1. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Collection

Your whole life is nothing but the Mahābhārat War. The Mahābharāt should be read again and again to understand the intricacies of life, the complications of life, and the ability to handle life. The true story of this perfectly recorded epic is about two warring clans, Kauravas and Pānḍavas, closely related to one another. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind king of Hastināpur and father of the 100 Kaurava brothers was the brother of Pānḍu, whose children were the five Pānḍava princes.

It is a tale of strife between cousins and ultimately between dhārmic and adhārmic, righteous and unrighteous civilizations.

Since Dhṛtarāṣṭra was blind, Pānḍu was made the king of Hastināpura. Pānḍu was cursed by a sage that he would die if he ever entered into a physical relationship with his wives.

He therefore had no children. Vyāsa says that all the five Pānḍava children were born to their mothers Kuntī and Mādri through the blessing of divine beings. Pānḍu handed over the kingdom and his children to his blind brother.

Kuntī, who is the embodiment of tapas, spiritual penance, had received a boon when she was still a young unmarried adolescent, that she could summon any divine power at will to father a child. Before she married, she tested her boon. The Sun god, Sūrya appeared before her. Karṇa was born to her as a result. In fear of social reprisals, she cast the newborn away in a river. Yudhiṣṭra, Bhīma and Arjuna were born to Kuntī after her marriage by invocation of her powers, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Mādri, the second wife of Pānḍu.

Yudhiṣṭra was born to Kuntī as a result of her being blessed by Yama, the god of death, dharma and justice, Bhīma by Vāyu, the god of wind, and Arjuna by Indra, god of all the divine beings. Nakula and Sahadeva, the youngest Pānḍava twins, were born to Mādri, through the Divine Aśvini twins.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra had a hundred sons through his wife Gāndhārī. The eldest of these Kaurava princes was Duryodhana. Duryodhana felt no love for his five Pānḍava cousins. He made many unsuccessful attempts, along with his brother Duśśāsana, to kill the Pānḍava brothers. Kuntī's eldest son Karṇa, whom she had cast away at birth, was found and brought up by a chariot driver in the palace, and by a strange twist of fate, joined hands with Duryodhana.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra gave Yudhiṣṭra one half of the Kuru kingdom on his coming of age, since the Pānḍava prince was the rightful heir to the throne that his father Pānḍu had vacated.

Yudhiṣṭra ruled from his new capital Indraprastha, along with his brothers Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva.

Arjuna won the hand of princess Draupadī, daughter of the king of Pāñcāla, in a svayaṁvara, a marital contest in which princes fought for the hand of a fair damsel.

In fulfillment of their mother Kuntī's desire that the brothers share everything equally, Draupadī became the wife of all five Pānḍava brothers. Duryodhana persuaded Yudhiṣṭra to join a gambling session, where his cunning uncle Śakunī defeated the Pānḍava king.

Yudhiṣṭra lost all that he owned—his kingdom, his brothers, his wife and himself, to Duryodhana. Duśśāsana shamed Draupadī in public by trying to disrobe her. The Pānḍava brothers and Draupadī were forced to go into exile for fourteen years, with the condition that in the last year they should live incognito or ajyāta vāsa.

At the end of the fourteen years, the Pānḍava brothers tried to reclaim their kingdom. In this effort they were helped by Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the king of the Yādava clan, who is the eighth divine incarnation of Bhagavān Viṣṇu.

However, Duryodhana refused to yield even a needlepoint of land, and as a result, the Great War, the War of Mahābhārat ensued. In this war, various rulers of the entire nation that is modern Bharat aligned with one or the other of these two clans, the Kauravas or the Pānḍavas.

Kṛṣṇa offered to join with either of the two clans. He says, 'One of you may have Me unarmed. I will not take any part in the battle. The other may have my entire Yādava army.'

When the offer was first made to Duryodhana, he predictably chose the large and well-armed Yādava army, Nārāyaṇī Senā, in preference to the unarmed Kṛṣṇa.

Arjuna joyfully and gratefully chose his dearest friend, his life mentor and his Guru, Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, to be his unarmed charioteer!

This whole history is such a beautiful happening. Mahābhārat is actually your life! Every character in the Mahābhārat teaches so much! We don't need to go anywhere for our life success or fulfillment or for anything else that we may desire. We don't need to study any other book to learn the human psychology or the science of living and leaving. Whether we seek righteous living—dharma; or we want to learn business or administration, economy or abundance—artha; or we want to create the best rich lifestyle—kāma; or we want to be a leader and want the enriching life of being enlightened mokṣa, for all these purposes, we don't need anything other than the Mahābharāt!

Study each character. We will not find any more characters in our life than the characters described in the Mahābharāt!

Any character we see in our life is mapped to Mahābharāt's one character. They are either half or full representation of some character.

To know how to handle them and even handle yourself, just see how Śrī Kṛṣṇa handles them and handle them the same way. The Mahābharāt war is a representation of life as it was lived in that age.

Vyāsa, its author is an unbiased historian who recorded the whole history as it happened without trying to apply any makeup. People ask whether the Mahābharāt war happened at all!

If the Mahābharāt was a story and not history, Vyāsa should receive multiple Pulitzer prizes for his highly creative work! The Mahābharāt is the longest literary work in the whole world with hundred thousand Saṃskṛit verses—the longest poem ever written with such delicate harmony of unmatched poetic perfection. It is larger than the Greek epics. Vyāsa had no computer, no tape recorder with speech-to-text capabilities. He dictated and Bhagavān Ganeṣa wrote it down!

• Yudhiṣṭra is embodiment of Integrity the power of words, vāk śakti.
• Bhīma is embodiment of Authenticity the power of thoughts, mano śakti.

Arjuna is embodiment of Responsibility—the power of feeling, prema śakti.

• Sahadeva is embodiment of Enriching the power of living, ātma śakti.

  • Nakula is embodiment of causing reality for others.

• 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 selfdestruction. 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.

simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,

conflict-free way.

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.'

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

śrībhagavānuvāca anāśritaḥ karmaphalaṃ kāryaṃ karma karoti yaḥ sa sanyāsī ca yogī ca na niragnirna cā'kriyaḥ

Bhagavān says: One who performs his actions without being attached to their fruit (outcome) of his work is a Sannyāsi, and he is truly an ascetic; a Yogi also. not the one who renounces to light the fire and performs no action

Drop your fantasies. Live with reality.

yaṃ sannyāsamiti prāhur yogaṃ taṃ viddhi pāṇḍava na hyasannyastasa�…kalpo yogī bhavati kaścana

Pāṇḍava, what is called renunciation, or sannyāsa, you must know to be the same as yoga, or uniting oneself with the Supreme, for never can anyone become a yogī, until he renounces the desire for self-gratification [sa�…kalpa]

Be complete and renounce your thoughts

ārurukṣormuner yogaṃ karma kāraṇamucyate yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śamaḥ kāraṇamucyate

A one desirous of achieving the state of yoga or no-mind state, action is said to be the means and for the one who is already elevated in yoga, cessation from all actions is said to be the means

yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu na karmasvanuṣajjate sarvasankalpasannyāsī yogārūḍhastadocyate

Any one is said to have attained the state of yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in result focused activities

Yoga is a technique to achieve the Divine experience

There is a beautiful word in Saṃskṛit: brahmacarya. Brahmacarya refers to a person who lives like the gods, who lives with Existence. Brahmacarya refers to one who lives with reality, one who lives unattached. One of the four stages of life as defined by the scriptures is brahmacarya. This period of brahmacarya at Gurukul, under the Master's guidance in one's early years, provides the background to shed fantasies and live life in reality.

Brahmacarya is nothing but being authentic with high energy happening in you.

Kṛṣṇa says, 'Just renouncing the sacred fire and not performing one's duty does not mean one is an ascetic or sannyāsi.' In those days, fire was the basis for everything, whether it was cooking or spiritual practice. For everything one needed fire.

The word 'fire' with 'cell phone' for today's world! In this age, we can say, 'Don't think that by sacrificing the cell phone and laptop you become a sannyāsi or a great karma yogi.' Just like how the cell phone and laptop have become a basic necessity today, in those days agnī (fire) was a basic need in life.

Usually, wherever our body is, our mind is not. To bring the mind to where the body is to renounce the inner chatter by completing with thoughts patterns. Thoughts cannot be suppressed. The more we suppress them the more they erupt. We need to let go. We need to constantly bring ourselves back to where our body is, to the present space of completion, to the here and now, away from the dead past and the unborn future.

We may think that we are in control of our mind. But actually, our mind controls us. This is what Kṛṣṇa means by sañkalpa, selfinterest, because the mind wishes to satisfy the senses that it operates and controls. By visualizing, by hearing, by smelling, by tasting, by touching, through the sense organs, our mind wants us to experience pleasures that will keep us under its hold. Only when we renounce the mind's control by going beyond the senses can we become a true renunciate.

Yoga is the renunciation of fantasies that we feel we need for self- satisfaction is Yoga. Yoga is the state when our desires, expressed through sensual pleasures, dissolve. We unite with our true Self in this state. In this state, there is no gap between the Divine and us.

In Sanskṛit there are two terms, 'dṛṣti sṛṣti' and 'sṛṣti dṛṣti'. Dṛṣti sṛṣti means to look at the world as it is and take life as it comes. Sṛṣti dṛṣti is just the opposite, when we want to create the world as we would like it to be, as we want to see it. We want the world running according to our fantasies, instead of coming to terms with the reality of the world. This is a sure recipe for disaster.

Yoga integrates body, mind and spirit. It is a journey into the inner Self, towards the Self. In Patañjali's Aṣtā�…ga Yoga, bliss is the goal, the path, and the end result. Patañjali's system of yoga is a way of life. If we practice this with integrity and authenticity, it will lead us into enlightenment.

Yoga is a straight technique to achieve the Divine experience. This formula cannot be modified or altered. Actually, yoga refers to the process of uniting. The method in which we do postures in yoga is not important. It is the thought, the idea with which we move our body in the posture that matters. When we reach the state of yoga, we are in a meditative state of bliss.

To help the child live in the present moment without being attached to fantasies of it. To help the child understand that our mind wants to keep us under its hold and that the mind wishes to satisfy the senses that it controls.

• ❖ Who is a brahmacarya?
• ❖ If fire was necessary in those days, what's necessary these days?
• ❖ Does sacrificing essentials like a cell phone make you a yogi?
• ❖ Can we suppress our thoughts?
• ❖ What are our 5 senses?
• ❖ Does the mind control us or do we control the mind?
• ❖ What do these two Sanskṛit terms mean, 'dṛṣti sṛṣti' and 'sṛṣti dṛṣti'?
• ❖ What is the purpose of doing yoga ?
• ❖ Can the technique of yoga be modified, changed, or altered?
• ❖ What is important when we move our body?

• 1. Paper
• 2. Pencils & Pens

Draw a person with some strong thought bubbles that they may want to suppress but that may be wanting to erupt out of them. For example, they have some sad news but they are in a shop and don't want to talk about it there. Draw their thoughts in their thought bubbles.

Thoughts cannot be suppressed. The more we suppress them the more they erupt.

We need to let go and bring ourselves back to the present and to completion

Get children to sit in a circle. A child starts by saying one activity they did recently. The child on their left says whether the activity is "dṛṣti sṛṣti" (take life as it comes, for example, playing with a friend) or "sṛṣti dṛṣti" (wanting the world to be like a fantasy, like watching tv). Keep repeating with kids taking turns to say the activity that they did.

The importance of understanding the difference between seeing the world as it is and wanting to run the world according to our fantasies. Yoga is a renunciation of fantasies.

Part 2: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6

Hold Vaakyartha sadhas on how the children understand that when they are doing yoga, what is most important is the space from which the actions are done and the context and reason from which the actions are done.

To become a yogi live with reality not fantasies. Yoga is a way of life that can lead us into enlightenment What is important in yoga is the journey

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

uddhared ātmanātmānaṃ natmānam avasādayet ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripurātmanaḥ

You are your own friend; you are your own enemy. Evolve yourself through the Self and do not degrade yourself

bandhur ātmātmanas tasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ anātmanastu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatruvat

For him who has conquered the Self, the Self is the best of friends; for one who has failed to do so, his Self will remain the greatest enemy

We have complete freedom to face the day with bliss or with suffering

jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya paramātmā samāhitaḥ śītoṣṇa-sukha duḥkheṣu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ

For one who has conquered the self, who has attained tranquility, the Supreme is already reached. Such a person remains in this state in happiness or distress, heat or cold, honor or dishonor

Conquer your senses, the supreme self is already achieved

jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā kūṭastho vijitendriyaḥ yukta ityucyate yogī samaloṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ

A person whose mind is contented because of spiritual knowledge, who has subdued his senses and to whom stone and gold are same and who is satisfied with what he is having, is said to be established in Self-realization and is called an enlightened being

Living is a power. If we want to live, we must learn how to stand on our own two feet, learn how to be complete with ourselves

suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna madhyasthadveṣya bandhuṣu sadhuṣvapi ca pāpeṣu samabuddhir viśiṣyate

A person is considered truly advanced when he regards honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, mediators, the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind

We need to we see everyone equally

The essence of the whole Gītā: You are your own friend and you are your own enemy. If you know the technique of how to lift yourself by yourself, you will become a friend of your Self. If you let yourself down, you will become an enemy of yourself.

When we start anything new, we will always have three phases. The first is resistance. The second is avoidance. The third is acceptance. When our being resists, if we allow the resistance to grow, we are our worst enemy

If you have fallen, if you have failed, if you have forgotten, don't worry. Again and again, lift yourself. Don't give up on you. Don't feel depressed and don't have guilt. Don't get dejected thinking you will not be able to do it. Don't doubt your self. Again and again, lift yourself.

Don't give up on you and people! Even if people fail a hundred times, continue to work with them. When you are frustrated at other people's failure, understand that it is nothing but your frustration towards your own failure. If we give up on others, we have also given up on ourselves! So never give up on you and people!

We have one thing that we can choose—and that is our inner space. Just try this tomorrow morning. Just decide whether you want to face your normal routine with bliss or with suffering, with joy or with the usual long face. You have the choice.

How can happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor be the same? When our senses do the work, we decide 'yes' or 'no' only based on our past experiences, the experiences with which we have grown. When we just try to conquer the senses, we will fail again and again. We need to learn the science of completion to conquer the senses.

We always complain about the senses. No, we are corrupting them. Just look into your life. It might be late at night, even two a.m., but we will still watch our baseball or cricket game on television. Our eyes are begging for some rest, but we continue to watch the game. We abuse our eyes, our senses because we want to enjoy ourselves. All we need to do is control the mind, not the senses.

Understand, if we suppress something, it will automatically express itself in our dreams. If we do completion with our root patterns and out of completion when we enjoy with the senses, we will never become tired. But when we suppress our senses, our being suffers in our dreams.

Completion! Again and again complete! Dreams are nothing but the incompletions expressing in your inner space when you are unconscious.

dreaming and thinking is incompletions expressing when you are conscious is thinking. Incompletions expressing when you are unconscious is dreaming.

We know about ourselves only through others' words and their opinions. Our identity is built based on others' opinions. We understand and identify ourselves through others. If everybody says, 'You are beautiful,' we get that certificate. If everybody says, 'You are intelligent,' we get that certificate. We collect all these certificates and we build our personality with them.

Our root thought patterns is about why we get depressed, why we are in conflict, why we repeatedly fall into a powerless state. It is because our energy source is others' certificates. We don't have any selfrespect and self- completion.

Kṛṣṇa gives us a beautiful technique to heal the problem. He gives us a method to complete with the root thought pattern and go beyond. All we have to do is understand the root thought patterns; understand where we are caught and where our incompletions lie.When our mind is under our control and complete we develop equanimity. We look at everyone the same way. When we become enlightened our being will start respecting, loving and enriching everyone automatically

To understand never to give up on yourself and on people.

Help children understand that instead of suppression we just have to conquer the mind with completion.

To learn to complete with building our identity based on others' opinions, and achieve equanimity

• ❖ When are you your own enemy?
• ❖ What are the 3 phases we go through when starting something new?
• ❖ When we fail, should we stop trying?
• ❖ When someone else fails, should we give up on them?
• ❖ When you are frustrated at other people's failures, what are you really frustrated about?
• ❖ What decision can you make every day so that you live a blissful life?
• ❖ Can we conquer our senses?
• ❖ What happens when we suppress our senses?
• ❖ What are dreams?
• ❖ What are thoughts?
• ❖ How do we use others' opinions to build our identity?
• ❖ What do we use as our energy source?
• ❖ How can you heal root thought patterns?

• 1. Pens, pencil
• 2. A paper with a line down the middle from top to bottom of the page. Have two copies per child**.**

First step is to draw half their face on one side of the paper with a neutral expression, not smiling or frowning. Do this on both papers, only half of their face on each paper with a neutral expression.

Second step is to get the children to draw the other half of their face, this time with an expression. On one paper they draw the other half of their face as a friend, and on the second paper they draw the other half of their face as an enemy.

You can be your friend or you can be your enemy. Don't give up on you.

A few strong smelling items such as:

• o Peppermint leaves or essence a perfume o Strong-smelling cleaning liquid

Have the liquids in plain bottles or in cups, only a Small amount of each, and in safe containers only!

Get children to smell the smelling items one at a time and say what thoughts, memories, reactions, like or dislike that they have for each one.

Our mind decides for our senses We cannot suppress our senses, we need to complete our mind

Get the children to hold Vaakyartha sadhas on: The times you gave up on you and when you gave up on others. Talk about how you could have done this differently

Don't give up on you and people! When you lift yourself after failing you are your friend. When you give up on yourself you are your own enemy.

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṃ rahasi sthitaḥ ekākī yatachittātmā nirāśīraparigrahaḥ

A Yogī should always try to concentrate his mind on the Supreme Self; situated in a secluded place, he should carefully control his mind without being attracted by anything and should be free from the feeling of possessiveness

Bring integrity to control the senses

śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ nātyucchritaṃ nātinīcaṃ cailājina-kuśottaram

On a clean and pure place, one should establish his seat by laying kuśa grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over another, neither too high nor too low

The most important thing to be aware of in any meditation is to be relaxed.

tatraikāgraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā yatacittendriya-kriyaḥ upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogamātmaviśuddhaye

Sitting firmly on that pure seat, the yogi should practice the purification of the self by controlling the activities of mind and the senses

When we are not attached or attracted to external objects, when we are not led by our senses, we have steadied the mind and senses

samaṃ kāyaśirogrīvaṃ dhārayannacalaṃ sthiraḥ samprekṣya nāsikāgraṃ svaṃ diśaścānavalokayan

Holding the body, head and neck steady, look at the tip of your nose without looking in any other direction

By fixing our eyes on the tip of the nose our awareness will settle on the third eye

praśāntātmā vigatabhīr brahmacārivrate sthitaḥ manaḥ saṃyamya maccitto yukta āsī ta matparaḥ

Sit with an unagitated mind, free from fear and in tune with Existence, controlling the mind, focusing it on Me and make Me the supreme goa

Meditate on the formless energy of Kṛṣṇa that is beyond the form

Kṛṣṇa gives directions for the practitioner of Yoga, the Yogī. These are general and practical guidelines given to help us with how we should sit and meditate. Senses are our doors to the external world. As long as they are open and uncontrolled, we are immersed only in the external world.

Controlling the senses requires controlling the mind. Controlling the mind requires control of thoughts. Controlling the thoughts requires integrity. When we continuously live integrity, we will become aware of the thoughts and processes happening in our inner space.

Constantly listening to our own inner space is the beginning of integrity. If our inner space says that there is nothing more to listen, if only silence is there, then that is the end of integrity. We have achieved integrity. When we start listening to our inner space, we start integrity and when we listen to only silence from our inner space, we have achieved integrity

Go on listening. Even while you are sitting, driving, talking or walking, listen to you. Also listen to you, when you are talking! It is listening to you that is going to bring integrity to you! Listen! You will see that by their very nature our thoughts are illogical, unconnected and irrational.

We need to do two things to control our thoughts. First, we need to stay in the present moment. Second, we need to disconnect thoughts. This is called Unclutching. It is not staying without thoughts. That is not possible; just witness thoughts. Understand that thoughts are unconnected. Detach yourself from the emotional baggage of the thoughts.

If we detach ourselves from the regrets of the past and the speculations about the future we will automatically rise into the present.

Unclutching is not like switching off the electricity to your house. It is like cleaning, sweeping and wiping your house. It is not like electricity that you will just switch off and be unclutched. No! It is like cleaning, sweeping and wiping. First, listen to your inner space! That is the first step to meditation, to life. Listen!! We should go to a secluded place. Why? Whatever said and done, in the house, the phone may ring, somebody may knock or some salesperson may call. A secluded place is really just a means to move us away from these disturbances.

The kuṣa, deerskin and all those things are like insulation, so that the earth will not absorb the energy we create. But now we don't have to bother about that, since we usually sit in a chair. The seat should neither be too high nor too low and it should be comfortable. That's all.

The most important thing to be aware of in any meditation is to be relaxed. We cannot meditate in discomfort. Keeping the head, neck and spine, all in one line, helps in two ways. Firstly, it prevents us from dropping off to sleep. Secondly, as long as the head, neck and spine remain steady and vertical, the flow of pranic energy, the lifegiving energy, through the energy pathways will be unblocked and smooth.

Whether we close our eyes fully or half close them, it is important that we disconnect from the external world. When the eyes are focused on the tip of the nose, they are not looking at external objects and ninety percent of sensory inputs are cut off. In addition, the focus is on the third eye between the brows.

We can meditate on the form of Kṛṣṇa, with a flute and peacock feather.

When we enter into our third eye, automatically we will go beyond the form. We will start meditating on the formless energy that is beyond the form.

Learning to control our illogical thought by staying in the present moment and unclutching To learn techniques for meditation

• What happens when our senses are open and uncontrolled?
• What is the beginning of integrity?
• What is the end of integrity?
• Can we listen to us while we're sitting, driving, talking or walking?
• Are our thoughts logical and connected, or illogical and unconnected ?
• What can we do to have no disturbances while meditating?
• Why should you be a little off the ground when meditating?
• Can you fall asleep with the head, neck and spine in a straight line?
• What helps the flow of pranic energy through us?
• What does focusing on the nose help us do?
• To meditate on Kṛṣṇa, what does Swamiji prescribe?

• 1. Paper
• 2. Colourful pens**.**

Draw a poster for a meditation room that includes the words "please sit with your head, neck and spine in a straight line".

Informing meditators of Kṛṣṇa's techniques for meditation because they help you meditate

Let the children sit in a circle. One child starts by thinking of a few words or a short sentence. The child whispers their words into the ear of the child sitting on their left. Whisper only once! The child who heard the words has to pass on whatever they heard, going round the circle in a clockwise direction. The last child to hear the whispered words says out loud whatever they heard, then the first child says the words they used to start the game.

Play another round starting with a different child.

It is very easy to hear something different to what was said. Listen with integrity

Unclutching is not like switching off the electricity to your house. It is like cleaning, sweeping and wiping your house.

General and practical guidelines help us with how we meditate Kṛṣṇa gives techniques to control our thoughts, techniques to help with meditation

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

yuñjannevaṃ sadātmānaṃ yogī niyatamānasaḥ śāntiṃ nirvāṇa paramāṃ mat-saṃsthām adhigacchati

Always practising control over the mind and situated in the Self, the yogi attains peace, the supreme liberation and My kingdom

The word yoga means uniting with the Divine.

nātyaśnatastu yogosti na caikāntamanaśnataḥ na cāti svapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna

Yoga is neither eating too much nor eating too little; it is neither sleeping too much nor sleeping too little, Oh Arjuna

To be balanced in whatever we do is the path of a Yogī.

yuktāhāra vihārasya yuktaceṣṭasya karmasu yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkhahā

One who is regulated in food, rest, recreation and work, sleep and wakefulness, can reduce misery

yadā viniyataṃ cittam ātmanyevāvatiṣṭhate niḥspṛhaḥ sarvakāmebhyo yukta ityucyate tadā

When the mind is disciplined and one is situated in the Self, free from all desires, then one is said to be situated in yoga

The main aim of all our yoga and meditation techniques is to be in in 'nitya ānanda' or 'eternal bliss

yathā dīpo nivātastho ne�…gate sopamā smṛ tā yogino yatacittasya yuñjato yogamātmanaḥ

a lamp in a place without wind does not waver, so also the yogi, whose mind is controlled remains steady, engaged in yoga, in the Self

The moment we decide to stay in the present space of completion, the mind stops flickering

Part 3: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6

Yoga is cessation of the mind. The word yoga means uniting with the Divine. To reach the Ultimate, the goal and the path is the practice of Yoga. We have two lives in us. One is the life we want to live – the dream. The other is the life in reality – the life we are living. The meeting of these two lives is what is called Yoga.

The goal is uniting with the Ultimate or experiencing the ultimate spiritual energy, or the Divine and realizing our inherent nature. The path is dropping the mind, which means going beyond thoughts. We are spiritual beings having a human experience; we are not human beings having a spiritual experience. This is the truth. Bliss is our very nature.

The mind pulls us towards the temporary happiness that we experienced by pursuing sense pleasures. For example, we may like a particular sweet. We are attracted to its taste. When we sit down to eat it, for a few minutes our mind seems to stop thinking about it. There is a sense of peace when we are eating the sweet. Actually, we are at peace because the number of thoughts has come down for those few minutes. But we think the peace we experience is due to the sweet its

Understand that there is nothing wrong with liking the taste of the sweet. But if we think that the sweet is the cause of our fulfillment, then the problem starts, because the next time the same sweet may not give us the same experience of fulfillment.

We do not trust our inherent body intelligence. We run our body according to the mind or according to our desires and senses. Otherwise, why would we stay up in the night watching television when our body is begging for some sleep? Why would we overeat? Has anyone seen any animal ever overeat?

They eat according to their body intelligence. When the body signals that it needs food, they eat. When the body signals that it needs sleep, they sleep. We have forgotten how to relate with our own body intelligence.

We do not need to sleep for as long as most of us do. There are periods in our sleep — the dream and deep sleep states. It is the deep sleep state that gives us energy and rejuvenates us. This state can be achieved through meditation as well. In the course of an eight-hour sleep cycle, we are in the deep sleep state only for a couple of hours. That is why even a few minutes of meditation can actually refresh us as much as a few hours of sleep

Our mind is like a lake. When we throw a stone in a lake, many ripples will be created. If we want to stop these ripples, we cannot put our hand in the lake to try to smoothen out the ripples. Instead if we just watch the lake, and ensure no more stones are thrown in, the ripples will disappear and the lake will become still. If we just relax and watch our mind with complete awareness, then no new thoughts will be created.

There is a beautiful story described in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Devatā, the demigods were oppressed by the demons and appealed to Bhagavān Viṣṇu for help. According to His directions, the demigods were to churn the ocean of milk. During the churning, many products emerged out of the ocean of milk including a deadly poison. Bhagavān Śiva came to their rescue. He drank the poison but did not completely take it in. He just held it in His throat.

Listen. When the churning of the milky ocean started, everyone was waiting only for the nectar. That is why, when the poison emerged, it was a suffering for them. But Bhagavān Śiva was waiting for the poison also, that is why it could not bring suffering to Him.

Life is like the churning of the ocean of milk where we are churned, pulled towards the desires and pushed away from the fears. There are various products that emerge out of the churning, out of the decisions and choices we make in life. Some of these products appear pleasing while others appear dangerous like poison.

When we exist with responsibility without taking in the poison or throwing it out, meaning without running towards the desires or running away from the fears, we become Śiva and live life blissfully irrespective of what comes our way.

• What are the two lives living in us?
• What does Kṛṣṇa say is the goal?
• What does Kṛṣṇa say is the path?
• What is one way for the number of thoughts to come down for a few minutes?
• Is it wrong to like the taste of the sweet?
• Is our body intelligence the same as our mind and senses?
• What are the 2 forms of sleep?
• The rejuvenation we get from meditation, is it the same as what the dream sleep gives us or what the deep sleep gives us?
• How do we ensure no new thoughts are created in our mind?
• Why were the Devatā, the demigods, churning the ocean of milk?
• When the churning of the milky ocean was happening, why was Śiva different to the Devatā?
• Why is life like the churning of the ocean of milk?

Hold Vaakyartha sadhas on what in life appears dangerous like poison. For each example, discuss some options on how to live without taking in the poison or throwing it out.

• ❖ You could Approach the snake with the risk that it bites you - that would be like Śiva swallowing the poison
• ❖ Scream and run and make everyone else panic that would be like Śiva spitting out the poison and putting others into danger
• ❖ Or you can "live without taking in the poison or throwing it out" by quickly stepping away from the snake while shouting: "Watch out, a snake!" to warn others to not go close while the snake has a chance to move away from everyone

Live like Paramaśiva, be prepared for the poison also and let it not bring suffering to you When the number of thoughts has come down we experience bliss Listen to body intelligence rather than the mind and senses The Yogī whose mind is controlled remains steady as a lamp in a place without wind

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

yatroparamate cittaṃ niruddhaṃ yogasevayā yatra caivātmanātmānaṃ paśyannātmani tuṣyati

In yoga, the mind becomes quiet and the Self is satisfied by the Self in the Self

When one aspect is complete, all others also become complete

sukhamātyantikaṃ yat tad buddhigrāhyamatīndriyam vetti yatra na caivāyaṃ sthitaścalati tattvataḥ

Supreme bliss is grasped by intelligence transcending the senses. The person who knows this is based in reality

Yoga is for moving into reality, transcending the senses and the mind

yaṃ labdhvā cāparaṃ lābhaṃ manyate nādhikaṃ tataḥ yasminsthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate

By attaining that Supreme, one does not consider any other gain as being greater. By being situated in the Supreme, one is not shaken by the greatest of misery

In the state of pūrṇa, complete completion, no joy can make it more blissful, no sorrow can make it less blissful

taṃ vidyād duḥkhasaṃ yoga viyogaṃ yoga-saṃjñitam sa niścayena yoktavyo yogo'nirviṇṇacetasā

When yoga is practiced with determination without deviating, the misery by contact with material senses is removed

sa�…kalpa-prabhavān kāmāṃs tyaktvā sarvānaśeṣataḥ manasaivendriya-grāmaṃ viniyamya samantataḥ

Giving up completely all the fantasies born of the mind, one can regulate all the senses from all the sides by the mind

When we bring the light of knowledge, ignorance is removed and we see the object as it is

Kṛṣṇa talks about key elements to experience yoga: practice with determination and practice without deviating from the prescribed way.

Nithya Yoga — the yoga of eternity — is re-presenting yoga. The method has evolved but the system, the truth itself is the same as the original system offered by the great master, Patañjali. His system is so complete that we can't add even a single word to the techniques. It is the experience of Truth and Truth cannot be developed.

Patañjali's Aṣtāṇga Yoga, eight organs of yoga or aṇga has unfortunately been wrongly translated as 'eight steps of yoga'. Because of this, it has become just a small few techniques or methods to make your body flexible and a little healthy. That is a disgrace done to yoga. When you get a diamond and you use that diamond just as a vegetable cutter, it is a disgrace to the diamond. In the same way, when you use the powerful science of yoga just as technique to bring a little health, it is so unfortunate!

This is what Kṛṣṇa means when He says, 'Self is satisfied by the Self in the Self'. All of this has to happen together, not part by part. When one aspect is complete, all others also become complete. This is the state of pūrṇa, complete completion. Nothing can be taken away from it. Nothing can be added to it that would make any difference to its state of completeness. No joy can make it more blissful, no sorrow can make it less blissful. One becomes centered in bliss. When centered in bliss, it is forever!

The way yoga is taught and practiced in many places, one is moved away from reality into a fantasy world, to fulfill one's imagined needs. The senses and the mind wander aimlessly. Running after the fantasies created by the mind is just like running after a mirage or running after the horizon. We can never achieve bliss by running behind these fantasies because these fantasies have no existence in reality.

Be completely complete, practice without deviating from the prescribed way To understand we can never achieve bliss by running after fantasies

• Can Patañjali's system of yoga be developed and more words added?

• What is the correct translation of Patañjali's eight anga of Aṣtāṇga Yoga, are they eight organs of yoga or eight steps of yoga?

• Is yoga only to make your body flexible?

• What is the state of pūrṇa?

• Can anything be added to the state of complete completion or take away from it?

• What is a mirage?

• Can we ever touch a horizon?

Children make a figure and change the arms and legs into the different asanas

Yoga is also about moving the body Moving the body is healthy

Take children through the 8 components each asanas

Doing the 8 components of yoga, you are complete Yoga is a complete system

Hold Vaakyartha sadhas on the state of pūrṇa, complete completion.

Experience yoga as per the original system offered by the great master, Patañjali Patañjali's Aṣtāṇga Yoga is completely complete, nothing can be taken away from it, nothing can be added to it

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

śanaiḥ śanairuparamed buddhyā dhṛtigṛhītayā ātmasaṃsthaṃ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcidapi cintayet

Gradually, step by step, one should become established in the Self, held by the conviction of intelligence, with the mind not thinking of anything else

We need intelligence and perseverance

yato yato niścarati manaś cañcalamasthiram tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmanyeva vaśaṃ nayet

From wherever the mind becomes agitated due to its wandering and unsteady nature, from there, one must cert

The key is to be in the space of completion every moment

praśānta-manasaṃ hyenaṃ yoginaṃ sukhamuttamam upaiti śāntarajasaṃ brahma-bhūtam akalmaṣam

The yogi whose mind is peaceful attains the highest happiness; his passion is pacified and he is free from sins as he is liberated by the Supreme

A human being is the sum of his greatest moments of completion.

yuñjannevaṃ sadātmānaṃ yogī vigatakalmaṣaḥ sukhena brahmasaṃsparś amatyantaṃ sukhamaśnute

The yogi always engaged in the Self and free from material contamination, is in touch with the Supreme and attains the highest happiness

When we are in a 'no-mind' state, we are in bliss

sarvabhūtastham-ātmānaṃ sarvabhūtāni cātmani īkṣate yogayuktātmā sarvatra samadarśanaḥ

The Yogī sees the Supreme situated in all beings and also all beings situated in the Supreme. One established in the Self sees the Supreme everywhere

When we experience the Truth, we see everything in ourselves and ourselves in everything.

There are different ways to learn and develop clarity and conviction. We can learn from our experiences as well as from others' experiences. For example, when we touch the flame of a candle, we learn that it burns. When we touch a burning gas stove, we learn again that fire burns. One by one, we can experience and learn that all fires burn. Or, when we touch the first form of fire, immediately we can learn that all fires will burn! Coming to a conclusion and a clear understanding that all fires burn, after just one experience, is intelligence!

Kṛṣṇa is emphasizing an important spiritual quality - perseverance. We expect the mental setup that we have created and solidified, to be broken and restructured in a few attempts, almost instantly. How is this possible? We need to be more patient and persevere in our efforts for the real change to happen. So what if we fail sometimes? Why don't we look at the positive side and see that we succeeded a few times? When we measure our lives based on our weakest moments, our failures and our incompletions, we take a wrong reading of ourselves. Why can't we give credit to ourselves for the strong, successful moments of our lives

We have been conditioned by society to consider ourselves weak beings, that we are not powerful. We have been taught to feel guilty. Does that help us in any way?

Listen. Strength is Life. We need to measure ourselves by our strongest moments, our greatest moments of powerfulness, when we have displayed extraordinary awareness, courage, compassion, love and such other divine qualities. A human being is the sum of his greatest moments of completion.

Kṛṣṇa says that the realized person, yoga-yuktātmā, sees the Supreme in everyone and everything.

In fact, in my first spiritual experience at the age of twelve, this is what I clearly saw. When I was twelve, I was playing with this technique of just watching where thoughts came from, the source of my thoughts. At that age, I didn't even realize it was meditation. One day, at the foothills of Arunachala, in my hometown of Tiruvannamalai in South Bharat, I was sitting on a rock, just playing with this technique that I had been practicing for two years

Suddenly, something happened; something opened within me. I felt as if I was being pulled inside. Suddenly, I could see 360 degrees in all directions. My eyes were closed but I could see everything in front of me and behind me. Not just that, I felt that whatever I was seeing, was all me. I could see myself in everything — in the trees, in the rocks, in the ground, in the hills, everything!

Part 4: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6

In the ultimate sense, the moment we understand that we are deeply, totally and intensely connected to the whole Universe, not only do we start experiencing bliss, we really start living in the space of completion. The root of God is love.

The root of God lies in seeing Him in everything. Have the courage to go deep inside and love. We will start feeling the common thread of Existence in all that we see. Automatically we will start loving everything in the same way without any trouble because we will see only Existence in everyone and everything. Each and every atom in this Earth is unique, is divine, and is an expression of Existence.

To understand an Enlightened person sees no difference between Himself and the rest of the Universe

• When we learn something after just one experience, what is that called?

• Why do we need to be more patient and persevere in our efforts?

• What happens when we measure our lives based on our weakest moments?

• How do we need to measure ourselves?

• How should we relate to the whole Universe?

• What is the root of god?

• Where is Existence?

❖ Paper

• ❖ Color pens

Get the children to draw THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM sitting on the rock at the foothills of Arunachala and how he saw everything around him

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM experienced seeing the Supreme in everything We are deeply, totally and intensely connected to the whole Universe

A small ball for each child

First get the children to throw the ball up and catch it. Then try it with one hand. Then try it with the other hand. Then try to clap after you throw the ball up, before you catch it again. Then try to clap twice!

Learning new activities requires perseverance We need to be patient and persevere in our efforts

Hold Vaakyartha Sadhas on how we can experience that we are deeply, totally and intensely connected to the whole Universe.

Learn to give credit to ourselves for the strong, successful moments of our lives. When we understand that we are connected to the whole Universe, we start experiencing bliss and start living in the space of completion. Kṛṣṇa gives Arjuna the glimpse of the Truth when Arjuna sees that Kṛṣṇa is one with the Universe.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

yo māṃ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṃ ca mayi paśyati tasyāhaṃ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati

For one who sees Me everywhere and who sees everything in Me, for him I am never lost nor is he lost to Me

sarvabhūtasthitaṃ yo māṃ bhajatyekatvamāsthitaḥ sarvathā vartamānopi sa yogī mayi vartate

He who is in oneness with Me in all respects, worships Me situated in all beings and remains present in Me

See the Divine in everybody and everything and automatically, you will relax

ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṃ paśyati yorjuna sukhaṃ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṃ sa yogī paramo mataḥ

One who, by comparison to his own Self, sees the true oneness of all beings, in both their happiness or misery, is Supreme Yogi in My opinion, Arjuna

An enlightened person can empathize with everyone because he experiences himself as everyone.

Kṛṣṇa gives a promise. He says that for anyone who sees Him in everything and who sees everything in Him, He is always available. What He means is not that we should see the form of Kṛṣṇa in everyone, with the flute and two peacock feathers. The form is there one day and not there the next; it is ephemeral. It is like this: if my finger is pointing in the direction of the moon, look in the direction of the moon and enjoy its beauty. Instead, if you watch my finger, you will miss the moon!

What Kṛṣṇa means by 'Me' is the Kṛṣṇa energy, the Divine consciousness. See the Divine in everybody and everything and automatically, you will relax. Existence is waiting with open arms to engulf us, to dissolve us into Itself, but only if we are ready to let go. If we just have the courage to let go with an open heart, we will meet and merge with it. When we are ready to feel the embrace of Existence, we rise into a higher plane, a plane of higher consciousness. With Existence we always fall in to rise.

People ask me, 'How can we tell that you are the right Master for us?' I tell them simply, 'If I am truly your Master, you can never forget me. I will be there even in your dreams!' The relationship between the Master and disciple is one of pure love.

One night, Vivekananda woke up at two a.m. and woke up his disciples. His disciples became anxious. Vivekananda said that he was feeling a lot of pain and that in some part of the world there was a natural calamity happening that was causing him the pain. The next morning, the newspapers carried the news of a terrible earthquake in Fiji Islands that consumed many lives. Vivekananda was sensitive to a calamity that happened in some corner of the world thousands of miles away!

What happened in Vivekananda is what we call empathy. It is not sympathy. Sympathy is a very superficial word. We are all capable of sympathy. When someone tells us that they are suffering, we make some noises and just confirm their suffering for them. That is sympathy.

What an Enlightened person or a Master feels is never sympathy. It is empathy. Empathy is when we feel another's suffering in our own being. It is when a person does not have to tell us he is suffering, but we simply know because the Existential energy in us feels it. Masters are one with us because they are one with Existence and we are a part of Existence. It is only that we see them as separate. In reality that is not the case.

When we realize the sense of non-duality and infinity with the entire Universe, we experience a tremendous overflowing of love and compassion for every being without discrimination, because we realize that everyone is a part of the same Whole.

Just as the fingers on the hand and the toes on the feet belong to the same body, we will be able to see that everyone is a part of the same Universal Energy. This is when true compassion, empathy and sincere service towards enriching everyone can happen. Until then we will only be using our logic, mind, ego and conditioning, to enslave others.

When we realize the infinity of everyone, we will express our unconditional love and compassion towards everyone without discrimination, because we know that all discrimination is baseless and false. Our very walk and talk will start radiating so much bliss that our very presence will start healing others.

We will become a blessing for planet Earth and the people who experience our presence.

Goals: To help children understand non-duality, to see the divine in everything

• How does Kṛṣṇa become always available to us?
• How do we dissolve into Existence?
• How can you tell who is the right Master for you?
• Why did Vivekananda wake up feeling a lot of pain ?
• What is the difference between sympathy and empathy?
• What happens in us when we realize the sense of nonduality with the entire Universe?
• What is discrimination?
• How can we start healing others by our very presence?

• ❖ Large sheet of paper and some smaller sheets
• ❖ Paints
• ❖ Magazines or prints of a people's faces
• ❖ A picture of a globe to color in
• ❖ Scissors
• ❖ Glue

Make a poster that can be used for an event like World Peace Day. Give each child an activity that contributes to the poster,

• o Write and decorate appropriate slokas or the Sanskrit word for peace "Shanti",
• o cut out and make a collage of many different faces
• o colour in the globe
• o write a title in large letters, so on. Arrange the individual items on the large sheet and glue in place.

When we realize non-duality with the Universe, we experience a tremendous overflowing of love and compassion for every being We are all part of Existence

Get all the children to stand in a circle. This activity needs an even number of children. Without leaving their spot in the circle, one child turns to their left, the next to their right, and so on around the circle until all are facing someone.

Each child then moves in this way:

• ❖ Put out your right hand and hold the hand being stretched towards you.

• ❖ Take a step or two forward so you are standing next to the person holding your hand.

• ❖ You will see one of the children in front of you facing you – put out your free hand (your left hand) and hold the "new" hand being stretched towards you.

• ❖ Let go of the "old" hand you were holding now move so you are standing next to the new person.

• ❖ Keep repeating, taking the "new" hand stretched toward you, releasing the "old" hand, and moving forward.

• ❖ Always move so that when you are holding someone with your right hand then they are on your right.

• ❖ And if you are holding someone's left hand they are on your left The children move around the circle from hand to hand.

• ❖ Compassion and empathy towards everyone can happen. Just as our hands and feet belong to our body, we will be able to see that everyone is a part of the same Universal Energy.

Hold Vaakyartha sadhas on what the children know and understand about the form of Kṛṣṇa and the formlessness of Kṛṣṇa

When someone is suffering, if we only have sympathy we just confirm their suffering for them. If we have empathy, we feel another's suffering as our own. True compassion, empathy and sincere service happens when we see that everyone is a part of the same Universal Energy

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

arjuna uvāca yoyaṃ yogastvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana etasyāhaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvātsthitiṃ sthirām

Arjuna says: O Madhusūdana, I am not able to see this system of yoga as told by You in the situation of the mind being restless and not steady

Detachment from the ego or the identities will lead to detachment from desires. This is detachment from the past and future. This is being 'Unclutched

cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthī balavad dṛḍham tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye vāyoriva suduṣkaram

O Kṛṣṇa, the wavering mind is agitated, strong and firm. I think it is difficult to control the mind like it is difficult to control the wind

The moment we categorize something as easy or difficult, we have made it that way

śrībhagavānuvāca asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calam abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate

Bhagavān says: O mighty-armed Kaunteya (son of Kuntī), it is undoubtedly difficult to control the wavering mind but by practice and detachment, it can be controlled

Persevere with authenticity until we experience the Truth

Arjuna introduces the word 'difficult or su-duṣkaram' here. Be very clear, the moment we categorize something as easy or difficult, we have made it that way. Understand that the ego can be fulfilled only through difficult things. Simple things cannot satisfy the ego.

After listening to Kṛṣṇa about controlling the mind, Arjuna expresses his doubts about being able to still the mind. His question is not just an individual's question. The questions are the fundamental quest of the individual and the answers are the eternal Truth.

Arjuna addresses to Kṛṣṇa his concerns about the mind being so strong that it sometimes overcomes the intelligence. The first and foremost thing is to accept that we have a problem, we have a root pattern. The next thing is to understand how the root pattern is created.

That is what Arjuna does here. It is only then that we can overcome the root pattern. If we ignore or run away from the pattern we can never resolve and complete with the pattern. Here, Kṛṣṇa has to answer from the same plane that Arjuna asks the question. Kṛṣṇa has to give a technique for the mind to play with.

Masters give meditation techniques so that we try all these and ultimately realize we are bliss, and that meditation is our natural state, and that there is nothing to be achieved.

The mind cannot believe something so simple.

Kṛṣṇa emphasizes perseverance and penance. Don't think penance means leaving home, going to the Himalayas and sitting in meditation while fasting. Penance is persevering with authenticity until we experience the Truth. Whether we say ego or mind, it is just the collection of thoughts. Thoughts can exist only in relationship to our identity and the past or the future. The mind moves only because it is attached to the identities that we carry. The mind becomes so attached to these identities that it is constantly reviewing the past incidents or it is constantly planning the future to either protect or develop these identities. If we look deeply, staying in the present moment of completion means total insecurity. It requires us to be ready to embrace the present without planning for the future or reviewing the past. This seems like a great danger for our ego.

Any identity that we create about ourselves that is less than the idea of our being God, is a false identity. If we consider ourselves to be anything less than God, we suffer from an inferiority complex. If we have the courage to detach ourselves from the certificates of society, if we have the courage to drop these false identities, then we can embrace the Divine.

Detachment is the direct technique that Kṛṣṇa is suggesting here. Detachment from the ego or the identities will lead to detachment from desires. This is detachment from the past and future. This is being 'Unclutched

When we realize the infinity of everyone, we will express our unconditional love and compassion towards everyone without discrimination, because we know that all discrimination is baseless and false. Our very walk and talk will start radiating so much bliss that our very presence will start healing others.

We will become a blessing for planet Earth and the people who experience our presence.

Goals: Understanding the mind, thoughts, and unclutching

• When we categorize something as easy or difficult, what happens?
• What is the first thing we need to do to overcome our root pattern?
• Why do Enlightened Masters have to give meditation techniques?
• What does penance mean?
• Can thoughts exist by themselves?
• ✓ What Is the mind attached to?
• ✓ What does staying in the present moment of completion mean to us?
• ✓ What seems like a great danger for our ego?
• ✓ What do we need courage for?
• ✓ What is the technique that Kṛṣṇa suggests to Arjuna?

• ❖ Each child to get a piece of paper with the outline of a person on it
• ❖ A variety of bits of string, wool, button scraps of material, sequins and so on
• ❖ Glue
• ❖ Scissors

Challenge the children to decorate their person as complicated as possible

Simple things cannot satisfy the ego. The mind finds it is easy to go beyond simple.

• o Paper
• o Pens

Each child writes two things on their piece of paper without showing it to the other children. One of these things must be true and one must be false. For example, "I go to dance classes" is true and "I go to swimming classes" is false. Then the children take turns to read out their two statements, and the other children have to ask questions until they know which is true and which is false.

The questions can only be answered by yes or no, and cannot use any of the words of the statement. For example, if a child says they go to swimming classes, the questions cannot use "swimming" or "class". Instead, they can ask about the pool, for example, is it big, is it small, or if the classes are every week.

Note: Help young children to do the writing and reading.

Persevere with authenticity until we get to the Truth

Part 5: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6

Do Vaakyartha Sadhas on this topic:

Say there are two trees in a forest. Now, if one tree falls on the other, we can say that the tree on which the other tree has fallen feels the impact or the pain of a falling tree. Now, say the tree actually feels the entire forest as a part of its own self. Can we say that it will feel 'another' tree falling on it? When everything is a part of its own self, where is the idea of 'other'? When the idea of 'other' disappears, then where is the pain?

Our mind cannot believe we are bliss, and that meditation is our natural state, and that there is nothing to be achieved - so simple!

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

asaṃyatātmanā yogo duṣprāpa iti me matiḥ vaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyo vāptum upāyataḥ

For one whose mind is uncontrolled, it is difficult to attain yoga in My opinion. But, it is practical to achieve control over the mind by appropriate means

Kṛṣṇa explains that it is possible to achieve control over the mind

arjuna uvāca ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāc calita mānasaḥ aprāpya yoga-saṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati

Arjuna says: O Kṛṣṇa, if a person is engaged in yoga with faith but does not attain yoga because of the wavering mind, what destination does he achieve?

When we start off, we will face failure in our attempts to control and complete with the mind – even then it is possible to attain the Divine Consciousness

kaccinnobhayavibhraṣṭaś chinnābhramiva naśyati apratiṣṭho mahābāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi O mighty-armed

Kṛṣṇa, does the person who deviated from the path perish, torn like a cloud without any position?

If we move our body with the thought of bliss, the bliss emotion gets ingrained in our system

etanme saṃśayaṃ kṛṣṇa chettumarhasyaśeṣataḥ tvadanyaḥ saṃśayasyāsya chettā na hyupapadyate

This is my doubt, O Kṛṣṇa and I request You to dispel it completely. Certainly, there is no one to be found other than You who can remove this doubt

it is possible to achieve Self-realization by stilling the mind if one intensely practices the appropriate techniques

śrībhagavānuvāca pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśastasya vidyate na hi kalyāṇakṛtkaścid durgatiṃ tāta gacchati

Bhagavān says: O Pārtha, the person engaged in activities for good does not meet with destruction either in this world or the next life; he never faces degradation

Kṛṣṇa assures Arjuna by saying that there is no destruction either in this life or the next life for one who is on the right path

Kṛṣṇa continues to declare that it is possible to achieve Self-realization by stilling the mind if one intensely practices the appropriate techniques.

Actually, having an experience of Sātori or the first glimpse of bliss is not a big thing. It is easy to get a taste of enlightenment. But to stay in that same state, the same consciousness, needs preparation of the body and mind. To express that high energy through the body and to radiate that experience of bliss requires that our body and mind be prepared. Preparing the body and mind for enlightenment is what yoga is all about.

This is what sage Patañjali created yoga for. The problem is that only the verbal language of Patañjali remains, but the body language is absent. That is why so much confusion and mutated forms of yoga are around today. Only a person in the same space, in the same consciousness as Patañjali can convey what He wanted to convey. This is what Nithya Yoga is all about. The whole purpose of Nithya Yoga is to prepare the body to experience, to stay in and radiate eternal bliss. Its purpose is to 'Unclutch' and enlighten. It is a direct means to Enlightenment.

Here, Arjuna again asks the questions we all will have in our minds. What happens if we start with faith but somewhere, we fail in controlling the mind? Be very clear, this situation will happen. When we start off, we will face failure in our attempts to control and complete with the mind. If we don't experience this, we should check ourselves because we may be fooling ourselves with whatever we are doing!

Arjuna wants Kṛṣṇa to give an assurance that Enlightenment is possible for all kinds of people; that even if a person starts practicing intensely but fails due to the wavering mind, it is still possible to attain the Divine Consciousness, Brahman. Actually, at the very root of Arjuna's question is the mind that is generating the fear and making him believe that it is hard to find the no-mind state.

The mind does not want to lose its existence. The mind always looks for a reason to convince us that we cannot carry on our lives without it. In our day-to-day life we face the situation that Arjuna faces here. Even with activities that we have carried out successfully many times in the past, we feel nervous when we start again.

Will we succeed? What will happen if we fail? Even before we begin, we start imagining the worst.

Actually, it is okay to imagine the worst. To overcome fear and face fear, it is good to imagine the worst-case scenario. Visualize it fully, relive such an experience consciously, taking it to its logical conclusion, and the fear will disappear. Kṛṣṇa assures Arjuna by saying that there is no destruction either in this life or the next life for one who is on the right path, the path of yoga. He provides the assurance that Arjuna is looking for. Kṛṣṇa is giving a wonderful assurance for all of us that even a small amount of practice of this yoga will save us from the cycle of birth and death. Any yoga practiced will give us tremendous benefit

Listen, any movement of the body with a strong intention will cause that intention to get deeply inscribed into our bodies and muscles. If we move our body with the thought of bliss, the bliss emotion gets ingrained in our system. This is such an important and beautiful truth. Don't miss it!

For the child to understand that there is no destruction either in this life or the next life for one who is on the right path, the path of yoga. To understand that any yoga practiced gives us tremendous benefit.

• What needs preparation of the body and mind?
• What did the sage Patañjali create yoga for?
• Why is there so much confusion and mutated forms of yoga around today?
• What happens if we fail in controlling the mind?
• What is at the very root of Arjuna's question about failure?
• ✓ What does the mind not want to lose?
• ✓ How can we overcome fear?
• ✓ What does the practice of yoga assure us?
• ✓ What happens to the intention we hold when we practise yoga?

• ❖ Paper with a diagram showing only half of an asana
• ❖ Sketch pens

Request the children to complete the diagram

Preparing the body and mind for enlightenment is what yoga is all about.

Teach the children that there are 8 components to Nithya Yoga. Spend time perfecting the practice of some of the components, for example the bandha

The purpose of Nithya Yoga is to prepare the body to experience, to stay in and radiate eternal bliss Only a person in the same space, in the same consciousness as Patañjali can convey the verbal and the body language of yoga

Hold Vaakyartha Sadhas on where children have faced failures in their attempts to control and complete with the mind. Have they experienced that even with activities carried out successfully many times in the past, they still felt nervous? And wondered what will happen if they fail?

The mind makes us believe that it is hard to find the no-mind state The mind always looks for a reason to convince us that we cannot carry on our lives without it, just as what Arjuna is facing here.

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

prāpya puṇyakṛtāṃ lokān uṣitvā śāśvatiḥ samāḥ śucīnāṃ śrī matāṃ gehe yogabhraṣṭo'bhijāyate

The person who has fallen from yoga [yogabṛasṭa] after many years of living in the planets of the pious and doing virtuous deeds, takes birth in the house of the virtuous and prosperous

A person who has performed virtuous activities takes birth in a family of righteous people

athavā yogināmeva kule bhavati dhī matām etaddhi durlabhataraṃ loke janma yadīdṛśam

Or the Yogī certainly takes birth in a family of wise people. Certainly, such a birth is rare in this world

We can choose our body and the time that we wish to be born.

tatra taṃ buddhisaṃyogaṃ labhate paurva dehikam yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṃsiddhau kurunandana

O son of Kuru, on taking such a birth, he revives the intelligence, consciousness of the previous body, and tries again to attain complete success [yoga]

On taking birth, we continue the journey where we left off.

Kṛṣṇa talks about how we choose everything in our lives, including our birth, when and where we are born and whom we choose as our parents. This truth may seem difficult for most of us to believe. Our birth is not just an accident. It is an incident and we are the ones who choose all the details about this incident. We must understand that it is only we who program and design everything and everybody in our life, including our parents and environment.

For example, if we live to eat rather than eat to live, at the time of death, we will still have the desire to continue eating. So, we might choose the body of a pig. Or, if we have lived our life only for sleeping, we might choose the body of a buffalo. So, based on the attitude we have lived with, we choose the next body. This is the basic idea on which our janma-maraṇa cakra (cycle of life and death) revolves.

Here, Kṛṣṇa gives the assurance to Arjuna and to the whole of humanity that a person who has performed virtuous activities takes birth in a family of wise people or in a prosperous family.

When we live our life running behind our greed and desires, running after "what next? what next....?," naturally, at the time of our death also, we will not be ready to leave the body. The body will be tired of running behind desires continuously, but the mind will not be ready to leave. So we will leave the body in the pain and suffering. If we can just relax into the present, we will leave the body in a relaxed way, peacefully

Once we leave the body, in three kṣaṇa, three moments, we get into a new body and we are reborn. Kṣaṇa in Saṃskṛit means the gap between two thoughts. If we have been constantly running behind desires, the gap between two thoughts will be really small for us. When we learn to relax into the present, the gap between two thoughts increases and the three kṣaṇas can be a long time. Here, Kṛṣṇa says that on taking birth, we gain the intelligence of the previous body and continue the journey where we left off.

One thing we should understand here is that when we say death, it is not just the death that happens at the end of our life. It is what happens every day and night. Every day we leave the body. We go to the causal body when we fall asleep. Every day we die. When we wake up, we come back. Every day we come back to life. As of now, every morning, how do we come back to life? How do we take this body again in the morning? Just look deeply. What happens at the time when we get up from bed?

First thing, usually, the moment we gain awareness, either a thought based on greed or fear will hit us. There will be thoughts based on greed such as, 'I need to get this today,' or thoughts based on fear such as, 'I have to finish this work today.' Some thought based on fear or greed will hit us. Immediately, we will jump out of our bed. When we get up from bed, let the first thought be related to love and compassion.

Wake up only to express life in bliss. Wake up just out of joy.

Goals:

For the child to understand our choices in the cycle of life and death. If we alter our thoughts at the time of waking up, we will alter the whole consciousness.

• Is our birth an accident?

• Who programs and designs everything and everybody in our life?

• What does assurance Kṛṣṇa give to Arjuna?

• When do we leave the body in pain and suffering? What is a kṣaṇa?

• How many kṣaṇa between when we leave the body and we get into a new body?

• What should be our first thought when we get up from bed?

Normal birth certificates have only minimum information on them, like date of birth and parents' names. Get the children to design themselves a new birth certificate which has all information they can think of that they chose for their birth.

We are the ones who choose all the details about our birth. Our birth is not just an accident. It is an incident.

Hold a short Unclutching meditation for the children. Explain that their thoughts are just like bubbles in a fish tank, the bubble starts, rises up, then dissolves again. Ask them what happened with their thoughts during the Unclutching meditation.

It's possible to have shorter and longer gaps between two thoughts When we learn to relax into the present, the gap between two thoughts increases

Get the children to hold Vaakyartha sadhas on

• ❖ How they now understand sleep,
• ❖ How they can ensure that when they wake up, they are reminded to think about things related to love and compassion

Wake up only to express life in bliss. Early morning, let the first thought be gratitude. Let it be out of love and compassion.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva hriyate hyavaśo'pi saḥ jijñāsurapi yogasya śabda-brahmātivartate

Due to the practice in his previous life, he certainly gets attracted automatically to yoga and he is inquisitive about yoga and transcends the scriptures

Our vāsanas, our mindset in one birth, continues into another.

prayatnādyatamānastu yogī saṃśuddhakilbiṣaḥ aneka-janmasaṃsiddhas tato yāti parāṃ gatim

And when the Yogī engages himself with sincere endeavour in progressing further, being cleansed of all incompletions, then ultimately, achieving perfection [saṁsiddhi] after many births of practice, he attains the highest state [parām-gati]

If we keep practicing, if we keep trying, we will be cleansed of all sins and reach the highest state.

tapasvibhyodhiko yogī jñānibhyo'pi mato 'dhikaḥ karmibhyaścādhiko yogī tasmādyogī bhavārjuna

A Yogī is greater than the ascetic [tapasvi], greater than the wise [jñāni] and greater than the fruitive worker. Therefore, Arjuna, do become a Yogī

Start living from the heart.

Part 6: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Collection_English_part_6.md

yogināmapi sarveṣāṃ madgatenāntarātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṃ sa me yuktatamo mata

Of all Yogīs, one who always lives in Me, thinking of Me within himself, who worships Me in full faith, he is the most intimately united with Me in Yoga and is the highest of all Yogīs; that is My opinion

Just look in, you will experience the eternal bliss, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM.

Why do we assume the body? We think that we can experience bliss through the body and mind; that is why we assume the body. When we realize that bliss cannot be experienced through the body or mind, we know that going beyond the body is the only way to experience it. Then we will not assume the body. Assuming the human body is simply our choice.

People ask Swamiji, 'Why do we choose to have the human experience?' That we should find out for ourselves. Why did we assume this body? Swamiji asked the question and Swamiji got the answer. Swamiji knows why you chose the human experience. Ask the question yourself and pursue it as a quest and you will get the answer. You will be enlightened

We claim that we want to experience the ultimate and that we want to be enlightened. If we really want to be enlightened, there is nothing that can stop us. There is no hindrance to our being enlightened except our own self. As of now, actually, Enlightenment is last on our laundry list of items that we want to do in life! When the urge becomes urgent, when the question becomes a burning quest, then we get the answer. There is no other way

In these verses, Kṛṣṇa promises a few things. He says that whatever we have learned in one life does not get wasted. We do not start from ground zero in the next birth. We start from where we left off. Our vāsanas, our mindset in one birth, continues into another. He also promises that if we keep practicing, if we keep trying, we will be cleansed of all sins and reach the highest state. Such a person, Kṛṣṇa promises, will reach Him.

• ❖ (a few minutes pass) Om śānti, śānti, śāntihi...

• ❖ Relax. Slowly, very slowly, open your eyes. We may wonder how a simple technique like this one can lead us into our Self.

• ❖ Please understand that we always live in the head. Start living from the heart. We will then start acting from intelligence. We will start acting, not from our head but from our heart. When we start acting from the heart, we don't calculate.

• ❖ So try to continuously remember this heart region, anāhata cakra. Kṛṣṇa says, 'Let you be in the heart.' Look in! You will realize 'You are That.' Just look in, you will experience the eternal bliss, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM. Let us pray to that Ultimate Energy, Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa to give us all the Eternal Bliss, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM.

• ❖ Please sit straight and close your eyes. Keep your head, neck and spine, all three in a straight line. Inhale and exhale as slowly as possible and as deeply as possible.

• ❖ Slowly, in a relaxed way, bring your awareness to your ājña cakra.

• ❖ Concentrate between the two eyebrows. Bring your awareness between the two eyebrows. Remember and pray to that Energy that came as Kṛṣṇa, that is guiding us and helping us in our life.

• ❖ Pray to that Energy that gave us the Bhagavad Gītā.

• ❖ Meditate on the pure light energy. If your mind wanders here and there, don't worry. When you remember, bring it back again and relax in your ājña cakra, between your eyebrows. Don't concentrate.

(a few minutes pass)

• o Slowly, very slowly bring your mind to your heart and meditate on your heart center. If you want, you can touch your heart center with the hand and feel it. Try to bring your awareness to the heart center.

• o Try toremember the heart center. Forget all other parts of your body; forget your mind. Just become the heart center. Just be in the heart center.

• o Inhale and exhale as slowly as possible. May you experience your pure inner space. May you experience the eternal bliss, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM.

• o Help children to understand why we assume the body.

• o Understand that our vāsanas, our mindset continues from one birth to the next

o Help children to know that there is no short cut. Once we do our bit, the Master promises deliverance.

Goals:

Help children to understand why we assume the bodyUnderstand that our vāsanas, our mindset continues from one birth to the next. Help children to know that there is no short cut. Once we do our bit, the Master promises deliverance.

• Is assuming the body our choice?
• Is there any hindrance to our being enlightened?
• What are vāsanas?
• When Kṛṣṇa implies we need to do our bit, what do we need to do?
• Where is your ājña cakra?
• Where is your anāhata cakra?
• To start acting from intelligence do we need to live in the head or from the heart?
• What does THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM mean?

One child or the acharya blows soap bubbles and the others try to catch the bubbles on their hand. Lightly wet the hand with the bubble mix so the bubble can stay on the hand for a while without popping

The bliss in our body and mind is as fleeting and temporary as soap bubbles.

PROCEDURE Do the meditation described in the lesson.

INFERENCE Start living from the heart. We will then start acting from intelligence.

Hold Vaakyartha Sadhas on which vāsanas, which mindsets each child would want to continue from one birth into another. Encourage each child to declare that they will practice this so the mindset becomes established. For example, to practise yoga, or playing a musical instrument.

Wake up only to express life in bliss If we really want to be enlightened, there is nothing that can stop us