Swami Aparajitanandaji's Lecture on "Who decides the destiny?"

Swamiji’s lecture was on the 'Laws of the Universe' with examples that kindled the children in the spiritual direction! 

The laws that leads to your destiny are

1. As your thoughts, so will be your state of your mind
   The mental state can either be peaceful or disturbed.
   If your thoughts are good, noble, positive, your mind will be peaceful.
   If your thoughts are bad, negative, dishonest, arrogant, selfishness, your mind will be disturbed.
   
   Apply the law to yourself -
      whenever you were jealous, where you disturbed or not?
      whenever you were good, where you peaceful or not?
   
   - There is a cause & effect relationship
   - To convert the disturbed mind to positive mind, apply the 5 point technique stated in "Recovering from the fall"
   Example:
   If someone abuse you, you are upset. why?
   
   You are actually not disturbed by the person who abused you but your own positive thought leading you to react instead of responding is what disturbs you. Actually speaking nobody can disturb you without your permission. So try to keep your thoughts calm & composed at all times.
     
2. Purer the mind, greater the control over your mind
   
   Mind is nothing but the flow of thoughts and the factors that decides success are hardwork, selflessness, perseverance, determination etc
   - When you have control over mind, you have control over everything else.
   - The mind is like an iron rod, which can be made into any shape.
     For that you need to heat the iron rod first. Similarly you will have to first make the mind pure to get control over it.
     
3. As your thoughts, so will be your personality
• If your thoughts are good, you will have dynamic, noble, charming, attractive personality.
• If your thoughts are bad, you will have rebelling, unattractive personality.
  You like only the former quality person but not the later one.
• When you interact with a person, you need to observe that the person & will remember the time well spent and the healthy conversation you had next time too.
  One would love to meet & interact with noble / good person but not the complain box.
  So analyse yourself to know what kind of a person you are!
• If you have been bad in the past, try gradually changing in the right way, you cannot change the opinion on you overnight forcefully.
    
4. As your thoughts, so will be the world perceived by you
• If your thoughts are positive, world is wonderful and divine.
• If your thoughts are negative, world if full of woes & worries.
• Example 1:
  If you think of ghost, you will see ghost everywhere.
  If you think of God & goodness, you will see God everywhere.
  Example 2:
  Yudistira & Duryodhana went around the city, came back & explained what they say.
  Duryodhana said no one is good where as Yudistira said all are good & perfect.
• What is the proof that you are a good person?
  If you cannot do self-marketing that you are good. If you have the ability to forget and forgive, you will eventually be a good person.
• Acharya's answer for a Child's question:
  Question: Why a person very good at heart, born with deformation / disabilities is disliked by people?
  Answer: The world will one day appreciate your goodness over & above your deformation / disabilities and you will have to put best efforts. Hellen Keller is the best example, who was adorned for her nobility despite her physical limitations - deaf, dum & blind.
    
5. As your thoughts, so will be the world formed around you
   Examples:
• In prison, everyone around are criminals, liers, endangered folks
• In Balavihar camp, wonderful teachings are given of Bhagawan Shri Krishna because you have done good deed to be amidst noble teaches, Load Omkareshwara & Chinmaya Ganapati.
• When you are studying hard to become a successful engineer, you will try & pass engineering entrance, get into engineering college, you will see engineering problems as you are in the engineering world.
  So are the people in Mathematics, Medicine and other fields. Hence choose good thoughts.
• If you go to a hotel, order for Idly Vada and when the server gets a plate of Idly Vada in 5 minutes, you shouldn't be surprised.
   
6. As you sow, so shall you reap
• According to Newtons law, it is proven that every action has equal & opposite reaction.

Swamiji ended the session with a note from Bhagawad Gita as follows

Bhagawad Gita - Chapter 6; Verse: 40

śhrī bhagavān uvāchapārtha 
naiveha nāmutra vināśhas tasya vidyate
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛit kaśhchid durgatiṁ tāta gachchhati

The Blessed Lord said:
O Partha, neither in this world nor in the next world is there destruction for him; none, verily, who strives to be good, O my son, ever comes to grief.

For the doers of good things, only good things will happen to him. He will never get bad things either when he is alive or dead.

The session was interactive and the youngsters participated very well.

Swami Aparajitanandaji's Lecture on "Winning evil mind"

On day-3 of Balavihar Summer Camp, Acharya spoke on "Winning Evil Mind", where he spoke about three topics 'Protecting the mind', 'The ladder of fall' and 'Recovering from fall'

I . Protecting the mind

    Bhagawad Gita - Chapter 3; Verse: 42

    indriyāṇi parāṇyāhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ

    manasas tu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ

 
  They say that the senses are superior (to the body); superior to the senses is the mind; superior to the mind is the intellect; one who is even superior  to the intellect is he, (the Atman).

    i.e Higher than the sense organs is the mind, Higher than the mind is intellect and Higher than the intellect is supreme power.  

   Swamiji spoke on the 5 sense objects through which we gain knowledge from the external world.

1. Shabda - ears
2. Sparsha - skin 
3. Roopa - eyes
4. Rasa - taste 
5. Gandha - nose

    Note that ears, nose, eyes, tongue and nose are called sense objects and sense organs are higher compared to sense objects.
     He explained the 3 levels of protection along with real life examples.

• Never expose yourself to anything that would pollute your mind.
• Even when you are exposed to bad situation, show disinterest.
• If you are affected by bad thoughts, listen to your intellect over the mind to win over the bad thoughts.

          Mind vs Intellect: 

• Mind is the faculty / instrument in us which takes decisions based on likes & dislikes
• Intellect is the faculty in us which takes decisions based on right & wrong.
• Example: A very good chance for you to steal the question paper lying unprotected for the toughest exam coming-up. 
• Mind will tell you to take the question paper to prepare & get good marks. But the intellect will alert you to stay on the righteous path even at the cost of lesser marks.
• Mind will give shortcut to success but cannot give sustained / permanent success.
• So, whom should you listen - mind or intellect?
  Yes, go by the intellect to be on the righteous path.
• Points to ponder:Anything that you listen to often will become dormant, so always go by intellect. Eventually mind & intellect becomes one & you will love doing only the right thing and such a person whose mind & intellect goes hand in hand is called integrated personality.
• Example:
  If you want to get up in the morning, mind will say no & intellect will say yes.
• If you hold onto the omnipresent almighty, who is ever ready to protect & empower you, your intellect will be able to win over mind.

II. The ladder of fall

      Bhagawad Gita - Chapter 2; Verse: 62, 63

      dhyāyato viṣhayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣhūpajāyate

      saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate

   
When a man thinks of objects, attachment for them arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire arises anger...

   
    krodhādbhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ

    smṛiti-bhranśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati

From anger comes delusion; from delusion, loss of memory; from loss of memory, the destruction of discrimination; from the destruction of discrimination, he perishes.

     Swamiji detailed the steps for the ladder of fall; as always with child- centric examples 

• Vishaya Dhyanam - Thinking of sense objects
• Sanga - desire
• Kama - intense craving
• Krodha - Anger
• Sammoha - delusion (you see what you don't see)
• Smriti Vibhrama -  loss of memory
• Buddhi Nasha- Inability to think
• Sarva Nasha(Pranaasha) - Total destruction 

     Example: 

• Vishaya Dhyanam: A child, who was addicted to video game on tablet, was studying for his exams.
• Sanga: I like this; let me play for some time.
• Kama: This simple `like` became intense craving, he started playing.
• Krodha: Mother came in, was angry with the child's action and scolded.
• Sammoha: From the child's point of view the mother became the enemy of the child.
• Smriti Vibhrama: The boy has forgotten all the good mom have done.
• Buddhi Nasha: He was unable to think beyond the situation.
• Sarva Nasha: And out of anger threw the tablet onto mom with full force, mom got hurt and it started bleeding & was admitted to hospital.
  
  Observe the downfall of the child and how a simple `like` got intensified.
  Whenever there is an addiction, you cannot do anything but get angry. If you re getting angry on something, you might be attached or addicted to something. Look back & check what is that you are attached to.

III. Recovering from the fall      

      As the life falls through, it becomes more & more difficult, So one should correct at the very initial stage
      Swamiji spoke on 5 point technique to overcome the fall

• Observe the thoughts
• Detect the negative
• Eliminate the negative
• Substitute with positive
• Strengthen the mind with repeated substitution

      Let's start relating with the example of a child reading for the exam, intend to play with tab, which lead to his fall.
      Once the right thinking becomes way of life, then there is no struggle because you will enjoy doing the right thing. Later Success becomes the natural fact.

Assignment for Children:

     The ladder of fall leading to a total destruction with a personal life example (that can be shared). Add the corrective action to the above assignment.

"Kanha Trail" organized by Chinmaya Yuva Kendra

Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYKs) of Bangalore, have organised a fun-filled set of events as part of day 3 of the Chinmaya Balavihar Camp at Chokkahalli, Kolar.

The day started with the young & enthusiastic participants gathering in attendance as they listened to Shri. Prasen Moudgal lay out the rules for the 'Kanha Trail', a treasure hunt which encompassed the various stages in Sri Krishna's life. The trail, which comprised of a total of 10 clues all across the vast space in the ashram demanded a lot of skills from the participants such as teamwork, quick thinking and a keen eye for detail.

Participants were divided into groups and each group was allotted a colour which added spice to the contest. The clues, which were placed at unique locations required the participants to dig a superficial layer, climb trees and run for certain distances which added to the fun aspect of the trail.

The challenging hunt was matched with the never-say-die attitude of the children, who worked as a team to hunt down the clues. As part of the trail, teams were also given a chance at gaining some quick knowledge on how to build a tripod, how to make a catapult from a basic gel pen and the art of water filtering from a combination of basic commodities such as sand, pebbles and charcoal on completion of which the teams were given their next clue.

As the teams collected their final clues, they were led to the final destination where they indulged in a fun 'Cooking without flame' session in which the teams had a fun time preparing an assorted medley of food items with a combination of raw vegetables, puffed rice, spices amongst others.

The session culminated with the kids reminiscing the best of moments through the day and enjoying their master crafted food as the whole lot in attendance walked away with smiles on their faces.

Photo Gallery:

CHYK Team with Swamiji

Special Lecture - Importance of Temples

The special lecture on day-2 of Balavihar Summer Camp 2018 was from Sandhya Didi on “Importance of Temples”, where she walked through the evolution of human from Animal Man -> Man Man -> God Man.

She touched upon the following very eloquently with visuals

• God came into existence out of fear and wonderment. As we are in the journey of Man-Man to God-Man, there is a need for super power God.
• Many magnificent temples were built when mankind felt that we need to be specially together
• Idol is the concentration of all the super natural power & positive energy in one particular form
• Essentials parts of a temple
• Similarity between structure of a temple & Human body
• Types of Idols in Temple & Idol posture
• Pooja has to be done in temple everyday to activate 5 senses
  Let's see some of them in detail

Essential parts of a temple

• Garbhagraha - Sanctom Sanctorm - the innermost sanctum of a temple where resides the murti of the primary deity of the temple
• Antarala - Main Corridor - for the Prohits to enter Garbhagraha
• Mukhamantapa - Hall - the place where devotees stand and pray
• Mahamantapa - Hall of Arts - where cultural events happen
• Vahana - Place for Gods vehicle - This shows that we treat nature as god and give equal importance to plants & animals in the forms of vehicles & offerings.
  The energy flows like this
  Cosmos -> Vahana -> Idol -> Human to become God Man
• Dwajasthambha - Pole with flags - to concentrate & bring all the energy from cosmos
• Bali Peedham - Place for daily offerings 
• Gopuram - The entry point of a temple - Ideally its in the form of fire to burn all the negative thoughts of devotees before they enter to worship the shrine with pure heart & soul.

Types of Idols in Temple

• Main idol
• Ganesha idol
• Dwarapalakas
• Vahanas
• Parivara Devatas
• Idols on Vimana Gopura
• Idols on the Entrance Gopura
• Utsav Murthy

Idol Postures

• Soumya Roopa - Godess Lakshmi & Saraswathi
• Rudra Roopa - Godess Kali, Lord Veerabadra
• Standing - Lord Subramaniya
• Sitting - Lord Dhakshinamurthy 
• Sleeping - Lord Venkateshwara
• Achala (fixed) - Moola Vigraha
• Chala (movable) - Utsava Murthy
• Chalachala (partially movable & imovable) - Hude idols used in Ratha Yatra

Temple & Community

• Utsava Murthy, the idols made of metals & used for processional & ritualistic purposes, is taken around from the temple on important days or daily.
• Rathotsava is done on very special days
• Jathre - Ratha's of many temples come together and thousands of devotees gather to take blessings.

Visit Temple to Activate 5 Senses

Pooja has to be done everyday in temples to activate 5 senses

• Smell - Nose - Doopam (incense sticks / agarbati)
• Touch - Skin - Gandha 
• Vision - Eye - lamp 
• Taste - Tongue - Theertha & Prasad 
• Sound - Ears - Bell (ghante) 

Thanks to Sandhya Didi for making the children's initial steps to the Spiritual journey more stronger.