Sri Temple, Nashville, TN

Review:

- Look for the good: stories to prove this? - What is the moral of the story of the “dog and the mirrors” - What is the moral of the “salt and lake” story? - What is the meaning of the word “Namaste”?

Theme 1: Pride

STORY: Meeting of BHEEMA and :

Once when Bheema was going to gather some rare flowers for his wife, he had to cross some mountainous paths. On one such path, an old monkey blocked his path. Angry at the monkey for blocking his way, he yelled at the monkey to move. To his surprise, the old monkey spoke to him in a weak voice –“Why do you bother an old creature like me? Go around me.” Bheema got angrier yet: “You silly creature! Don’t you know I am the son of the wind god and a mighty ? Do not anger me and move immediately.” The monkey replied almost rudely: “You do not look particularly mighty to me. But anyway I am too sick to move. Just move my tail and be on your way.” Bheema was furious and kicked the monkey’s tail. Surprisingly, the monkey did not even budge. When Bheema tried to move the monkey, he found that even its tail would not move an inch even though Bheema applied all his strength. Smilingly the monkey asked: “Mighty Pandava is it? You look pretty weak for someone who was soproud of his strength a minute ago!” Bheema realized that this was no ordinary monkey! He bowed and apologized to the monkey for his pride and rudeness. When he humbly asked the monkey who he was, the monkey got up and hugged him. “I am Hanuman, your brother and also the son of Vaayu! Remember that I will always help you whenever you need me in battle.”

Moral: When Bheema approached with pride, Hanuman did not yield. But when he spoke without pride, Hanuman promised to always help him. Pride comes before a fall.

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MAHABHARATA (Part 4.): Story of

All the cousins, the and the grew up together under the direction of their grandfather Bheeshma. Kripacharya, an able teacher of martial art, was their guru.

Kripacharya in his childhood days, known as , came to King , Bheeshma's father, along with his sister Kripi, as orphans from a Brahmin family. Shantanu, being a kind-hearted person, raised Kripa and Kripi with care. Kripa became a master in martial arts and was then known as Kripacharya. Kripi was married to Drona, the son of sage Bharadwaj. During his student life, Drona became a close friend of prince Drupada who promised Drona that he would help him in any way possible, when he became king. But when Drupada became king, he forgot all about his childhood promises to Drona.

After the death of Bharadwaj, Drona took over his father's responsibilities and was known as Dronacharya. In those days, an ideal teacher provided free education to all of his students and was satisfied with the honor showered by his students and the community. As a result, Drona stayed poor in meeting his daily needs unless some royalty provided financial support. Drona had a son named Ashwathama whom he loved dearly. One day Dronacharya saw that Ashwathama‘s friends mocked him cruelly because he was poor. He decided to go to his former schoolmate Drupada for help. But Drupada, drowned in his wealth and status, ignored his childhood promises to Drona and insulted him. The enraged Drona vowed that since Drupada refused to show friendship to him because he was not a king, he will return only when he became one. Drona soon left his hermitage and arrived at Kripa's residence along with his wife Kripi and Ashwathama.

Drona was passing by one day, when the princes of were playing ball. He saw the bouncing ball fall into a nearby well. The princes were unable to get the ball out of the well. Then Drona came forward. He smilingly teased the princes that being princes of such a powerful kingdom, they were unable to do such a simple thing. He then threw his own ring into the well. Then he promised that he would get both the ball and the ring with the help of his archery. Drona used blades of grass to retrieve the ball and his ring. The amazed princes requested Drona to see their grandfather Bheeshma. Bheeshma, the old warrior, heard what happened and was amazed by the

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ability of Drona. He immediately appointed Drona as the teacher of archery for the princes. Drona was very pleased with his position that considerably improved the economic condition of his family. He began to instruct the princes with great care and love. He was confident that his royal disciples would one day help him to defeat Drupada, and he would be able to fulfill his vow of getting even with him.

Theme 2: What are the important things in life?

One day a rich father took his son on a journey to the country with the firm purpose of showing him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very impoverished family.

When they got back, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“Very good, Dad!”

“Did you see how these people live?” the father asked.

“Yeah!”

“And what did you learn?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon.”

When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.

His son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how rich they are!”

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