Notes by Aarav Luthra

Today we learnt about karma parayana, which was one of Gurudev’s names. What does this name mean? Well, karma parayana means, I admire the one who always does meaningful activities and actions. This rephrase it, karma parayan means doing your activities with a purpose.

Story about the Architect:

There was an architect who designed beautiful buildings and temples. One day, this man wanted to design a big temple, which was made out of stone. The workers he had hired were shaping the stones. He realized some of the stones were shaped amazing, some not so bad and the others not good at all. Then, he asked himself why is this the case? After, he went to a constructor that was making the worst-shaped stones, and he asked him, “What are you doing here?” The helper replied, “I am breaking stones to get some money”. Next, he met the man who made the “not so bad” stones. He asked this helper the same question. The worker answered, “I am carving these stones so I can feed my family.” Afterward, this manager asked the best worker, who made the best stones, “Why are you here?” This amazing constructor happily replied, “I am building a grand temple that everyone around the world can worship at.” The last worker believed and was practicing karma parayana. He was doing his job happily and with a purpose, which is why he was enjoying his task. However, the first and poorest worker the man asked, did not practice karma parayana, and was just sadly doing his work without a purpose. This is why he did the worst job carving the stones. That was the first story.

Story about John F. Kennedy:

This true story occurred when John F. Kennedy was the president of the United States. It was the time of the Apollo missions and the start of N.A.S.A. One day, John went to N.A.S.A and he met into a janitor. He questioned the janitor, “What are you doing here?”. Happily, the janitor responded, “I am helping a man get on the moon.” John was inspired by this, and now he always talked about that janitor in speeches, and very important meetings. When he talks about the janitor, John always says, “Whenever we are working on something greater than ourselves, we are magnificent!” This janitor believed in Karma Parayana and was doing his job with a meaningful purpose. That is why he enjoyed his job, and was not complaining. That was the second story Shankarji shared with us today.

Practice:

We were supposed to draw a picture of the elephant within 2 minutes, and we could do whatever we wanted to do with the picture. After that, we had to draw that same elephant, within the same time limit, but we had to offer it to bhagwan. Which one do you think would be better? For most people, the second one was. It was the second one, because you are drawing it for god, which means that you are doing this activity for a purpose (practicing karma parayana). That was today’s practice.

Raw:

You have to have a dinner conversation with your family. The topic or question of this dinner conversation is, “How is what we’re doing now, going to contribute to the world in the future?” Reflect on this and discuss it with your family members.