Character Sketch🔗

• Śakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana embodies the pattern of self-hatred, which is cunningness personified.
• Droṇa represents all the best knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who guide us but are unable to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the Enlightened Master, the incarnation steps in and guides us.
• Duryodhana, represents one's ego or root-pattern, the most difficult to conquer as it leads one to self destruction. One needs the full help of the Master here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes us deny and disconnect from the Master as well.

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

Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion.

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

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

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

conflict-free way.

simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Persevere and See Kṛṣṇa In Everything

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?

No! It only creates low energy and powerlessness.

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 the words of Swamiji,

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!

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?

MATERIALS NEEDED:

❖ Paper

• ❖ Color pens

PROCEDURE

Get the children to draw Swamiji sitting on the rock at the foothills of Arunachala and how he saw everything around him

INFERENCE

Swamiji experienced seeing the Supreme in everything We are deeply, totally and intensely connected to the whole Universe