Bhagavad Gita - Book 17, Volume 2

THE LIFE IN YOU

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Hence we are born with a natural
inclination based upon our last life
and attitude. Depending on the
attitude, we may have the attribute
of satva, goodness, rajas, aggression,
or tamas, ignorance as our driving
nature.

Listen! If you don't bring
authenticity, inauthenticity is
waiting to take you over. Because
you trained yourself for so many
years with inauthenticity,
inauthenticity is waiting to take you
over. Bring authenticity
continuously; go on expanding, go
on expanding. Authenticity is the
possibility of Life in you.

STITCH YOUR LIFE THE WAY YOU WANT!

One of the biggest mistakes you make in your life is thinking that you are still a possibility, but your life is a reality! That is why you feel weak. Your life is not a stone wall that is already built. It is a wax model that is getting ready! Understand, the reality you experience is not a stone wall that is already built. It is only a wax model that is getting ready. Authenticity is the intelligence to alter your possibility consciously, in the right way. Authenticity is a great possibility for you to alter your life in the right way. Please be very clear, only a person whose nature is pure goodness can connect with the Divine, with Existence— yajante sāttvikā devān (17.4).

An Enlightened Master goes beyond the three guṇas of satva, rajas and tamas. He transcends these attributes because he burns out all his vāsanās, saṃskāras and karmas, of which these triguṇas are a product. An Enlightened Master has no bondages. He is not bound by desires, greed, fear or attachment. He is beyond the illusion of material existence. He dissolves into the cosmic energy when he chooses to leave the body and it perishes.

When the energy of an enlightened Master is reborn on this planet, when it takes human form, it is imbued with some satva guṇa, since all beings in physical form must by nature have an attribute. Such a being is an Incarnation, an Avatār. Upon realization of the being’s enlightened state, that Incarnation reverts to its transcendental state of being without attributes or guṇa. In some cases, the Incarnation continues upon this planet to fulfill the mission that Existence has sent it to accomplish. In other cases, upon realization of its true nature, the Incarnation reverts to its original cosmic state.

Please understand, whatever is
your ideal, whatever you hold in
high esteem, whoever you feel
connected to, whatever you
worship, that is your nature and
that decides your quality. If we
worship the right ideal, we are
established in satva. If we have
Swami Vivekananda’s poster or
Śiva’s photo in our room, we
are in satva. If we have an
actor’s photo or poster in our
room, we are in rajas and tamas.
Tamas is like watching a violent
fighting show. If you
continuously sit in front of the
television and watch fighting,
you are established in tamas.

Kṛṣṇa says that based upon our
ideal, our guṇas (attributes) can
be described

Beautifully Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Please do not torture the Soul inside your body. Don’t abuse your body. The body is the temple of God. By torturing the temple of God, you torture the Supreme Consciousness residing inside.

Spiritual relationships can never exist out of fear or greed. Never be obedient to somebody out of fear. Simply throw things out if it is forced on you out of fear. Never be afraid of anything.

Here Kṛṣṇa says that there is no need for all this penance. You cheat yourself with all this penance out of pride and ego but you never really achieve anything. The person who does these things out of ego and pride is a demon, a rākṣasa. A demon is in deep tamas, in ignorance. All that drives such a person is the boost to his ego, his inauthenticities without consideration for himself and others. Such a person is a spiritual cipher.

GOALS:

Helping the students understand
authenticity. Helping the
students realize that they must
treat their bodies as the temple
of God.

ASSESSMENTS

What do we carry when we are born? Describe it.

What is prārabdha karma?

What will happen if you don't bring authenticity in your life?

What is one of the biggest mistakes we make in our lives?

What happens when the energy of an enlightened Master is reborn on this planet?

How can we establish ourselves in satva?

Why does Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa say not to abuse the body?

How can our guṇas be described? 9.Define who is a rākṣasa.

ART OF THE DAY

ART OF THE DAY:

MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Paper
 Pens
 Pencil
 Eraser
 Markers
 Pastels
 Paint
 Brushes
 Decorations of any kind (ribbons,
colourful fabrics, sparkles)
 Scissors
 Glue
 Kitchen paper, etc.

ART OF THE DAY:

PROCEDURE: ❖ Trace your own body on a paper and decorate it as a temple. ❖ You can draw your favorite deity living inside of it. ❖ Ask the children to share what they can do on a daily basis to show their gratitude to their bodies.

INFERENCE:

❖ Beautifully Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Please do not torture the Soul inside your body. Don’t abuse your body. The body is the temple of God.

A portrait of a smiling person wearing traditional jewelry and a crown, next to a feather painting

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

MATERIALS NEEDED

Wax paper

Wax crayons (Crayola) in bright colours.

A pencil or crayon sharpener

An iron (to be used by adults only)

Glue (white glue if the kid is using it or hot glue if an adult is there)

Wooden craft sticks

Scissors

An old towel

[Figure: peacock feather]

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

PROCEDURE:

Glue craft sticks into square or triangular frames. If an adult is there, you can use hot glue. If not, have simple white glue. We used hot glue to save time.

Sharpen some crayons onto a plate or sheet of paper, so you have a nice pile of colours.

Lay an old towel on a flat surface and cover it with a sheet of wax paper.

Arrange the popsicle stick frames on the wax paper and drop bits of crayon inside the frames. You can skip this step, but by taking the time to do it, you will make sure you have enough crayon shavings to go around.

Remove the frames, but keep track of the order you had them arranged.

PROCEDURE:

6. Cover with another sheet of wax paper.

7. Carefully have an adult run an iron (set to low), across the paper,

and watch the crayon shavings melt.

8. When everything has cooled, glue the craft stick frames onto the

wax paper. Again, if an adult is there, you can use hot glue to

speed things up.

9. Trim around the edges of the frames to reveal your sun catchers.

10. Glue string or fishing line onto the backs of the sun catchers and

hang from windows or sliding glass doors using suction cup hooks,

or tap

Portrait of Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

INFERENCE:

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY: VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

TOPIC OF DISCUSSION:

“If you don’t bring authenticity, inauthenticity is waiting to take you over. Because you trained yourself for so many years with inauthenticity, inauthenticity is waiting to take you over. Bring authenticity continuously; go on expanding, go on expanding. Authenticity is the possibility of Life in you.

YOU CAN ASK STUDENTS SUCH AS:

• Define “authenticity” and “inauthenticity” as per your understanding. • Why is so much inauthenticity inside of us? • How can we align more and more to authenticity? • Why should we care about becoming more and more authentic? • What is “expansion” to you? • In what ways can you expand in your own life?

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY: VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

CONCLUSION:

Authenticity is the intelligence to alter your possibility consciously, in the right way.

Authenticity is a great possibility for
you to alter your life in the right way.
Please be very clear, only a person
whose nature is pure goodness can
connect with the Divine, with
Existence

A portrait of a deity with a blue tilak and blue lips