Kṛṣṇa is the Creator
balaṃ balavatāṃ cāhaṃ kāmarāgavivarjitaṃ dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo'smi bharatarṣabha
I am the strength of the strong, and I am procreative energy in living beings, devoid of lust and in accordance with religious principles, O Bharatarṣabha (Lord of Bhārata).
The life-giving energy as transcendental spiritual energy.
sa evāyaṁ mayā te'dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ bhakto 'si me sakhā ceti rahasyaṁ hyetaduttamam
That ancient science of Enlightenment, or entering into eternal bliss, is today taught by me to you because you are my devotee as well as my friend. You will certainly understand the supreme mystery of this science.
Logic can never lead you to Self-Realization. The qualification to receive the Truth is Devotion.
ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasāstāmasāśca ye matta eveti tānviddhi na tvahaṃ teṣu te mayi
All states of being — be they of goodness (sāttvika), passion (rajas) or ignorance (tamas) —all emanate from Me. I am independent of them but they are dependent on Me
Satva, rajas and tamas, commonly translated as goodness or calmness, passion or aggression, and ignorance or inaction, combine in many ways in a person.
I am the procreative energy,' says the Lord. 'I am the seed of all living beings.' How can one be a Creator, if one cannot procreate? It is said that once Kṛṣṇa was crossing the river Yamuna with a group of gopīs, women devotees.
The river was in spate. Kṛṣṇa said to Yamuna, 'If it is true that I am a brahmacāri, part and let me walk across.' The river parted and Kṛṣṇa walked to the other bank. A Sannyāsi who watched this was dumbstruck. 'Kṛṣṇa, a brahmacāri? He walks with these women who are His lovers, and He says He is a brahmacāri and the river parts for Him! How can this be?'
That is what Kṛṣṇa explains here, 'I am the procreative energy, but without attachment and without fantasy.
I am the ultimate reality!'
Fantasies are the root cause of our problems. With each fantasy coming true, more fantasies arise. We can never be in reality. To be in reality one must be in the present moment. When you are in the present moment you are Kṛṣṇa.
When we hanker after the past and speculate about the future, we slip into fantasies.
We are no longer within the boundaries of our body. This way of living will lead only to suffering. All you need to do to be blissful is, renounce your fantasies.
You do not need to renounce what material things you have with you.
Enjoy your wealth, enjoy your work, enjoy your spouse and children. You have earned what you have. Enjoy what is your due. Just stop fantasizing about what you do not have. Stop running after more acquisitions; stop and take time to enjoy what you have acquired. Move into the present, here and now, into reality, and you will be a brahmacāri! Kṛṣṇa talks about the guṇas, the natural attributes in these verses.
The three guṇas that Kṛṣṇa refers to are satva, rajas and tamas, commonly translated as goodness or calmness, passion or aggression and ignorance or inaction. Guṇa does not refer to the state a person is in.
Guṇa causes that state to happen. Satva by itself is not goodness or calmness. It is the building block that leads to calmness
Understand that fantasies are the root cause of our problems. Introduce the children to satva, rajas and tamas (the next lesson goes into more details on this topic)
- What did Kṛṣṇa do when he wanted to cross the river Yamuna?
- Why are fantasies a problem?
- What do you need to do to be blissful?
- What are satva, rajas and tamas?
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Paper 2. Colour pens
PROCEDURE
Have the children draw the scene of Kṛṣṇa and the group of gopīs crossing the parted river Yamuna
INFERENCE
When you are in the present moment you are Kṛṣṇa
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Small pieces of paper with a word written on it then folded over so the word is hidden. Example words: Kṛṣṇa, gopīs, calmness, aggression, inaction, building block, fantasy, seed, Creator. A bowl for the folded papers
PROCEDURE:
Each child takes one piece of paper from the bowl and reads it without showing anyone. For younger children, use pictures instead of words. They then take turns to act out their word, and the other children try to guess their word. Those watching can ask questions but the answer can only be yes or no
INFERENCE:
Move to the present, the here and now, to achieve at this activity.
Hold Vaakyartha sadhas on the times when the children have hankered after the past and speculated about the future. Ask them how they would live differently now that they know that fantasies are the root cause of our problems.