Pretzels! Cooking Lab Number Two!

We had a great time in our second cooking lab today making pretzels! A big thank you to Manasi mataji who helped us to make pretzels!

For a full album check out our Facebook page here

Check out the recipe here

Seeing Krishna Everywhere

yo mām pasyati sarvatra

sarvam ca mayi pasyati

tasyāham na pranasyāmi

sa ca me na pranasyati

For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me. (BG 6.30)

In this verse, what Krishna is saying is that if you can see Me everywhere and see everything in me, I am never lost to you, and you are never lost to me. Krishna’s instructions are focusing your mind so you can see Him everywhere. This verse is important because Krishna is giving Arjuna the exact vision of what will happen if you surrender to Him. A specific example of what I mean that Krishna is everywhere, is seeing him as the supersoul through  everyone else’s soul.

This verse connects to my life because it’s telling me what exactly I need to do in Krishna consciousness. I need to see Krishna everywhere and see everything in Krishna, so Krishna is never lost, nor am I ever lost to Him. Actually, one time in school, I was thinking about this verse and a new kid walked in. By seeing Krishna everywhere, I could see him as a spirit soul and not a “fat kid” as what other kids thought.

In class this previous Sunday, we were talking about equal vision. To have equal vision, you need to see everyone as a spirit soul of Krishna. I think it relates to this verse because you have to see Krishna everywhere to see everyone as a spirit soul.  Seeing everyone equally reminds me of the BG verse 5.18…

vidya-vinaya-sampanne

brahmane gavi hastini

suni caiva sva-pake ca

panditah sama-darsinah

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, and elephant, a dog, and dog-eater [outcaste].

The humble sages use equal vision and see all those things equally like how we can see all things equally by seeing Krishna everywhere.

In conclusion, this verse (6.30) is what you need to do in Krishna consciousness: see Krishna everywhere and see everything in Krishna so, Krishna isn’t lost to you and you aren’t lost to Krishna. That is the truth.

Reflections written by Rashi Matha

Forgetting the Lord

TEXT 2.22

vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya

navani grhnati naro parani

tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany

anyani samyati navani dehi

As a person puts on new garments, giving up the old ones, the soul similarly accepts the new materiel bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.

   

 In this verse Krishna explains to Arjun on how the soul in each and every body moves on as each body dies. The only reason that the soul can move to another body is because of the super soul. As stated by Srila Prahbupad in the purport, he says that "the Mukanda Unpanisad as well as the Svetasvatara Upanisad, compare the soul and Super soul to two friendly birds sitting on the same tree." Arjuna is the soul sitting on the tree engrossed in eating a fruit while Krishna the Super soul just watches. We are like Arjuna, we are the soul. We are so engrossed in our fruitful activities, we sometimes forget about Krishna.

    This verse popped out to me because when I read the purport I could relate to at times and be like, "Yup, that like me". It's not only one person who forgets Krishna at times but everyone does. When we are doing schoolwork, or housework, we are so engrossed in what we are doing we forget about Krishna.This forgetfulness is why we struggle to easily accept the Lord as our Supreme spiritual master. But as soon as we do we become free of all lamentations.

Reflections written by Keshav Agiwal

Moods and Tolerance

mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya

śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ

āgamāpāyino ’nityās

tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata

O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed. (2.14)

Everyday one’s mood changes. It can turn from happy to sad to angry, etc. Though, most people don’t let these emotions distract them from their work. In this verse Krishna is saying exactly that. None of these emotions are permanent and they will eventually fade away. People should tolerate their reactions to such emotions and not let them interfere with their duty.

Lately these days, people let their emotions get the best of them. Having emotions in our daily lives is fine, but only if we react properly to them. Feelings may seem like a small aspect in our lives, but they are actually take up a rather large section. All of our decisions are based on our feelings and the feelings of others. If society understood this, I believe we would have less of our daily life dilemmas than we do today.

This verse, I believe, connects to numerous people. Even though one may say they truly understand this verse and apply it in every aspect of their lives, it is very difficult to actually do so. In my life, I luckily have not had to face any difficult hardships. Though, if I ever do I must tolerate it and not let it disturb me.

This verse makes me question people around me. We always hear tragic things in the news, what if one person had read this verse? Would they have acted differently? Would that tragic accident have never happened?

To conclude, everyone must remember that no happiness or distress is permanent, those feelings will eventually fade away; knowing so one must not let these reactions to our feelings disturb them from their duty.

Written by Rishika Voruganti

Friend or Foe

“For he who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best friend, but for one who has failed to do so his mind will remain his greatest enemy.” (Bhagavad Gita 6.6) This quote has a very true meaning to it. The mind activates many emotions and feelings. There is a saying “Choose your friends wisely.” Similarly, the mind has the capability to do many things good or bad.

We all have a choice. Some may affect us temporally of will stick with us the rest of our lives. We choose our personality and who we want to be every day of our lives. For example, if a person is given 10 dollars that person has a choice to use it for good or use it for something not so good.

In life someone or something has to be in control. It can be a boss, the president, or ourselves. Additionally, it can be our senses or our mind. Our mind is like an untamed animal out of control and dangerous. If we manage to tame the mind then and only then will we manage to control our senses and our emotions. However, if failed to do so then the person’s world will be filled with hate, greed, etc.

“The individual is the passenger in the car of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument and the senses are the horses.”(Bhagavad Gita 287) Basically, the soul is sitting in the middle of the material body. Intelligence is the driver, the mink are the reins and, and the senses are the untamed horses. If the driver (Intelligence) grasps hold of the reins (The Mind) and tames the horses (The 5 Senses) then the soul (The Individual) will avoid all calamities. In other words, if intelligence takes over the mind and conquers it then he will walk with his mind on his side and will be able to go anywhere.

To conclude, when the mind has been taken over by superior intelligence then the body and soul will avoid crashing into material desires. If intelligence doesn’t take control over the mind the senses will pull the mind off path and the soul and driver will most certainly crash.

By: Devansh Sheth

Necessity of A Spiritual Master

TEXT 2.7

karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah

prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah

yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me

shishyas te ’ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam

Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.

   

In this verse, Arjuna is accepting Krishna as his Spiritual Master. In the last few verses, Arjuna and Krishna discussed Arjuna’s dilemma like friends. Because of this friendly relationship, Arjuna is unable to understand what Krishna is trying to teach Arjuna. However, now that Arjuna has accepted Krishna as his Spiritual Master, the whole Bhagavad Gita is taking a new perspective.

Arjuna accepting Krishna as his Spiritual Master can be used to teach many people. This teaches others to find a Spiritual Master. Accepting a guru as your Spiritual Master will not only teach you more about Krishna Consciousness, but will also strengthen your connection with Krishna. Ones acceptance of a Spiritual Master is very important in order to reach Krishna at the end of your life.

   

This verse has really motivated me. Before reading this verse, I always thought that I was not going to get a Spiritual Master because I thought it was too much work and it was unnecessary. However, reading this verse really changed my feeling towards choosing a Spiritual Master. I know feel that it is EXTREMELY necessary to find a Spiritual Master. I now understand why finding a Spiritual Master is necessary in order to continue in my spiritual life. Arjuna’s acceptance of Krishna as his Spiritual Master is not only a turning point in the Bhagavad Gita, but also in MY life.

Reflections written by Toshan Vyasyaraju

Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits!

We had a great time at our first cooking lab this past weekend! Students worked together in teams to make the dough, roll the biscuits, offer them to the Lord, and of course the best part...honor them as prasadam!

See the full album of pictures at our Facebook page here.

Soul Debate!

This week we had an enthralling debate with our "special guests" on the existence of the soul. Students were both passionate and articulate as they conveyed their arguments, and even convinced our guests to rethink their positions on the existence of the soul. Check out the footage below!

Existential Crisis!

This week we dynamically ventured into the second chapter of the Gita.  The students faced the horror of (almost) having to throw sharp darts at pictures of their most loved ones.  They stepped into Arjuna's shoes and experienced some of the real-life emotions that Arjuna might have actually felt on the battlefield of Kuruksetra.  

I was enthralled by our class discussion and students courage to share their experience as they faced the prospect of throwing darts at pictures of their loved ones. Students experienced a variety of emotions, fear, anxiety, confusion, shock and disbelief being just a few. We then dove into modern day cinema to examine Spiderman’s existential crisis as he struggled to balance his personal vs. superhero personas. Class concluded with a personal values inventory, in hopes that if we all reflect on our own values, and hold them close to our heart, we will be able to face an existential crisis, no matter when it comes our way.

Students ended the day by sharing a take away realization. Some shared they learned about the precarious nature of existential crisis.  Others mentioned the importance of holding onto personal values. I was very impressed and inspired by the engagement and profundity demonstrated by our class.

Even though I have been given the service of facilitating Sunday School, I also learned something important that day and reflected on the importance of depending on Krishna. That day, we chanted the following verse in class:

"Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness.  In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me.  Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You.  Please instruct me."  - Bhagavad Gita 2.7

At some point Krishna is going to test us.  He wants to see what we will do when we find ourselves under pressure to make choices about who we are and what we live for.  Sometimes He will make it easy for us to choose Him, and other times He might make it very difficult.  In those difficult moments, we will be forced to let go of who we thought we were in order to become who Krishna wants us to be.  In life, when we are really faced with fear, anxiety, confusion, shock and disbelief, I pray that we can all choose Krishna and put our faith in Him to guide us through.

I would like to thank our Sunday school class for sharing their personal, thoughtful insights and bringing enthusiasm and energy to class! Can’t wait for next week!

(Reflections written by Gopi Kumari devi dasi)

Sunday School Room Miracle!

                                         Before                              After

                                          Before                             After

                                           Closet Before            Closet After

                                                              Entry way-New Room

This past week, I participated in service project to redecorate our Sunday School space. Last Sunday, my heart dropped at looking at the garbage full closet. How were we going to do this? Sunday School started in exactly one week. Would this transformation actually happen? Shoving my thoughts aside, I rolled up my sleeves, and joined the other volunteers. I guess all we could do is try.

Throughout the week, magically, the room began to take shape, thanks to the selfless service of two of our community members. I stood back and marveled how slowly but surely, the closet became empty, and the walls became refreshed with new paint. By the time Sunday rolled around, the room transformed into a beautiful new oasis for all of our Grades 6-8 students.

Krishna boldly declares in the Gita: 

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form — to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.
 
As I stood in our new space, my heart filled with gratitude and joy. I could feel the hand of Lord Krishna in our efforts. While we possessed no knowledge or plan as to how this project would take shape, somehow or the other Krishna reciprocated with us just as He promised in the Gita. He sent us the volunteers, the will power, and the patience to make the impossible possible. I need to remember God's promise more often.