Notes by Om Shreejay

Review of last class

We reviewed the virtue of Kritatma (one who is self-made) that we studied in last week’s class. We learned that one who is self-made lives with intention, purpose, for a reason.

Virtue for this week

This week we studied the virtue of Vinoda Priya.

Om vinoda priyaya namaha — which means “I admire the one who loves HUMOR.”

Humor is anything that makes us laugh. Humor can be good or bad.

Good humor makes EVERYONE laugh and brings joy to everyone, whereas bad humor makes some people laugh, but makes others feel bad or embarrassed e.g. when you tease someone.

A person is Vinoda if –

• they do not take life too seriously
• they don’t care too much about what other people think about them
• they are lighthearted, carefree, bubbly, laugh easily and are always happy

How do we develop this virtue? By letting go of the results of our actions.

Story from today’s class

When Shankarji was growing up, his mom taught him Kuchipudi, a classical Indian dance. He did not like doing it because he thought whenever he made a mistake on stage someone would say that he is bad at dancing. And when he practiced whenever he made a mistake, he got really mad and did not like practicing. So, he did not practice dancing a lot. Then when he went onstage, he did not do that good.

Later on, Shankarji realized that he should not worry about the results of his performance and what other people thought about him. When he practiced and made mistakes, he started laughing at himself and in this way, enjoyed the practice more.

Lesson from the story

Do not worry about what other people think about you and the results of your actions. Focus instead on doing your work and enjoy doing the work without worrying about making mistakes. When we study for a test, we should study well because we want to learn, not just to get a good grade.

Practice and its significance

Tell a good joke to someone at home.

You feel good when you tell a good joke because it makes you and others laugh and be happy. Children laugh about 300 times a day, while adults laugh only about 5 times a day. This teaches us to stay light hearted and happy as we grow up, and keep laughing! Be vinoda — someone who laughs always and is always happy!

These are some of the jokes that were shared in class –

• What kind of bear scares people? Winnie the BOO!
• Why can’t you feed a teddy bear? Because it is already stuffed!
• What does one egg say to the other? You crack me up!
• How do you get a squirrel to like you? Act like a nut!
• How do you organize a space party? You PLAN-IT!
• Why couldn’t the clock be kept in jail? Because time was running out!
• Why did the student eat his homework? Because his teacher said it was a piece of cake!

RAW for the week

Make a short comic.

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Notes by Pranavi Ananthanarayanan

Virtue: Vinodha-Priya means I admire the one who loves Humor. Someone who doesn’t take life seriously.

Story:

When Shankarji was little he used to go to dance class called Kuchipudi. While he was practicing the dance he makes mistakes and gets frustrated.

Lesson: Don’t be concerned and take other’s opinion too seriously. Don’t always think about what is going to happen in the future.

Activity/ Practice:

Tell a joke to someone in your house.

RAW — Make a Short comic.