April

April 30

Materials covered in class:

• Talked about presentation from last week

• Talked about most important value

• Ahimsa and what can be ahimsa

• When to step in to a violent situation

  • Preventing harm

  • People who can’t fight for themselves

• Helping:

  • When someone is in need

  • Assisting others

  • Without exceptions 

  • Without judgement

  • Perspective matters

Homework:

• Read Ch 33 & 34 - Charity & Seva:

  • What’s the difference

• Some people will research a few charities for a fundraiser:

  • Find name, values, who are they helping, are they certified (501c3)

  • You can use charitynavigator.org

  • Class will vote on a charity

April 23

-Amazing job with your presentations

-No homework 

April 16

-Keep working on slides and be prepared to present on Sunday.

-Memorize the Gita Slokas 

      - Slokas 62 and 63 (chapter 2) 

-Be able to say your selected sloka/mantra for presentation 

April 9

Today in class we spent time preparing for our upcoming presentation. We discussed good presentation tips as well as did breakout sessions to prepare for topics. 

Few things to keep in mind about the topics: 

• There are 4 things each student has to present for each topic: 

  • Meaning, real life example, Hindu history example, any prayer related to the topic

• The slides can be customized per the students, can leave it blank or add design/color/images to it if you see fit

• For the prayer, you can pick a prayer from anywhere, Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, General HATS prayers, etc.

  • During presentation, the student will have to say the prayer they selected, read the meaning, and be able to explain why they chose that prayer for that topic

  • Many topics won't have direct prayers, it's ok to think outside the box and find meaning in the prayers that match the qualities and meaning of the topics

  • (e.g., RESPECT: prayer could be gurur brahma or twameva mata, because they talk about how we should respect important people in our lives, OR could be sahana vavatu because it talks about how we should work together)

• Also, all students will have to say the two Gita shlokas together as a class at the end, so please practice and memorize with meaning:

  • https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/62

  • https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/63

  • Next week in class, we will call on random students and ask them to sing either of these prayers without reading

Presentation slides:

• CLICK HERE to download slide template

  • Example slides have been added as a reference

• Each student should download the slides and fill out the information based on their assigned topics

• They should use the textbook materials, anything we covered in class (see notes on webpage), and personal information for the slides

Dates: 

• 4/16 - deadline!! finish slides and send to Tanisha: sinha.sana12@gmail.com

  • The final slides can be your own Google Slides shared with Tanisha - or downloaded and emailed separately as a pptx file - DO NOT SEND PDFs

• 4/23 - presentation during dharma class time (parents/family/friends requested to join!) @ 10:30am in auditorium

March

March 26

Please see End of Year Presentation details for Dharma 7.

Presentation slides:

• CLICK HERE to download slide template

• Each student should download the slides and fill out the information based on their assigned topics

• They should use the textbook materials, anything we covered in class (see notes on webpage), and personal information for the slides

Gita Shlokas to memorize with meaning: 

• Chapter 2, Shloka 62: https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/62

• Chapter 2, Shloka 63: https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/63

DATES:

• 4/9 - have notes and details for each section ready - will do breakout sessions in class to review and finalize

• 4/16 - deadline!! finish slides and send to Tanisha: sinha.sana12@gmail.com

  • The final slides can be your own Google Slides shared with Tanisha - or downloaded and emailed separately as a pptx file - DO NOT SEND PDFs

• 4/23 - presentation during dharma class time (parents/family/friends requested to join!) @ 10:30am in auditorium

Tips on Doing a Good Presentation:

• Know Your Audience

  • Think about their skill level

  • Present as if you’re teaching the topic for the first time

  • Have some formality

• Get Comfortable with your Environment

  • Limit your distractions

  • Stand comfortably, but not TOO comfortable

  • Be alert

• Focus on speaking skills

  • LOUD - but don’t scream/yell

  • Test sentence - ask can you hear me clearly

  • Take your time - take pauses between thoughts

  • ENUNCIATE - pronunciation, emphasize, open your mouth

  • NO MUMBLING

  • LCS - Loud, Clear, Slow

  • OK to use hand to emphasize, but not too much

• Learn from the Pros

  • Watch some good TED talks or other presentations

  • Learn from how others are doing

  • Watch a presentation on a topic of your interest

• Know your Material

  • Be FLUENT in your topic

  • Be the EXPERT in your topic

  • DON’T READ OFF SENTENCES

  • Speak in your own words

  • OK to have reference points - but don’t be robotic

  • USE YOUR OWN WORDS!!!!!!

  • Don’t read off slides directly

  • Make it a conversation

• Practice

  • Practice practice practice

  • Record yourself - listen, try again

  • Build your confidence in material and skills

  • Encourage yourself

  • Practice saying your prayer!!

• MISTAKES ARE OK

  • If you mess up, pause, take a breath, start again

  • Don’t panic if you make a mistake

• Slides

  • Shouldn't be too wordy

  • Should supplement what you're talking about

  • OK to use picture and visual aids

  • Don't make it too colorful or distracting

  • Font should be easy to read

Topic Assignments - Click here

March 19

Commitment 

• Work on time

• Sticking to something (Ideals and values)

• Grit

• Persistence

• Promise to self

• Internal motivation

-School/work

-Home

• Chores

• Family/pets

-Self

• Exercise 

• Sleep

• Yoga

• Food

• Hygiene

• 
  

-Friends

-Sports

-Hobbies

-World

• Environment

• Economy

• Politics

• Charity and service

Homework

• For the topic chosen in class

• Find examples

• Examples in Hindu history

• A prayer related to a value or topic

March 12

Ishwar: 

Someone who is the master, supreme power, energy(Bhrahman + control)

   -Eesh(ish):Master of 

   -War(vaR):Possessor of 

Bhagwaan: 

    Someone who possesses extreme values(Manifested for of Ishwar “values”)

Bhag: 

    Prosperity 

Wan(van): 

    Possessor of 

Bhraman: 

    Energy (Shakti)(Unmanifested shakti)

Yog

Karma(actions)->Bhakti(Devotion)->Gyan(knowledge) 

How to practice VALUES

• Do everyday

• Repetition

• Second nature

• HABIT

• 21 DAYS

Habits to choose from

• Making bed

• Exercising 

• Household chores

• A compliment a day

• Studying

• Waking up on time

• Healthy meals

• Praying

• Drinking “enough” water

For presentation pick a subject within one of these chapters

• 6 internal enemies (Kaam, Kroadh, Lobh, Moh,Mad, Matsarya)

• 4 forms of worship (Japa, Pooja, Yagna, Yoga)

• Humility/Respect

• Ahimsa

• Empathy, Compassion, Pity

• Religions

• Ashtanga yoga

• Chariot Analogy 

• Intellect

Homework

• Read chapter 41: Commitment

March 5

• Buddhi-Naasho

• Pranashyati (Bhakti yog)

• The right reason

• Ideals

• Supreme energy

Gaining knowledge for the right reason,“wisdom”, “intellect” (Gyan yog)

 Do the right thing “practicing”, avoiding inaction/wrong thing (Karma yog)

Yog

• Karma yog- Action

• Gyan yog- Knowledge 

• Bhakti yog- Devolution 

Homework

• Find meaning of Bhagwan/Ishwar

• Find the meaning of Geeta Ch 2 (62-63) word by word

February

February 26

Materials covered in class:

We talked about different religions and compared

Primarily compared Abrahamic Religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) to Hinduism

Christianity: People: Jesus, Religious Text: Bible, Place of Worship: Church

Judaism: People: Moses, Religious Text: Torah, Place of Worship: Synagogue

Islam: People: Muhammad, Religious Text: Quran, Place of Worship: Mosque

Hindu: People: None; Religious Texts: Gita, Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharta, Upanishad; Place of Worship: Mandir; doesn't have defined prayer rules

Similarities: Believe in supreme power, value system

Homework:

Find the meaning of "Bhagwan"

Gita Ch 2 Shl 62-63 meaning

February 19

Materials covered in class:

Reviewed methods of worship (japa, pooja, yoga, yajna)

Discussed yajna, yajna is energy, and compared Supreme Energy to avatars of God

Avatars are representations of the values of Supreme Energy; avatars are role models for us to follow the correct ideals and values

Saraswati - knowledge, Ram - duty, Durga - strength, Hanuman - bravery, Krishna - ideal

Discussed how religions differ in culture but preach the same values

Homework:

Read Chapter 52

Find similarities between Hinduism and two other religions

February 5

Materials covered in class:

• Respect towards others vs self respect

• Talked about how both are necessary

• Different ways to worship god:

  • Japa:

    • Saying Gods name many times (108 times)

  • Pooja

  • Yagna

  • Yoga

Homework:

• Choose your favorite mantra and find its meaning

• What is yoga?

January

January 29

What is our social identity: 

• We are American, but we are not “typical” - because we look different

• Coming to HATS helps us build our identity

• We get treated differently because of our heritage background

Humility: 

• “Humble” 

• Not being too proud or vain

• If you are in position of power, not too proud

• Modest about your skills 

• Downplaying yourself 

• Caring for, considering, thinking about what others may need

• Opposite of internal enemy: Greed, Pride/Ego

• Being able to accept the positive

• Not over exaggerating 

• Self:

  • Accept compliments

  • Acknowledge accomplishments

  • Avoid bragging

  • Not comparing

  • Be proud, but not egoistic 

  • WHY are you doing what you’re doing 

  • Be AUTHENTIC & genuine

• Humility is hard to practice - you cannot say you’re humble

• Gandhi Ji - When you practice your other values - you will automatically get humility

  • Kindness, understanding, respect, nonviolence, patience, compassion, intelligence

• Humility is a feeling - it’s not an action 

• Humility is how OTHER people see you 

• If you talk to someone about humility - “I try” 

Respect: 

• Listening to people, pay attention 

• Properly responsive 

• Following other people’s choices or rules 

• Integrity and authenticity 

• Showing honor 

• Admiration for others

• Treating others with values 

• Manners

• How do your actions affect others 

• Focus on doing the right thing - OK to speak up

• Blind respect

  • Respect without thinking or knowing if you need to 

  • Faking respect because you think you have to 

  • E.g. age, status, money, accomplishments, gender, “hierarchy”

  • Assigning importance because of “accomplishments” and “things”

  • Real respect should be earned 

  • You can act respectful to everyone

  • Focus on values, personality, right/wrong

  • E.g. you can act with kindness - but don’t have to follow blindly

• SELF RESPECT 

HW: 

• Example of self respect - when did you stand up for yourself

• Ask parents same thing - especially opposite someone “in power” 

• Chapter: 51 - Performance of worship

January 22

Meditation 

• Don't get distracted by anything

• While meditation don't think so much 

• If a person truly wants to experience god or the light; they have to be focused. 

 The reason why we focus

• If we love something very much

“God is a very powerful entity that created the whole universe”

-When one dies their soul leaves the body

• The soul never dies

-Knowledge is wisdom

 -Swan represents the ability to discriminate something from the truth

-Every feeling we have always comes from our soul

-“‘We are all one’ comes from our soul”

- Our minds are constantly analyzing everything

• Our mind is constantly busy

• It's like a computer that never shuts down ever

Steps for meditation

• Get in a comfortable position(sit in stillness)

• Don't talk

• Tell your mind to sit still

• Close your eyes

• Take a deep breath (slowly gently)

Homework

• Meditate for at least 21 days for 15 minutes a day. 

• Learn Sahana Vavatu

• Ask yourself why you come every Sunday for HATS, then ask your parents why. 

January 15

Unintentional violence

• Joking

• Sarcasm

• Teasing

• Meanness

• Anger

• Accidental hurt

• Sports

Empathy

• Kind

• Not pity->not feeling bad->Ego!

• Showing you care

• Compaction

• Perspective of others 

• Sharing emotions

• Understanding others

• Respecting choices

Homework

• Write examples of empathy vs unintentional violence

• Read chapter 32- humility and respect 

January 8

Ahimsa (Non-violence)

• Not hurting

• Verbally

• Physically

• Emotionally 

• Self

• Others

• Beings (plants and animals)

Resisting hurtful reaction

Clear communicating 

Good thoughts

There are 2 types of Ahimsa

• Physical

• Non-physical

• Bullying

• Offending

• Evil thoughts

• Lying

• Discrimination/judging

• Gossip

Physical reaction

• Hit back

• Leave

• Cry

• Tell someone

Non-physical reaction

• Speak back

• Leave

• Cry

• Tell someone

Both these actions lead too or start to from

• Anger

• Revenge

• Attention

• Trauma

• “What they know”

• Internal enemies

Homework

• Read chapter 31-empathy

•  “unintentional violence” ( 2 of each type)

December

December 11

Materials covered in class:

• Talked about empathy and compared it to compassion and pity

  • Empathy:

    • Perspective of others

    • Connecting/relating to others

    • Respecting choices

    • Intention is important

  • Compassion:

    • Generous

    • Helping/sharing others

    • Action

  • Pity

    • Feeling sorry for others

• Thought about in terms Mahabharata and Ramayana

HW:

• Read Ch 19 - Hypocrisy and Ch 29 - Compassion

December 4

Ignorance 

• Selfish

• Stupidity 

• Not caring

• Not listening 

• Hypocrisy 

• Not wanting to learn

• All internal empires combined

Can end up looking like

• Ignoring

• Not acting

• “Not my problem”

• Judgmental

Result

• Bullying

• Violence 

• Discrimination

• Gossipping

• Unintentional 

• Stereotype

• Asians are smart= racial

• Religion 

• Gender

Homework

• Read chapter 13 = empathy 

• Write 2 examples on unintentional ignorance

• Read about intellect

November

November 20

Pride/Ego

• Value yourself over others “me”

• Stubbornness

• “Higher”

“Golden Rule”

 What's a problem with the golden rule (perceptive matters)

• “I am nice to everyone, why aren't people nice to me”

Jealousy

• “Reaction” to all internal

• Hard work

• Doesn’t guarantee “result”

In the vicious cycle, every internal enemy connects to each other in some way, or causes another one to occur. 

“Values” in Sanskrit: Sanskrit

Homework:

• Read chapter about Ignorance

• A value from Stephen Covey 

• Write a few sentences on which internal enemy is the most harmful to yourself/you parents. 

November 13

Delusion

• Losing touch with reality 

• Drastic measures

• Not thinking clearly (not based on facts).

“You don’t have to be ‘the best’, you have to do your best.”

Examples of Delusion

• Always right

• Trauma 

• “It's not fair”

• Arguments

• Hypocrisy 

Examples from the Mahabharata 

• Dhritarashtra

• Gandhari

• Yudhishthira

• Bheeshma

What is being fair

• Everyone gets what they need

  • Equity

• Justice

• Equality

  • Equity

Pride/Ego

• “ME”

• Value yourself

• Better than others 

• Self-stubbornness

• “Selfish”

When does Pride/Ego start

• Age

• Social status

• Money

• Job

• Relationships

• Physical

• Strength

• Speed

• Looks

• Things

  • Clothes

  • Electronics

  • Toys

• Grades

• Competition

• “Locations”

• Intelligence

(All lead to some sort of discrimination)

Homework

• Write down what you think is fairness

• How has a moment of ego or pride affected your relationship

• Read chapter about Jealousy

November 6

Greed/ Lobha

• Wanting/ when some else:

  • Has something 

• “Big desire” (bad)

• Luxury 

• Don’t need
  
  

• More and more and more

• Hard to limit

• Uncontrollable

Results in:

• Bad actions (lead to)

  • Harm

  • Emotional hurt

  • Steal

  • Hurt relationships 

Homework:

Read about Delusion and Pride from the book

October

October 30

Materials covered in class:

Talked more about the Internal Enemies

Went into depth about Kama/Desire and Krodha/Anger; 

• Kama/Desire:

  • Positive & Negative Consequences: (over)spending, conflict, hard work, helping others

  • The intent determines if it is good or bad: it can lead to good using values but can lead to bad if dealt with greed

• Krodha/Anger: 

  • Defined as strong negative emotion, being upset, acting bad

  • Causes: Religion/culture/beliefs, conflict with people (friends, family)

  • Forms: anger & mad (extreme); frustration, annoyance, irritation (mild)

  • Negative reactions: violence & bad language, obstructing rules, negative thoughts, ranting

  • Positive reactions: deep breaths (calms, focus), ignore/step away (physical/mental), conversation/explain perspective, get help

Homework:

• Read chapters 15 & 16

• Two personal examples of negative reactions to anger and the possible positive reactions

October 23

We did Diwali crafts in class this week. Please review homework from previous classes. 

October 16

Dharma 7 had meditation this week. 

Next week we will do Diwali activities and continue conversation from previous homeworks. 

October 2

Materials covered in class:

Talked about difference between ideals and values; ideals are external vs values are internal

6 Internal Enemies and their Sanskrit names:

• Desire (Kama)

• Anger (Krodha)

• Greed (Lobha)

• Delusion (Moha)

• Pride (Mad)

• Jealousy (Matsarya)

Homework:

• Connections between the six internal enemies

• Read Ch 13 & 14

• Optional: Raavan at Home (Email for submitting your Raavan: hatsadministrator@hsmn.org)

September

September 25

Materials covered in class:

Talked about the big differences between humans and other animals:

• Thinking beyond surviving

• More complex thinking

• Understand karma

• Develop ideals and values

Ideals vs Values

• Ideals:

  • Standard set

  • Aims & morals

  • Goals

  • Rules to follow

• Values:

  • Important to you

  • Behaviors & traits

  • Something you believe in

Covered Chariot Analogy:

• Horses - senses

• Chariot - body

• Rider - Atma

• Charioteer- intellect

• Reigns - mind

All parts are important but Charioteer is the most important because it is what drives the actual chariot. Krishna was the Charioteer in Mahabharata.

Homework:

• Three examples of value and ideals each

• Use examples to find differences between values and ideals

• Example of the use of intellect in any situation

• Read Chapter 12 - Internal Enemies

• Optional: Raavan at Home (Email for submitting your Raavan: hatsadministrator@hsmn.org)

September 18

• This class will cover topics such as ideals and values.

• What are ideals and values? 

  • Things that are important to us

  • Parts of our personality

  • Good things we want to be

  • Qualities we should have 

• Who are some examples in Hindu history that are examples of good people? What's the quality they represent?

  • Yudhisthira (dharma), Ram (kindness), Arjun (brave), Krishna (smart, wise), Sage Durvasa (strict), Hanuman (loving, caring, courageous)

  • Sita (innocent), Shabari (respectful), Kaikei (brave), Saraswati (knowledgeable), Kunti (brave), Rani Lakshmibai (courageous)

• All these people are examples of great people, but does that mean they're perfect?

  • No one is perfect

  • They put others first

  • Good over evil

  • They tried hard

  • They recognized mistakes

  • Question: Is God perfect? - All the forms of God have done things that could be imperfect, we learn from the good qualities

• How do we understand "God" - we often get asked "does Hinduism have hundreds of Gods?" - what's the right answer

  • ॐ - AUM - made up of 3 sounds, throat-mouth-lips, the vibrations represent energy

  • In Hindu Dharma we believe that "OM" represents the supreme energy/power

  • This energy makes up everything in the world and is part of everyone

  • This is also why we say "Namaste" - it means 'I acknowledge the "divinity" in you'

  • Some people work on their positive qualities more and use positive energy, that's how we grow

  • All the "forms of Bhagwan" are known as avatars

  • All avatars of Bhagwan are just different forms of AUM - supreme energy

  • We believe in one supreme energy, with countless forms

  • All the Bhagwans we mention help us learn different qualities, they're like role models for different things (e.g., Hanuman Ji helps us with courage, Saraswati with knowledge) - but they all represent positivity and growth

• HOMEWORK:

  • Find definitions of the words "IDEALS" and "VALUES" - how are they different? how are they the same? 

  • Read from book: Chapters 1 (Human Being – Pinnacle of Bhagavān’s Creation) & Chapter 2 (The Science of Mind and Sense Organs)