May

May 15

Namaste Parents,

Today was the last Dharma 8 class! Once again, great job to all students on their presentations last week. A link to the recording of the presentations was sent on WhatsApp and will be made available on the website.

We discussed the next HATS level, Dharma 9/10, which is about understanding Hindu dharma and the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Hopefully all students will join the class next year as it connects Hindu teachings to the current western culture, providing a strong foundation for Hindu values in daily life.

We also had students share their thoughts and learnings from the interview project. They loved hearing and sharing your stories!

Class Picture: Click here

Student Survey: Click here

- Validation aspects: Responses validated the benefits to the Students which HATS Institution aims to achieve. That is a good validation in deed from the receiving side.

- Response to Q#4 and #5: overwhelmingly showed the video clips are found effective from the receiving side. They were carefully selected to ensure value and positive impact and importantly only to reinforce the overall message of Dharma and heritage of Hindu religion. Interactive sessions were more appreciated than the lecture part.

- Response to Q#8: Somewhat defines the current student generation valued aspect: Respect for environment and People.

-Response to Q#9: Intergenerational interview project was received well as new discovery for them about their own parents, grandparents & siblings. That was a roundtable feedback. Not quiet coming across in the survey response. In a sense most selected option 1 was more broader than the option 3. That could be the reason.

Dharma 9 enrollment: Question #10 response and a Round Table Discussion we had prior to the survey. At least 6 students wanted to know more about the materials. We will send the outline and book link of this year to the parents for encouraging the enrollment. Student teachers explained to the Students their perspective of the high value they gained from Dharma 9. We spent time to allow the Students grasp the value of Dharma 9 class. There are Sixteen Students in Dharma 8 class this year.

May 8

The Students did an awesome job of presenting their class project: “Inspiration Dharam-8 2022”. This project was done in an incremental and a steady pace over a period of 8 weeks in activities of planning, implementing and reporting. The primary objective behind the project is to enable children to broaden their knowledge of how inspirations assist them in their lives; and to smartly seek for and select them for their own lives. The project involved engaging with three generations of interviewees (parents, grandparents and students) on a content basis relevant to their class.

Efforts of students involved:

1. Four candidate selection across three generations

2. Briefing of candidates

3. Interviewing, probing to expand & recording

4. Reporting as a slide deck towards an individual presentation

Finally, the individual presentations were given by the Students to the teachers and families on a zoom session on May 08, 2022.

The day started with virtual assembly, prayer, Mother's Day celebration, meditation segment, beginning remarks, Individual Presentations and closing remarks.

There were sixteen student presentations in total. Approximately there were around thirty-five zoom participants in the session, while some participants were also sharing with others in the same room.

There was also notably one precious interviewee (great grandparent) for one student!

Our Student Teachers Shreya, Arreh and Sarang did an excellent work all through the year, and especially today in managing this session with so many participants without any issues.

Program: Click here

Class picture: Click here

All the student Presentations can be viewed here

May 1

Reviewed students draft presentations (six or so), and discussed improvisation of slides by adding pictures and thinning down text with bullets. Went over the presentation tips for content, body language and slides aspects. Overall, the progress is good and children were very engaged. We reviewed six drafts today in the class with the students.

Wednesday, May 4th is deadline for students who had not provided their drafts for teachers review as of Sunday (May 1st) noon.

Saturday AM is the deadline for final presentations. We need to have the Teacher share the slides on Zoom. Each one sharing independently will make us lose valuable time.

Students have the teacher's email ID's. WAPP message has it. So is the HATS Dharm8 google webpage.

We are deciding towards Zoom link for Presentations on Sunday May 8 instead of google meet for the sake of recording quality.. We urge the parents and family including any grandparents to be dialing in to Zoom. Recording will be available later. We want to start early at 9:30 AM. There are language students who need to leave at 11:15 AM. We have 15 students presenting that day.

We will start with the welcome statements, prayers, mother's day greetings, student presentations, & closing comments. WAPP and emails will follow with the needed details.

In the class we discussed the Scientists and mathematicians of early India: notably Bhaskara (12th Century) and Sir C. V Raman (20th Century). We discussed how the Indian subcontinent under siege (from invading kings and later five dynasties of Moslem Sultans, a few ruthless rulers followed by the British occupation) which caused oppression and stagnation in advancement of Hindu religion, Arts, Science and Math, and how it is recovering from 20th century.

The following clips ( we used selected 2 minutes in the class) were utilized:

Bhaskara, who invented Calculus first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkpmLB12Xhs

Bhaskara's proof - Geometry - Khan Academy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ul8g55dYA4

Brief explanation of Sir CV Raman's Raman Effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XobekWSRbHE

April

April 24

We started off by reviewing the previous week’s content.

Then we went on to watch two separate videos on Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence and

refusal of submission to the British.

The first one was preaching of nonviolence to an audience of both Hindus and Muslims while

the other was of him and his group marching to the sea and making their own salt.

We talked about the impact that Gandhi had on other people and their countries such as

Mandela in South Africa and Martin Luther King in America. His philosophy and movements

inspired others to reject oppression of the British Empire and other tyrannical forces.

Aside from that, we went over interview progress for the final project.

April 17

Dear Parents,

Please provide this deck to the students of Dharma 8 as we told them we will provide an example slide deck as per their request in the class earlier today. It will also be sent on WApp group. Click here

Some students need to make an overseas call to interview their grandparents. Please assist them as needed and encourage discussions at home in an advisory or coach or support role (e.g., 1) do not provide them the content. But, offer to review content and suggest improvements. 2) Help them with an overseas phone or zoom or google meet call. 3) It they lack the fourth interviewee, you can suggest one, or ask them to reach out to the Teachers to find them an interviewee). Of course, when one of the interviewee happens to be "yourself", that is a different role, where you provide answers to Student's questions and explain you experience, views and try to give them anecdotes, context and any stories.

April 10

Today we briefly talked about Rama Naumi

To begin, we spoke about Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and his humble, loving nature.

Towards the last years of his life, Guru Nanak settled down in a place called Kartarpur (today in Pakistan, across the Ravi river from the border of the Gurdaspur district in India), where a devotee gave him and his disciples some land. Guru Nanak tilled and cultivated his own plot because he believed in earning his bread through his own labor, even though he headed a religious community. Lehna from Khadur, a small village close to the city of Amritsar, had once heard some verses of Guru Nanak being recited. He was very impressed and moved by the profundity of the hymns. Desiring to have a darshana of Guru Nanak, he arrived at Kartarpur. While searching for Guru Nanak, he encountered an elderly man working in a field. Approaching the latter, Lehna asked him if he knew the whereabouts of Guru Nanak. The farmer replied, “Let me finish my work in this mustard field, and I will take you there myself.” Lehna asked the farmer, “Do you know if he meets visitors who are strangers? What does he look like? Does he live quite far from here?” The farmer smiled and responded to all the questions. When the farmer finished his work, he asked Lehna to mount his horse as he must have been tired walking a long distance from Khadur. Then, the farmer pulled the horse gently by its reins and walked them to the house of Guru Nanak. Lehna entered the house and was ushered into the room of Guru Nanak by his disciples gathered outside. When he entered the room, he was shocked to see that the farmer who had led him to the house now sat on the Guru’s seat! Lehna felt very bad and he apologized to the Guru, “Gurudev, I did not realize that it was you doing the farming work in the field. I should not have let you walk while I myself came here on your horse.” Guru Nanak smiled and said, “You do not have to feel sorry for anything. You are my guest, and it was my duty to take care of you.”

Lehna had tears in his eyes and he asked for forgiveness multiple times. He asked Guru for permission to stay with him, so that he can serve him. Guru Nanak could see that Lehna had the spark of spirituality in him, and so he obliged. After a few years, Lehna succeeded Guru Nanak as Guru Angad, the second spiritual head of the nascent Sikh community.

Another Guru we spoke about was Guru Tegh Bahadur who sacrificed himself for the sake of Dharma.

Emperor Aurangzeb, who ruled India from 1658 – 1707 CE

was a very fanatical Muslim ruler. He destroyed several temples of

Hindus, dismissed his Hindu employees from their jobs or underpaid them, and even denied them promotion. He imposed several special taxes on the non‐Muslims, and also banned the celebration of Hindu festivals and other religious ceremonies. In the year 1765, he also issued orders to burn Hindu scriptures in several cities to stop all types of traditional Hindu education. The Emperor decided that in order to convert all Hindus to Islam, it was very important to first convert the Brahmanas, who were their religious leaders.

And therefore, he ordered his Governors to capture the Brahmanas, snap the sacred thread that they wore around their right shoulders and coerce them to convert. The persecution of Hindus was especially very severe in Kashmir. A group of Kashmiri Hindus went to the Amarnath cave

shrine of Shiva, and prayed to protect their religion. Shiva appeared in a dream to Pandit Kriparam Dutt, their leader, and asked him to seek the help of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the 9th Guru of the Sikh community.

The Pandits of Kashmir appealed to Guru Tegh Bahadur to help them. He asked them to convey the following message to

Aurangzeb, “If you succeed in converting me to Islam, then all the Hindus of Kashmir will also do so. But if you fail to make me a Muslim, then you will not force Kashmir’s Hindus to convert either.” Aurangzeb accepted. Guru Tegh Bahadur left for Delhi to see the Emperor with his three disciples, who were willing to risk their lives as well.

At Delhi, the Guru and his disciples were immediately imprisoned. The Muslim Qazi (magistrate) asked the Guru to either convert to Islam, or face death. When the Guru did not relent, they started torturing his three disciples and killed them one by one in front of the eyes of the Guru. The first disciple was sawed into two pieces alive. The second was boiled to death in an oil cauldron. The third was wrapped in a bale of cotton and was burnt to death. The Guru was deeply pained but refused to convert to Islam. The Emperor asked the Guru to show a miracle if he wanted to save his life. But the Guru refused, saying that it he cannot disobey God’s rules by showing miracles. It was ordered that the Guru would be beheaded if he did not convert. But the brave Guru agreed to face death rather than give up his religion. The site where he was beheaded is today a Sikh shrine in Delhi. The great sacrifice of the Guru was possible because the Guru valued his religion more than his life, and was willing to stand up for his principles as a brave man, and as a spiritual person who believed in the eternality of the soul. His is an example of a true devotee of Bhagavān who accepted his murder as the will of Bhagavān, and therefore did not forsake his principles.

The sacrifice of the Guru did not go in vain. His son, Guru Gobind Singh, raised an army of Sikhs within a few decades. And within less than a century, the Sikh warriors freed large parts of the region of Punjab in India from the Islamic rule.

Next, we spoke about the story of the famous poet, Tulsidas.

https://youtu.be/vJxVWF8KjFI

The most famous translation of Valmiki’s Ramayana from Sanskrit is the Rāmacharitmānasa, which was written by Sant Tulsidas in Awadhi, which is a type (‘dialect’) of the Hindi language. Sant Tulsidas is considered an Avatāra of Rishi Valmiki in our modern times. He was born to Pundit Atmaram Dubey and his wife Hulsi in a village in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Strangely, Tulsidas was born with all 32 teeth in his mouth like an adult, and his body was like that of a 5 year old child! At his birth, he did not cry, but instead uttered the word ‘Rama’. Soon after the birth, his mother Hulsi died. When Pundit Dubey made an astrological horoscope of the child, he discovered that Tulsidas would be very unlucky for his parents. Therefore, he abandoned the child and asked their

maid Chunniyā to take care of the baby.

When Tulsidas was 5 years old, even Chunniyā died. Tulsidas was then forced to live the life of a poor orphan who had to beg for his food to fill his stomach every day. It is said, that Devi Parvati would assume the form of a young woman and appeared every day in front of Tulsidas to feed him in his poverty.

A Sadhu named Swami Naraharidās took compassion on the boy and made him his disciple. Tulsidas then studied the Hindu scriptures under Swami Narharidās, till the latter also died. Swami Narharidas taught him the Ramayana – the beautiful life‐story of Lord Rama that was composed by Sage Valmiki thousands of years earlier. Influenced by the Ramayana, Tulsidas became a devotee of Lord Rama.

Tulsidas married a woman named Ratnāvalī and settled down in the Hindu sacred city of Varanasi. For the first time in his life, he found someone who really loved him. Therefore, Tulsidas too loved his wife a lot and took very good care of her. One day, Tulsidas went to a Mandir to worship Lord Hanuman. In the meantime, Ratnāvalī got a message to visit her father’s home as soon as possible. When Tulsidas returned to his home, he found his wife missing. So, he decided to go to Ratnāvalī’s father’s home on the other side of the river. It was raining very heavily and there was a flood in the Ganga river, which flows through Varanasi. No boatman would take Tulsidas across the river because of the rain and floods. Tulsidas used a floating corpse on the river as a floater and crossed the river to go to the other bank. When he reached the home of Ratnavali’s father, he was in such a hurry that he did not want to take the stairs to her room upstairs. He saw a snake hanging from the window and thinking of it to be a rope, he climbed up to her room.

When Ratnavali discovered the risks her husband took to meet her, she got very upset and said to him, “You are so much in love with me, but I am just a body made of bones and flesh. If you had loved Lord Rama even half as much as you love me, you would be a lot happier.” These words of Ratnavali shocked Tulsidas. Soon, he abandoned his family life, and took to the worship of Lord Rama and became a Sadhu. He called his wife his Guru for having awakened him from his sleep so that he could see the Lord.

Tulsidas noted that India at that time was ruled by foreign Muslim rulers who were very harsh on the Hindus. All of our major temples had been demolished by them. Our scriptures were being burned. People were being forcibly asked to give up their religion and become Muslims. And our priests, the Brahmanas, were being tortured. The government officials often troubled the common man by extracting very heavy taxes. Therefore, Tulsidas thought that he should teach the Ramayana to everyone, because it describes the life story of Lord Rama, who was an ideal ruler, an ideal son and

much more. But the Ramayana which was written by Sage Valmiki was a very large book. It had 24000 verses. Moreover, it was in the Sanskrit language, which the common man did not understand those days.

So he first thought of shortening the Ramayana and write a new version of it in Sanskrit with fewer verses. Every day, he wrote some verses in Sanskrit on a piece of paper. These verses described some part of the life of Lord Rama. But the next morning, Tulsidas saw that the sheet of paper on which he wrote the verses had become blank! This happened several days in a row. Then one night, Bhagavān Shiva appeared to him in a dream and said to him – “Tulsidas, do not write the Ramayana again in Sanskrit, because only scholars can understand this language these days. I want you to go to Ayodhya, where Lord Rama had lived. There you should write your Ramayana in the language Awadhi, which the common people speak in that city.” Tulsidas understood the command of Shiva and proceeded to Ayodhya. He started composing his Ramayana in Awadhi, and called this version the ‘Ramacharitmanas’, which means – “The Holy Manasarovar Lake of the acts of Rama.” What the title really means that whosoever

studies the Ramacharitmanas with devotion, will get purified just as we become purified by taking a holy dip in the Manasarovar Lake, which is close to the home (Mount Kailash) of Lord Shiva. The Ramacharitmanas was started by Tulsidas on a day which was the wedding anniversary of Lord Rama and Devi Sita. After completing more than half of the book, he moved back to the city of Varanasi and completed it 2 years, 2 months and 26 days later on the Rāmanavamī day, which is the birthday of Lord Rama.

Tulsidas then started teaching the Ramacharitmanas to

people in Varanasi. The book was so beautiful, musical and

gave just such a wonderful description of the life of Lord Rama

that soon, large crowds started attending his lectures. For the

first time, they could understand the beautiful life of Lord

Rama, because the Ramacharitmanas was in Awadhi, a type of

the Hindi language which was spoken by the common man.

This caused some jealousy amongst the other local Pundits.

They complained that Hindu scriptures should only be written in Sanskrit and not in any other language.

One night, the jealous Pundits sent some thieves to steal the manuscript of Ramacharitmanas from the hut in which Tulsidas lived. When the thieves arrived in the dark, they saw two very handsome princes guarding the hut.

Suddenly, a monkey attacked the thieves and they fled in terror. The next morning, when Tulsidas heard about this episode, he was very troubled because he realized that the two princes were none other than Bhagavān Rama and his brother Lakshmana. And the monkey was none other than Lord Hanuman.

So Tulsidas felt sorry that Lord Rama himself took the trouble to protect him and the Ramacharitmanas. He did not want this to happen again and asked his friend Raja Mansingh, who was a relative of Emperor Akbar of India, to get many more copies of the Ramacharitmanas made for safety. The thieves too gave up stealing and they became devotees of Bhagavān Rama.

They also asked Sant Tulsidas for forgiveness and he forgave them.

Now the jealous Pundits objected to the fact that Tulsidas worshipped Lord Shiva sometimes and yet he wrote his scripture on the life of Rama. How could he be loyal to two Devatas at the same time? The Pundits forgot that all these Devatas are the different forms of the same God. To test Tulsidas, they asked him to place his manuscript of the Ramacharitmanas inside the Kashi Vishvanath Temple, the holiest Shiva Mandir in Varanasi. On top of this book, they placed copies of the four Vedas (our holiest scriptures) and

then shut the doors of the Mandir.

When the doors were opened the next morning, a miracle had happened. The Ramacharitmanas copy was now on the top, and ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ (the signature of Bhagavān Shiva) was written on its front cover. This meant that Lord Shiva himself had decided that Tulsi’s Ramacharitmanas was as holy as the Vedas, which are themselves holiest scriptures of Hinduism.

The Pundits felt really ashamed and they asked the Saint for forgiveness. Thereafter, he was allowed to give lectures on the Ramacharitmanas without any trouble. Many people made copies of the book and they started singing it in every village.

According to the Hindu tradition, whenever we recite the story of Lord Rama, Lord Hanuman comes in disguise or in an invisible form to listen to the story because he is very devoted to Lord Rama and likes to hear the story as many times as possible.

Tulsidas noted that every day, when he would start teaching his Ramacharitmanas, a leper would be the first person to arrive, and the last person to leave. Tulsidas realized that this leper was none other than Shri Hanuman. So one day, he followed the leper after his recitation into the forest and begged him to show his true form. And lo, the leper became Lord Hanuman. The site where Tulsidas met Lord Hanuman now has a famous temple called Sankat Mochan Hanuman Mandir in Varanasi.

Tulsidas requested Lord Hanuman that he should be able to meet Lord Rama at least once. Hanuman advised Tulsidas to go to a place Chitrakoot close to Yamuna River, where Lord Rama had spent some time during his exile. There, Tulsidas was one day grinding some sandal‐wood (chandan) to make a fragrant paste when two handsome princes appeared before him. They requested Tulsidas to apply ‘Tilak’ to them on their foreheads.

Hanuman‐ji suddenly appeared there and hinted to the Saint that these were no other than Rama and Lakshmana. Tulsidas was so overjoyed on seeing Bhagavān Rama that he forgot to apply the Tilak. Then Rama himself took the chandan and applied the Tilak to his forehead and then to the forehead of Tulsidas.

When Tulsidas was old, he became

very ill. So he wrote a beautiful poem called

‘Vinaya Patrika’ in which he prayed to Lord

Rama to take all his pain and sadness away. Eventually, in 1623 CE, Goswami Tulsidas passed away at the ‘Asi Ghāt’ location in Varanasi.Earlier, Tulsidas also wrote many other beautiful prayers to Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman and to other Devi‐Devatas. The famous Hanuman Chālisā was written by Tulsidas to worship Hanuman in 40 verses. It is said to be the second most popular of all the prayers that are recited by Hindus today.

In his Rāmagyā Prashnāvali, Tulsidas listed the names of his friends and individuals who participated in his religious discourses. Other than a few, all the friends and participants appear to be from the so‐called low castes.

Numerous examples from his life show his regard for people from all social classes. Once, Sant Nābhādās invited him for a meal at his home. Nābhādās was of the ‘Dom’ sub caste, considered untouchables. Tulsidas got busy and forgot to show up on time. That night, when he remembered the invitation, he really regretted his memory lapse. He immediately rushed to the home of the Sant and requested for leftovers so that he could fulfill his promise. One day, Tulsidas was seated inside a temple and he heard a lot of commotion outside. Upon enquiry, he discovered that some Bhil tribals wanted to enter the Mandir to meet Tulsidas, but they were not being allowed to do so. Some priests were objecting that Bhils being tribals will pollute the Mandir by entering it.

As soon as Tulsidas heard of this, he rushed outside and greeted the Bhils with reverence. He said, “I bow to the Bhils because my Rama had spent time in their company during his fourteen year exile in the forest.”

Tulsidas is one of the greatest Saints of Hindus. His beautiful Ramacharitmanas and other works like the Hanuman Chalisa are studied and sung by millions even today. He wrote all these works at a time when we Hindus were suffering a lot under the Moghul rule. He inspired our

ancestors to draw good morals from the life of Lord Rama, to treat everyone with compassion and kindness, to have faith and devotion in Rama and to never lose hope and courage.

What should we gather from the life of Tulsidas?

The life of Tulsidas shows us that even if we have a lot of problems and difficulties in our lives, we should continue to love Rama, and have deep faith in him. Lord Rama will surely hear our prayers and help us out.

Tulsidas wrote his Ramacharitmanas in the language of the common people, and not in Sanskrit. But Bhagavān Shiva decided that it was as sacred as the holy Vedas in Sanskrit. Therefore another message from the life of Tulsidas is that even though Sanskrit is the holy language for us Hindus, Īshvara will listen to our prayers no matter which language we use to worship him.

The important thing to keep in mind is that we should remember God with faith and devotion, no matter what the language of our prayers is.

There was another saint we read about named Surdas the Blind Saint:

https://youtu.be/fkSmiW9D50w

Another Sant who lived a little before Tulsidas was the Sant Surdas. Sant Surdas was born blind. Since his childhood, he was very interested in following groups of wandering musicians who sang the praises of Devis and Devatas. One day, he decided to follow a wandering party and left his home. He sang beautiful songs to Bhagavān, and fed himself by donations given by kind devotees. A rich man was one day so impressed with his bhajans that he had a hut constructed for the blind musician, and requested Surdas to live in it.

Sant Vallabhāchārya, a great Bhakta of Krishna, also heard about Surdas. He thought, “How wonderful it would be if Surdas were to sing the praises of Krishna?” He approached Surdas and taught him about the life of Krishna from the Hindu scripture called Shrimad Bhāgvatam. Surdas acknowledged him as his Guru, and thereafter, decided to devote his life to singing the

praises of Krishna.

Surdas composed a new devotional song on Krishna every morning and then sang it at the Shreenath‐ji Mandir in Mathura. His beautiful lyrics and songs became popular very fast, and he became a living legend. Once, Tansen, the greatest singer of those times, sang one of Surdas’ songs in the royal court of Emperor Akbar whole ruled much of India from 1556 to 1605 CE. The Emperor was greatly charmed by the song, and sent a messenger with a request to Surdas that he should come and sing his Bhajans on Krishna at the royal court. But, the Sant responded that he sings only in and around the sacred region of Braj (where Krishna spent his childhood) and will not sing in

any royal court.

Akbar then went personally to Surdas’ hut and requested him to sing a new Bhajan for him. Pleased with the song, Akbar offered Surdas a few villages as his personal property if he were to sing at the royal court. But Surdas declined the gift,

saying, that the entire world belongs to Krishna, and therefore he did not want any part of it. Surdas also said that the court of Krishna in the Mandir was greater than all royal courts. Akbar was impressed by the Bhakti of the Sant, and offered to give him any gift he asked for. To his surprise, Surdas merely requested, “Emperor, please do not ask me again to come to the royal court.” Akbar realized that Surdas was a great saint, and therefore he left respectfully. One day, Surdas fell into a well. He sang out to Krishna. Miraculously, a couple appeared soon and pulled him out of the well. Surdas realized that the couple was none other than Radha and Krishna. Moved by the devotion of Surdas, Radha came back to see Surdas, who immediately caught her feet to get her blessings. Radha was able to get away, but in the process, her anklets fell off. She asked Surdas to return them, but he insisted, “How do I know they are yours because I cannot see.”

Radha restored his vision, and at once, he saw none other than Bhagavān Krishna and Radha in front of him. Krishna requested Surdas to ask for some boons because He was very pleased with the devotion of the Saint. But Surdas asked for only one thing – “Please make me blind again. I have seen my Lord with my own eyes. And now I do not wish to see anything else.” Krishna insisted that this would be unfair to Surdas. He could keep his vision and also ask for something else. But Surdas insisted – “No, please make me blind again. But give me the boon that I always remain devoted to you as your servant.”

Finally we talked about Mirabai and her unconditional devotion to the Lord https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0lC29_kcGI

Mīrābāī was born in the family of a political chief in the Indian state of Rajasthan. When she was a little girl, a Saint named Ravidās is said to have given her a mūrti of Krishna which she adored and worshipped with her whole heart. One day, she was watching a marriage procession pass by her home, and asked her mother, “Who is my husband?” Her mother replied, “Your husband will be Krishna.” Mīrābāī took her mother’s

words to heart.

When she grew older, she was married to Bhojarāja, the crown prince of the famous Hindu kingdom of Chittor. But, her in‐laws were all worshippers of Devi whereas Mīrābāī spent her time worshipping Krishna. They did not like the fact that she would go out of the palace to worship in a Krishna Mandir and mingle with Sadhus and common people. However, her husband was understanding, and he got a small Krishna mandir constructed right within the palace. Mīrābāī now started inviting Bhaktas and Sadhus to her temple in the palace. Unfortunately for her, Bhojarāja died young, and his younger brother became the King of Chittor. Mīrābāī’S problems now increased. She accepted Ravidās, a Saint (who was a cobbler) as her Guru. This infuriated her royal in‐laws, who thought that it was insulting to them that a Princess have a cobbler as a Guru. But

Mīrābāī judged others not by how rich or what caste they were, but whether they had devotion for Bhagavān in their heart or not. She started spending her entire days in the Krishna Mandir, singing her own beautiful bhajans on Krishna, and serving other Bhaktas of Krishna. Her fame spread far and wide, and it is believed that even Emperor Akbar (an enemy of the Ruler of

Chittor) came in disguise to listen to her and pay his respects. Her brother in law was not amused at this turn of events.

He tried to kill her in numerous ways. First, he sent her a glass of milk in which some poison had been added, with the false information that it was the prasāda from Krishna Mandir. Miraculously, Mīrābāī was not affected by the poison as she drank the glass with faith in Krishna.

Then, he had a cobra sent to her in a basket with the message that it was a garland for Krishna’s mūrti. And when she did open thebasket, the snake had turned into a garland`. Her in‐laws tried many other ways to hurt her.

Finally, tired of their harassment, she left Chittor at the advice of Sant Tulsidas and went to Braj region (encompassing Mathura and Vrindāvan towns) where Krishna had spent his childhood. After spending some time there, she travelled to Dwaraka, where Krishna spent his adulthood, and spent most of her time at the Dwarakadheesh Mandir (at the site of Krishna’s old palace). Meanwhile, Chittor faced one problem after the other. Everyone blamed the royal family for inviting trouble by harassing a saint like Mīrābāī. Udaysingh had now become the new king of Chittor. He sent a group of respectable people to Dwaraka to persuade her to return to Chittor.

But Mīrābāī had devoted her entire life to Krishna. When she met with the group, she asked them to wait outside the temple. And as she entered the Mandir, she converted into a pillar of light that merged with the mūrti of Krishna, as everyone watched in wonder! Mīrābāī wrote several beautiful bhajans in the languages of northern India. About 400 of them have survived and are sung with great devotion by Hindus.

Mīrābāī’s life shows that a true Bhakta does not

see any difference between man and woman, poor and

rich, low caste and high caste, and respects them equally.

And Bhagavān too protects his Bhaktas, just like he had protected Mīrābāī.

March

March 27

Namaste Parents,

Last Sunday we began class by discussing how Hindu's celebrate Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, and Baisakhi in various regions of India.

Afterward, we discussed some of the saints of western and eastern India, and Punjab. Below are some associated links.

- Narsi Mehta defied caste taboos. He would go to the homes of untouchables and chant religious songs with them.

- Jayadeva, with the help of Padmavati, wrote the Gita Govinda—a poem that describe the love Krishna held for Radha.

- Guru Nanak is regarded as the founder of Sikhism. We listened to his stories which taught us to say our prayers sincerely and purposefully, not hoard too many things, and teach good habits to others.

Presentation Updates

Attached is the template for the project presentation. As students are completing their interviews, please have them refer to this slideshow to make their own presentation. Click here

Sant Narsi Mehta (Gujarat State) composed Bhajan of “Vaishanv Jana To” sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

A Bhajan that Mahatma Gandhiji always used in his daily prayer sessions. See Section 12.9 of the text book of page 145 for the rich meaning of the Bhajan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQxZvtlvGDI

University students presenting Geet Govindam of Sant Jayadev (Orissa State).

Geet Govindam is recited daily in Puri Jagannath temple of Bhubaneshwar, Orissa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEsuBrE4eLY

March 20

We began with a quick informational video on Chattrapati Shivaji ji which elaborated on the sweeping reforms on India and military victories conducted by him. Video: https://youtu.be/gXRFYol9-MI

The story of Chokha Mela:

Chokha Melā was born in a low caste of Hindus. His profession was to remove dead animals from people’s homes and farms. Due to the nature of his profession that he had inherited from his father he was regarded unfairly as ‘unclean’, and was not allowed to enter temples. However, Chokha Melā was a great Bhakta of Bhagavān

Vitthala of Pandharpur and spent his free time chanting his praises and

composing song to worship him.

Sant Nāmadeva believed that all human beings have an equal right to worship Bhagavān. He accepted Chokha as his student. But, the priests of the Mandir would not allow Chokha to enter the Mandir at all. Chokha Melā constructed a hut on the opposite bank of the river so that he could at least see the Mandir from his home, and also the mūrti from the entrance door. One night, Chokha Melā felt very sad at not being able to enter the Vitthala Mandir. However, Bhagavān Vitthala spoke to him in his heart and said, “My son, people are foolish if they think that you can pollute the Mandir by entering it just because you handle dead animals. If someone could pollute me, then I would not be Bhagavān. Do not despair. Go to the Mandir, I am waiting for you.”

Chokha rushed to the temple which had been locked for the night. Miraculously, the doors opened and Chokha entered it, and spent the night singing bhajans till he fell asleep. In the morning, when the priest entered, he was shocked to see Chokha at the feet of the Mūrti and ordered him to leave at once. But, he felt guilty, and followed Chokha quietly across the river. From his hiding place, he heard Chokha Melā sing bhajans, and Bhagavān Vitthala talking to Chokha in his heart. The priest thought that it was just Chokha talking to himself. The priest got very angry. He entered the hut and slapped Chokha saying, “Do you think we are fools? You talk to yourself all the time, and tell people that Vitthala comes and speaks to you.” I do not want you anywhere near the Mandir again. In reality, the priest was not able to see Bhagavān because his heart was not as pure as Chokha. Due to the blow, Chokha’s cheek became swollen. When the priest returned to the Mandir, he was shocked to see that the cheek of the Mūrti had become swollen! Clearly, the priest had hurt Bhagavān Vitthala by hitting at Chokha. He consulted with other priests, and respectfully asked Chokha Melā to enter the temple. Once inside the Mandir, Chokha Melā sang a song and asked Bhagavān to forgive the priests and heal his cheek.

After sometime, Chokha Melā moved to a placed called Mangalavedhā near Pandharpur. One day, he was constructing a wall, but the wall collapsed and killed him. Several other laborers who were working with Chokha also got killed. Several years later, Sant Nāmadeva arrived and decided to give a grand funeral to this great Bhakta of Bhagavān. But the problem was the separation of Chokha’s bones from those of other victims. Sant Nāmadeva picked one bone after another, and he separated Chokha Melā’s bones from that of others because Sant Chokha Melā’s bones had the chant ‘Vitthala Vitthala’ still coming from them.

Sant Nāmadeva took these bones to the Mandir and buried them at the entrance. A blue colored structure today stands at this site, and all visitors worship Sant Chokha Melā at this structure before entering the Pandharpur Mandir. Sant Chokha Melā’s life shows that Bhagavān does not discriminate between his bhaktas and loves everyone equally

irrespective of which family, gender or profession we belong to.

The story of Sant Jnaneshwara:

Sant Jnaneshvara’s father had become a Sannyasi, but he returned to his wife at the command of his Guru. It was after his return to a householder’s life that Jnaneshvara and his siblings were born to the couple. In the Hindu society, once a man becomes a Sannyasi, he cannot return to the state of a householder. Therefore, the society shunned the four children and refused to accept them in their midst.

The family therefore proceeded to Paithan, a town famous for its Pandits, and the father begged them to admit the kids to their school. But the Pandits mocked, “If the child’s name is already Jnaneshvara (the Lord of Knowledge) then what is the use of his going to school?” Suddenly, a water man was seen goading his buffalo to move forward on the road. He addressed the buffalo by its name, ‘Jnana’. The Pandits laughed and said, “Even this buffalo is called Jnana. Then is there any difference between Jnaneshvara and the buffalo?”

Jnaneshvara said, “No respected Pandits, there is really no difference. The same Atman dwells inside all of us.” Just then, the water man whipped the buffalo because the creature was removing to budge. As he hit the buffalo, the Pandits were shocked to see that the marks of the lashes started appearing on Jnaneshvara’s back instead!

Jnaneshvara said, “Indeed, no one is high or low because the same Paramatman resides within us all.”

The Pandits would not give up. They said, “If you and the buffalo are the same, can that animal also chant the Vedas?” Jnaneshvara walked up to the buffalo and placed his hand upon its head. And to the astonishment of everyone, the buffalo started chanting the Veda Mantras! Jnāneshvara and Yogī Chāngadeva

Yogi Chāngadeva had lived a long life of 1400 years due to his practice of intense yogic exercises. But, his mind was still full of ego and pride. One day, he heard that a 16 year old saint named Jnāneshvara was in his area, along with his 2 other saintly brothers and a saintly younger sister named Muktābai.

He wanted to meet them, with the aim to make them his disciples. But he wondered, “How shall I invite them? I do not wanted to address them as ‘Respected Jnāneshvara’ because that will mean that I am inferior to him. Nor do I want to address him as ‘Chiranjeevi’ (long lived) because I am almost 100 times older to him.” Thinking thus, he sent a blank piece of paper as an invitation through one of his students.

When Jnāneshvara saw the blank piece of paper, he smiled. His sister Muktābai understood that Chāngadeva’s pride prevented him from writing an appropriate invitation method. She could not help commenting to Chāngadeva’s disciple, “Your Guru may have lived 1400 years. But I am sorry to say that his life is as blank as this piece of paper.”

Sant Jnāneshvara then wrote the message of Hindu spirituality (Vedānta) in 65 Marathi verses on that piece of paper. He titled these verses, “Chāngadeva Prashasti’ (‘In Praise of Chāngadeva) which are considered a holy book even today by the Hindus. The arrogant Pandits realized that Jnaneshvara and his siblings were saints, not ordinary children. They prostrated in front of them and sought forgiveness. They also offered to conduct the thread ceremony for the children.

However, the children decided to become ascetics, and therefore no longer needed the sacred thread. They left Paithan and became roaming ascetics. The buffalo Jnana also followed the children wherever they went till its death.

When their message reached Chāngadeva, he was livid with anger as well as pride. Moreover, he was not able understand these verses at all. He decided to teach the four teenagers a lesson. He summoned a tiger to become his mount, and took a snake as a whip in his hand. Onlookers marveled Chāngadeva’s command over the animals, as he rode the tiger towards the place where the four saintly siblings were staying.

When Jnāneshvara got the advance message that Chāngadeva was riding a tiger towards them, using a snake as a whip, he was

disappointed

Chāngadeva’s pride. At that time, the four of them were sitting on a wall. Sant Jnāneshvara commanded the wall to fly towards Chāngadeva.

When Chāngadeva saw the four of them flying towards him, seated on a wall, he was amazed. He got off his tiger and bowed before the Sant saying, “You are surely greater than I am. I can command other living creatures to do my bidding. But even non‐living things obey your commands.” He became a disciple of Sant Jnāneshvara, who asked him to become a student of Muktābai instead.

The wall which flew at Jnāneshvara’s request is still existent and is worshipped by the Hindus of the Warkari tradition. There are also several temples in that area dedicated to Chāngadeva, who is worshipped because of his association with Sant Jnāneshvara.

The story of Sant Eknath:

One day, Ekanath was taking a bath in the River Godavari when he saw a poor woman arrive with her infant and a bucket to fill some water. After she had filled her bucket with the water, she started walking back towards her home alone, and forgetting to carry the infant. The baby soon started crying and caught Ekanath’s attention. He rushed to the baby and picked him lovingly in his arms. He followed the woman and then gave the baby to her as she was just entering her home. The mother realized her absent‐mindedness, and cried with joy to see her baby back in her arms. She thanked Ekanath for returning her child to her.

When the news of this incident spread in the village, several Brahmanas got very upset. They approached him and said, “Ekanath, you are a Brahmana. Then how come you picked up the child of an untouchable and even went to their home? We think that you have committed a sin and therefore you must bathe 108 times in the Godavari to purify yourself.”

Ekanath was shocked and he said, “How can you be so heartless? The child was crying and it was my duty to pick him up and take him to his mother.” But the Brahmanas would not listen to Ekanath and an argument started.

Just then, a leper arrived and said, “I am coming from the temple of Vithoba in Pandharpur. When I worshipped Vithoba (Krishna) to cure my disease, he asked me to come to your village in search of a Sant named Ekanath. Krishna told me that by returning the baby of untouchable parents to his mother, Eknath had accumulated

a lot of good Karma. If Eknath gives me even a portion of this good Karma, then my leprosy will get cured.”

Ekanath replied, “I am Eknath, and I am the one who returned the baby to his mother. I do not know if I have earned any good Karma by doing this deed, because I just wanted to do my duty. But if it helps you, I will give you all of my good karma.” Saying this, Ekanath took a spoonful of water in his hands, and recited the name of Vishnu with great devotion. Then he sprinkled the water on the leper.

And lo, a miracle happened! The leper got cured in front of everyone’s eyes. The narrow minded Brahmanas were now ashamed. They had thought that Eknath had committed a sin by helping an untouchable family. But clearly in the eyes of Krishna, Ekanath had done a very good Karma by doing so.24

Once, Sant Ekanath was travelling from Varanasi in North India towards Rameshvaram in South India with some water from the Ganga River. It is a Hindu tradition to offer Ganga water to the Shiva‐linga at Rameshvaram. On their way, he and his disciples were travelling through an extremely hot and dry part of India.

Everyone wanted to quench their thirst but the only water was the Ganga water they were carrying. No one wanted to drink it himself because it was meant for worship at Rameshvaram. Suddenly, Ekanath saw a donkey lying on the ground, dying of thirst.

Ekanath was filled with compassion. He immediately took his pitcher of the Ganga water, and poured it into the mouth of the dying donkey. With its thirst quenched, the donkey revived. Shocked at this act, a disciple asked Ekanath, “Guru‐ji, we have travelled hundreds of miles with this holy water to perform worship in Rameshvaram. Now where will we get the water of Ganga for our worship of Rameshvaram’s Shiva now?” Ekanath replied, “This is my Story: Sant Eknath gives his holy water from Ganga to a donkey

24 Krishnamani, pp. 154‐155

Rameshvara.”

Ekanath demonstrated through his deed that Bhagavān resides even in a donkey, and if we cannot treat

animals with compassion, we cannot claim that we love Bhagavān.

Story: The Forgiveness of Sant Ekanath

“Once, as Ekanath was coming out of the river after his bath in the Godavari, a Muslim spat on him. Ekanath however, was not in the least perturbed and simply returned to the river and bathed again. This happened again and again, and still Ekanath did not get angry. Finally, the Muslim understood that Ekanath was not an ordinary person and apologized. Ekanath simply replied that he himself was in the wrong to get in the Muslim’s way, and that he had had the benefit of taking so many baths in the Godavari. Then he said, “Let Allah bless you!”

The Muslim was surprised and asked him why he did it. Ekanath replied, “Brother, God is One, whether you call Him Allah or Krishna or any other name you like. He abides in you, in me, and in all the objects on this earth. If one tries, one can see Him everywhere, as I see you and you see me.””25

Story: Sant Eknath reforms his son‐in‐law

Sant Eknath was a renowned saint of Maharashtra. He married his daughter to a famous scholar (Pandit) of the region. Unfortunately, this scholar fell into bad company. He started going out of his home late in the night, leaving his wife alone. Ekanath’s daughter became very worried about her husband’s behavior and she spoke to her father about it. Eknath then called his son in law and said, “Look here my son in law. You are a learned man, but my daughter is not. Do her a favor. Before you leave your home every night, please read to her a verse or two of the Bhagavad Gita. This will benefit her greatly. Then, you can go out wherever you please.” The Pandit agreed. So every night before he stepped out, he would read a couple of verses of the Bhagavad Gita to his wife, and explain the meaning to her. Gradually, the Pandit realized how beautiful the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita were. They started having an influence on his own mind. After some time, with the effect of the Gita, the Pandit stopped going out at the night. He had not intended to study the Gita for his own benefit. But nevertheless, the study of the holy book for the sake of his wife impacted him too in a positive way, and he became a virtuous man.

The story of Sant Tukaram:

Sant Tukārām was a low‐caste Hindu who lived a mere 41 years (1608 – 1649). He lived a very difficult life and lost his money, children, and his honor. He remarried, but the second wife was very cruel to him. He was a very saintly person. Once, the great Hindu Emperor Shivaji approached him and requested him to become his Guru. Sant Tukārām instead asked him to meet with Swami Samartha Rāmadāsa and request him to be his Guru instead. Shivaji agreed to Sant Tukārām’s suggestion.

Tukārām wrote thousands of beautiful poems called ‘abhangs’ in his mother tongue. Crowds of people gathered around him and sang these abhangs with bhakti towards Vitthala. A local Pandit named Rāmeshwar Bhat became very jealous of Tukārām. He started spreading the rumor that Tukārām’s abhangs were misleading the people about the true teachings of Vedas and other Hindu scriptures. It was a sin to sing and listen to these abhangs because only Brahmins could teach others about Dharma, and because religious teaching should be given only from Sanskrit scriptures, not through local languages like Marathi, in which the abhangs were written.

A meeting of the local Pandits was called, and in an act of great injustice, Tukārām was ordered to thrown the books in which he had written his abhangs into the river. With tears in his eyes, he obeyed the command, and threw his books into the waters. The people who had gathered to watch the event saw with great anguish the pages of the booklets been carried away by the waters. Tukārām was also ordered not to write any more new abhangs. This injustice greatly saddened Sant Tukārām. One day, he sat on the banks of the river and cried, “Bhagavān Vitthala, what you did to me was not fair. I have had a very difficult life. I lost all my wealth. My sons died. My first wife died and my second wife is very cruel to me. But when I

wrote these abhangs to you, I forgot my sorrows and ill‐luck and felt happy that at least You loved me. I never complained to you. But now, even my abhangs through which I spoke to you, have been taken away from me. Why don’t you take my life too?”

Tukārām wept and sang his sorrow in the form of an abhang. And a miracle happened. As the onlookers watched in surprise, his books re‐appeared from the waters, with no damage from water to a single page or to the writing!

Tukārām was greatly moved by the mercy of Bhagavān Vitthala and sang, “I am sorry that I doubted your love. You are more loving than my mother. You have shown your mercy on a humble man like me. Please grant me a wish that I find always a place at your lotus like beautiful feet.”

Every one praised the bhakti of Tukārām. Rāmeshwar Bhatt and his fellow Pandits felt great shame at the miracle and became Tukārām’s disciples. Sant Tukārām’s surviving abhangs number around 4600. Many later Hindu Sants and great poets have translated them into other languages because of their beauty.

Story: Sant Tukārām’s teaches that we should practice living as if it were the Last Day or our Life

“One day a devotee came to Sant Tukaram and asked him: “Maharaj, you are so open and free in life; you have no secrets. You never become angry with anyone, you are so cool, collected, and so together. How has that happened to you? Please tell me the secret of your life?” Instead of answering his question, Tukaram said, “Look, I know a secret about you.” The man did not know what to say. He asked, “Maharaj, what is that?”

Tukaram said, “You are going to die in seven days.”

As Tukaram was a great saint, the man could not disbelieve his words. He went back home and did all that had to be done in those seven days. He became wonderful with his wife and children because he had only seven days more to live, and he tried to be the very best that he could be.

On the seventh day someone told Tukaram that the man was now going to die. Tukaram went to see the man and asked, “Tell me what happened?”

The man said, “Maharaj, I am going to die now. Please bless me, pray for me.” Tukaram said, “All right, but how have you lived for the past seven days? Were you angry with your wife, children, or with your friends?”

The man replied, “Maharaj, how could I get angry with anyone if I were to die after seven days?” Tukaram said, “Now you know my secret of keeping my mind cool, calm, and collected all the time. I remember that particular relationships can end at any moment!”

This was the secret of Tukaram’s calm and peaceful mind. He knew that the next moment could be the last moment. He lived with an understanding and not with fear.”

March 13

On Sunday, we discussed Saints of India.

Sant Ravidas

Ravidas was a cobbler who lived in Varanasi. A Brahmana went to get his shoe repaired, so Ravidas requested the Brahmana to offer his copper coin to Ganga by telling her Ravidas had sent her a gift and waiting for her to stretch out her hand. The Brahmana followed these directions and was shocked when Ganga stretched out her hand for the coin and gave him a golden bangle for Ravidas. The Brahmana became greedy and gave it to the king for money, but the king wanted a second bangle. The Brahmana went to Ravidas for help, and Ravidas made Ganga appear from a bowl of water because his mind was so pure. Ravidas pulled out more golden bangles. Both the Brahmana and the king were greatly humbled, as mastery of scripture or power was worth nothing to humility and purity of the mind.

Pundalika

Pundalika's parents wanted to go to Varanasi and asked him to take them there. He rudely said he did not have the time to take them. His parents, without money, started walking toward Varanasi. Pundalika felt bad and joined them there, taking them on horseback. He became a changed man, devoted to his parents. Krishna visited and Pundalika did not even leave his parents to attend to Krishna.

Bhakta Namadeva

Namadeva was called an inexperienced Bhakta. He asked Bhagavan for an explanation and was told to go to the Shiva mandir. In the mandir, a guru was sleeping with his feet toward the Shivalinga. Namadeva moved the guru's feet, and saw a strange vision of Shiva in all directions. Namadeva realized that Bhagavan is not just present in the Murti, but everywhere.

- Namadeva's great faith in Bhagavan and Dharma prevented him from feeling pain.

- He showed people that the value of Rama is greater than any wealth.

Additionally, we went over the Holi presentation. Below are some fun videos about Holi.

Holi-cartoon Netflix jr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpqBNEcURqs

As a Holi occasion fun video we went over Sri Krishna’s playful child pranks in Gokulam. Clip below is a Guruvayur temple skit that is acted by children several times a year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTj2Rtt35lg

Students should be working on their interviews for the final project! Many are beginning with parent interviews. Hopefully, they are able to conduct 1-2 interviews this week. Please check in with them and let them know to direct questions to a teacher/student volunteer.

March 6

We had a quick talk about Maha Shivaratri.

Info on the Interview project can be found on the website or you can ask for it in the WhatsApp chat.

Sadashiva Bramendara Shiva

There was a saint who sat on the beach of a river and entered deep meditation. As time passed, his body became buried in the sand of the bank. One day a father and his son went to find sand for some construction project and decided to start digging on the very same bank. The son plunged his shovel deep into the sand and hit something hard. Confused, he pulled out the shovel and saw blood on the tip. They dug around to find that the saint had been buried alive and was in such deep meditation that he was completely unaware of his surroundings, only the spiritual world.

Nirguni Sants

These were saints from Northwestern India who claimed that God existed everywhere. That no one place was more holy than the other. Thus, they didn’t see the point in going on pilgrimages and rather focused on building temples and finding God in their own hearts.

One of these Nirguni Sants was 1 Sant Rāmānanda

Swami Rāmānanda lived in the 14th‐15th century CE. He lived largely in the sacred Hindu cities of Prayāga and Varanasi. In those days, the Tughlaq Sultans ruled the region. The Muslim generals and preachers used to oppress the Hindus and prevented them from practicing their Hindu faith openly. A group of Hindus approached Swami Rāmānanda and appealed to him to do something about it. The Swami agreed and decided to use his Yogic powers. As a result, it so happened that the Muslim priests in Varanasi suddenly became incapable of shouting out their calls of Muslim prayers five times every day. Whenever the time to give out the call to prayer came, the Maulvis (Muslim priests) suddenly seemed to become tongue tied. Some of them realized that it was the result of Swami Rāmānanda’s powers. Therefore, a group of them decided to visit the Swami and intimidate him. But as they approached Swami Rāmānanda’s home, he blew a conch shell. All the guests fell into a swoon and had a vision of their prophet Muhammad. In that vision, their prophet told them to listen carefully to what Swami Rāmānanda had to say.

When they came back to their senses, Swami Rāmānanda said, “Bhagavān is One. The same Divine Being creates us all, looks after us and then destroys everything. People worship him in different ways according to the traditions of their own religion. But if He is One indeed, then why do you prevent the Hindus from worshiping their own way? Surely, He cannot belong to Muslims alone! Henceforth, I want you to make sure that:

1. The Jaziya tax that the government takes from the Hindus every month is stopped. 2. No existing Hindu temples are demolished.

3. Hindu scriptures are not destroyed.

4. Cows are not slaughtered.

5. Hindu women are not molested.

6. The ban on temple construction must be removed. Hindus should be allowed to blow conch shells following

their ancient traditions of worship.

7. No Hindu should be converted to Islam forcibly.

8. If a Hindu approaches a Muslim saint out of reverence, he should not be persuaded to convert to Islam.

9. There should be no ban on the celebration of Hindu festivals.

10. No one should be prevented from chanting the name of Rama.

11. When a bridegroom is proceeding to his wedding stall on a horse per our ancient custom, he must not be asked to get off the horse when he is in front of a mosque.

12. Hindus must not be forced to pay extra taxes during their festivals

The Muslim leaders took his message to Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, who was the Sultan of Northern India at that

time. When he heard how the Yogic powers had stopped the Maulvis from shouting their calls of prayers, he became scared. He issued a royal proclamation that all the 12 conditions listed by Swami Rāmānanda are agreed to, so that Hindus can practice their religion freely in his Empire.

Sant Kabir was similar to Sant Ramananda. He was born to a Hindu widow who abandoned him. He was raised by a Muslim couple. When he was to be named by an Imam, the Imam rejected to name him from the Koran and instead gave him the name Kabir(Great). One day, when Sant Ramananda was wading into the river, he accidentally stepped on the foot of Sant Kabir and exclaimed “Rama, Rama!”. Hearing this, Sant Kabir claimed that Sant Ramananda was his guru as he had given him a Rama mantra. Sant Ramananda accepted him with glee. He was reject by Hindus for being to Muslim and vice versa. Sant Kabīr was a very strong critic of hypocrisy. He saw that many priests and ascetics pretended to be very pious and holy men, but were in fact evil minded.

One day, he heard that a fake Fakir (Muslim ascetic) was coming to visit him. To expose this fake Saint, Kabīr tied a pig at the entrance of his home. When the Fakir came to Sant Kabir’s home, he was horrified to see the pig and shouted out loud in anger, “Don’t you know that the pig is an unclean animal? Then why have you tied one to the entrance of your home?” Kabīr replied, “My pig is outside my house, whereas your pig is inside your heart.” The Fakir felt so ashamed to hear these words that he went away stealthily. Irritated by his criticisms, groups of both Hindus and Muslims complained to the local Muslim ruler. He was a very intolerant Muslim ruler and declared that Kabīr must be punished for criticizing Islam. He ordered that Kabīr must be trampled to death by an elephant. But miraculously, the elephant bowed down in front of Kabīr and refused to harm the saint. Then, he was tied in chains and thrown into a river. But he walked ashore, free of chains. He was locked into a house that was set on fire. But the Saint walked through the fire, and emerged totally unharmed. The Sultan was terrified upon hearing of these miracles and he freed Kabīr. When Kabīr died, Hindus and Muslims started fighting over who could claim his body. The Hindus said, “He taught teachings of our scriptures.

His Guru was a Hindu. Therefore, Kabīr should be cremated.” But the Muslims said, “His parents were Muslim, and he had a Muslim name. Therefore, he should be buried.” As they fought, a voice from the skies said, “Lift the white sheet covering Kabir’s body.” When the sheet of white cloth was removed, people were shocked to see a heap of flowers instead of Kabir’s dead body. The Hindus and Muslims divided the heap into two halves. The Hindus took their

share to Varanasi and cremated the flowers, whereas the Muslims buried their half right where Kabir’s body lay. By performing this last miracle, Kabīr wanted to teach that we all belong to Bhagavān, whether we are Hindus or Muslims, and therefore we must not fight over religious differences. The miracle also showed that Saints like Kabīr do not belong to people of just one religion. Rather, they belong to the entire humanity.

Word from Sant Kabir:

jo toko kāntā boye, tāhi boyī tū phūl | toko phūl ke phūl hain, bāko sab tirsūl || “If someone places thorns in your path, you should reply by throwing flowers in his path. Because, you will finally get only flowers, whereas he will get thorns.”

badā huā to kyā huā jaise ped khajūr | panthi ko chhāyā nahīn, phal lāgey ati dūr | “So what if you are a great man? You are like that tree of date palm that does not provide any shade to the traveler. And its fruit is too far away to pluck for food.”

HOMEWORK:

Continue working on the interview project.

February

February 27

We went over the Hindu festival of Shivaratri, discussing the historical context and ways we can celebrate it.

Most of class was spent going through the final project plan. Most students have determined who they will be interviewing, so we discussed how to prepare and ask questions when conducting interviews. We will practice this next week.

We ended class sharing stories about two Acharyas who wrote books explaining Hindu scriptures and praising Bhagavan.

Madhvacharya: One day a ship came to shore and the owner gave a mound of clay to Madhvacharya. He washed it and a beautiful murti of Krishna emerged. Madhvacharya carried it alone to Udipi where a mandir was constructed to worship the murti. 8 disciples founded 8 monasteries in Udipi and led worship in the Krishna mandir.

Vallabhacharya: A man argued that the Shaligrama is a better murti to worship than the four armed statue. Taught him that all murtis are of the same Bhagavan, and we should not regard one as superior to the other.

Nataraja Pathu - hymns on Nataraja (Siva) with English translation - Shiva Rathri significance - philosophy, Bhakti, Art all combined nicely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zSwsa8KTRM

February 20

As a lesson of how anger affects the brain, we saw a video. Anger helped our ancestors to evade threatening systems. While it helped our ancestors evade wild animals and natural threats, it causes severe damage to our brains and bodily function if held on to for longer periods of time. Examples include, decreased reasoning as the prefrontal cortex is impaired, blood pressure skyrockets, and digestion slows. Ways to remedy anger are doing meditation and reframing how you see things. With meditation, it allows you to grow gray matter in the brain which in turn allows you to become calm much more easily. By reframing the situation, you can prevent anger from ever arising. If you feel someone has wronged you, you could imagine that something bad happened to them which caused them to do said action. This will elicit a compassionate response.

We covered Section 9.7 Badrachalam Ramadasa, Saint Tyagaraja, Karun Amma, Section 10. Adi Shankara-Acharya & Sri Ramanuja-Acharya.

We had a quick revision of how different devotees represented their devotion to the Lord.

Sant Tyagaraja: Composer who lived in the 1700s and made hundreds of songs of Rama. One day, Tyagaraja was praising Rama and was confronted by a rich man. The rich man demanded that Tyagaraja make a song praising him in exchange for money to build a temple. Tyagaraja refuses citing that he will not praise a human. The king grew more angry. Tyagaraja made the decision to write a song for the rich man, but made the clever play on words to praise the God that resides within every Bhakta and within all beings. Satisfied and realizing his arrogance, the rich man gave Tyagaraja the money needed for the temple.

Kuru Amma was a devotee of Krishna. One day, a man approached Krishna and asked him to heal his friend’s belly ache. Krishna refused and stated it was his Karma that caused his belly to ache. The same man approached Kuru Amma and begged her to speak with Krishna. She obliged and went to the Lord. She asked very affectionately to Krishna. Asking him to heal another human being. The amount of affection and devotion in her words moved Krishna to heal the man.

Adi Shankara was a Saint around 700 CE. One day, he was walking with a group of saints away from a temple. On the way out he and his group were stopped outside the temple by a Chandala. The Chandala begins to converse with the saint. Adi Shankara, denies him any

conversation telling him to move as he was an untouchable. The man quickly sparks back claiming that only his body was of lower caste and that his soul was that of higher standing. Adi Shankara was taken aback and agreed with the man on his stance. The man revealed himself

to be Shiva in disguise and made the Acharya realize, practice and spread the resulting philosophy as "Advaita" philosophy of "Brahman" and "Atma" and how they are converged in us.

Shri Ramanujacharya was a disciple of Guru Goshtipurna. One day, the Guru taught Ramanujacharya a liberating mantra “Om namo Narayana” and told him that it should not be shared with the rest of the world as it was meant only for those of higher cosmic power. Ramanujacharya felt that it was unfair that others couldn’t be liberated using this mantra. In an effort to help as many people as he could, he stood on top of the roof and called all to listen to the mantra. After he did this, his Guru was angry with him and claimed that he would go to hell for his actions. Ramanujacharya replied that he does not mind sacrificing his well being for the benefit of others. Another time, he and his disciples were traveling when all of a sudden, they saw some kids playing in the street. They came closer to the children to behold that they had made a trace drawing of the Lord in the sand. Ramanujacharya immediately prostrated before the drawing of the tracing. After he rose up and began walking again, his disciples asked him why he made the effort to pray to the tracing on the sand. Ramanujacharya replied that the children made the tracing with innocence and love and cited that God resided wherever such things were present. Therefore, God resided in the tracing on the ground and thus, he prostrated before the Murthi of the Lord. Ramanujacharya displayed his devotion to the Lord through his unconditional love for all those around him.

Video clips used in the class:

How anger hurts the body and mind & and how meditation assists controlling anger: (4 minutes video clip)

Anger Video clip How the Brain works with Anger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1fSzTiOzdA

'Adi Shankara and The Chandala' Video clip with English translations (2.5 minutes video) https://youtu.be/fb9nNbQq4rw

Homework:

Three students have so far identified 4 interviewees for their project from the pool of their Parents, Grandparents, Siblings & Cousins. Others are requested to come with 4 names, and the gaps will be assisted by Teachers in the next class.

Reading: Section 9.5 Sant Kanakadasa, 9.6 Purandaradasa, 9.7 Bhadrachalam Ramadasa. (Pages 106 - 110)

February 13

From the 15 good things from Saint Avvyar's teaching, many students stated their need for practice is on "Controlling our anger".

Class coverage is Section 8.17 Tiruneelakantar, Section 9.0 Alvar Saints: Namalvar and Andal, Section 9.5 Kanakadasa, sectiom 9.6 Purandaradasa.

Class project instructions were provided for Feb-May time line. Attached.

February 6

Today, we reviewed a presentation about Vasant Panchami and then discussed great devotees of Shiva, Ganesha, and Kārttikeya from South India.

Chenthanar: Chenthanar was a great devotee of Shiva who fed a Sadhu pudding even when he himself had not eaten dinner. The next day there was pudding on Shiva's murti. The king looked for Chenthanar to offer respects to Shiva with him. Chenthanar could not be found. Finally, Shiva asked Chenthanar to sing a hymn in worship to him.

Basaveshvara: As a child, Basava was pained to see that some members of HIndu society were discriminated against and not allowed to enter Shiva temples. He believed all devotees of Shiva are equal in Bhagavan's eyes, and he even refused to wear the sacred thread Brahmins wore. King Bijjala was impressed with Basava and made him treasurer. Basava stopped the practice of killing animals in temples and he treated people in the community equally, no matter their caste or financial situation.

Pothana: Pothana was a devotee of Shiva who believed there was no one greater than Bhagavan. He refused to dedicate his poems to the King.

Molla: Someone from her village was insulted, so Molla said she would write the Ramayana in Telugu in 5 days to avenge the insult. Her composition of the Ramayana was very easy to chant, and it became the most popular version of the piece in Telugu.

Yogi Vemanna: Vemanna had very bad habits when he was younger. He stole the opportunity for secret knowledge from the person who worked for him. Then, feeling bad, he had the worker teach him spirituality and became a better person.

Sant Vallalar: He opposed caste-based distinctions and supported vegetarianism. One day, a villager on a bullock cart came to listen to the Swami's sermons. When the villager arrived, the Swami went to check on the bullocks and fed them.

Avvaiyar: Devi Saraswati was born on Earth as Avvaiyar. She was a great devotee of Lord Ganesha. She prayed to Ganesha to turn her into an old woman so she wouldn't have to get married and could continue worshipping Bhagavan. She asked Ganesha to give her the ability to write good Tamil drama, poetry, and prose and taught important values through literature.

There will be an interview-based final project where you speak to someone from an older generation about a great inspiration in their lives. We'll begin the project in a few weeks, but you can begin thinking about who you might want to interview.

Homework

- Refer to Page 102: Review the 15 good things we follow from Saint Avvaiyar’s teaching. Come with your answer by the next class to the question “Which of her teachings do you follow in your lives?" Also come with a couple examples of how you practice those teachings.

Below are links used in the last 2 classes to supplement content:

Dharma Chakra of Indian flag & the Satyameva Jayate ( 'Truth alone triumphs') motto of India coming from Ashoka's Saranath Stupa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Emblem_of_India

Brihadeeshwara temple (periya koil) constructed by Rajaraja Chola. Seventh wonder of the world as a narrative of highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZJCaZrecRo

Bharatha Muni (Bharatham dance and drama) Arts intro - just first two minutes to explain the rich cultural tradition of the art form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWhA3ldZcyY

Thiruvalluvar and Vivekanada memorials of Kanyakumari - a drone view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2ANVT0HVBU

January

January 30

Early figures of India

Chandragupta- First king of a united India. With thorough help from Chanakya, he was able to unite the north and south.

Chanakya- The advisor to Chandragupta Maurya. He raised Chandragupta Maurya from an ordinary boy to a full fledged king. All the while, he was teaching Chandragupta about the essence of political science and how one should rule.

Ashoka- Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. Became one of the biggest Indian emperors. He held onto the teachings of Chanakya and engaged in a 7 year long war causing mass destruction all across his empire. The “Kalinga war” killed millions and caused great pain to the empire. When Ashoka visited the battlefield, he was completely appalled by the amount of chaos and death. He threw down his sword and converted to Buddhism to repent for the war he caused. Additional achievements of Ashoka include, the invention of Indian democracy, advancements of science and arts, country wealth and increased standards of living for the lower classes.

Raja Bhoja- 11th Century. One day, when Raja Bhoja was walking down the street, he came across a man coming from the other way. As they passed each other, the man deliberately closed his eyes when approaching the king. When the king stops the man and asks him why he did that, the man said that it was inauspicious to look at the face of a miser in the morning. The king then reformed his selfish ways and promoted dharma.

Raja Raja Chola- A king who refused the throne when he was young in order to be fair to his uncle. He gave the throne to his uncle in order to be fair and in order to learn how to rule. As time passed, the uncle relinquished the throne to Chola. From there, Raja Raja Chola takes the reins and builds temples, eventually building the biggest granite temple in the world.

One day, when a sculptor was creating a moorti of God, Raja Raja Chola approached behind the man who was deep in his work. As Raja Chola waited for the man to finish his work, the man asked for a paan and a pot in which to spit without even looking back. Raja Chola obliged and provided the man with the items and even held the pot when the man spit. When the man turned to see that it was the king that held the pot, he flung himself at the feet of the king begging for forgiveness. The king immediately stood the man up and told him that he needn’t beg for forgiveness. The king rather thanked him for his service to the temple and to God.

The Nayanmars were devout people who surpassed the class barriers of ancient India. They all displayed extraordinary devotion to the Lord and his people.

Sambandhar was a child who was left on the bank of a bathing pond while his parents bathed. The child began to cry after becoming hungry, but his parents couldn’t hear him. As he cried for milk, Parvati Devi came down and fed him. When his parents came back after hearing his cries after coming closer, they were shocked to see that the child was fine. From there, Sambandhar became a devout Hindu and sang Bhajans for the Lord.

Appar was in poor health before he found Lord Shiva. After he gave his devotion to Shiva, all of his ailments left him. From that point onward, he was tortured by the king for spreading Hinduism, but Appar was completely protected by Shiva.

Nandanar was of a lower class and therefore he wasn’t allowed to enter the Shiva temple. His grief of not being allowed to see the moorthi of the Lord was great. He moved to a crack in the wall to see the Shiva Moorthi, but his view was blocked by the Nandhi moorthi. He begged the Lord to let him gaze upon the moorthi, and due to his immense devotion, the Lord obliged him. The Lord then moved the Nandhi moorthi and allowed Nandanar to look upon the moorthi.

We also had a class discussion on leaders’ qualities.

1. Responsibility

2. Respect

3. Admitting your mistakes

4. Walking the talk

5. Dharmic values

January 23

We discussed the scholars of Hindu languages, arts, and law.

Language Scholars

- Panini studied Sanskrit grammar and wrote a book about Sanskrit and Vedic grammar after being told he would be illiterate by a palmist.

- Varadaraja persevered through ridicule by his classmates when he did not understand the lessons. He instead studied at home and became very knowledgeable, eventually writing a grammar called "Laghusiddhānta Kaumudi."

- Sant Thiruvalluvar wrote the Kural which contains teachings in Tamil. According to Hindu tradition, both Sanskrit and Tamil were created by Bhagavān Shiva.

Hindu Arts

- Cooking: some of the most ancient cooking books come from the Hindus, like Pakadarpana by King Nala.

- Kalidasa is regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in sanskrit literature. Like other great Hindu scholars, Kalidasa was not very intelligent growing up. He was set up with a princess, who told him to leave her after learning about his lack of knowledge. Kalidasa spent a lot of time in the Mandir worshiping Devi Kali. She blessed him with great wisdom for his devotion. He wrote several plays in Sanskrit, the most popular being Shakuntala.

January 16

We began class with morning prayers and three minutes of meditation. Then, we began the parent-teacher conference by going through previous class content (summaries of previous classes are found on the HATS website). For the rest of the year, we will continue learning historical Hindu figures including scientists, women's history, and a project.

Today, we focused specifically on women in Hindu Dharma, beginning with Saraswati devi. While Saraswati is the goddess of arts, she is also associated with the Vedas. In fact, the Veda texts are often referred to as feminine. In Shaiva tradition, God is often represented as half-women, and when God is worshiped as a parent, the mother takes precedence over the father. Avatars of Shri-Vishnu, like Radha-Krishna, are worshiped together and equally. Additionally, Hinduism is the only major religion that worships God as a woman. Women also had a large role in Hindu spirituality as saints.

January 9

We started off with the daily slokas and meditation. Keep in mind that parent teacher conferences are next class Jan 16.

Next we talked about Makara Sankaranti. The festival is a celebration of harvest that dates back to 300 BC. The celebration takes place when the sun begins its journey northward moving from Cancer to Capricorn(Makara). On this day, we thank God for our food, prosperity and all else he has given us in order to live and thrive. It is an Indian Thanksgiving and is celebrated all over India.

We talked about the Panchariana that are associated with Makara Sankaranti. The five debts we all need to pay in our life. Duty to parents, community, the vulnerable, yourself and God. We must repay these debts as they are given to us at birth.

We did a quick recap on the last few classes before break to refresh the content.

Karaikal Ammaiyar, Appar, Nadanar, Valmiki and Sambhandar were great exponents of Bhakti. Nandanar was a poor man who was a great devotee of Shiva who was not allowed within the holy temple due to his caste. He yearned to enter and worship the lord so he tried to look at Shiva from outside the temple. When he was unable to look upon the moorti due to the Nandi statue blocking the view, he begged the lord to let him see the moorti. The lord obliged him and moved the entire statute to allow his devotee to gaze upon him.

In all, many of the early bhakti movement Saints were quite poor and meek. Their stories of growth in Bhakti/ Devotion to the Lord show that anybody can love and praise God without fear and hesitation to attain a great status. Their lives prove that Bhagavan is impartial to all people and these Saints teach us to how to rise to be noble human beings irrespective of one’s social status or very humble beginning.

Attached is a PDF file of more details on Sankarant we covered in the class.

December

December 19

Meditation: Asked students to follow the instructions, start with one minute and increase by a minute a day for ten days during the holidays and stay there.

Went over the life story of Adi Shankara-Acharya, and how he integrated Hindu Religion scriptures and different factions, and his exemplary work on Stotrams (hymns) and Bhashayams (explanations of Gita, Veda-Upanishads) and how he influenced more people knowing and understanding Hindu Dharma. But for him from the 7 th century (some evidence suggests centuries before that), the Hindu religion would not be where it is. He was the Integrator of the people towards a larger goal of religion: knowledge of Universe and Bhagavan. Refer to Section 10.1 Shri Adi Shankaracharya (around 700 CE), page 115+ of the textbook. Attached is a PDF file AdiShannkaraAcharya as a synopsis of his biography and exemplary achievements.

We connected the time period between Adi Shankara Acharya and Sri Ramanuja Acharya (11 th century) with the introduction to the Saints between 6 th and 11 th centuries. They are: Sixty-three Nayanmars (Bhagavan Shiva bhaktas) and Twelve Azhvars (Bhagavan Vishnu Bhaktas). We went over Poosalar Nayanar story: how poor he was, and how he builds a grand Shiva temple in his mind with minute details of design, construction and inauguration, and how Bhagavan comes in the dream of the King and announces this information and how the temple was actually built by the King listening to Poosalar’s design. Refer to Section 8.5 Sant Poosalar constructs a Shiva temple in His Heart, page 87 of the textbook.

The month being Dhanur Masa (Dec 16-Jan13 in 2021-2022), we introduced Andal Azhvar and her story of being an orphan raised by Periyalvar with a lot of affection, and how Andal she makes and wears the garland on herself first to check if it good enough for Sri Ranganatha (Bhagavan in Sri Rangam temple); how Periyalvar is offended knowing this, and how Bhagavan comes in his dream to tell him that Andal as a great Bhakta must do the same and he has her in his heart. Refer to Section 9.3 Andal, Page 105 of the textbook.

December 12

We talked about the celebration of the Gita on Gita Jayanti. The Gita is a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjun to symbolize the conversation between Guru and Shishya (Teacher and Student). The Gita took place on Kurukshetra moments before the Mahabharata war started. The Gita consists of 18 chapters and 700 Sholkas. It covers topics of the nature of God, individuality, and duty.

Ways to achieve happiness that are shown in this text:

• Not having ego

• Loving all beings/things unconditionally

• Having Shradhha (means sincerity and faith)

• Meditating on Ishwar

• Try to live life as the Gurus, Rishis, and Sadhus have lived

• Allow yourself to submit that God will control the results, you only need to worry on how best you perform your actions.

Finally, where there is Truth and Dharma, there is always Shanti and Anand (Happiness). Gita is globally accepted as a great Hindu philosophy relevant for people of all regions, cultures and professions for being good human beings in personal and professional lives while upholding Dharma.

We also talked about Acharyas Adi Shankara & Sri Ramanujan who also felt that God controls the results of your actions. They amplified the Gita essence in their philosophy and spread the Bhakti movement in very critical times of Hindu Dharma when it was vulnerable.

We also saw video clip “Influence of Ramanuja and Shankara on Bhakti Movement” and the link is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gEdSQ9fZE&t=14s

This clip talked about their philosophies formed by the two great Acharyas in the 6th century and 11th century respectively. It held that all beings and things are of the universe aka Brahman. That all beings are dependent on the “divine being” to be existent. We as humans are blind to this concept until we rid ourselves of our ego and ignorance.

The Gita Jayanthi is on Tuesday, January 14, 2021. We want all the students to read the essence of Gita (Gita Saar) on this auspicious day, and we can discuss any questions during the next class. Gita_Saar pdf file click here (Hindi and English).

November

November 21

We discussed different ways to relieve anger from our lives

Some ways to do so would be to drink water and take deep breaths.

Next we talked about the harm done to Hinduism in the past. Specifically how the British empire occupied India and curbed Hindu practices. Swami Vivekananda provided inspiration for the Indian youth of British India to become bolder and stronger to form the party to shatter British rule of India in 1947. He would go to different regions and give outstanding speeches to the next generation of Indians.

Adi Shankara was a saint born during the time of Buddha the devised ways to be a Dharmic person. While either option works, the second is better as it gives one a sense of relaxation and much less harmful stress.

Knowledge method: By doing all by yourself and not relying on God.

Bhakti: Devotion of Faith. Surrender to God, working your best and then allowing God to take the rest.

Additionally we talked about the health science developed by the ancient Hindus. It is known as Ayurveda(science of life/health) and it typically made use of herbs to help care for ailments. Charaka was a man who was prolific in the field of Ayurveda. He developed the theory of bacteria in India. In one story(page 52), he becomes a parrot, perched on a tree, and skwaked “Koraruk”, “who does not become sick”. Three physicians tried to answer. ONe claimed that chyavanaprasha would stave away all illnesses, another claimed that blueberries would cure, the final physician held that Ashvagandha would relieve any ailment. Charaka was disappointed and flew away. When he landed, he asked the same question to a man named Vagbhata. Vagbhata answered clearly that he who is not a slave to taste and eats only what is good for his body and in moderation will be free of all illnesses. Charaka returned to his human form and congratulated the man, claiming him to understand the essence of medicine.

Another important Ayurvedic surgeon was Divodasa. He was a very influential person and was one of the first to implement the use of anesthesia to alleviate pain during surgery. We also talked about Hindu plastic surgery, specifically surgery on the nose.

Ayurveda did not only deal with the humans. There were many books written on veterinary medicine because much of ancient India relied on cattle driven agriculture. Books were mainly focused on bulls, cows, ox, elephants and horses as they were mainly used in daily life. Ayurveda also dealt in botany, many new species of trees and plants were introduced to India and made to grow in the climate and pollination rates.

November 14

We began class with morning prayers. Then, we reviewed the homework from last week. The main lessons from the two stories are to keep your promises.

Next, we discussed 3 stories.

The Sacrifice of King Shibi (pg. 47)

Indra and Agni took the form of a hawk and dove. The hawk tried to kill the dove, so the dove fled to King Shibi and asked for protection. The hawk explained that protecting the dove deprives the hawk of its food. King Shibi said it was his duty to protect the weak. Instead, he would cut his flesh so the hawk could eat. The story teaches us that despite challenges, we should not stray from our dharma, just like the king's duty to protect everyone in his kingdom.

Emperor Kuru (pg. 48)

Emperor Kuru wanted his kingdom to be as holy as Varanasi. He spoke to Rishis, who told him to worship Shiva and Yama. Both were pleased and granted him a wish. Kuru requested Nandi and Yama's buffalo to till the plains to remove the evil. Then, Kuru worshipped Vishnu. Vishnu told him to plant the seeds of Dharma to make it holy. Vishnu asked him to become the seed for sowing, and Kuru readily agreed because he wanted the land of his people to be prosperous. The land was then known as Kurukshetra. Kuru's story teaches us to sacrifice without selfish desires to benefit those we care about.

Pareekshit (pg. 49)

King Pareekshit asked a meditating Rishi for water. The Rishi ignored him, and Pareekshit got very angry. He put a dead snake around the neck of the Rishi. Rishi Shringi, the Rishi's son, cursed Pareekshit. The Rishi scolded his son for acting rashly with anger. Both Pareekshit and Shringi learned the importance of controlling anger.

We then discussed ways to control our anger (more details on page 50).

Homework

- review chariot analogy (pg. 32)

- review story on Bharata (begins middle of pg. 44)

November 7

We talked about special/fun things that we did over Diwali such as spending time with family, fireworks, dance performances, and more.

We talked about the story of Vedvyas. This was during the Mahabharata. Rishi Vedvyas came to the kingdom of hastinapur and told the story of Surabhi who is the mother of all cows and bulls. One day, two of her children were being forced to pull a plow. One of the bulls was doing well and going strong while the other was weaker and not as well. This led to the weaker cow being punished for being weak. She begged Indra to save her child, but Indra denied saying that she has many other children to do the same work. She responded by saying that although she has stronger children, her heart always leaps for the weaker children, the same way that other mothers do. Vedvyas connected the story to Dritarashtra by saying that even though the Kauravas were his stronger children, the Pandavas also required his protection and it was his duty to guard and guide them to adulthood. This brings up the subject that Vedvyas was very passionate about, the difference between justice and equality. This photo will describe the difference to you.

We must always strive for justice even though equality is not always wrong.

We also had a brief talk about walking the talk. If you were to preach Dharma, you are supposed to also practice the Dharma you preached.

We read from page 37. Talked about the Ashwamedha Yagna and different emperors and their experiences with rishis.

Raja Harishchandra story lesson: you should always keep your promises.

King Ambarisha invited Rishi Durvasa to his palace. Durvasa went to bathe and told Ambarisha to not start the meal. After hours passed with Durvasa not arriving, Ambarisha drank water because he had not eaten since Durvasa arrived. Durvasa was very angry and felt insulted because his host drank water before serving him. Durvasa made a demon, so Vishnu sent the Sudarshana Chakra to defend Ambarisha. Durvasa ran to Vishnu asking him to stop the Chakra from chasing him. Vishnu agreed, as long as Durvasa apologized for his mistake and promised to not get angry.

King Dushyanta marries Shakuntala and he gives her a ring. She is lost in thought about him, so her father curses her saying whoever she is thinking of will forget her. He doesn’t realize this means her husband will forget her. They go to the palace to remind him, but she loses the ring in a river on the way. Dushyanta does not remember her. Shakuntala gives birth to Bharata. A fisherman found the ring, was arrested for having a royal ring, and the ring was presented to Dushyanta. He immediately remembered Shakuntala and brought her and Bharata to the palace. Bharata became the next king of the kingdom.

We watched a Ted talk on the importance of Hinduism and Indian culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv_UfDBNWI8&t=320s Between Two Cultures | Smrithi

Ram | TEDxUCincinnati

Just a reminder that the last day to pick up textbooks is on November 20th at the temple.

Homework:
Nachiketa - Chariot analogy page 30
Harischandra - p 38
Bharat, p43

October

October 31

We began class by discussing the importance of Diwali and various ways to celebrate it. We then went over a couple stories. The main messages were to have a mentally balanced mind. One should not think too low or highly or themselves because it negatively harms oneself and relationships with others. We also discussed the chariot analogy of the mind, body, intellect, soul, and senses. The intellect directs the actions and the mind (see video below).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6HZIaxkf7I&t=85s

Homework: Read 1.12 Rishi Veda Vyasa (page 20 - 22). Pay attention to Class Discussion. Be prepared to discuss your thoughts on discussion topic of Equality and Justice.

October 24

We began class with a presentation on Navratri and Dussehra. Then we went through a couple of stories in the book (pgs 10-18). The main message of stories: don’t hold grudges; part of the Devatas lives inside all of us, so we should take care of ourselves to not hurt or insult the Devas; practice unselfish love and devotion toward Bhagwan.

We then discussed the homework, beginning with a comparison of Hindu and western cultural values (pg 4). We also reviewed the 6 internal enemies and went over examples of them in our daily lives.

Homework: write down one internal enemy you face and any methods you use to control it.

October 10

Covered how King Vishvaratha got jealous of Sage Vashishtha, of his status as the Brahma Rishi and the Kamadhenu that was residing in his Ashram, when the divine creation could provide any amount of any food as much as desired. Sage Vashistha did not hold any grudge even when the King destroyed his family. Understanding his nobleness, Vishvaratha eventually becomes Bramha Rishi Vishwamitra. "....Just as Sage Vashishtha, we should counter-violence, anger, and hatred with forgiveness, love, and kindness. Often, nothing is gained through anger, hatred and revenge. We should learn to put these things behind us, and instead focus on advancing ourselves in the right direction."

Exercise-2 Among the six internal enemies of (lust/desire, anger, greed, arrogance or ego, delusion and jealousy) which one you think you may have, and any methods you think you can use to control them. (Read pages of section 1.4 Rishi Vasishta, pages 6-9)

October 3

Meditation class

September

September 26

Rishi Agastya: Discussed how he immigrated from Northern India to the South, learns the local language and culture, and presents the Dharma and Veda teachings in the South in both Sanskrit and Tamil. He was called a scholar and sage in two languages and has written extensively. He composed and chants "Aditya Hridayam" verses to Sri Rama in Ramayana Yudhakanda, just before the battle with Ravana was to commence. He energized Lord Rama and advises him to lift his sprits up to fight Adharma. He is a shining example of a Saint to show us how to learn and gain from two cultures and significantly contribute to both. Exercise-1: Think quietly and come up with two good practices from Hindu culture as well as western culture that we should nurture. (Refer to Section 1.2 Rishi Agastya. page 3 and 4 of Textbook).