April 12, 2023

Notes by Om Shreejay

Review of last class

We listened to a story where there was a boy who saw a pond with very unhappy fish. He dipped his hand in the water and his hand turned gray and stayed gray! This showed that the environment was not being treated very well. The boy resolved to make the fish happy by making the environment happy. When he did, he found the fish, the environment, and the earth to be the better for it. 

We also learned that when love and compassion combine it becomes caring. When our body is dirty, we take care of ourselves by cleaning ourselves. When we are hungry, we take care of ourselves by eating. This is because we love ourselves. Love and harmony express as caring. If we get to know Mother Earth and love Mother Earth as much as we love ourselves, then all are happy. From our RAW last week, we learned to observe, appreciate, enjoy, and reflect – and develop a relationship with whatever we spend time with. If we spend time with a friend and appreciate them, eventually they become one of our best friends. Similarly, we should develop a relationship with Mother Earth and care for her as you care for yourself. 

Today’s class – Friendship

Story 

Shanti wanted a beautiful doll with a red dress in Ramu’s toy shop. She told this to her best friend Jody. Jody asked “How will you afford it?”. Shanti said that she had a plan. She said her mother allowed her to sell jasmine garlands and so she could use the money to buy the doll. So, she and Jody collected flowers and knotted them into garlands to sell. Jody said that she will use her money to help buy her little brother Kiren medicine. 

Shanti sold her garlands at her aunt’s market stall, but Jody got there late as she had to take care of Kiren while her mother did errands. The market was going to close soon and Shanti realized that Jody would not be able to sell all her garlands in time. Shanti looked at the money she had earned from selling her garlands and thought about the doll she wanted to buy. She then looked at her friend Jody’s tired face and decided give her money to Jody so she could buy the medicine for her little brother. 

The following week, Shanti made enough money to buy the doll but worried if the doll would still be there at Ramu’s toy shop. Jody came to visit her and Kiren was with her too. Kiren was cured of his cough because of the money Shanti had given Jody. Jody thanked Shanti and told her that she had become Kiren’s best friend. 

When Shanti went to Ramu’s shop to buy the doll, it wasn’t there. Shanti ran out to hide her tears. Then she went home and told her mom. Her mom hugged her and gave her a package. It said “For Our Best Friend Shanti (from Jody and Kiren)”. Shanti opened it and it was the doll. Jody had bought her the toy she wanted. She admired the doll with jasmine braided hair. She hugged the doll and thought of her friend.

Lesson from the story

We discussed what it means to be a good friend. 

True friendship is giving the best of yourself without expectation and without conditions on the other. Just as Shanti gave Jody the money for her brother’s recovery and did not ask her to pay her back. She had no expectations and no conditions while giving. We must give and give the best of ourselves for no reason. You will always be your own best friend. Treat yourself with this vision so you can treat others the same. 

Practice and its significance

Be a good friend who is – 

A – Accepting, not judging

C – Challenging, challenge others to be their best self, by you being your best self  

T – Trusting, not being suspecting of others

The first part of any good relationship/friendship is knowing yourself, and being clear about what you want and don’t want from a relationship. Spend time with the person and understand if it is a friendship you would like to have or not. 

RAW for the week

Plant a tree for our best friend, Mother Earth.   

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Notes by Pranavi Anantnarayan

Review from last 2 weeks ago:

Story: A boy was wandering in the forest and heard a voice that was crying and when looked it was fish in the well sadly crying. So when he touched the fish his hand turned gray! He started to feel sad and gloomy and he felt the weight of the earth in his hands, then he thought that if he tried to make happiness and clean the earth we won’t be hurting any living being. Suddenly, his hands came back to his normal color!

RAW: Spend time outside for at least 10 minutes

This Week:

So, thinking about this we are the children of Mother Earth, and if we are happy, 

so is Mother Earth. Love and harmony express that they care for us. When they give us this we will realize to care for yourselves, love ourselves, and clean ourselves. As we enjoy we develop a relationship with our mother.

Story: FRIENDS

Shanti wanted this beautiful red doll she saw at the store and she also told her friend Jodi about it too. So she decides to raise money to buy it with Jodi. So Shanti asked her mother if she could sell jasmine flowers to her. Then early morning she woke up, started to cut the jasmine flowers, and dropped them in the basket under a mango tree with Jodi. After a couple of days of hard work, they finally made up a lot of money. But she was about to buy the doll with Jodi, Jodi said she can’t come because her brother Kiren is really sick and needed to get medicine. Jodi’s family is poor and can’t really afford much. Thinking about that Shanti decided to give the money to Jodi. She was really sad after missing the doll but it was nice to see how Kiren is feeling good. One day there was this package that came to Shanti’s house when she opened it, it was the doll she wanted, it was from Jodi and Kiren!

Lesson:

Q: What does it mean to be a good friend?

A: true giving – giving good stuff with the best of yourself without expectations.A – 

accepting C – challenging T – trusting

We had a Q&A

RAW: Plant a tree for our best friend (earth)