April 3rd GA heralded and celebrated the beginning of Spring and the New year. The Indian New year is celebrated in different parts of India in varied and colorful ways. Known as Ugadi, Gudi padwa, Baisakhi,etc depending on which part of India we talk about, everyone is cheerful and excited to welcome a new season and a joyous new year. We talked about how our festivals are of great significance not only the way they are celebrated but also when they are celebrated. For example, Shivratri comes before Holi and Ugadi comes after Holi. This is because Shivratri is like a wake up call, Holi represents cleansing and removal of meaningless desires. With Ugadi, we start afresh after having cleansed ourselves. We get to reset and make amends for all the past misgivings. Every ritual including the food item that highlights each festival also has very deep meaning. Such spiritual importance our festivals have. We all need to take the time to re-discover it.

We cannot have a new year celebration without talking about yummy, mouth watering delicacies. One such delicious and interesting dish prepared in the southern part of India on Ugadi day is the Ugadi pacchadi. The pacchadi is a representation of life! Giri ji led us through a fun game identifying the flavors
of life: Sweet (happy, cheerful experiences in life), salty (take life with a pinch of salt), sour (life can sometimes make result in sour relationships), bitter (life has some bitter experiences), tangy (life is full of surprises), spicy (signifies anger). Giri ji had with him jaggery, salt, raw mango, tamarind, Neem flower and chillies to represent each of these flavors which he ate and made a specific expression. After having demonstrated once, we had to guess what flavor of life he was exhibiting looking at his facial expressions. Students and parents had ‘bucketful’ of laughs with this activity. It felt like we had consumed a plate full of jaggery!!!!! Such was the laughter and joy within the BV community! What a joyous way to welcome the New Year!

BV GA commenced on 24 th April after the spring break. Everyone was excited to get back to work after a nice long break. We started off with a melodious Rama bhajan to celebrate Shri Rama Navami. This was followed by a wonderful presentation by the 7 th grade Jnanam class. Their topic was ‘Key to success’ derived from Tulasidas Ramayana Yuddha kanda. Lord Rama is standing in the battle ground facing Ravana’s mighty army. Devi Sita is waiting to be rescued. Vibheeshana, Ravana’s sensible brother is also with Lord Rama. When Vibheeshana expresses his concern about Lord Rama fighting the war with only a bow and arrow, Lord Rama assures him that the only thing He needs is the Dharma chariot for success. The Dharma chariot has components in it that represent the many values we need to have to succeed in our lives. The students walked us through these chariot parts and the values they represent. The students shared the examples of the virtues from Ramayana and how they can exhibit them in their lives.

1. Front wheels of the chariot represent courage. We need courage to reach our destination. Courage is within all of us, we need to find it at all times. A small act that takes us out of our comfort zone can be a courageous act. Lord Rama and Devi Sita both showed courage in the forest and facing many challenges. Students shared that facing a bully in school can be an act of courage.
2. The horses in the chariot represent strength. Mental and physical strength are both needed to live a righteous life. When Lord Rama was able to defeat Ravana, inspite of lack of a strong army because the Lord had both physical and mental strength. Strength to fight for a friend who is facing a bully is a quality that students shared they wanted to have.
3. Horses also represent self control. Self control ensures that we do not get distracted from our goals and succeed in our lives. Emotional self control is being in charge of our emotions, thoughts, words or actions. Lord Rama was in control of his grief even after Devi Sita was kidnapped and did not lose sight of his goal of rescuing her. Self control helps us to respond to a situation appropriately, not react.
4. Sword in the chariot represents contentment because contentment can be used to fight off desires, the root of the six enemies of the mind. Real contentment is when you realize that real happiness is found within, not without. When Lord Hanumana was given a pearl necklace, He broke it to see if he could find Lord Rama in it. This shows that he did not care for worldly objects but only for the Lord. The way we can practice contentment is by contemplation and directing our mind’s focus within.
5. The rope of the chariot stands for equanimity. If we lose our composure, we might do things that we will regret later. It is important to be calm and balanced. We should learn to not hold on to grudges and emotions, acknowledge them and let it be. Lord Rama exhibits supreme equanimity both when he is deemed to be coronated as the king and later when he is exiled to the forest. He is unshaken by both joy and sorrow. Not doing well in school or receiving bad remarks from friends should not affect us, we should learn to take it all in stride.
6. The flag represents good character because just like a flag is seen as a representation of what/who you are, our character should be our flag. Good character is when you show kindness and empathy to even those who are not nice to you. Devi Sita offered fruits and water to the sage standing at her door during her stay in the forest. Bharata exhibited good character of not accepting the throne since he believed that it belong to his older brother, Lord Rama.
7. Axe represents generosity. Just like an axe is used to fight evil, generosity can be a powerful weapon to fight off selfishness and greed. Every generous makes a difference. The more you give, the more you makes for a happy and successful society. Lord Hanumana gave everything and dedicated his life to Lord Rama. Lakshmana was another great example of generosity as he willingly went to the forest with his brother. His love for Lord Rama was so powerful he simply gave away 14 years of his life away from his wife and comforts to serve the Lord. Generosity can be practiced by us by donating to charity, help people around us, and showing love to all.
8. The charioteer in the Dharma chariot represents devotion. The charioteer decides the direction and path one takes. Devotion to the Lord is the highest form of devotion. We can devote ourselves to not just God in a particular forms, but to our Gods in our lives, our teachers, parents, siblings, etc. Lakshmana was the epitome of devotion. He was devoted to his brother, His God. Lord Hanumana is known for his devotion to the Lord. He facing all kinds of obstacles, brought back with him a mountain to help his Lord’s brother when he was injured in the war. We can show devotion by immersing ourselves in a pooja or ritual being performed in our house by thinking of the Lord at all times, helping our friends and respecting our elders.

After the students reminded us of all the virtues represented by the Dharma chariot, we had to
test our memory and knowledge by answering the questions on the Dharma chariot.
Everyone was mesmerized by the eloquence and deep understanding the students of Jnanam
class showed. What a powerful message!