April 10 2024

Notes by Aarya Mishra

Review

A girl was staying at her Grandma’s home, but while she was there, she burned her hand on a hot pan, and got mad at Bhagavan. The next day, she saw a beggar with missing fingers and deformed body parts. The girl asked her Grandma why he was like that, and Grandma said that that beggar had a disease that made him lose parts of his body, but also disabled his sense of pain, which is why he didn’t seek medical help. The girl then understood the value of pain. If she had not felt the pain of the pan, she would have not let go of it, and she could have damaged her hands. She said sorry to Bhagavan and prayed for the beggar’s welfare.

Pain points out problems, tells us what needs to change, and makes us aware. It demands that we pay attention to it. What we want most is for it to stop, so we change, we do what is required to make pain end

Pain is not a reason for complaining or crying, but an opportunity to change and learn about the world. The world is an institution of learning, all we need is to understand what it is telling us, then everything becomes an opportunity for growth.

The RAW from last week was: Eat whatever is given to you at dinner without complaint

Food is the medicine for our body. We will not grow and develop properly without food, whether we like it or not, like pain.

Story

A group of blind men heard about the King’s great collection of elephants. They all wanted to know what the elephants looked like, so they went to the palace and were granted permission to feel the elephants. The first felt the elephant’s side, and said it was a smooth solid wall. Second felt the trunk, and said it was a  giant snake. Another felt the tusk, and said it is sharp and deadly like a spear. The fourth touched the legs, and said it was a large cow. The next one touched the ears, and said it was like a carpet. The sixth felt the tail, and said it was a piece of rope. They argued for a long time, and woke the King. He told them to stop shouting, and said,  “How can each of you be so certain you are right?” The king kindly said, “The elephant is a very large animal and each of you only touched a part. Perhaps if you share your different pictures, you can find the whole.” He politely asked them to let him sleep, and left.

Lesson

In the story, each individual had different perspectives through limited experiences, because of that, their understanding was fragmented and unclear. Our lives are not lived in isolation, so we need to zoom out and constantly see the world as a whole, like the King asked the blind men to see the elephant as a whole.

Dynamic

Have you ever looked at your nose in a mirror? Have you scolded it for not being able to hear? Or, your non-dominant hand, have you asked it, why can’t you write? If different parts of our body have different functions and they are doing what they are supposed to, how come we look at other people and compare ourselves to them, why are they smarter, better at sports, or smarter than me? If our body parts do what they are supposed to do, why should we think we are not doing what we are supposed to do? 

RAW
Find a day or a time to go to a park and pick up litter. Clean up the world that supports us.

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Notes By Saamya Deo

Review

A little girl blamed Bhagvan when she burned her hand because it ruined her summer break. So, Bhagvan came in the form of a beggar who had a disease where he couldn’t feel pain. The beggar had lost so many fingers because he didn’t know when he needed help. 

We learned that pain makes us take immediate action to fix it. Because all we want in that one moment is for it to go away. But everyday pain is not a reason for us to cry or throw a fit. It is an opportunity for us to become better. To find the right attitude, vision and relationship. 

Story

6 old blind men lived in a village that protected them. Because they were blind, they had to imagine everything. The animal that puzzled them the most was the elephant. They had heard that an elephant trampled people, were extremely strong and had a thunderous trumpet call. But, they had also heard that the princess rode an elephant. So they were very puzzled on what an elephant was like! One of the blind men thought that it was a magical creature. Another thought that it was just a big cow. One of them thought that the villagers were playing a joke on the blind men and an elephant didn’t even exist! 

The villagers heard the blind men bickering and decided to take them to the palace to see an elephant. When they got there, they all touched different parts of the elephant. The first touched the top and thought that it was as strong as a wall. The second touched the trunk and thought it was like a snake. The third touched the tusk and thought that it was sharp and deadly. The fourth touched the legs and concluded that it was actually a big cow. The fifth touched the ears and recognized that it was like a flying carpet for the princess to sit on. The sixth touched the tail and thought that it was a piece of rope. He was very confused. 

They all started shouting about who was right and the king woke up from his nap. The king asked them how they knew that they were right? He told them that an elephant is a big animal and that they each touched different parts. That they had to put together their experiences. Then, he strolled off to finish his nap. 

Lesson

We learned that there is always more than one side. We all have different roles, a mother, a son, a grandma, an uncle. Thinking that we have one role limits what we can do. Different and limited perspectives make things unclear. But, if we tune the whole world in, it will make sense! We will always be a part of the whole and everything we do does matter! Zooming out can help us with this.

First Friend Dwija’s Activity:

Do you ever yell at your nose because it can’t hear anything? Every part of your body is different but is part of the same whole, your body. So why do we look at other people weirdly and compare them to us? If they are different people all part of the whole, just like us. 

During this week’s class we watched a video about AWE, which stands for air, water and earth. We are able to breathe because of these selfless elements and we should be giving back as well!

RAW:

Clean up litter at the park