A Teenager Tells
This teenager gives an account of her experience in Bal Vikas class. Initially, like other youngsters, she was hesitant to join the class, but once she did there was no looking back.
Pranams [obeisance] at the lotus feet of Bhagavan. I would like to present you a brief resume of my Bal Vikas, Pre-seva Dal, and the summer course experiences, with my own humble assessment of the effect, impact, and transformation they have brought me.
There is a story given by Swami Vivekananda [an Indian saint]. A lion-cub lost his mother soon after birth and chanced to grow up among a flock of sheep. He did not know he was a lion and heir to the throne of the forest-kingdom, but believed he was merely a poor, weak sheep. We, the children of the present generation of India, are in the same pitiful state as the lion-cub, growing up estranged from our own culture. We are ignorant of the fact that we are heirs to the richest culture in the world. In the story of the lion, the lion cub shudders in fright, as a sheep would, when a lion roars and says, “How pitiful you are. You are prince of the forest, not a sheep. Assume the majesty your nature warrants.”
Baba’s educational program of Bal Vikas has done exactly the same thing for me. Baba says, “You are children of immortality. Be aware of your noble heritage and live in a way that is worthy of that heritage.”
Years ago, when my parents said that I should start attending the Bal Vikas (called Bal Vihar at that time), it was not a welcome idea to me. The class is on Sundays, the day my friends and I always looked forward to as a time of merry-making. Besides, when I heard that Bal Vikas was a class in moral and spiritual instruction, the words felt abstract and unintelligible. But my protests went unheeded and I went to the class.
When I got there, I found the atmosphere completely different from what I had feared. The teacher, greeted by the children with a hearty, ‘Sai Ram, Aunty,’ was loving and kind. However, I was at a loss to understand the purpose of stotras [hymns], bhajans [devotional songs], meditation, and particularly the shanti mantra [peace formula]. Praying for my own welfare seemed quite all right, but praying for the well-being of all, even those I didn’t like, was hard to reconcile and understand.
Even so, I found the class very interesting, especially the stories narrated from the Ramayana, Mahabharatha, and Bhagavatha—though the stories were very different from the comics I used to read before. Soon I eagerly looked forward to the class. The meditation practice gave me a lot of peace. It improved my power of concentration and memory. I started faring much better in my studies than before. The spiritual diary-recording habit also caught up with me. Not that I became a Sathya Harischandra, but I suffer conscience-pricking whenever I utter lies or do anything wrong. Formerly, I had no fear or hesitation at all in uttering lies.
I began to appreciate to some extent the purpose of the things taught, though not completely until we had the opportunity of hearing Baba Himself explain many of these points. Mothers and fathers, Baba said, are the visible manifestation of God to you. How was Pundalika of Pandarpur able to win the grace of Vitthal? It was certainly not by worshipping Him. Only by lovingly serving his parents could he bring the Lord of Vaikunta to his very doorstep. I then understood why my teacher insisted that we must mentally offer our pranams to our parents as our first duty in the morning.
Regarding prayers and stotras, Baba said, “For the water and current you use, you pay taxes. What taxes are you paying God for the infinite gifts and amenities He has bestowed on you through nature—the sun that lights up the earth during the day, the perennial rivers that give us sweet water and quench our thirst, and countless other gifts?” Prayers are an expression of our gratitude to the Lord for His infinite munificence to us.
We talk of the great advances man has made in science and technology, but haven’t these advances become possible only because of the precious gift of the intellect bestowed on man by God—the buddhi pradata? The prayer, whether it be to Ganesha or Gayatri, is to give us ‘sanmati’ [goodness of mind] so that we may tread on the right path. Meditation, Baba said, tames the mind and bhajans are the purifier of all impurities and the best antidote for all human ills. Baba further said, “Like the thread that holds together all flowers of a garland, so too the one divine principle sustains the entire creation. All are one. Become aware of the principle of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.” Then I understood why the shanti prayer “Om sarve vai sukina santhu,” for the well-being of all, including my supposed enemies—who are in essence none other than my own brothers and sisters—is to be chanted.
After Bal Vikas, we were enrolled in the Pre-seva Dal class in which moral and spiritual coaching continued in a more intense way. We were taught the life and teachings of the great Ramakrishna Paramahamsa [another Indian saint], whose life was a great experiment in the search for God, and an inspiring demonstration to the world of the realization of God. A study of Christianity convinced us that all religions are essentially the same, seen through the saying, “Ekam sath; vipraha bahuda vadanti—truth is one but there are many ways to say it. Sages call it by different names.”
Baba’s Gita Vahini, in which he has given the teachings of Gita in simple prose, is one of our books of study. Mahatma Gandhi referred to the Gita as his ever-unfailing mother, providing him guidance and solace all through his life. He said, “When disappointment stares me in the face and, all alone I see not a ray of light, I go back to the Gita for refuge. I find a verse here and a verse there and I begin to smile in the midst of tragedies.” The Gita teaches us equal vision, with malice toward none and love and compassion for all—a life of righteousness. It teaches us the art and science of purposeful living in tune with the divine and puts us on the path of self-discovery.
We are given practical training in yoga, because a healthy body houses a healthy mind. Unless the body is healthy, no progress whatsoever is possible in matters either secular or spiritual. We have received guidance in meditation; thus our body, mind, and spirit are all trained in the Pre-seva Dal.
After Pre-seva Dal, we opt for either Seva Dal course or Bal Vikas teaching. My aptitude is more for Bal Vikas teaching and, at the same time, learning. I am now a trainee-teacher for one of the Bal Vikas classes.
The days I spent at the summer course at Brindavan were the most glorious experience in my life. It was like a dip in the jnana-ganga [river of knowledge]. Just as the River Ganga destroys our sins and purifies us, the jnana-ganga dispels ignorance and illumines our heart. It was a great revelation to us of our great culture and heritage and the rich wisdom enshrined in our invaluable scriptures like Vedas, Upanishads, and a host of other texts.
The crowning moment in each day’s program was Baba’s discourse in His unique, simple, sweet style on Adi Sankaracharya’s “Bhaja Govindam.” Baba exhorted us to stagnate no longer as “mudha-matis [foolish person],” but to become “mukti-matis,” i.e. aspirants for liberation. He advised us to start at our early age on the spiritual path.
Baba’s Bal Vikas program has proved to be the greatest boon in my life. I used to fritter away Sundays seeing movies, standing in the ticket line longer than the duration of the picture, or in some other futile way. The Bal Vikas has transformed my life from idle merriment to a life with an ideal. We are indeed fortunate that at this very early age of ours, Baba has put us on the quest of sathya (truth). He has showed us the pathway of dharma [righteousness] asphalted by shanti [peace] and illumined by prema [love]. May He bless us with success in our quest for truth, and may we be worthy instruments in spreading Baba’s message of love.
~Lakshmi Rao
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, May 1974
