushal Wadhwani, with teen volunteers Shreya Kakkad and Ela Kanade. A Whattsap group chat has been made to get information across quickly, so please let us know if you are not a part of it.

Homework:

• Review pages 7-15

• Parents- please make sure to participate with students in the learning experience

Back to Top