Character Sketch

• Śakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana embodies the pattern of self-hatred, which is cunningness personified.

• Droṇa represents all the best knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who guide us but are unable to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the Enlightened Master, the incarnation steps in and guides us.

• Duryodhana, represents one's ego or root-pattern, the most difficult to conquer as it leads one to self destruction. One needs the full help of the Master here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes us deny and disconnect from the Master as well.

• Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion.

Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities and all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic, conflict-free way.

Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate Till now everyone blames Bhagavan Sri Krishna for this Kurukshetra war but that's the greatest sacrifice Bhagavan Sri Krishna did to save the planet Earth. If Kurukshetra was not conducted at that time under the controlled conditions and direct supervision of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, planet Earth would not have survived more than three years.

act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities a nd all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and The wide spread availability of the Astra shastras without Shastra, without the knowledge and vision, was posing a huge threat to the whole of humanity and planet Earth, and for life itself. The greatest achievement of Bhagavan Sri Krishna is destroying all the weapons in one controlled condition and saving planet earth, eliminating the nuclear weapons and the knowledge of these nuclear weapons to save humanity from total annihilation.

conflict-free way.

simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,

Bhagavad Gītā appears in the heart of Mahābhārat in Bhīṣma Parva, the sixth chapter of its eighteen chapters. Veda Vyāsa, the narrator, in glorifying the Gītā sings, 'the one who drinks the water of Ganges (the sacred river for Hindus) attains liberation, what to speak of the one who drinks the nectar of Gītā?

Gītā is the essential nectar of the Mahābhārat, bhāratamṛta sarvasvam as it is directly spoken by Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān kṛṣṇa Himself.'

The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukṣetra, now in the state of Haryana in modern day Bharat. All the kings and princes were related to one another, and were often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the battle out of total powerlessness unbecoming an invincible warrior among warriors.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra out of His utmost concern and love for him and humanity is the content of Bhagavad Gītā. Of its seven hundred and forty-five (745) verses, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa sings the Gītā in six hundred and twenty (620) verses responding to Arjuna's fifty-seven (57) enquiries.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa persuades Arjuna to give-up his powerlessness unfitting an Ārya—the spiritually evolved one who understands human life and urges him to raise himself again as Parantapa—the conqueror of enemy, and take up arms and vanquish his enemies. They are already dead,' says Śrī Kṛṣṇa, 'All those who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go ahead and do what you have to do. That is your responsibility. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'

yad ahaṁkāram āśritya na yotsya iti manyase mithyaiṣa vyavasāyas te prakṛtis tvāṁ niyokṣyati

If due to ego you think: 'I shall not fight,' your resolve is useless, and your own nature will compel you.

To those who come as sincere seekers, connected to me at the being level, my disciples and devotees, I say 'I will take care.

svabhāvajena kaunteya nibaddhaḥ svena karmaṇa kartuṁ necchasi yan mohāt kariṣyasyavaśo 'pi tat

O Kaunteya, you are controlled by your own natural conditioning. Therefore, you shall do even against your will, what you do not wish to do out of delusion.

When you are in the present moment, you renounce attachment to fantasies about the future.

īśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ hṛddeśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati bhrāmayan sarvabhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

The Supreme Lord resides in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the activities of all living entities who are acting as machines under the illusion of the material world.

Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart.

Whether you like it or not, Arjuna,' He says, 'you will fight. In seeming intelligence, your ego tells you that you should not fight. You are under the illusion of your superficial knowledge that it is not right to wage war against friends, relatives and teachers. But you forget that your nature and your conditioning as a warrior drive you. You are a puppet in the hands of Existence, prakṛtis tvāṁ niyokṣyati. You will fight.'

These are extraordinary words. Whether we like it or not, whatever our intelligence may be, and whatever our will may be, Kṛṣṇa says we will be driven by our root patterns, saṁskāras. The Divine power drives the machine that is the kārmic cycle. There is no escape. Nothing can be clearer. The law of nature drives us to fulfill our unfulfilled desires. Our past conditioning invokes these desires. Even though they may be in our unconscious, inaccessible to us, they determine what we do. The Master sees this even if we cannot. That is why Kṛṣṇa makes this bold statement.

The mind creates and stores the root patterns, saṁskāras. You can refuse to bow down to your mind and refuse to accept these saṁskāras that control you. All meditation techniques bring you into the space of completion, being in the present moment. When you are in the present moment, you renounce attachment to fantasies about the future. You detach yourself from the results of your action. This alone leads you into liberation from the bondage of saṁskāra.

Surrender to the Master, surrender to the Universe, is the ultimate technique to do completion and rid oneself of all bondages karma, vāsanā and saṁskāra, of the past, present and future.

This is what Kṛṣṇa, the greatest Master of all, the Parama Guru, the Jagat Guru, has repeated throughout the Gītā. He does not ask you to surrender to Him out of His ego. He asks you to surrender to Him out of His deep compassion. What can you give Him that He does not have?

Where else would you want to go since only He can grant everything you want? More importantly, only He can grant you what you need to free you from your suffering forever. Who else can do this for you? No one. Don't lose hope. There is no need to do that. Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart. All you need is trust in Him.

-Helping students understand how root patterns drive our lives. -Helping students experience the present moment.

• ❖ What drives us to fulfill our unfulfilled desires?

• ❖ What creates the root patterns, the saṁskāras?

• ❖ How do meditation techniques help you?

• ❖ What is the ultimate technique to rid ourselves of all bondages?

• ❖ What happens when we are in the present moment?

• ❖ What can you give Kṛṣṇa that He does not have?

• ❖ Where is Kṛṣṇa situated?

• 1. Paper
• 2. Pen
• 3. pencils
• 4. markers
• 5. eraser, etc..

• ❖ Ask children to draw or write everything that makes them feel stuck, whether it is related to past, present or future. Then ask them to share with others. Surrender to the Master, surrender to the Universe, is the ultimate technique to do completion and rid oneself of all bondages—karma, vāsanā and saṁskāra, of the past, present and future.

A screen on which you can play a video in which you can see a lit candle.

*For safety measures, do not have kids light an actual candle.

Tell the students to sit comfortably with their head, neck and spine in a straight line. Tell them to simply listen to Swamiji's video (Swamiji gives instructions in the video).

All meditation techniques bring you into the space of completion, being in the present moment. When you are in the present moment, you renounce attachment to fantasies about the future. You detach yourself from the results of your action. This alone leads you into liberation from the bondage of saṁskāra.

Part 2: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 - Lesson 16 of 19_English_part_2.md

Guide the students into a discussion about what Kṛṣṇa is telling: "We will be driven by our root patterns. The Divine power drives the machine that is the kārmic cycle. There is no escape." Help the students see how their root patterns have driven their lives and ask them to share what they feel is the best way to be liberated from bondage.

He does not ask you to surrender to Him out of His ego. He asks you to surrender to Him out of His deep compassion.