Chapter 8 :: THE BHAGAVAD-GITA FOR CHILDREN

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FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">THE ETERNAL BRAHM

Jai: I don’t have a big spiritual vocabulary, Grandma, so I don’t

understand many words that I hear at the temple. Can you explain some of them

in a simple way?

1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in">Grandma:

I will explain some of the Sanskrit words, so listen very carefully. You may

not completely understand these terms at your age.

2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in"> The Spirit that is

inside all living beings is called Brahm in Sanskrit. Brahm not only supports

living beings but also supports the whole universe. This is the formless nature

of God, the Absolute. Brahm is beginningless, endless and changeless, therefore,

it is also called Eternal Brahm. The word Brahm often gets confused with the

word Brahma,

the creative force or creator of this universe. The word Brahm is also spelled

as Brahma or Brahman. The word Brahman often gets mixed up with another term

Brahman, which refers to the intellectual class of people in India. I will

explain this term further later. ParaBrahm, Paramatma, Father,

Mother is the Supreme Being, Who is the origin of everything, including Brahm

(Spirit or Atma). The word ‘Karma’ has several meanings. Generally,

it means to do. It

also means the stored up fruits of one’s work over past lives. Daiv

(or Deva, Devi, Devata) is one of the many powers of Brahm. We worship these

powers to get our desires fulfilled.

1"> Ishvara is the power of God that stays in the bodies of all

living beings to guide and control us. Bhagavan simply means

powerful. This term is used for God. We call ShriKrishna also as Bhagava

11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">n Krishna.

Jeeva or Jivatma means living beings that take birth, have a limited

life span, and die or

New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">change form. Hindus believe

in life after death. Lord Krishna said: Whatever object you remember as you

leave the body at the time of death, that object one gets after death. At the

end of life, you remember whatever thought existed during most

of your lifetime. (Gita 8.06) Therefore, you should always remember God and do

your duty. (Gita 8.07) Jai: How often should I remember and worship

God to make sure that I remember God when I die?

6.0in"> Grandma: We should form the habit of remembering God before

taking our food, before going to bed, after getting up in the morning, and

before starting any work or study.

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> Jai: Are we always reborn as human beings?

 

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Grandma: Human beings can take any one of

the 8.4 million life-forms on earth. Here is a story to answer your question:

8. The Story of King

Bharata When Sage Vishvamitra was busy creating his own universe. Indra, the

King of heaven could not tolerate that. So he sent a beautiful heavenly dancer,

Menaka, to disturb him from his work. She succeeded and bore sage Vishva

11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">mitra's

daughter, Shakuntala. She was raised in the hermitage of sage Kanava after

Menaka left for heaven. One day a King named Dushyanta wandered in

the hermitage of sage Kanava. There he met and fell in love with Shakuntala,

whom he secretly married in the

hermitage. Afterwards, she gave birth to a baby boy named Bharata. He was very

handsome and strong even during his childhood. Bharata looked like the son of a

Deva. When he was only six years old, he used to play in the jungle by tying up

baby wild animals, such as tigers, lions, and elephants.

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> Bharata became the king after Dushyant.

Bharata was the greatest king of the land. Even today we also call India

BharataVarsha, the land of King Bharata. He had nine sons, but none of them

seemed fit to rule after him, so he adopted a qualified child, who took over

the kingdom after Bharata. Thus, King Bharata laid the foundation of democracy.

King Bharata had a great love for animals from childhood as he was

raised in an Ashram in the jungle. One day, while hunting, he found a new-born

baby deer lying helplessly in the jungle. The mother of the baby deer had died

during childbirth. Being not only very strong, but also very gentle at heart,

King Bharata brought the baby deer to his palace

and took care of him. He loved the deer so much that he could not live without

playing with the deer every day. He became so attached to the deer that he

remembered it at the time of his death. The legend says that in the next life,

Bharata was born as a deer. This is the theory of transmigration of the soul,

which

we believe. Some western philosophers believe in reincarnation. The

reincarnation theory is based on the assumption that a human soul takes birth

only as humans, not as animals. The theory of transmigration seems more

universal than the theory of reincarnation. Jai: If living beings go

through cycles of birth and death, how about the Sun, Moon, Earth, and stars?

Do they also take birth and get

destroyed? Grandma: The entire visible creation has a life span. The

visible world, such

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> as stars and planets, have a life span of 8.64

billion years. During this period, the entire visible cosmos is created and

destroyed. (Gita 8.17-19) But Brahm is everlasting and is never destroyed.

Jai: If some people do not come back to this world after death, what

happens to them? Do they go to heaven and live there

forever? Grandma: Those who have done good work here on earth go to

heaven, but they have to come back after enjoying the pleasures of heaven.

(Gita 8.25, 9.21) Those who have been naughty and bad go to hell for punishment

and also come back to

earth. Those who have gained salvation (Nirvana) do not take birth again. They

become one with God and go to His Supreme Abode called Parama-Dhama). The

Supreme abode is higher than heaven. Jai:

1"> How can we gain the Supreme Abode, the house of God? Grandma:

Those who have the true knowledge of God are called God-realized and rea

Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">ch the house of God. They do not

reincarnate. This is called the path of no return. (Gita 8.24) This path is

blocked for the ignorant and persons without the necessary qualities, such as

austerity, faith in God, and knowledge of God. Only those who have these

qualities will walk this path of no return. Those who have not realized God,

but have done good work, go to heaven by virtue of their good Karma and take

birth on earth again until they perfect themselves and become Self-realized.

(Gita 8.25)

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Chapter 8 summary: Some of the common Sanskrit terms have been explained, which

you will understand better as you grow older. Also

explained was the theory of transmigration and the cycle of creation and

destruction of the universe. A very simple method of God-realization is to

always remember God and do your duty. "Gurur Brahma Gurur VishnuGurur Devoh

Maheshwar;Gurur Shakshat ParambramhaTashmai Shri Gurur Veh Namah"May the

Merciful Sri Sai Baba always shower His grace on us and our families and remove

our problems and anxieties by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and

happiness with peace of mind.Sai bhakt,Deepa Hdebu7366