Sep 12, 2025 - Grade 8 (Friday)

Hariom & Greetings, parents

"Yatho Dharma Tato Jayah". We began with our daily prayers and started the class with the introduction of the mahavakya, "Yatho Dharma, Tatho Jayah." This mahavakya is recited multiple times in the timeless and ageless classic historical epic of Sanatana culture - the Mahābhārata, an ancient epic with 100,000 verses. There are a couple of interesting places where this vakaya is uttered, one of them being when Duryodhana goes to his parents to seek blessings before embarking on the Kurukshetra war. While Dhritharastra blesses his son to be Jayosthu, vijayi bhava, Gandhari blesses and utters Yatho Dharma, thatho Jayah to Duryodhana in her blessings. Duryodhana is disappointed, feels slighted, and is unhappy that his mother did not bless him to be victorious, for that is what he wanted most. Gandhari, herself a noble soul, could not bring herself to bless her son to be victorious, for she knew "Victory shall be bestowed only on the righteous and where righteousness prevails. Duryodhana was neither virtuous nor did he fight to establish righteousness.

We began with the story of the Pandava prince, Yudhisthira, who, after winning a great war, was deeply saddened by the loss of his kith and kin. Seeking answers about life, he went to lord Krishna, who advised him to the great intellect Bhishma Pitāmaha. While he was surprised at this suggestion of Krishna, he followed his advice and went to Bhishma, lying on a bed of arrows, along with his brothers and wife Draupadi. This dialogue between Dharmaraj and Bheeshma is a master treatise on how a life should be well lived, the qualities of great kings, emperors, what is evil, punya, papam etc. Bheeshma explained that he had repeatedly advised the wicked Duryodhana to live by Dharma, but he refused. Bhishma's final words suggest to the Pandavas that "Where there is Krishna, there is Dharma, and where there is Dharma, there is victory". This powerful message teaches us that to be victorious in life, we must act with righteousness. This is the substance of the teaching of this entire year.

To help the children understand the concept of the law of Karma, we conducted a "Karma Activity." We prepared a gift box with various strings hanging out. Each string had an item tied to the other end—some were desirable, and some were not. The children could only see the loose ends and had to choose a string to pull. We hope this simple activity taught them three essential lessons about the Law of Karma:

• Every action has a consequence. Newton's Third Law of Physics is similar. When you pull one end of a string, the other end comes along automatically. An action (karma) always has a result (karmaphala). Every action reacts.
• Only the doer gets the results of the action. Just as the kid who pulled the string only got the toy tied to the other end!
• Manifestation of results may take time - some are instantaneous, some take longer. Some strings were short, indicating that specific actions have immediate results, such as eating to satisfy hunger. Other strings were very long, showing that some actions may take a very long time—maybe even another lifetime—to yield their results. However, one thing is sure: a result will definitely come.

The Mahābhārata also explains this concept by stating that just as a calf finds its mother among thousands of cows, so too does karma phala, one's action, always find its actor to give them the results of the karma.

We moved further to share the story of a king who had three nagging questions: When is the right time to start a work? Who is the most important person? And what would be the most essential work?. The king went to a wise old man in the woods to find his answers. Instead of just giving him the answers, the old man guided him through an example. The king helped the old man dig in his garden and then, when a wounded man collapsed in front of them, the king nursed his wounds. The wise man then revealed the answers:

• The right time is "Now" because the present moment is the only one you can control.
• The most critical person is the one you are with at this moment.
• The most crucial work is to use our bodies to serve others.

The lesson emphasizes that "to do good to others is righteousness, Dharma, and to harm anyone is sinful".The lesson also briefly introduced the idea that we should avoid ten specific karmas—three sins committed by the body, four through speech, and three of the mind. We will be exploring these in more detail in the upcoming lessons. By connecting these timeless stories and principles, we hope to guide the children toward a life of righteousness and victory.

Encourage children to review the Mahabharata and familiarize themselves with all the main characters, starting to think critically about each one, such as Yudhistira, Bheeshma, Shakuni, Duryodhana, Karna, Draupadi, Drona, and Dhritarashtra. 

We practiced the Bhagavad Gita chapter 15, the first two verses. Here is the link to the slokas

BG Chapter-15 – Friendly URL: https://bit.ly/BGCh15Playlist 

Regards & Pranamams

Shivram Vempaty & Vijayalakshmi Hari