Chapter 17 :: THE BHAGAVAD-GITA FOR CHILDREN

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FAITH Jai: Grandma, how do I know what foods to eat?

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> Grandma: There are three types of foods,

Jai. (Gita 17.07-10) The foods that bring long life, virtue, strength, health,

happiness, and joy are juicy, smooth, substantial, and nutritious. Such health

foods are the best. Foods that are very bitter, sour, salty, hot,

oily, and acidic are called undesirable foods. Such junk foods are unhealthy,

cause diseases and should be avoided. Foods that are not well

cooked, spoiled, tasteless, rotten, burned, left-over, and impure (such as meat

and alcohol) are bad foods. One should not eat such foods. Jai: How

should I speak to others? Grandma: You should never tell a lie. Your

words should not be harsh, bitter, nasty, or insulting. They should be sweet,

useful, and truthful. (Gita 17.15) One who speaks politely wins the heart of

all and is liked by everybody. A wise person should speak the truth if it is

helpful and keep quiet if it is harsh. To help those in need is the universal

teaching.

justify; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in

5.5in 6.0in"> Jai: How should I help others?

10.0pt">Grandma: It is our duty to help those who are less fortunate

and can’t help themselves. Give to anyone who needs help, but never expect

anything in return. Charity is not only the best, but also the only use of

wealth. We all should help a good cause. Give back what belongs to the world.

But one must be very careful. Money given in charity should be earned by lawful

means. And we must make sure that the receiver is not a person likely to use the

gift

for evil purposes. (Gita 17.20-22) Jai: Will God give us what we want

if we sincerely pray for it?

Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> Grandma: Full faith in God makes

things happen. There is nothing impossible for faith. Faith works miracles. One

must have faith before starting any work. It is said in the Gita that we can

become whatever we want to be if we always think about it and pray to God with

faith. (Gita 17.03) Always think about what you want to be, and your dream can

come true.

4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in">Here is a story about a crow that had faith. 22. The

Thirsty Crow It was a hot summer day. A crow was very thirsty. He flew from

place to place looking for water. He could not find water anywhere. Ponds,

rivers, and lakes were all dry. The water in the well was too deep. Crow was

very thirsty for water. He flew and flew. He was getting both tired and

thirsty, but he did not give up the search.

New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">At last he thought death was near and

remembered God and started to pray for water. He saw a pitcher of water near a

house. This made him very happy as he thought there must be water in the

pitcher. He sat on the top of the pitcher and looked into it. To his great

frustration

he found that the water was at the bottom of the pitcher. He could see the

water, but his beak could not reach the water. He became very sad and started

to think how he could reach the water. Suddenly an idea came into his mind.

There were stones near the pit

FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">cher. He picked up

stones from the ground, one by one, and started dropping them into the pitcher.

The water began coming up. Soon the crow could reach it easily. He drank the

water, thanked God, and happily flew away.

4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in"> Thus it is said, “Where there is a will,

there is a way.” The crow did what we all should do. He did not give up. He had

faith that his prayer would be answered. Here is another good story:

1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in">23. The Hare

and the Turtle

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">A turtle always moves very slowly. His friend, the

hare, often laughed at the slow turtle. One day, the turtle could not bear the

insults and challenged the hare to run a race with him. All the animals in the

jungle laughed at the idea because race is usually between equals. A deer

volunteered to be the judge. The race started. The hare ran fast and

soon he was ahead of the turtle. As the hare came

closer and closer to the winning post, he felt sure of winning. He looked back

at the slow moving turtle, who was far behind. The hare was so sure of winning

that he thought, “I will sit under the tree and wait for the turtle. When he

comes here, I shall run fast and cross the finish line before him. This will

make turtle angry, and it will be fun to see the turtle insulted.” The hare

then sat under a tree. The turtle was still far behind. A cool wind was blowing

gently. After some time passed, the hare fell asleep. When he woke up, he saw

the turtle crossing the finish line. The hare had lost the race! All the

animals in the jungle were laughing at the hare, and he learned a valuable

lesson: “Slow and steady wins the race.”

FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> You can succeed in

any work if you work hard with strong faith. Be enthusiastic about what you

want, and you will get it. We are the creations of our own thoughts and

desires. Thoughts create our future. We become what we always think of. So

never think a negative thought or allow doubt to enter your mind. Keep going

toward your goal. You cannot get anything through laziness, negligence, and

delay. Keep your dream alive in your heart, and it will come true. All

difficulties can be removed by faith in God and a firm determination to

succeed. But the fruits of success must be shared with others! If you want your

dream to be fulfilled, help fulfill someone else’s

dream. Here is a story of a man who learned that god helps those who help

themselves. 24. A Man Who Never Gave Up Yava was the son of a sage who

practiced hard penance to get the blessings of Indra, the King of Devas. He

tortured his body with austerities and thus awakened the sympathy of Indra.

Indra came before him and asked why

he was hurting his body. Yava answered: “I wish to be a great scholar of the

Vedas. It takes a long time to learn the Vedas from a teacher. I am practicing

austerities to get that knowledge directly. Bless me.”

0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; tab-stops: 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in

4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in">Indra smiled and said: “Son, you are on the wrong path.

Return home, find a good teacher, and learn the Vedas from him. Austerity is not

the way to learn; the path is study and study alone.” With these words, Indra

went away. But Yava would not give up. He did his course of spiritual practice

(austerities, penance) with even greater effort. Indra again came before Yava

and warned him again. Yava announced that if his prayer was not answered, he

would cut off his

arms and legs one by one and offer them to the fire. No, he would never give up.

He continued his penance. One morning, during his austerities, when he went to

bathe in the holy Gang| River, he saw an old man on the bank throwing handfuls

of sand into the river. “Old man, what are you doing?” asked Yava. The old

man replied: “I am going to build a dam across the river so people can cross

the river easily. See how difficult it is now to cross it. Useful work, isn’t

it? ” Yava laughed and said: “What a fool you must be to think you can build a

dam across this mighty river with your handfuls of sand! Go home and do some

other useful work.” The old man said: “Is my work more foolish than yours of

learning the Vedas, not by study, but

by austerities?” Yava now knew that the old man was Indra. Yava earnestly

begged Indra to grant him learning as a personal wish. Indra blessed him, and

comforted Yava with the following words: “I grant you the wish you want. Go and

read the Vedas; you will become learned.”

11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Yava studied

the Vedas and became a great scholar of the Vedas. The secret of

success is

to keep thinking about what you want all the time and never give up until you

get what you want. Do not let negative thoughts, such as delaying to start

work, laziness, and carelessness stand in your way. Before starting or ending

any work or study, repeat OM TAT SAT, the threefold names of Brahm.

New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> Jai: What does OM TAT SAT mean,

Grandma? Grandma:

'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> It means Almighty God

is the only Reality. OM is used before starting any work or study. OM TAT SAT

or OM Shantih, Shantih, Shantih, is also used at the end of any act. Chapter

17 summary: There are three types of food --- health food, junk food

and bad food. Food affects our health, intellect, and wellbeing. We are what we

eat. Tell the truth in a pleasant way. Give charity to a deserving candidate

and give it wisely to avoid its misuse. You can become whatever you want to be

if you work hard towards your goal."Gurur Brahma Gurur VishnuGurur Devoh

Maheshwar;Gurur Shakshat ParambramhaTashmai Shri Gurur Veh Namah"May the

Merciful Sri Sai Baba always shower His grace on us and our families and remove

our problems and anxieties by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and

happiness with peace of mind.Sai bhakt,Deepa Hdebu7366