GURU 11 - MothGURU 11 - Moth

118

THE LESSON LEARNT BY THE AVADHUTA BRAHMANA

The instruction of the moth is that just as he becomes enticed by the fire and gives up his life, the fool who cannot control his senses becomes enchanted by the forms of women decorated with gold ornaments and fine clothing. Chasing after these embodiments of the divine illusory energy of the Lord, he loses his life untimely and falls down into the most horrible hell.

The Theme – Glamour world – not just see the thing, but the philosophy behind it

SLOKA RECITATION Let us learn a sloka from Neeti Sastras 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. Chant the eleventh verse of the 24 Gurus again. Tell the children we will learn the twenty-fourth verse and also understand it. Learn the eleventh verse. (The teacher recites the sloka line by line and makes the children repeat and memorize the sloka)

Gandham suvarno phalamiksu dandeNakari puspam khalu candanasyaVidvan dhani bhupati dirghajivi

Dhatuh pura ko’pi na buddhi do’bhut

i. Gold is the best metal, satisfied eyes but has no fragranceii. Sugarcane (the best stems) is fruitless andiii. Sandal (the best wood) has no floweriv. A scholar is never wealthy andv. A king is never long aged!

Therefore intelligent people realize that Brahma created this material world, imperfect to frustrate us!

1/2 60 mins 120 mins

Let us learn a sloka from Neeti Sastras which teaches us something about the

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. Chant the eleventh verse of the 24 Gurus again. Tell the children we will learn the twenty-fourth verse and also understand it. Learn the eleventh verse. (The teacher recites the sloka line by line and makes

THE LESSON LEARNT BY THE AVADHUTA BRAHMANATHE LESSON LEARNT BY THE AVADHUTA BRAHMANA

`

GURU 11 - Moth

119

GURU 11 - MothLESSONS FROM GURU - SCRABBLE - 3

1. Analogy of Microscope and camera

2. Story of Dhanurdas and Ramanujacarya

3. First time glamour Entered Vrindavan.

4. Short-lived happiness

5. Analogy – 3d glasses – scriptures

6. Case studies –

7. Story of Bilvamangal Thakur

8. Story – The Liquid Beauty.

9. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

The teacher can explain to the children the lessons, which the Moth teaches us. The abbreviation ‘SCRABBLE-3’ makes it convenient for us to remember what the guru wants to teach us. The teacher can write down on the board the below abbreviation and ask the children to note it down and learn it.

In this session, after explaining the meaning of SCRABBLE-3, the teacher will be able to narrate a maximum of four stories. The remaining stories can be continued in the next class.

How you see things has a lot of relevance in spiritual life. To understand this let us compare the nature of a camera and the nature of a microscope. When one sees an object through a camera and through a microscope, though one sees the same

thing, still one sees details differently. When one sees through a microscope, one sees objects in complete detail. When one puts a leaf in a microscope, one can

see such intricate details of the leaf like the cells, nucleus, etc. But when one sees the same leaf through a camera, one can

see only the green outer surface of the leaf, which is smooth and wet. Through a camera one can never see any details of the leaf. The camera is compared to a person seeing things of this world through his eyes like the moth. Anything appealing in this world is immediately attractive to such a person. Such a person if he enters a mall, he gets bewildered and disturbed, because he seems to be wanting everything. And he feels that everything is potentially for his enjoyment.

ANALOGY 1 - MICROSCOPE AND CAMERA

a microscope, though one sees the same

GURU 11 - MothGURU 11 - Moth

120

GURU 11 - MothBut due to not being able to possess it, he gets bewildered. The microscope is compared to a person seeing things of this world through the eyes of the scriptures. Such a person even if he sees the most

attractive thing, before reacting to it, either negatively or positively, he first thinks in what way is this thing going to help me or harm me. Thus he never acts without contemplating properly.

SHORT-LIVED HAPPINESS Glamour world is a world where the happiness of acquiring something is short-lived. Have you analyzed the difference between some product on a windowsill of a shop and that on your table? As long as the product lies on the

shelf or in the window of a shop, the product looks too attractive and appealing. But the moment you buy

it and reach with it to your home, the look itself is no more appealing. Think about how many things we have bought, but once we have brought it home, immediately that thing becomes less attractive. Especially over a period of time the same object becomes lesser and lesser attractive and appealing to us. That’s why these things are called an external façade.

this shop, and how people are buying all the things that are unwanted in this world.”

One day a friend of Socrates saw him standing in front of window of a gift shop. His friend was surprised to see that Socrates was standing mesmerized in front of a shop. He thought that he also was captivated by glamour of the world. This friend went to Socrates and asked him, “How have you also been affected by the glamour of this world, my friend.” Socrates answered by saying, “I was just observing seeing all the things in

STORY - SOCRATES STORY

MORAL - Something that is beautiful may look attractive, but is temporary. Why not look for something that lasts.

121

GURU 11 - Moth

Glamour is represented by Putana in Krsna lila. Before she entered Vrindavan, the Vrajawasis had never seen such glamour before. They were simply used to their simple life full of joy. But when Putana came, she hid her original fierce looking form and she entered as a very beautiful, young girl. She looked so attractive that everyone felt that either some heavenly damsel had come or the goddess of fortune herself had come to Vrindavan to see Krsna.

People were so mesmerized seeing her beauty that they did not even think of asking her who she was or why she had come to Vrindavan. So she entered everywhere in Vrindavan without being stopped. She could enter every house without being questioned. The question we have to ask ourselves is that, “Why did she not enter in her original form?” The answer is that if she had to

enter in her original fierce form, the villagers would have not been captivated by her beauty and they would have immediately tried to drive her away from the village. So she changed her appearance. Similarly the products of this

world are like Putana. As long as they are very glamorous looking and attractive, only then people

will buy them. As soon as the same product is not packed in an attractive manner, immediately people don’t feel like buying it. The concept of packaging is a new concept. In the olden days, whatever items people would want, they would go and buy them. Because there was no concept of packaging, there were no unnecessary purchases. This shows that if there is a need of something then you will acquire it even if there is no glamour. But if there is no need of something, then to enable you to be attracted to buy that thing you have to be motivated and inspired to buy that product through means of attractive packaging. That is represented by Putana.

FIRST TIME GLAMOUR ENTERED VRINDAVAN.

What you see is not what you can believe. Show video of woman walking who is actually a man.

GURU 11 - MothGURU 11 - Moth

122

Seeing the glamour of this world is like wanting to possess those things that are experienced in a theatre while watching a 3D movie using 3D glasses. The effect of wearing a glass is that you see things differently. A person who does not wear those glasses cannot experience those effects. Similarly the glamour industry puts a glass on all of us, which we constantly wear and see through. But

taking shelter of the scripture is like removing those glasses and seeing the world through eyes of knowledge as they are and not getting affected by them.

ANALOGY - 3D GLASSES - SCRIPTURES

STORY - DHANURDAS AND RAMANUJACARYA During a procession of Ranganath, Ramanujacarya noticed that one man was looking continuously at a woman and he was serving her by holding an umbrella to shade her. He did not even look at Ranganath once. Ramanujacarya asked him, why he was staring at the woman like that. Dhanurdas replied that he had not seen anything more beautiful

than the eyes of that woman. Ramanujacarya asked him that if he showed him something more beautiful would he give her up.

GURU 11 - Moth

123

GURU 11 - Moth

SLOKA RECITATION The teacher should begin the class by chanting all the verses of the 24 Gurus with the children all together. Chant the twelfth verse of the 24 Gurus again.

Gandham suvarno phalamiksu dandeNakari puspam khalu candanasyaVidvan dhani bhupati dirghajivi

Dhatuh pura ko’pi na buddhi do’bhut

i. Gold is the best metal, satisfied eyes but has no fragranceii. Sugarcane (the best stems) is fruitless andiii. Sandal (the best wood) has no floweriv. A scholar is never wealthy andv. A king is never long aged!

Therefore intelligent people realize that Brahma created this material world, imperfect to frustrate us!

2/2 60 mins 120 mins

The teacher should begin the class by chanting all the verses of the 24 Gurus with the children all together. Chant the twelfth verse of the 24 Gurus again.

LESSONS FROM GURU - SCRABBLE - 3

1. Analogy of Microscope and camera

2. Story of Dhanurdas and Ramanujacarya

3. First time glamour Entered Vrindavan.

4. Short-lived happiness

5. Analogy – 3d glasses – scriptures

6. Case studies –

7. Story of Bilvamangal Thakur

8. Story – The Liquid Beauty.

9. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

GURU 11 - MothGURU 11 - Moth

124

CASE STUDIESCASE STUDY 1 - BAD BREATH

In one colony there was a very beautiful girl who was the centre of attraction for all the young boys. The moment she would come out it would seem as if cupid himself had come for

these boys. As fate would have it, one person had to marry her and had that happened. After some years passed by he happened to meet one of his friends who had settled in some other part of the world. They exchanged pleasantries and had casually talks. Then this friend casually asked him that “how was his

married life”, he assumed it would be pretty good as he got the woman he desired. To his utter astonishment the husband replied in a negative note. On further enquiry he revealed that her mouth stinked and even after consulting with specialists and the best of dentists and dieticians, nothing worked. So he was very miserable. Thus we see once again that what appears to be beautiful may always not seem to be so, on the contrary it might be a source of misery instead of providing pleasure.

CASE STUDY 2 -STORY OF A FRENCH ACTRESS One French actress was once considered the most beautiful woman on earth. One day she got up and saw herself in the mirror and she happened to see a wrinkle. That wrinkle indicated to her that she is going to soon become old and ugly. That fact was so depressing for her that she got completely upset. She became so

morose and sad that she took shelter of drugs and alcohol. And in a few months

she became fat, bloated up and looked very ugly. Soon she ended her life very miserably. This happened because she started identifying herself to be the external self and

related all her happiness to how she looked externally.

CASE STUDY 3 - A FAMOUS SINGER AND A FAMOUS ACTRESS

They both got married. The very next day he saw her passing stool and he felt so disgusted by this that he actually divorced her immediately. This was because whenever he had seen her he always felt that she was the epitome

of beauty. He was only seeing skin deep and never had any relationship on a deeper level. This is what external façade or attachment means. The moment the reality is revealed, immediately

there is hatred or detachment.

GURU 11 - Moth

125

GURU 11 - Moth

It’s a phrase that my mother uses a lot. I used to wonder, “How in the world can Mother call them beautiful?” I am a logical, statistical man. I call things as I see them. I didn’t see beauty. My mother would tell people this with an enthusiasm they could feel. She was genuine. She wasn’t telling them they were beautiful to get something from them. Most of the time, they were trying to get something from her. I wondered for years what was wrong with Mother’s perception and vision. Couldn’t she see that all of the people she called beautiful weren’t beautiful? You were beautiful

only if you had a certain figure and face that was classed as beautiful by the laws of the world and glamour. Yet when my mother spoke, people smiled as though

Glamour magazine had listed them as one of the beautiful people of the year. It took me years to finally understand my mother’s vision and the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” My

mother had a spirit that could see the beauty in a person. Most only look on the outside and then compare what they see with the standards the world has given them. That was what I was doing.

NARRATE THIS STORY FIRST- YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

a logical, statistical man. I call things as I see them. I didn’t see beauty. My mother would tell people this with an enthusiasm they could feel. She was genuine. She wasn’t telling them they were beautiful to get something from them. Most of the time, they were trying to get

mother spoke, people smiled as though Glamour magazine had listed them

as one of the beautiful people of the year. It took me years to finally understand my mother’s vision and the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” My

mother had a spirit that could see

HOME PLAY - BEAUTY LIES IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDERToday when you leave your house, carefully look at the first person that you see and notice how beautiful they are. They may be balding, fat,

wrinkled, pimply, or any of the other things the world frowns upon as beauty. Look at them closely and look for the beauty. If you really look, you’ll see it. I didn’t believe that at first until I tried it. Sure enough, as I stared and opened another set of eyes, I was able to see the beauty in every person. No matter how rough or worn a person looked, each pain etched line held a glimpse of beauty.

You just had to look for the beauty. It’s there. When you leave your home this morning, look hard at each person. You will start to see the beauty of every human who you didn’t know existed. Trust me and try this. If you sincerely look, you will see it. When you get home after seeing the beauty in faces you see, look in the mirror. You are beautiful. Thank you mama for all of the beauty that you have not only seen, but added. She used to tell me: “Be like a honey bee which always sits on beautiful flowers.”

GURU 11 - MothGURU 11 - Moth

126

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholderSit down with your eyes closed and list down some people you think who are beautiful and share it with the class with relevant reasons.

STORY OF BILVAMANGAL THAKUR succeeded in leaping over but fell heavily to the ground on the other side of the wall bringing Cintamani to the spot. In what was practically a dying condition, he was discovered by his love for whom, for the sake of a frantic infatuation, he had risked his life. Had she not found and nursed him, it is certain he would have died. She carried him into the room and there nursed him tenderly as he hung between life and death. She, seeing his mad love for her, felt a pinch in her conscience and reminded him that such an intense love, if offered to God, might lead them to their highest good. When he recovered consciousness, she pitied and abused him for his fool hardy venture, saying, “What a great fool you are! Shame on your learning! I know and I am always conscious of my own wicked life and profession. Had you been attached to God in the way you love me, you would have been an angel.” It sounded like a call of God to Bilvamangala, who had existed in a circle of hell. The whole face of things was instantly changed, so inspiring were her words at that great moment. To him, those words of hers were not merely a reprieve, but a total deliverance from his hateful life, a restoration that suffused his whole being. Her grim censure proved wholesome to the

Born in a brahmin family in South India, he is said to have been a renowned

scholar and lived on the eastern bank of the holy river Krsna-Venna in South India. He had an illicit love affair with a dancing girl who was

a musician and harlot named Cintamani, who used to live on the opposite bank of the river Krsna-Venna, and whom he used to visit every night. One stormy night, finding no boat, he risked his life to cross the terrible river by floating on a corpse that lay on the surface of the stream. But, to his disappointment, he found the gate of the prostitute’s house was bolted from within. He shouted her name with all his might, but it was of no avail. His cries were deadened in the

deafening thunder, boisterous winds and torrential rains which were beating on the

windows and walls. What was to be done? Nothing could daunt his morbid passion, which should be satisfied even at the cost of his life. He was then as a devil incarnate. The walls were too high and steep to scale. The weather-beaten but passionate Bilvamangala made a last desperate attempt to climb the steep wall. Having nothing else to hold on to, he seized the tail of a snake, which clung to the wall, and

and steep to scale. The weather-beaten

venture, saying, “What a great fool you

GURU 11 - Moth

127

GURU 11 - Mothfor self-control and concentration of the mind and also got Gopal-mantra. Later however, Bilvamangala once desired to enjoy the beautiful wife of a brahmana. But while in her company he became disgusted with himself for his lusty desire. Blaming his eyes for diverting him from his spiritual quest, Bilvamangala took the beautiful woman’s hairpins and pierced his eyes.

remorseful Bilvamangala; changed the whole course of his life, giving it a swift turn into spiritual channels. With this she too renounced the world, giving up all her fortunes, and as such she became Bilvamangala’s vartma-pradarsaka guru or his guru showing him the way to the highest well being. The very next day he renounced the world and began the most severe asceticism, being initiated by his guru Somagiri. From this sannyasi guru, Somagiri, Bilvamangala learnt practices

Once a man who was very handsome and powerfully built, but whose character was

somewhat doubtful, fell in love with an exquisitely beautiful girl. The girl was not only beautiful but also saintly in character, and as such did not much appreciate

the man’s advances. Her admirer, however, was insistent, impelled by lustful desire. When the girl expressed surprise at his perseverance, the testosterone-driven man poetically explained that it was her beauty that had captured his heart. The young lady, feeling somewhat compassionate, requested her suitor to wait only seven days, and promised him that he could then enjoy the essence of her beauty. Seeing little alternative, our lovesick hero consented and began waiting, impatient and fidgety, but encouraged by the thought of meeting again the love of his life.

The girl, in the meantime, began to unfold her plan. She took very strong doses of laxatives and purgatives, and for seven days continually passed stool and vomited all that she ate. Moreover, she stored all these in suitable pots, purchased from the local discount shop. As a result of this process, she became lean and thin, resembling a skeleton, her complexion turned blackish, and her beautiful eyes receded into the sockets of her skull. As the appointed hour approached, she waited anxiously to receive the eager man.The man appeared on the scene well dressed and on his best diplomatic behaviour. He asked the skinny girl of the whereabouts of the voluptuous beauty he was to intending to meet. The girl tried to convince the eager young man that he was looking at her, and that she could now show him the essence of her beauty. She directed him to the store of loose stool and liquid vomit, which

STORY - THE LIQUID BEAUTY

somewhat doubtful, fell in love with an exquisitely beautiful girl. The girl was not only beautiful but also saintly in character, and

GURU 11 - MothGURU 11 - Moth

128

Power point show – “Comparing the lives of Somalia children with us”

HOW IS IT RELEVANT IN MY LIFE?

When we go to the market with our mother or father, we see so many attractive looking products like, video games, cricket bat, football, t-shirts, etc. It seems that these objects each have their own life and are pulling us towards them. We feel like immediately grabbing and buying them. But we need to know that we have our needs and we have our wants. We should learn to balance our needs and wants. Just like, in America, riding on a bicycle is a luxury, whereas a car is necessity. In India – bicycle is a necessity, e.g. farmers, milkman, washerman, etc, on the other hand a car is somewhat of a luxury. When want is transformed into need we fall victim to the “glamour world.”Whenever we are attracted to buy anything for ourselves first ask yourself the question, is this our need or is it our want? Then before deciding, remember the lives of the children in Somalia and also those in slums of Mumbai. Then make your decision.Don’t let your eyes trick you; see with the eyes of scriptures and knowledge.

ConclusionRecap the entire guru in brief.

were emanating an unbearably bad smell. Thus, the whole story of liquid beauty was disclosed to him. Finally, by the grace of this saintly girl, this man

of low character was able to distinguish between the shadow and the substance (matter and spirit), and thus he came to his spiritual senses.

GURU 11 - Moth