Class today: Recited Gita Dhyanam.
Learned verses 46-50 of BG Chapter 2 and went over the meaning of verse 47. This verse is one of my personal favorites in Bhagavad Gita. It asks us to give everything we do our very best efforts, and then submit it to the feet of the lord, accepting the results as God’s prasadam. When we go to our temple, we enjoy the prasadam we get. We don’t use that justify our efforts to visit the temple, and also understand that we don’t control the prasadam distributed that day/time.
Quote shared by one of the students, which we discussed: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.” – Calvin Coolidge
- Talent, education and being considered a genius, give a person a good headstart. But it is hard work and persistence which help avoid arrogance, but instead with effort we outperform inherent abilities or knowledge.
- Knowledge vs Wisdom: As another students shared in class “Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit, wisdom is to know that you don’t put it in fruit salad.” Wisdom is application of knowledge, which we gain by persistently applying our knowledge, learning from mistakes to improve ourselves and moving towards perfection.
- Quote encourages a growth mindset, prioritizing effort and continuous improvement over fixed attributes.
Next week: Verses 51-55 of Chapter 2 (same zoom connection for February). I will be in Pittsburgh, but plan to teach on zoom and not be in temple next Sunday.
Also, verse 55 is the start of what is referred to as “Stitha Pragya”, which is considered very special. At the risk of being boring, I would like to review the meaning in the class and put the verses in context. Would help a lot if you can start by looking at meaning of verse 55 for class next Sunday
SVT Senior Youth Classes 