Mar 22, 2026 - JCHYK Gr. 10-12 (Sunday AM)

Hari om everyone, 

Here's a quick synopsis of our class today.  We started with some breathing techniques and chanting BG ch. 12.  We have learnt till verse 10 now, and we are super impressed with the group!  We can't say that enough times, they are chanting wonderfully :).  

This is a very animated class with lots of discussions. We can recount just a few highlights in our report :).  

Quirky Question (QQ) of the Day: "What enters without permission, but stays only if you invite it?"

Answers flew in.

"A virus?"
"Silence?"
"Noise?"
"Courage?"
"Conversation?"

We smiled. "All interesting… but think deeper. The answer has to fit the bill in all aspects."

And then it clicked - Words.

"They enter your ears without permission," we said.
"But they stay (in your mind) only if you invite them — if you actually listen."

That shifted the room.

Because then came the real question:

"Are you hearing… or are you listening?"

They said, "We hear all the time."
We said, "Exactly. And that's the problem."

Hearing is automatic. Listening is intentional.

We saw it clearly:

• When we're daydreaming, we hear, but don't listen

• When we're distracted, we hear, but don't retain

• When the mind isn't engaged, nothing stays

And suddenly, last week's lesson connected.

"Arjuna wasn't ready to listen at first," someone recalled.
"Yes," we said, "and what did Krishna do?"

"Stayed silent."

Exactly.

Krishna didn't rush to advise. He waited.
Only when Arjuna said, "I am confused, guide me," did the teaching begin.

So what did we learn?

From Arjuna — empty your mind, get ready to receive.
From Krishna — be a patient, compassionate listener.

Then the conversation deepened.

We moved into pain vs suffering.

"Pain is natural," we said.
"Suffering is optional."

A simple example made it real:
Holding a glass of water isn't heavy… until you refuse to put it down.

"And what do we do to pain?" we asked.
"We keep holding on to it," they said.

Exactly.

We replay incidents, retell stories, relive emotions — again and again.

"But why?" came the big question.

"Because we like being the victim, we enjoy tending to our wounds," we said.

That sparked a debate.

"We don't like suffering!"
"Then why do we hold on to it?"
"Because of victimhood…?"

Yes! We uncovered a hard truth:

At the center of most suffering is "me."
"My hurt. My image. My story."

Even guilt, even self-criticism —
When we dug deeper, it still circled back to "me."

That realization hit home.

From there, we moved to dharma and intent.

"Is telling the truth always right?" someone asked.

We explored the beautiful guideline:

• Speak the truth

• Speak it pleasantly

• Don't speak what is true but unpleasant

• Don't speak that which is pleasant but untrue, either. 

"How you say it matters," they said.
"And why you say it matters even more!" we added.

Because actions by themselves don't define dharma — intent does.

"Is running dharma or adharma?" we asked. 

"Huh?" they questioned. 

We extended, 'What if I'm a thief? Is running with your stuff dharma?  But what if I'm a cop? Is running to catch the thief dharma?' 

"oh!" 

Exactly!  The action of running itself doesn't define if it is dharma or adharma.

"A surgeon cuts — is that wrong?"
"A thief cuts — is that the same?"

Same action. Completely different intent.

That clarity stayed.

We closed with a powerful shift in perspective:

"Focus on your effort, not your outcome."

Do your dharma, but don't cling to results.

Unique Statement Review

And then came a beautiful flow of reflections:

"Pain is natural, suffering is optional."
"We hold on to suffering because of victimhood."
"Hearing is not the same as listening."
"You can choose what to let stay in your mind."
"Introspection is necessary to grow."
"The way you say something can build or break."
"Intent defines whether something is right or wrong."
"Focus on improving, not just outcomes."
"Aging with grace is about mastering the mind."

And one line that summed it all up:

"You hear everything — but you don't have to listen to everything." (We can let hurtful words of others slide and not be bothered by them.)

A quiet but powerful takeaway.

Because that's where real freedom begins.

Here's something to contemplate - 

Regards,
Rashmi and Jacqueline.