Hari OM!
Bala Vihar High School Update: Stepping into Bhakti Yoga
Welcome back to another exciting year of Bala Vihar! This year, we are going to review concepts from the Bhagavad Gita, specifically focusing on Chapters 7–12: Bhakti Yoga.
As our high schoolers step into a new academic year, our goal is to bridge ancient wisdom with the everyday challenges they face—from academic stress to peer dynamics. Here is a look at what we covered in our first few weeks to set the stage for the year ahead.
Week 1: Setting the Context
We kicked off our first day with an ice-breaker game. Each student learned fun, unique facts about their peers and took turns introducing someone else.
To understand the Bhagavad Gita, one must understand where and why it was spoken. We watched an introductory video of the Mahabharata and reviewed the Kuru dynasty family tree. This historical context provided the students with a clear picture of the stakes involved on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
We also reviewed a few foundational concepts:
- The Four Purusharthas: The core human goals—Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth/security), Kama (pleasure/desire), and Moksha (liberation).
- The Concept of Dharma: Understanding duty, righteousness, and cosmic order.
Finally, we discussed why we chant the Sahanavavatu prayer at the beginning of each class—invoking protection, nourishment, and purposeful energy for both the teacher and the students so that our learning remains vibrant and free from misunderstanding.
Weeks 2 & 3: Applying Karma Yoga to Daily High School Life
In these sessions, we reviewed the key concepts of Karma Yoga covered last year, emphasizing that the Bhagavad Gita was taught on a literal battlefield, by one Grihastha (householder—Lord Krishna) to another (Arjuna).
This shows that the Gita is a practical handbook meant to guide us through life's daily battles, helping us face challenges with the right attitude.
To make this actionable, we distributed a two-page Karma Yoga Reference guide to the children. We have asked them to use this reference to analyze the specific pressures they encounter in high school. We look forward to hearing their reflections on these real-world applications throughout the year.
Week 4: Diving Into Bhakti Yoga
We started Bhakti Yoga by posing a fundamental question to the class: Who created this world?
To explain the concept of a creator possessing both the absolute knowledge and the capability to create, we looked at everyday objects like a bowl of pasta, a water bottle, and a smartphone. While an average person might only see an empty plot of land, an architect looks at the same space and visualizes a finished building. This served as an illustration of the manifest versus the unmanifest.
While the simplest explanation is that God is the intelligent force operating behind everything from microscopic organisms to vast galaxies, Bhakti Yoga takes us deeper. It reveals that there is ultimately no difference between the creator and the creation itself. The maker and the material are one.
This exploration of oneness and devotion will be our guiding principle for the rest of the academic year. We look forward to watching our students grow, question, and evolve through these timeless teachings!
Regards
Sankar & Ravi
