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When the wind passes over waterfalls it carries sprinkles of clear water and thus becomes most refreshing. Sometimes the wind blows through a beautiful forest, carrying the fragrances of fruits and flowers; at other times the wind may fuel a fire that burns the same forest to ashes. The wind, however, being fixed in its own nature, remains neutral in both its auspicious and inauspicious activities. Similarly, within this material world we will inevitably face both pleasing and disgusting situations. In the course of his spiritual duties, a devotee sometimes finds himself chanting Hare Krsna in a beautiful country atmosphere, and sometimes he finds himself doing the same thing in a hellish city. In both cases the devotee fixes his mind upon Lord Krsna and experiences transcendental bliss. If, however, we remain fixed in Krsna consciousness, we will not be disturbed by the inauspicious, nor will we become attached to the materially auspicious.Although the wind passes through the most dark and forbidding places, the wind is not frightened or disturbed. Similarly, a devotee of Lord Krsna should never be fearful or anxious, even when in the most difficult situation. One who is attached to materially pleasing forms, tastes, smells, sounds and touches will also be repelled by the opposite in each category. Thus finding himself surrounded by innumerable good and bad things, the materialist is constantly disturbed.

THE LESSON LEARNT BY THE AVADHUTA BRAHMANAWhen the wind blows in many directions at once, the atmosphere becomes agitated. Similarly, if the mind is constantly attracted and repelled by material objects there will be such mental disturbance that it will be impossible to think of the Absolute Truth. Therefore, one should learn from the blowing wind the art of moving throughout the material world without attachment.

The Theme - The art of moving throughout the material world without being disturbed by

externals.

SLOKA RECITATION

Let us learn a sloka from the Srimad Bhagvatam, which teaches us something about the above theme. Before teaching the present verse, the teacher should begin the class by chanting all the verses of the 24 Gurus with the children all together.

1/2 60 mins 120 mins

Let us learn a sloka from the Srimad Bhagvatam, which teaches us something

Before teaching the present verse, the teacher should begin the class by

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GURU 4 - Air Chant the Guru air again. Tell the children we will learn the verse and also understand it. Learn the fourth verse. (The teacher recites the sloka line by line and makes the children repeat and memorize the sloka)

(SB 11.7.40) viñayeñv äviçan yogé

nänä-dharmeñu sarvataùguëa-doña-vyapetätmäna viñajjeta väyu-vat

Even a transcendentalist is surrounded by innumerable material objects, which possess good and bad qualities. However, one who has transcended material good and evil should not become entangled even when in contact with the material objects; rather, he should act like the wind.

LESSONS FROM GURU – NOT BEING DISTURBED BY EXTERNALS

How to learn to move through the world without being disturbed by externals? The way to do it is through the following:

1. Change the way you react to situations, if you can’t change the situation

ANALOGY 1 - THE THREE MONKEYS OF GANDHIJI In our childhood we have learnt of the 3 monkeys of Mahatma Gandhi. The first monkey covers its hands over its mouth, which instructs us not to speak anything bad. The second monkey covers its hands over its ears instructing us not to hear anything bad. And the third monkey covers its hands over its eyes instructing us not to see anything bad. These three monkeys teach us something, which the air guru is trying to teach us here. Many times in life we may not be able to change the situation we are in, but we can definitely change the way we react to situations happening in our lives.

Chant the Guru air again. Tell the children we will learn the verse and also

Learn the fourth verse. (The teacher recites the sloka line by line and makes

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In Ramayana, when Surpanaka comes to meet Rama in the Dandakaranya forest,

she introduces herself and her family to Rama. She introduces that she is the sister of Ravana and Kumbakharan. She speaks greatly about their bad qualities and glorifies them. But when she is introducing Vibhishan, her last brother, she calls him a religious person and one who never follows the behaviour and thought process of the demons.

STORY 1 - SURPANAKHA INTRODUCING HERSELF TO LORD RAMA

Why did she introduce Vibhishan like this? Because Vibhishan though he stayed with them, he never got influenced with all the bad things that were happening in his life. Vibhishan could not change the situation of living in Lanka, because he was unfortunately born there itself. But at least he could surely change the way he was reacting to the situation.

STORY 2 - THE CARPENTER’S HOUSE

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his

work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When

the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.” What a shock!

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well. So it is with us. Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.”

he needed to retire. They could get by.

carpenter said yes, but in time it was

Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and

the choices you make today.

TRY TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU REACT NICELY TO THE SITUATIONS GIVEN IN YOUR LIFE RATHER THAN REPENTING LATER.

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GURU 4 - Air2. Know your skill sets – do not care how the world

expects you to behave – be yourself

Once there was an old man and a young boy who were traveling with a donkey. The young man was leading the donkey and the old man was riding on the donkey. When they passed through a small village, some of the townspeople yelled abuse, “Look at this old man taking advantage of this poor young boy! What a rascal!” After they had passed through the village, the old man said, “We had better swap over, otherwise they will abuse us in the next village.” So then they swapped with the old man leading

and the young boy riding. But in the next village also they got criticized, “Look

at this selfish boy, taking advantage of his grandfather. He should let the old man ride on the donkey.” So then they both got off and led the donkey, but in the next village the people yelled out, “Look at these two stupid people! They have a donkey, but they are choosing to walk instead!” Then the old man

concluded, “Actually, it doesn’t matter what you do, people will always be critical.”

STORY 3 - THE OLD MAN, THE YOUNG BOY AND THE DONKEY

MORAL – Just because the world expects you to behave in some way, you should not change your nature. As long as your behaviour is in accordance with the principles of God and scriptures it is fine. Don’t care for what the world has to say.

STORY 4 - THE OWNER, EMPLOYEES AND TILAK

There was a company where all the workers wore tilak to work. One day the owner came to the

company and saw that all the workers were wearing a tilak on their forehead. He made a declaration that from the next day on, no one should wear tilak to office. If someone does wear a tilak he will be thrown out of his job immediately. The next day, everyone came without a tilak as instructed except one man. The owner was happy that no one wore a tilak.

But when he saw that one man still had a tilak on his forehead, he asked him, “Why is it that you are still wearing a tilak, are you not scared of being thrown out of the company?” To this, the man replied, “I don’t mind being thrown out of the company, but I cannot give up my loyalty to God.” Hearing this, the owner, declared that only this man could continue wearing a tilak, all others cannot. Thus seeing this man’s conviction and will power, the owner decided to facilitate him.

MORAL – If you change your nature expecting to please others, you are actually displeasing them. Be yourself. Being yourself you can contribute better to the world than artificially imitating others.

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3. Recall the example of the wind or air and try to act like the wind

Do not get attached to things you come in contact with

ANALOGY 1

When air passes through a toilet the air remains the same. Can you say that we are breathing dirty air? No. The air that enters your nostrils has the same properties, which it normally has. Or when air which comes out from a room which is sprayed with air-freshener, can you

say that we are breathing nice air? No. Even the air from such a place has the same properties. Basically air retains its identity even in the midst of all disturbances or attractions. The air does not get attached to either good or bad objects. Although it interacts with them and comes in contact with them, for the amount of time which it has to be in touch it stays and then it proceeds

further as if it has no relationship to that object.

Ever since I was a little kid, I didn’t want to be me. I wanted to be like Manish, and Manish didn’t even like me. I walked like him; I talked like him; and I signed up for the high school he signed up for. Which was why Manish changed. He began to hang around Satish; he walked like Satish; he talked like Satish. He mixed me up! I began to walk and talk like Manish, who was walking and talking like Satish.

And then it dawned on me that Satish walked and talked like Khitish. And Khitish walked and talked like Ritesh. So here I am walking and talking like Manish imitation of Satish’s version of Khitish, trying to walk and talk like Ritesh. And who do you think Ritesh is always walking and talking like? Of all people, Mitesh - that little pest who walks and talks like me!

STORY 5 - BE YOURSELF

MORAL – Better be yourself or you will soon end up in an identity crisis.

say that we are breathing nice air? No. Even the air from such a place has the same

When air passes through a toilet the air remains the same. Can you say

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ANALOGY 2 - WHICH IS BETTER, A STAMP OR A POST-IT?

The difference between a stamp and a post-it is that, when the stamp is stuck to the envelope and it is removed again some part of the envelope sticks to the stamp and some part of the stamp sticks to the envelope. Whereas in case of a post-it when it is stuck on a paper, neither any portion of the post-it peels off with the paper nor any portion of the paper peels off with the post-it.

MORAL – Just like the post-it does not leave any trace of its connection or attachment to the paper, similarly we should learn to not be attached to the things we like. When we are connected we should be firmly attached, but the moment we are disconnected we should leave no trace of our attachment. We should not behave like the stamp who is so badly attached to the envelope that when he is asked to detach from the envelope he tears off the envelope.

Once a rich man gets attracted to spiritual path and decides to renounce his worldly duties

and stay in the forest. But he still maintains some wealth and has some servants

to help him. One day a beggar saint comes across this man’s dwelling and gets bewildered. He asks him, “Being a sadhu, how is that you are so attached to material things. You should give up everything and go to Vrindavan.” The rich man immediately likes the proposal and agrees that the next day both will leave for Vrindavan. Accordingly,

they start traveling towards Vrindavan. After reaching some distance the beggar saint realizes that he has forgotten his begging bowl at the place of the rich man. He decides to go back to get it. The rich man then reminded him that, he had nothing still he was attached to that begging bowl which was his only possession. On the other hand, he himself had all the riches, but he was so detached that he could walk out without even a slightest thought of losing everything. Therefore the rich man taught the beggar saint the lesson of moving through the material world without any attachment to externals.

STORY 6 - THE CARPENTER’S HOUSE

some distance the beggar saint

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SLOKA RECITATION

Before teaching the present verse, the teacher should begin the class by chanting all the verses of the 24 Gurus with the children altogether. Once more chant the verse for this session.

MORE LESSONS FROM GURU

4. Pratyaksha praman is not fully reliable – What you see is not always what you can believe

2/2 60 mins 120 mins

ANALOGY 3

A coconut may be hard from outside, but inside it is soft. Similarly externally things may seem attractive, but they may be dangerous for us. This is the

advertisement industry, which makes propaganda to tempt us. So our duty is to understand from the wind how not to fall for temptations of the advertisements, bombardments, etc.

STORY 7 Once a westerner was traveling in South India, he had heard a lot about a jackfruit. But he had never seen one. He wanted

to know how a jackfruit looked like. A friend told him that a jackfruit was big, green in colour and thorny. And then he pointed out the jackfruit to him, which was hanging from a tree. So his impression of a jackfruit was that it is a wild fruit, which is not palatable. He went to another friend’s house the next

day, and that friend offered him a plate of yellow, succulent, jackfruit with its seeds removed and covered by honey and sprinkled with cashew nuts. When this westerner saw this preparation and he ate the first bite of this fruit, he instantly fell in love with the fruit and asked his friend for the name of the fruit. The friend said that this is a jackfruit. Hearing the name the westerner was surprised because he had heard a different description of the fruit.

westerner saw this preparation and he

MORAL – From this we can understand that many times what we see is not always reliable. We have to either experience it ourselves or hear from proper authority to understand something. So external world may try to show us many things, which seem fun, but those things may not always be good for our lives.

things may seem attractive, but they may be dangerous for us. This is the

the advertisements, bombardments, etc.

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Before teaching the present verse, the teacher should begin the class by chanting all the verses of the 24 Gurus with the children altogether. Once more chant the verse for this session.

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GURU 4 - Air5. UNDERSTAND THAT DISTURBANCE IS THE CREATION OF THE MIND –

ALL THE ATTACHMENTS ARE THE CREATIONS OF THE MIND -

STORY 8 One Sunday afternoon, a cranky grandfather was visiting his family. As he lay down to take a nap, his grandson decided to have a little fun by putting Limburger cheese on Grandfather’s mustache. Soon, grandpa awoke with a snort and charged out of the bedroom saying, “This room

stinks.” Through the house he went, finding every room smelling the same.

Desperately he made his way outside only to find that “the whole world stinks!” So it is when we fill our minds with negativism. Everything we

experience and everybody we encounter will carry the scent we hold in our mind.

MORAL – The world appears to you according to the state of your mind. So the solution is rather than change the world and stop all the disturbing things happening around the world, rather it would be better that we focus on training our minds.

As he lay down to take a nap, Desperately he made his way

STORY 9 -HOSPITAL WINDOWS Two men, b o t h seriously i l l ,

occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would

be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band - he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.

in the military service, where they had

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6. ULTIMATELY A MAN OF TRUE CHARACTER CAN HOLD GROUND IN SUCH TEMPTATIONS AND NOT BE INFLUENCED BY EXTERNALS -

MORAL – If your mind is in your control in spite of all the external disturbances, you will only be able to see greatness and happiness in this world. So we can learn from the wind to be unaffected by externals and focus on one’s own self-development.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside.

Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank

wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, “Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.”

ANALOGY 4

If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. But, if character is lost, everything is lost.” The importance of your character and personality transcends any other

measure of success of your existence.

STORY 8 Two sadhus were on a pilgrimage. While they were traveling, they came across a river. On the bank of the river

there was a young woman who wanted to cross the river. She asked the sadhus to help her cross by carrying her on their shoulders.

One sadhu hesitated to carry her. But the other readily agreed. Even after crossing for a long time, the first sadhu

was thinking how his friend could carry the lady on his shoulder. He was very much disturbed, so he decided to ask his friend how he could do such a thing. His friend replied, “I was just physically carrying her, but you are still carrying her in your mind.” The sadhu that carried the lady was not disturbed by externals, while the other sadhu was so much disturbed by his external environment.

MORAL - Internal Purity protects from External Infl uences.

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GURU 4 - AirThink of past and present leaders. It is apparent that each famous leader is a person of strong character. Over one's lifetime, character has to be developed painstakingly. It is strength of character that makes a person truly great. Everyone tries to define this thing called Character. It's not hard. Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking.

Imagine that you are answering an examination, and you have already put in a lot of effort and are confident of getting 100% in your exam. With this confidence you start answering the paper and you write all the answers correctly till the end. At the end, you see one question, which is a compulsory question. You knew the answer of this question, but somehow it slips off your mind. You try hard to remember the answer, but unfortunately you are not able to remember.

What will your reaction be? Will you blame God for not allowing you to get 100% marks? Or will you thank Him for allowing you to remember the remaining 99%?Think carefully.

HOW IS IT RELEVANT IN MY LIFE?

We should learn to see God’s hands in every situation in our life. Even if there are setbacks still it is God’s hand and even if there are progresses still it is God’s hand. We can put endeavour from our side, but the result is not in our hands, it is the wish of the Lord. In Bhagavad Gita, the Lord mentions that there are five causes for any action. These are: Living entity, God, senses, types of endeavour and the body. Out of these five we have some control over four but we have no control over the fifth that is God. And this factor has the most powerful influence in all our actions. For example, if we are answering an examination, even though we may be prepared, still what is the guarantee that questions will come from what we have studied? This is God factor. Even if we know all questions, what is the guarantee that you will remember the answers? This is again God factor. If we analyze like this, God factor plays such a vital role in our lives. So just like the king who lost his fingers, we should also learn to see that God does things in our lives only for our good. All things that seem pass over the good and bad and be influenced by neither of them.

ConclusionShort recap of both sessions