October 2, 2019
Notes by Dhruva Shreejay
Today’s story is about another tough person — Mohandas Gandhi and how he changed the world with non–violence. Mohandas Gandhi saw that some people weren’t getting treated fairly. He fought for fairness, but he never used violence despite how meanly and unfairly he was getting treated. The entire nation was inspired by what he did for people that weren’t getting treated fairly. They were so inspired by him that much that called him Bapu, or the father of the nation.
Gandhiji was a very simple man — he wore just a dhoti and chunni. One day, a man came up to Gandhiji and asked him if he could buy him nice clothes. Gandhiji said “I will only accept those clothes if my family gets them.” The man said, “Sure, I can buy you clothes for your wife and children.” “No,” Gandhiji said. “You will need to buy clothes for all the people in the nation because they are my family.”
Gandhiji stood for equality and fought without violence, but just with his mind. He began to be called “Mahatma” or someone who loves all. Today is his Jayanti (birthday) and is celebrated worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence. Vivekji shared a quote from Mahatma Gandhi — “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”
Message of Story
1. Don’t use violence, use your mind and your intelligence to be strong.
2. It is much more important to practice what you learn than talk about it.
3. Engage in self-development to become more large-hearted like Hellen Keller and Mahatma Gandhi. This means to grow from the inside.
Review of 20 Values
We reviewed the 20 values we learnt from our previous Happy Hour classes-
1. Shat vikara jita– being virtuous(grows inside)
2. Anagha– being pure(doesn’t think bad thoughts about others)
3. Akama– being content(happy with what you have)
4. Achala– being steady(doesn’t give up or quit)
5. Akinchana– being simple(doesn’t have a lot of stuff)
6. Suchi– being organized(doesn’t miss important events and knows where they keep their things)
7. Sukhadama– being cheerful(shares cheer with others)
8. Amita bodha– being wise(high EQ — knows how people think, is better than high IQ — knows about details from books)
9. Aneeha– being independent(can sit by yourself in silence without needing others to be around you)
10. Mita boghi– being light(doesn’t eat more than needed, not tired, feels free)
11. Satya sara– being truthful(doesn’t lie, doesn’t need to speak as much)
12. Kavi– being reflective(thinks about what is happening and why things happen)
13. Kovid– being clear(clear thinking makes us stronger and faster)
14. Yogi– being better(being a better person — apologizes after making mistakes)
15. Savadhana– being vigilant(careful about everything that is happening, remembers names, doesn’t lose things)
16. Manada– being appreciative(thankful)
17. Madahina– being focused(not distracted)
18. Dheera– being deep(knows more than what is seen, knows if people are happy or sad)
19. Dharmik– being responsible(for home)
20. Dukha rahita– being tough(like Helen Keller and Mahatma Gandhi, doesn’t let others’ mean words affect them)
Practice
Our practice was to write an acrostic poem for the word “VALUE”. Vivekji’s poem was –
V — Values
A — Are
L — Life’s
U — Ultimate
E — Expression
Values are life’s ultimate expression.
Notes by Sahana Iyengar
First Mahatma Gandhi lived a normal life. When he got older, he became a lawyer. He observed how people were being treated unequally, so he started defending them. He used Non-Violent ways to defend the people. He also used his intelligence to defend others. He never took up weapons. He was given many names like Bapu, Appa, and eventually was called Mahatma Gandhi. Eventually Gandhi was called the father of the nation.
We also reviewed 20 values in our classes.
1:Satvika (being vituous)
2: Anaga(Being Pure)
3:Akama(being content)
4: Achala (being steady)
5: Ackinchana (Being simple)
6: Suchi (being organized)
7:Sukadama (Being cheerful)
8: Amita bodha (Being wise)
9:Aniha (being independent)
10:Mitaboghi (being wise)
11: Satyasara (being truthful)
12: Kavi (Being reflective)
13: Kovid( being clear)
14: Yogi (being Better)
15: Savadana (Being vigilant)
16: Manadha (Being appreciated)
17: Madahina(Being focused)
18: Dhira (being deep)
19: Dharmik (Being resposible)
20: Dhuka Rahita (Being tough)
Practice:
We had to come up with an acrostic poem, with the word value.