OM DRAAM DATTAYA NAMAHA OM DRAAM DATTAYA NAMAHA OM DRAAM DATTAYA NAMAHA

OM DRAM DATTAYA NAMAHA

GURUS (TEACHERS) OF DATTA

LESSON PLAN AND ACTIVITY FOR CHILDREN

PART I

OM DRAAM DATTAYA NAMAHA OM DRAAM DATTAYA NAMAHA OM DRAAM DATTAYA NAMAHA

 OM GAM GANAPATAYE NAMAH

Va-kra Tun-da Ma-haa Kaa-ya Soor-ya Ko-ti Sama-pra-bha

Nir-vigh-nam Ku-ru Me Deva Sarva Kaar-ye-shu Sarvadaa

O Lord Ganesha, of Curved Trunk, Large Body,

and with the Brilliance of a Million Suns,
Please Make All my Works Free of Obstacles, Always.

2
 Om Aim Hreem Shreem
La-li-taam-baa-yai Namah

Sa-ra-swa-ti Na-mas-tu-bhyam
Va-ra-de Kaa-ma Roo-pi-ni
Vid-yaa-ram-bham Ka-rish-yaa-mi
Sid-dhir Bha-va-tu Me Sa-daa

O Saraswatī, I am prostrating or bowing to you,

O Giver of boons,
O Giver of form to the desire for knowledge,
I am going to start studying,
May success be mine, always.

3
 OM SHREE SADGURAVE NAMAH

Gurur Brahmaa Gurur Vishnu

Gurur Devo Maheswarah
Gurur Saakshaat Param Brahma
Tasmai Sri Guruve Namaha

Guru is Brahma (Lord Creator), Guru is Vishnu (Lord Preserver)

Guru is Maheswar (Lord of Destruction)
Guru is the incarnation of Para Brahman (The Absolute)
I offer my prostrations to my Guru
who is a personification of the Trinity in One

4
 Guidelines for use of this workbook

With the blessings of His Holiness Sri Ganapathy Sachchidanada

Swamiji (Appaji) and the suggestion of Swami Dattananda, the
following lessons learned by Datta from twenty four Gurus have been
developed for use by teachers.

It is hoped that the lessons can be brought into daily practice by

students for developing positive, noble and virtuous qualities in their
life.

1. Each lesson starts with the Guru Paduka Shlokam

2. Mantras from previous lesson should be practiced and/or new

prayer should accompany each lesson

3. Each lesson plan includes the following

a. One Guru of Datta and lesson learned from that Guru
b. Story to reinforce the lesson taught by the Guru of Datta
c. Kriya and Hatha Yoga exercises
d. Activities for the children

4. The incidents relating to Swamiji’s childhood and life are included

to help reinforce the lessons and allow the children to know
Swamiji and develop love and devotion for the Sadguru.

5. Each lesson should close with chanting of OM and the Guru

Paduka Shlokam

The Gurus of Datta and lessons learned have been taken from Sri
Datta Darshanam (Vision of Datta) by Parama Pujya Sri Ganapathy
Sachchidanada Swamiji.

The stories of Swamiji as a child have been taken from Bala

Sachchidananda (Pictorial Story of Sachchidananda – The Child).

5
Note: Each lesson can be taught over the course of one week. If there
are two stories relating to different lessons of the same Guru the
lesson can be taught over two days.

Every day discussions can be done with the class about the Guru
(teacher) of Datta and how it relates to everyday life.

The Gurus can also be incorporated into science lessons. For example
the lesson on the earth can be discussed and in addition, it can be
used to help teach about the environment such as planting flowers,
vegetables and trees to protect the earth, keeping the earth clean,
recycling etc. Then the story can be told to reinforce the lesson of
forgiveness and doing good to others which Datta learnt from the
earth.

Lessons 8 through 11 can be used when teaching about the five

senses.

The yoga exercises are to help strengthen the body of the students
and bring balance and flexibility. They can be used to help improve the
concentration of the student by gradually allowing them to hold the
postures for longer periods of time. Student enjoy the yoga exercises
as they are a lot of fun ☺

Many of the activities in this book are found on various websites which
promote crafts and activities for children. The web links to these and
other sites are included in the reference of this book. Teachers will find
a lot more useful information and activities by following the links.

I would like to thank my friends and family for help with the yoga
activities, proof reading and suggestions in compiling this book.

With the Grace of Sadguru all things are possible. I would like to
express my sincere thanks to Appaji for his unlimited love, protection
and blessings. This book is a small offering at his lotus feet.

JAYA GURU DATTA.

6
Table of Content

Birth of Lord Dattatreya and Swamiji …………………………………………….….09

Lesson #1 Guru of Datta : The Earth ……………………………………………….21
Lesson #2 Guru of Datta : The Air ……………………………………………….34
Lesson #3 Guru of Datta : The Water ……………………………………………….45
Lesson #4 Guru of Datta : The Sky ……………………………………………….60
Lesson #5 Guru of Datta : The Moon ……………………………………………….68
Lesson #6 Guru of Datta : The Bee ……………………………………………….81
Lesson #7 Guru of Datta : The Fish ……………………………………………….95
Lesson #8 Guru of Datta : The Deer ………………………………………………106
Lesson #9 Guru of Datta : The Moth .……………………………..………………119
Lesson #10 Guru of Datta : The Elephant ……...……………………………………126
Lesson #11 Guru of Datta : The Maiden ……………………………………………133
Lesson #12 Guru of Datta : The Snake ……………………………………………145

Reference : Craft and Activities ………………………………………………………158

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OM DRAM DATTAYA NAMAHA

Dram is the seed sound (mantra) for Lord Datta. Just as the seed has the power to become
a huge forest, similarly the seed mantra will fill you with huge energy when chanted with
love and devotion.

Chant the mantra Om Dram Dattaya Namaha everyday for the blessings of Lord Datta,

Let children look at their hands and

ask if they see lines. Tell them that
their feet also have special lines. Let
them examine the sole of their feet.

Explain to the children about the

special lines in the sole of the Guru’s
Feet and the meaning of the lines
through the Guru Paduka Shlokam.

GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam

A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih Ra-n-chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beej-aak-sha-ra Mu-dri-taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-du-kaa-bhyaam

MEANING OF GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

I bow to those sacred Sadguru padukas (feet of the Guru) on which are seen the lines
symbolizing :
Hari the one who sustains the world,
Shree Devi, the one who bestows prosperity in the form of wealth and knowledge
Goddess of the Earth (Bhoo Devi) who is the support of living beings
Agastya (expert in medicinal herbs) and several other sacred and secret lines.

8
 BIRTH OF LORD DATTATREYA

BIRTH OF SRI SWAMIJI

RELATION OF SWAMIJI TO DATTATREYA

9
 THE BIRTH OF LORD DATTATREYA

Once upon a time, there was a four faced God called

Brahma.

Just as you can think of a kite and make it, Brahma thought
of creating the world. The world then took shape from his
thoughts.

By and by the people of the world became idle, greedy,

started fighting and acting unrighteous.

The people had a lot of bad habits and this made Lord Brahma very sad and
distressed.

Lord Brahma thought “The people of this world need a spiritual prince or guide
with excellent noble and good qualities to save them!”

There was a sage called Atri who was very noble and did a lot of penance. He
married sage Atri to Anasuya who was the most virtuous woman.

Together sage Atri and Anasuya Mata did a lot of tapas or penance for the welfare
of the world (chanting of mantras, performing poojas daily, teaching of holy stories
and good values to people, giving food as charity, obtaining knowledge of
medicinal herbs and helping people, writing scriptures so people could easily
understand, etc.).

In order to help Lord Brahma fulfill his wish to save the world
and bring the people back to the noble path of life, sage Atri
and Anasuya Mata went to Nirvindya river and began intense
penance.

Sage Atri stood in Garuda asana for 100 years in meditation.

His wife Anasuya did similar discipline and ensured his
penance was not disturbed. Due to the unique praanayaama
done by Sage Atri a fire arose in his body and burst forth in the
opening in the center of his forehead.

10
Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were pleased with the penance of this noble
couple and appeared before them. They asked sage Atri to ask for any wish and
they would grant it.

Sage Atri bowed before them with tears of joy and answered, “O Lord, I have the
blessing of the vision of God so I do not wish for anything more.” However, the
trio insisted he ask for something. Thinking of the welfare of the world, he thought
if the Gods are born on the earth, the people of the earth will benefit. He requested
that the three Gods be born to them as their sons.

The trio replied, “O Munindra, with intense devotion you have surrendered
yourself to us. You are a noble soul and your desire is also noble. Out of our love
for you and in appreciation of your tapas we are giving ourselves. Your desire will
be fulfilled by the child who will be born to you.”

Lord Brahma was born as Chandra, Lord Vishnu was born as Datta and Lord Shiva
was born as Durvaasa. After some time Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva returned to
their worlds. Before leaving the earth Datta combined the aspects for both Brahma
and Shiva and remained on earth. Datta became known as Dattatreya. Datta also
means ‘gift given’.

Lord Vishnu gifted himself to

sage Atri, Anasuya Mata and
the world.

11
THE BIRTH OF HIS HOLINESS SRI GANAPATHY SACHCHIDANANDA
SWAMIJI
Swamiji’s mother Jayalakshmi lived in Mekedatu with her parents. As a young girl
Jayalakshmi would freely roam the forests and serve the saints and sages that
frequented the holy mountain range. The sages would teach her the science of yoga
and worship of the Mother Goddess.

12
13
 Lord Dattatreya was born to Jayalakshmi
l Mata as a baby. His father named him
Satyanarayana.

Everyone called the baby as Satyam.

Later Satyam became known as Sri

Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji.

Even when he was just five of six years, Jayalakshmi

taught her son, Satyanarayana, the Yoga.

Jayalakshmi served the sages in Mekedatu. She also saved the villagers from
being harmed by animals (elephants and tigers) by doing special prayers.
Datta was pleased with Jayalakshmi’s penance and good deeds. He told her he
would be born as her son. Jayalakshmi later married Narsimha Sastri.
Satyam was born as Jayalakshmi’s son. He had special holy malas around his
neck and was covered with holy ashes or vibhuti. Satyam was later known as
Swamiji.
Swamiji built Datta temples and centers throughout India and the western
countries.
He is the same as Datta and wants everyone to get their wishes fulfilled through
love and devotion to Datta. He wants us to leave our bad habits, serve God,
and feel the bliss of God.

OM DRAM DATTAYA NAMAHA 14

 Kriya and Hatha Yoga Exercises

1. Three part breath with hand motion

i. Stand up tall, in the mountain stance with feet firm on the ground and hands down to the
side. As you inhale (breathe in) raise your hands in front of you with palms facing down.
ii. Inhale again this time open your arms out to the side as if you are going to get a big hug
iii. Inhale a third time lifting arms right up (palms facing each other)
iv. While exhaling (breathing out) lower arms down to your side and stand in a mountain.

Do five rounds of this exercise

2. Sahaja Kriya
Sit with back, neck and head straight.
Place hands in a fist (place the thumb at the base of the little
finger and curl the other fingers over the thumb), bring the
knuckles of both hands together palm side facing upward. Place
hands at the navel.
Inhale (breathe in) letting the tummy become like a balloon, fill
the lungs with air, right from the tummy up to the neck.
Exhale, breathe out by dropping the chest and pull in the tummy
muscles so all the air goes out of the lungs.
As you inhale chant Om Draam Dattaya Namaha (silently in
your mind).
As you exhale chant Om Draam Dattaya Namaha.

Do 5 rounds with complete inhalation and exhalation.

Yoga Exercise :
Pretend you are a little seed in the earth. Stoop down hugging your legs.
Then imagine the sun shines and it rains and the seed begins to grow.
Stand up slowly lifting your hands (branches up to the sky) as you stand.
Grow until the tree is on tip toes.
There are animals making their homes in your tree. What kind of animals are on your tree?
It is cold and windy but the tree stands tall, its branches blowing and swaying in the wind. The
leaves rustle in the wind and the fruits fall from the tree. The fruit goes to the earth and you
become a seed once more in the earth.

Do this exercise two or three times. Kids really love it.

15
 Leg Strengthening exercises

3. Stand in the Mountain pose,

Lift your left hand up (palm facing to the front),
Bend the right leg and hold ankle with right hand
Once steady use right hand and extend right leg back and up.

Repeat raising your right hand and holding the ankle of left leg with
the left hand.

4. Stand in the mountain pose.

Take a wide step forward with your right

foot, bring your left leg just behind right
foot with toes pointing down.
Raise both arms up and out to the front
with palms facing each other.
Lift left leg and balance on right foot.
Extend forward through your arms and
backward through the left leg.
Repeat lifting right leg and balancing on
your left foot. Arms stretched out to the
front palms facing each other.

THE EAGLE POSE – GARUDA ASANA

1) Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides
(tad-aa-sa-na or mountain pose).
2) Bend the right knee slightly.
Raise the left foot and from the front, wrap it around your right leg.
The left foot can rest on the floor if you cannot wrap it all the way
around.
3) Extend arms out to the front palm facing upward. Bend hands at the
elbow. Cross your arms at the elbows, left over right.
4) Join the palms of your hands together keeping the fingers pointed
upward.

16
 5) Stand in the Eagle pose for about 5 breaths.
6) You can unwrap your arms and spread them like eagle wings and flap your wings and squak
like an eagle!
7) Then wrap one hand around the other. Bend at the knee a little so your eagle can rest on the
branch.
8) Exhale and return to the tada-asana or the mountain.
Repeat wrapping the right leg over the left and the right arm over left.

Now Flap your arms and Squawk like an Eagle!

This is the aa-sana or posture Sage Atri would do and he

would chant mantras standing like this for many years.

CHANT OM FOR 2-3 MINUTES

AND CLOSE WITH THE
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

17
1. What is your Eagle like? Complete the sentences to describe your Eagle. You can
use the words in the box to help complete the sentences.

Big / Small Soars with the Wind / Heads for Cover

Hunter / Scavenger Lively / Dull
Fearless / Cowardly Swift / Slow

My eagle is ____________ and ____________ and _____________ .

My eagle is not ____________ and __________ and ______________ .

My eagle is __________ years old.

My eagle likes _____________________________________________.

2. Draw a picture that shows your eagle’s personality.

18
19
http://www.freekidscrafts.com/hand_and_footprint_eagle-e404.html
MAKE YOUR OWN EAGLE
Each child should fold his construction paper in
half. Draw out his hand on the folded paper. Let
him draw one of his feet on another
construction paper.
Use the hands as your eagle’s wings and the
foot as the body of your eagle. Stick the wings
to either side of the body. ((see picture)

Print and cut out the template above.

Stick the eagle’s head and feet onto the wings and body you had cut out.

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 LESSON #1

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE EARTH

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 OM DRAM DATTAYA NAMAHA

GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari

Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam
A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih Ra-n-
chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beej-aak-sha-ra Mu-dri-
taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-du-kaa-bhyaam

Guru Shlokam

Gurur Brahmaa Gurur Vishnu

Gurur Devo Maheswarah
Gurur Saakshaat Param Brahma
Tasmai Sri Guruve Namaha

Guru is Brahma (Lord Creator), Guru is Vishnu (Lord Preserver)

Guru is Maheswar (Lord of Destruction)
Guru is the incarnation of Para Brahman (The Absolute)
I offer my prostrations to my Guru
who is a personification of the Trinity in One

Always have good thoughts, speak good words and perform good actions

22
 Once Lord Datta was sitting in meditation when King Yadu passed by and saw this
young person sitting unaffected, happy and calm.

King Yadu asked Lord Datta, “ How do you remain unaffected by troubles, happy
and calm? Why do you always seem to be floating in bliss (happiness)? What has
made this possible?”

Lord Datta replied, “O King Yadu I have observed the world closely and obtained a little
knowledge from a number of gurus (teachers). Listen carefully! I will tell you what I
have learnt.”

Lord Datta’s first Guru (teacher) was the Earth.

Datta said :

23
What are some good actions you can do to others and the environment? Keep a diary of
the good actions that you do.

STORY OF RAMANA

There was a young boy named Ramana. At 14years of age he left home and went to live
in the mountains of Arunachala. He had nothing except one piece of cloth that he wore.

The mischievous children of the village where he stayed would make fun of him and pelt
stones at Ramana. However, Ramana never got angry or disturbed by the children. He
never cried or pouted, he did not even pray to God for protection. He simply continued
his penance (prayers, chanting and meditation).

Almighty God took notice and prompted a Swami who wandered in the mountains to
protect Ramana. The people of the area knew this Swami well. They thought he was mad
but did not disturb him as they knew he had yogic powers.

Swami started chasing the roughish imps who were throwing stones at Ramana. He
scolded the parents of those children. Thus young Ramana did not have any more trouble
and could continue his practices without any disturbance.

Through his penance Ramana became a Maha Rishi and helped many people.

Both Ramana and the Swami had true devotion to God. They believed that Almighty God
was responsible for the mischief of the children and for providing protection. Therefore
all their efforts were successful and they always did good to others.

24
 STORY ABOUT SWAMIJI

When Swamiji was a boy (Satyam) he stayed with his Aunt Venkamma. She was a
widow and lived in a room in the Shiva temple. She did some work in neighbouring
houses and did not have much money.
Satyam did not even have books for school. However, his mother Jayalakshmi, had
instructed him that he must help at least four poor boys every day. Following his
mother’s instructions, Satyam would do some work even at the age of ten years and get
books and school fees to help some poor boys.

Satyam was always engaged in some

good actions like practicing yoga,
studying holy stories with the pundits or
scholars and doing his school work.
Even as Lord Datta learnt that he must
always do good to others, Jayalakshmi
Mata taught this lesson to Satyam.
Satyam listened to his Mother and
followed her instructions.
Satyam did not think “I am poor so how
can I help anyone?” Instead he thought, “I
must obey Mother’s instructions and work
and help others.”

25
26
27
 Kriya and Hatha Yoga Exercises

1. Three part breath with hand motion

i. Stand up tall, in the mountain stance with feet firm on the ground and hands down to the
side. As you inhale (breathe in) raise your hands in front of you with palms facing down.
ii. Inhale again this time open your arms out to the side as if you are going to get a big hug
iii. Inhale a third time lifting arms right up (palms facing each other)
iv. While exhaling (breathing out) lower arms down to your side and stand in a mountain.

Do five rounds of this exercise

2. Sahaja Kriya
Sit with back, neck and head straight.
Place hands in a fist (place the thumb at the base of the little
finger and curl the other fingers over the thumb), bring the
knuckles of both hands together palm side facing upward. Place
hands at the navel.
Inhale (breathe in) letting the tummy become like a balloon, fill
the lungs with air, right from the tummy up to the neck.
Exhale, breathe out by dropping the chest and pull in the tummy
muscles so all the air goes out of the lungs.
As you inhale chant Om Draam Dattaya Namaha (silently in
your mind).
As you exhale chant Om Draam Dattaya Namaha.

Do 5 rounds with complete inhalation and exhalation.

Yoga Exercise :
Pretend you are a little seed in the earth. Stoop down hugging your legs.
Then imagine the sun shines and it rains and the seed begins to grow.
Stand up slowly lifting your hands (branches up to the sky) as you stand.
Grow until the tree is on tip toes.
There are animals making their homes in your tree. What kind of animals are on your tree?
It is cold and windy but the tree stands tall, its branches blowing and swaying in the wind. The
leaves rustle in the wind. Did your tree topple over in the wind? What keeps your tree from
falling over?

As the winds blows, the fruits fall from the tree. The fruit goes to the earth and you become a
seed once more in the earth.

Do this exercise two or three times. Kids really love it.

28
 Leg Strengthening exercises

3. Stand in Mountain,
Lift your left hand up (palm facing to the front),
Bend the right leg and hold ankle with right hand
Once steady use right hand and extend right leg back and up.

Repeat raising your right hand and holding the ankle of left leg with
the left hand.

4. Stand in mountain pose.

Take a wide step forward with your right

foot, bring your left leg just behind right
foot with toes pointing down.
Raise both arms up and out to the front
with palms facing each other.
Lift left leg and balance on right foot.
Extend forward through your arms and
backward through the left leg.
Repeat lifting right leg and balancing on
your left foot. Arms stretched out to the
front palms facing each other.

5. Tree Pose – Stand in mountain.

Place right foot against the ankle of your left leg.
Shift weight to left leg.
Raise right foot and place it as high as you can against your other leg.
Bring hands to chest in prayer position.
Once steady lift hands overhead.
Hold for about 5 seconds, then bring hands down to chest and place foot on floor.
Shake standing foot out to relax it.

Repeat on other side.

29
 Students practicing the Tree Pose

Sit with legs crossed and close the session by chanting OM and Guru Paduka Shlokam

30
 ACTIVITY

Perform skit using two stories taught in this lesson. Close the skit with the children
saying the lesson they learnt from the earth.

“I learnt from the Earth is always do good to others and to forgive the mistakes of
others.”

Drawing a cartoon earth: some fun facts before starting sketching!

http://www.how-to-draw-funny-cartoons.com/cartoon-earth.html

- The earth is around 90 000 000 miles away from the sun.

- Around 10% of the earth is covered with ice.

- Earth is around 5 billion years old.

The shape of the earth is made of a circle. It's not a perfect circle
since the earth is a little more flat on both poles.

The continents are made of irregular shapes including many

countries, islands and icebergs.

When drawing the earth, you don't need to shape those continents
as perfect as you can. Just a good sketch will do the job.

31
Drawing the earth is not a big challenge. Drawing a good looking continent is, however,
more difficult. Try to use your imagination to draw something more funny (1), more
realistic (2) or more unusual (3).

Why not draw a map with two feet and a face? Just let your imagination go and enjoy!

WE MUST KEEP THE EARTH CLEAN

AND
PROTECT THE PLANTS AND ANIMALS ON THE EARTH.

32
 LESSON #2

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE AIR

33
OM DRAM DATTAYA NAMAHA
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhooyuta Shree Hari

Chihnitaabhyaam
Agastya Raykhaadibhih Ranchitaabhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beejaakshara Mu-dri-taa-bhyaam
Namo Namah Sadguru Paadukaabhyaam

KARA DARSHANAM PRABHATA SHLOKAM

THE FORCE IS IN YOUR HANDS
Ka-raa-gre Va-sa-te Lakshmi,
Ka-ra Madh-ye Sa-ra-swa-tee
Ka-ra Moo-le Sthi-taa Gau-ree
Pra-bhaa-te Ka-ra Dar-sha-nam

On the tip of your fingers is Goddess Lakshmi;

At the center of the palm is Goddess Sarasvati;
At the base of it all resides the primal creative force.
At the dawn I remind myself that at the base of all
activities and prosperity lie spiritual realization
Brief Explanation
This is a Morning Prayer called “karadarshana”. You begin the
day with this prayer.
‘kara” means the palm of the hand and it stands for the five organs
of action.
While looking at the palm, you ask the Lord in the form of various
deities, to reside in the palms so all the actions that will be done
during the day will be good.
By acknowledging the Lord as the giver of the capacity to perform actions and as the
giver of the fruits of those actions, you sanctify (make holy) the actions.
Thus, you pray in the morning to reinforce the attitude that all actions are performed as
a service to the Lord. All human progress lies in effort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtZg71ukqks

34
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE AIR

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Air.”

When you eat the food mixes with air in the stomach. Does the air mixed with the food
enjoy the taste of the food?

The vital air does not desire any pleasure.

To obtain knowledge a body is necessary, for the body to live, life force is necessary and
food is necessary to support the life force. Therefore, small quantities of food should be
taken for without food life and obtaining knowledge is not possible.

In the same way Lord Datta learnt that a student (aspirant) should take food only
with a view to obtaining knowledge and should be careful not to be greedy or desire
more than necessary for keeping the body healthy.

How does the air smell?

The air has no scent, yet if it passes over some flowers it seems to have the fragrance of
the flowers.

Datta learnt from the air in the same way a person though having a physical body
should remain unaffected by the body and senses. A Yogi lives in and for the Self
only.

35
 STORY OF SUDAMA AND SRI KRISHNA

When Sudama was young he studied with Krishna at their Guru’s home. Both boys
became very good friends. When they finished their studies they had to go to their own
homes. Sudama was very sad to leave his friend Krishna and told him that he will always
remember him.

Sudama got married and had two children. He was very poor and lived in a small hut. He
would always tell his wife and children about his childhood friend Krishna. He told them
how Krishna was always kind. He narrated how they had both gone to gather wood in the
forest one day and it had become stormy. He was very scared but Krishna took care of
him on that stormy night in the forest.

One day Sudama’s wife looking at her kids with hardly enough to eat and not enough
clothes to keep them warm. She felt sorry for them so she suggested to Sudama, “Why
don’t you go and visit your friend Krishna? You are always remembering him, he will
also be happy to see you.”

Sudama was very happy at the suggestion and agreed to go and visit Krishna. However,
he said, “I cannot go to visit my friend and not take him a gift. We don’t have anything,
how can I go to his house empty handed?”

Sudama’s wife remembered that he would tell her how Krishna loved cooked sweet rice.
She went to one of the neighbour’s house and borrowed some rice and sugar. She
prepared the sweet rice. She tore a bit of her sari and tied the rice in the cloth. Here
Sudama take this to Krishna I am sure he will enjoy it.

Sudama then set out on foot to Mithila where Krishna lived. As he crossed the rivers and
valleys he was immersed (deep) in thoughts about Krishna. He wondered if his friend
would remember him. It had been many years since they saw each other.

When Sudama arrived in Mithila, he approached the palace where Krishna lived. He
thought, “Would the guard let me enter the palace?” However as if by a miracle there
were no guards at the gate to stop him from entering the palace. He looked around and
saw the grandeur of the place. Then Krishna appeared and seeing Sudama ran to him and
hugged him. He put him to sit on the throne and asked for water to be brought and he
washed Sudama’s feet. He made Sudama take a bath and gave him royal clothes and
food. Then they chatted for some time about the old school days. Krishna asked,
“Sudama, have you not brought a gift for me? Did my sister not remember to send me a
present?”

36
Sudama was shy and after seeing all the splendour of the palace did not want to offer the
sweet rice to Krishna. Krishna saw the cloth tied to Sudama’s arm and grabbed it. He
opened the cloth and started eating the sweet rice. Then he said, “Oh, this is delicious you
remembered how much I love sweet rice!”

Sudama was very happy that Krishna had appreciated his small gift. After spending a few
days with his friend, he returned home. On the way home he smiled with joy and sang
songs about Krishna. He did not imagine that he could wish for anything more in this
world than the love of Krishna.

When he approached his home he was confused as he did not see his hut. A lady dressed
in beautiful clothes was coming towards him. “Sudama don’t you recognize me, I am
your wife. Look! Krishna has given a very big house and lots of riches. I knew once
Krishna saw you, without even asking he would help you.”

As the days went by Sudama’s wife noticed that Sudama was not very happy with the big
house. She asked, “At least you should be happy that Krishna has blessed you with this
house. Whenever I see even a chair in the house I am reminded of Krishna and his love
and I am happy.”

Sudama replied, “Why a chair in the house, even if I see any chair I am reminded of
Krishna. Before we had this big house I thanked Krishna for the small hut that he
provided us. When I see the sky or the hills or the trees or the rain all things remind me of
him. So I was happy before he gave this big house and I am also the same after I have the
big house.”

Sudama was not sad because he did not have much food or a big house. He was not
overjoyed when he got a lot of riches. Sudama was not carried away by his senses, he
remained calm and peaceful at all times.

37
 Story about Swamiji and the lesson his Aunt Venkamma taught

Aunt Venkamma would send Satyam to four houses for begging alms of cooked food.

He would collect the rice in his bag and sambar

in a container.

On returning home Aunt Venkamma would be

there like a police.
She allowed Satyam to give rice and sambar to
Varalakshmi his sister. Then he had to feed the
persons outside the temple.
After feeding all the people outside the temple,
only two small handfuls of food remained.
Satyam asked his aunt if he should go begging a
second time.
His aunt was doing penance and observing silence.
She took her fan and beat Satyam for asking that
question.

Then Satyam understood he had to eat only what was left

over after feeding others.
Aunt Venkamma told Satyam later that he should have
only one meal a day to help with his yoga practice.

Satyam learnt to take only enough food to maintain

his body in good health for his studies and yoga
practice.

38
Kriya and Hatha Yoga Exercise

1. Do 5 rounds of Sahaja kriya (page 28).

Do exercise of little seed in ground growing up to be a tree and having fruits etc.

2. Make loose fist with finger curled over thumbs. Place hand on your thigh.
Inhale in three steps. Then exhale in three steps. Repeat three times.

This breathing exercise energizes your body. Hanuman used this exercise to energize himself before
jumping across the ocean to go in search of Sita.

Lion Pose
Sit up with straight on your heels.
Put your big toes together and you place your butt in the space between the heels.
What do you call this part of your legs? Thighs!
Place your hands, oh! lions do not have hands. What do lions have? Paws.
Place your paws on your thighs. Take a very deep breath filling your entire body with air.
Slide your paws down your thighs, touching your paws to the ground.
Look up between your eyebrows, open your mouth, stick your tongue out and roar very loudly.

O, you are very good lions. Now slide your paws up your thighs, close your eyes and rest.
The lion brings energy to your eyes, your tongue and your whole face. If ever you feel sleepy and want
to wake up do the lion a few times. Remember lions are very fierce and roar very loudly. The more air
you breathe in the longer you can roar.

Take a deep breath, slide your paws to the ground and roar loudly. Then slide your hands back up your
thighs and rest.

Do you know that “the lion” is good for you when you are catching a cold? The loud roaring brings
blood to your throat chasing the bugs away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIUhJg20gaU&feature=relmfu

39
3. Three part breath with hand motion
i. Stand up tall, in the mountain stance with feet firm on the ground and hands down to the
side. As you inhale raise your hands in front of you with palms facing down.
ii. Inhale again this time open your arms out to the side as if you are going to get a big hug
iii. Inhale a third time lifting arms right up (palms facing each other)
While exhaling lower arms down to your side and stand in the mountain pose.

Do five rounds of this exercise

Leg Strengthening exercises

4. Stand in Mountain,
Lift your left hand up (palm facing to the front),
Bend the right leg and hold ankle with right hand
Once steady use right hand and extend right leg back and up.

Repeat raising your right hand and holding the ankle of left leg with
the left hand.

5. Stand in mountain pose.

Take a wide step forward with your right

foot, bring your left leg just behind right
foot with toes pointing down.
Raise both arms up and out to the front
with palms facing each other.
Lift left leg and balance on right foot.
Extend forward through your arms and
backward through the left leg.
Repeat lifting right leg and balancing on
your left foot. Arms stretched out to the
front palms facing each other.

40
 6. Tree Pose – Stand in mountain.
Place right foot against the ankle of your left leg.
Shift weight to left leg
Raise right foot and place it as high as you can against your other leg.
Bring hands to chest in prayer position.
Once steady lift hands overhead.
Hold for a about 5 seconds, then bring hands down to chest and place foot on floor.
Shake standing foot out to relax it.

Repeat on other side.

Sit with legs crossed and close the session by chanting OM and Guru Paduka Shlokam

41
 ACTIVITY
Hot Air Balloon

Materials

• Balloon
• Paper (newspapers or paper for recycling)
• Wool thread
• Hole punch
• Paper cup
• Paint or markers
• Scissors

Steps
Blow up a ballon and knot it at the opening.

Measure a length of woolen thread from the top of the

balloon to the mouth of the balloon
Cut four lengths of the measured thread.
Double one thread and tie the ends around the mouth of the
balloon. Thread a second length of thread through the top
of the loop of the first length of thread. Bring the second
thread over the top of the balloon and knot it at the mouth
of the balloon.

Do the same with the other two lengths of thread tying

them over the ballopn at right angles to the thread that was
already tied to the balloon.

42
About 1/3 distance from the mouth of the balloon, measure a length of thread to tie around the balloon.
Cut the thread and as you wrap it around the balloon, tie it to each piece of thread (which you had tied
earlier).

Trim a paper cup to the desired height for your hot air balloon's basket.

Punch 4 evenly-spaced holes around the rim of the paper cup. The placement
of these holes should match those on the papier mache balloon.

Paint the paper cup if you like.

Attach the balloon to the basket by tying strings to connect the

thread tied around the balloon to the holes in your basket.

You may decorate the hot air balloon and paper cup further with
stickers, craft foam shapes or glitter glue.

You can even make paper dolls to ride in your hot air balloon.

You can tie a thread at the top of the balloon and hang it in your room.

43
 LESSON #3

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM WATER

44
 Om Aim Hreem Shreem La-li-taam-baa-yai Namah

Sa-ra-swa-ti Na-mas-tu-bhyam
Va-ra-de Kaa-ma Roo-pi-ni
Vid-yaa-ram-bham Ka-rish-yaa-mi
Sid-dhir Bha-va-tu Me Sa-daa

O Saraswatī, salutations for you,

O Giver of boons, O Giver of form to desire,
I am going to start studying, may success be mine, always.

45
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM WATER

Once Lord Datta was sitting in meditation when King Yadu passed by and saw this
young person sitting unaffected, happy and calm.

King Yadu asked Lord Datta, “ How do you remain unaffected, happy and calm?
Why do you always seem to be floating in bliss (happiness)? What has made this
possible?”

Lord Datta replied, “O King Yadu I have observed the world closely and obtained a little
knowledge from a number of gurus (teachers). Listen carefully! I will tell you what I
have learnt.”

Lord Datta said, “O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from Water.”

What are some of the things that water is used for?

Why do we bathe?
Water is sweet and quenches our thirst.

Lesson learnt from Water

Water does not only serve good persons but everyone.
Water is pure and can purify other things.
I must have a pure heart, speak sweet words and be full of love for everyone. Then I can
purify others by mere sight, touch or remembering the person.

“Oh King, I learn from water that I must serve everyone. I must have a pure heart
and speak sweet words. I must be full of love for everyone then I can purify others
by mere sight, touch or remembering the person.”

46
 Story of King Ranti Deva

There was a king named Ranti Deva whose heart was full of the milk of human kindness.
Anyone who came to him seeking help (food, money, advice etc) would not go away
disappointed.

The king found peace and happiness in giving whatever he had to the poor and needy.

Once a great famine struck his kingdom, and the king himself was in need. However, he
continued his charities as usual. Meanwhile the scarcity of food grain became acute
(severe). The king, his wife and children would give a share of their food to satisfy the
hunger of the poor who came to him.

The famine grew worse and the king and his family did not even have food for forty-eight
days. On the 49th day by chance the king got a pot of porridge made of rice and milk.
After praying the king and his family were about to sit down and eat when a hungry
Brahmin (priest / pundit) arrived begging for food. The king received him with great
respect and gave him the rice and milk, the best part of his porridge. The Brahmin went
away satisfied.

Immediately after, a worker came asking for food. The king also received him with great
respect and gave him a share of the porridge. When he went away another beggar came
with four dogs. The king gave the remainder of the porridge and was happy to see that he
could appease the hunger of his guest and four dogs.

Now only water was left in the porridge for the starving king and his family. As he was
about to drink the water another beggar came seeking water to quench his thirst. Seeing
the pitiable condition of the beggar Ranti Deva said, “I do not have any desire for wealth.
I don’t want heaven. I don’t want special powers. My only prayer to God is that I may
feel the pain of others and have the power to relieving their pain and solving their
problems.”

So saying the king gave the beggar the water. As the man drank it the king felt his own
hunger, thirst and weakness had disappeared.

Goddess Lakshmi was pleased with the king’s sacrifice and offered him all the riches of
the world. But the king refused the offer. His mind was only concentrated on serving
God. The Goddess blessed him and Ranti Deva became a great Yogi.

A yogi is full of bliss (happiness) and spends his life in the service to all men. He helps
others to obtain peace and happiness.

47
Ranti Deva served everyone completely, just like water serves the plants, animals and
people on the earth. (The last beggar with the four dogs was none other than Lord
Dattatreya who came to test the king.)

48
 THE COMPASSION OF SWAMIJI AS A CHILD

Satyam was filled with compassion even as a child.

The people of the village loved him very much.

49
50
Even though the he-buffalo was wild and hurting others Satyam showed compassion and
love while being firm. The he-buffalo then mended its ways and became calm.

Just as water purifies the body, Swamiji is filled with love for everyone and
therefore he can purify his devotees and help them become good, noble and virtuous
persons.

51
Kriya and Hatha Yoga Exercise

1. Do 5 rounds of Sahaja kriya (page 28).

Do exercise of little seed in ground growing up to be a tree and having fruits etc.

2. Practice 3 rounds of inhaling and exhaling in steps.

Do the lion pose from lesson 3 (page 39).

3. Three part breath with hand motion

i. Stand up tall, in the mountain stance with feet firm on the ground and hands
down to the side. As you inhale raise your hands in front of you with palms
facing down.
ii. Inhale again this time open your arms out to the side as if you are going to
get a big hug
iii. Inhale a third time lifting arms right up (palms facing each other)
While exhaling lower arms down to your side and stand in a mountain

Do five rounds of this exercise

4. Manduka Balasana – Frog child

Squat forward, while bending your knees, move your arms

backwards through the space between your legs and grab your
ankles from the outside. Breathe normally.

Take 4 steps forward while inhaling.

Take 4 steps backward while exhaling.

You can make the sound of a frog while doing this exercise.

Do you know where frogs live and what they eat?

52
5. Boat pose.
Sit down with knees close to your chest, feet on the floor.
Keeping your body close to vertical, hold behind your knees.
Lift your leg to bring shins parallel to the ground.
Release your hands and stretch arms straight forward.
Lean back slightly as you stretch your legs straight.

You can try this exercise with a friend to get some support and it is much more fun.

Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)

Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

53
 ACTIVITY
1. You can gather a number of different items for the children to taste (nuts, fruits etc).
Cut it up into small pieces. Give one item at a time to the children ask them to remember
what they have tasted.

After giving all the items to taste ask the children to write down all the items they have
tasted and in the order they remember tasting it.

2. Make your own Rain sticks

What you will need

Cardboard tube (a paper towel roll is okay, but a long tube from gift-wrapping paper is even
better. You can also take two or three paper towel rolls and tape them together.)

- Markers / Brown Construction Paper / White paper

glue

- 2 pieces of foil 7” x 10”

- Tape (masking or packing tape is good)

- Paper to cover rainstick

- Rice and/or small beans (uncooked)

- Crayons, markers, cutouts

The rain stick is a musical instrument from South America. Traditionally, rain sticks are
made from the wood skeleton of a cactus. First, the thorns are pulled off and pushed back
through the soft flesh of the cactus. Then the cactus is left in the sun to dry--with the thorns
on the inside. Later, the hollow cactus is filled with small pebbles, and the ends are sealed
with pieces of wood

Instructions
1. Make end caps for your Earth Day rain stick by tracing around the end of your tube on a
piece of brown construction paper or a brown paper bag. Draw another, larger circle around
the first circle. Draw several lines crossways (like spokes) between the 2 circles, and cut
around the larger circle. Do this twice, and set the second one aside.
2. Spread some white craft glue between the 2 circles and glue the cap securely over the end of the rain
stick.

54
3. Cut 2 pieces of aluminum foil about 7 inches wide and approximately one-and-a-half times the
length of the cardboard tube. Crush the foil strips into long, thin shapes, and then twist them into
spring shapes. Put the foil springs into the tube.
4. Put some unpopped popcorn, seeds, dry rice or beans into the tube and glue on the second end cap.
Your tube should only be about one-eighth full. Experiment with different types and amounts of
beans or seeds and listen to the difference in sounds.
5. Cover the rain stick with brown construction paper or brown paper from a paper bag. Decorate the
rain stick with rainforest designs such as frogs, leaves, flowers or butterflies. Use acrylic paint,
markers, crayons, or designs cut from construction paper.
6. Seal the Earth Day rain stick with varnish, if desired, and allow it to dry.

Read more: How to Make a Rain Stick for Earth Day | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_2145555_make-rain-stick-earth-day.html#ixzz1xLlUFCmo

55
HEALTH AND HYGIENE

56
57
58
 LESSON #4

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE SKY

59
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari

Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam
A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih Ra-
n-chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beej-aak-sha-ra Mu-
dri-taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-du-kaa-bhyaam

OM NAMO HANUMATE NAMAHA

Tvam As-min Kaar-ya Nir-yo-ge

Pra-maa-nam Ha-ri-sat-ta-ma
Ha-nu-maan! Yat Na-maa-sthaa-ya
Du-kha Ksha-ya Ka-ro Bha-va

O Lord Hanuman Lord of Courage

You alone can bestow strength on me
Please help me overcome my obstacles and sorrows
And keep me safe!

60
 Lord Datta said,
“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Sky.”

Where is the sky / space? It is all around isn’t it?

Can you cut the sky? Can you measure the sky?

Where is space? Is it inside the room? Is it outside of the room?

Is there space inside of me?

Here is an empty container, what is inside the container? Space

The room has room space and the container has container space.
If I break the container what would happen to the space inside the container? There will
be only one space.

Inside of my body there is some intelligence (Inner Self) that is showing me my body, my
thoughts, my feelings. When the body dies the Inner Self does not die. It is like the space
inside the container, when the container is destroyed the space becomes one with the
larger space. In the same way when the body is destroyed that which is inside the body
and showing me the world, the Inner Self becomes one with the Higher Self which knows
everything.

61
Sometimes my mind is here and I can observe all that is happening around me.
Sometimes my mind wanders and if I think I am in the mountains by the river, or by the
ocean I feel that I am far away. Observing like this I can know that I can be anywhere
although my body is in one place.

Lord Datta said, “Observing the sky I learnt that the inner self is one though it
exists in different bodies. I learnt to experience the Self everywhere and in
everything.”

There is an extraordinary thing about the Sky, clouds are formed by the elements of dust
(from earth), water and fire (heat). Water evaporates with the help of heat, condenses in
the form of water droplets around dust particles in the air and forms clouds in the sky.
With the help of air the clouds move about in the sky. Yet the sky is not stained by the
clouds.

From this I learnt, that the Self is not contaminated by the qualities of the elements
forming the body. This is what Sky has taught me.

62
 GURU AND HIS STUDENTS

A Guru had many good students in his class but had particular regard and high respect for
one of them. Some of the students one day asked the teacher the reason for this. In reply
he said, “I shall tell you tomorrow."

The next day, he handed to each of those students a piece of paper with something
written on it. He asked them to find a place where they would not be seen by anyone and
then to take the paper and read what was written on it.

After a while, they all returned. The Guru asked the students what had happened. The
first replied that he had gone to the fields and read what was written on his paper but on
the way back he remembered his sister as he saw beautiful flowers she would like and he
picked some flowers for her.

The second student said that he found problems finding a place where he would not be
seen then he came upon a cave in a lonely spot and he went into the cave and read what
was written on the paper. All of the students narrated how they found a place and read
what the Guru had written. He then asked his favourite student to relate what he had
done.

The student replied, “Guru I am sorry I failed to carry out your instructions.”

The teacher asked him why he had not read his teaching. He replied. "You had asked me
to go to a place where nobody would see me. I tried hard to find such a place but
everywhere I went I was sure that God could see me and I could not hide from Him. So I
could not carry out your instructions.

On hearing this, the teacher turned to the other students and remarked, "The reason why I
respect this student more is because of his constant awareness of the existence of God
everywhere. He can always see Him, no matter where he is. He knows God is everywhere
and in everything so, he does not commit any sin or do harm to anyone.”

“O God I know you are everywhere, like the sky”

63
 SATYAM’S CHILDHOOD TEACHINGS

Jayalakshmi Mata taught Satyanarayana yoga. He would practice his yoga regularly
visualizing God.

64
After some time Satyam and his sister Varalakshmi went to stay in Banneeru Gutta.

At times Satyam would sit quietly and

think (meditate) about God and about who
he was really. He knew that he was not the
body.

Everywhere Satyam went he made

friends knowing that he was not
different from even the animals in the
forest.

65
EXERCISE (15-20 min)
Three part breath with hand motion
i. Stand up tall, in the mountain stance with feet firm on the ground and hands down to the side. As
you inhale raise your hands in front of you with palms facing down.
ii. Inhale again this time open your arms out to the side as if you are going to get a big hug
iii. Inhale a third time lifting arms right up (palms facing each other)
While exhaling lower arms down to your side and stand in a mountain

Do five rounds of this exercise

1. Surya Chandra Nada Bhedana Pranayama (5 rounds)

Surya is the sun and fiery energy in the body. It helps us to reason and use logic for solving problems.
Chandra is the moon or cooling energy in the body. It helps us to improve our artistic and musical
abilities, imagination and will power.

In order to balance the Sun and Moon energies in your body you do alternate nostril breathing.
Sit with legs folded in a lotus position.
Close the right nostril with the thumb and inhale through the left nostril.
Close the left nostril with the ring finger and exhale through the right nostril.
Then inhale through the right and out through the left.
This is one round of the breathing exercise.

Repeat this exercise three times.

Stand up and raise your hand up and imagine you are expanding until you become the universe.
The sun, moon and stars are shining in you. You are a brilliant light.
Then bend forward imagine you are emptying yourself. All your bad habits are falling away. What are
you getting rid off. Then you are completely hanging down loosely like a rag doll. You are completely
empty and relaxed.
Repeat this exercise five times

2. Practice the exercises from lessons 1-4

Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)

Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

The children can act out the story told in this lesson and say what lesson they
learned from the sky at the end of the skit.

66
 LESSON #5

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE MOON

67
 GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari

Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam
A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih
Run-chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beej-aak-sha-ra
Mu-dri-taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-du-kaa-bhyaam

OM Poor-nam Ah-dah Poor-nam Ih-dam

Poor-naat Poor-nam Uh-dach-ya-te
Poor-nas-ya Poor-nam Aa-daa-ya
Poor-nam E-vaa Va-shish-ya-te
OM Shaan-tih Shaan-tih Shaan-ti-hi
Om, That Supreme is Full, This individual also is Full,
From That Supreme Fullness comes this individual Fullness,
Taking This Fullness from the Full Supreme,
The Supreme Indeed Remains Full.
May there be peace, peace and perfect peace.

68
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE MOON

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Moon.”

Sometimes when you look at the sky you will see the moon. How does the moon look? Is
it full and round at times then sometimes only a part of the moon is seen.

Is the moon one and the same at all times or smaller at times and bigger at times?

The moon is the same all the time, I see it as changing because of the position of the
earth in relation to the moon.

In the same way we have five senses, what are the five senses? Sometimes you feel
hungry, then you are full, sometimes you hear nice bhajans and mantras, other times
different sounds.

In the same way although the feelings and thoughts are changing I remain the same.

When I was a baby I was very small. I grew up and I was as big as you. Now I am fully
grown and my body has changed from a baby to an adult! Have you changed from the
time when you were a baby?

Although my body is changing I am seeing the body and I remain the same.

If you look at the moon in the waters of the lake what do you see? You can see an image
but that image is different from the moon.

Like this you observe your body, senses and objects. So you are different from the body
and all these senses, isn’t it?

Datta learnt from the moon that the body is different from Himself.
He learnt that the SELF does NOT change.

69
 When Swamiji was a boy (Satyam) his mother would tell him stories

Jayalakshmi Mata would say,

“Are you looking at the moon my darling?
This moon was small ten days ago, just the
size of this finger. Look at him today, He is
full. He is like a ball.

Have you seen how the moon has grown?

Can you say why he has grown? Shall I tell
you?

There is nectar with the angels? They have

fed him and he has eaten it well. He has
fattened himself to the round shape.

Do you know what he will do from

tomorrow? He will give away all the nectar
he has eaten to plants, creepers and trees.
From tomorrow onwards he will become
leaner and leaner!

So first you must eat well. If you eat, then

you can feed others!

Swamiji’s mother would tell him stories

like this then sing them in songs. He used
to enjoy the song very much.

70
Jayalakshmi Mata also taught him about Yoga and the powers of yoga to help people. So
let us practice our yoga.

Now Swamiji, Appaji, has eaten well, is grown up and feeding us. What is Appaji
feeding us?

He is giving good lessons on the internet, He is teaching us yoga and pujas to help us
develop concentration of mind and good health, Appaji is giving good music.

If you eat well of Appaji’s food (yoga, music, knowledge, prayers, etc) you will be great
people when you grow up.

71
EXERCISE (15-20 min)
Practice 5 rounds of the three part yogic breath while raising and lowering your hands.
1. Surya Chandra Nada Bhedana Pranayama (5 rounds)
Surya is the sun and fiery energy in the body. It helps us to reason and use logic for solving problems.
Chandra is the moon or cooling energy in the body. It helps us to improve our artistic and musical
abilities.

In order to balance the Sun and Moon energies in your body you do alternate nostril breathing.
Sit with legs folded in a lotus position.
Close the right nostril with the thumb and inhale through the left nostril.
Close the left nostril with the ring finger and exhale through the right nostril.
Then inhale through the right and out through the left.
This is one round of the breathing exercise.

Repeat this exercise three times.

Stand up and raise your hand up and imagine you are expanding until you become the universe.
The sun, moon and stars are shining in you. You are a brilliant light.
Then bend forward imagine you are emptying yourself. All your bad habits are falling away. What are
you getting rid off. Then you are completely hanging down loosely like a rag doll. You are completely
empty and relaxed.
Repeat this exercise five times

2. Stand in Mountain,
Lift your left hand up (palm facing to the front),
Bend the right leg and hold ankle with right hand
Once steady use right hand and extend right leg back and up.

Repeat raising your right hand and holding the ankle of left leg with the left hand.

3. Stand in mountain pose. Take a wide step forward with your right foot, bring your left leg just
behind right foot with toes pointing down.
Raise both arms up and out to the front with palms facing each other.
Lift left leg and balance on right foot.
Extend forward through your arms and backward through the left leg.
Repeat lifting right leg and balancing on your left foot. Arms stretched out to the front palms facing each
other.

4. Practice the Tree Pose (page 41)

Hold for about 5 seconds, then bring hands down to chest and place foot on floor.
Shake the leg you were standing on to allow it to relax.

Repeat on other side.

72
The moon controls the movement of the water on the earth.
Is your moon a full moon or a half moon?
During full moon what happens to the waters in the ocean?
Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)
Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

73
Phases of the Moon Craft

Pick your favorite phase of the moon to decorate OR make all of them and hang them on the
bulletin board or fridge as they occur.

Moon - Learning Points:

You can just decorate your favorite phase of the moon, but I like to do all of the
Templates (except the full moon) twice and hang them up in the order they appear
during the month (see below for what I mean -- to get the last three, you just turn the
first three upside down). Then check out a calendar with your children to see when
each phase will happen during the month. Make a point of peeking at the night sky to
see the changes happen and compare them to your "phases of the moon art"

crescent, half, gibbous, full, gibbous, half, crescent

Question: Which one of the phases of the moon is missing? Answer: The new moon -
- this is when the moon cannot be seen (it comes at the very beginning of the
sequence). After the final crescent, the whole cycle starts over again with another new
moon.

Note: The period where the moon is getting larger each night (towards full) is called
"waxing". The period where the moon is getting smaller each night is called "waning".

Question: How many days does it take for a full cycle of the moon's phases? Answer:
29.5 days

MOON CRAFT
You will need : paper, scissors
tempra or poster paint (two or three different colors) -- we used grey and yellow kitchen
sponge chopped and 3 paper plates

sponge painting

Put just a little paint on paper plates

Have the children dip a sponge into one of the colors and dab off the excess on a dry
spot of the paper plate or a paper towel.

74
Dab the sponge onto the template to make a textured look.

Repeat with other colors.

Provide two complimentary colors of paint and let the children mix their own shades by
blotting them together with their sponge

If you have white, blue and black to make a full moon – the kids can blot the
white and blue together first and then added a bit of black to the sponge)

Kids have as much fun blotting together shades of color on the paper plate to get
the perfect one as making their moon

Use one piece of sponge for all the colors so you get some nice blending

75
76
77
78
Astronaut Toilet Paper Roll Craft
Materials:

The craft is made with a

toilet paper tube

a printer
a piece of paper
some crayons
scissors
and glue.

Instructions:

Glue the large rectangular piece on first to cover the tube.

Glue the thin strip around the middle as a belt

Glue the oxygen tank onto the back

Glue on the head, arms, and boots.

79
80
 LESSON #6

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE BEE

81
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari

Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam
A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih Ra-n-
chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beej-aak-sha-ra Mu-
dri-taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-
du-kaa-bhyaam

Om Sa-ha Naa-va-va-tu |
Sa-ha Nau Bhu-nak-tu |
Sa-ha Veer-yam Ka-ra-vaa-va-hai |
Te-jas-vi Naa-va-dhee Tam Astu Maa Vid-vish-Aa-vahai |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantihi

Om, May God Protect us Both (the Teacher and the Student),
May God Nourish us Both,
May we Work Together with Energy and Vigour,
May our Study be Enlightening, not giving rise to Hostility,
Om, Peace, Peace, Peace

82
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE BEE

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Bee.”

What does a bee do?

A bee flies from flower to flower and nourishes its body. It sucks nectar a little at a time
without causing the flower to shrivel and die.

Datta learnt that a good person should obtain only what is necessary for himself
without imposing himself and demanding things from other people. He should be
content with whatever is given to him.

Does the bee get nectar from only one flower?

No a bee gets nectar from all the various flowers.

Datta learnt that a wise person should study all the holy books and find the inner
meaning and use the teachings to understand Himself.

BEELIEVE IN YOURSELF

83
 STORY OF BEGGAR AND LORD VISHNU AND THE ONE GRAIN OF RICE

Once there was a beggar who would go begging everyday to various houses. He had been
begging for many years and now he had grown old. Usually he would get enough food to
fill his bag and would take it home to his wife.

However, the beggar found that people were giving less food and for one week he had
gotten enough food for only one meal.

The next morning he set out for begging with the hope that he would be able to get more
food from his begging. As the day went on he had more luck and got a bag full of grains.

He started to blame God, “Oh God, I have been begging for so long, why have you not
helped me to get a little rich?” He thought, “If I were rich I would stop begging. If I
should meet God I will tell him how useless he is for not helping a poor fellow like me.”

As the beggar was thinking like this he saw in the sky a light and it was getting closer and
closer to him. As he continued to observe, he realized it was a golden chariot flying in the
sky. As the golden chariot approached he saw Lord Vishnu seated in the chariot. He was
very happy and thought to himself, “Ah finally the Lord has heard my prayers and is
coming to make me rich!”

The chariot came up to him and stopped. Lord Vishnu descended from the chariot and
came in front of the beggar. When he reached the beggar he put a hand out. The beggar
was totally surprised and thought, “What is this I thought that the Lord would make me
rich, instead he is a beggar himself and is begging from me. I will teach him a lesson!”

The beggar took one grain of rice from his bag full of grains and gave it to Lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu smiled and returned to the chariot and the chariot ascended into the sky and
flew away.

The beggar returned home. He gave his wife the bagful of grains and told her that he had
met God. He told her that God was really of no use as he came to beg from a beggar. His
wife was emptying the bag of grains and found one gold coin amongst the grains. The
beggar then realized that he had given God one grain of rice and in return God had given
to him one gold coin. His wife told him, “If you had been thankful and given the bag of
grains to God then today we would have a bag of gold and be rich.”

She scolded him, “God is not useless. You are a useless fellow! God has made you strong
and given good health. Did you use this body to do any work and become a better

84
person? You are to blame for your misfortune not God. You should thank God for all he
has given.”

The beggar realized his mistake and told his wife that he was sorry. He joined his wife
that day and thanked the Lord for all that he had provided to him and his wife.

85
 SWAMIJI RECEIVES THE BLESSINGS OF AGASTYA MAHARISHI

Satyam would often go to Mekedatu with

his mother Jayalakshmi when he was a
child. At Mekedatu he would stay at his
grandfather Linganna’s place which was
surrounded by hills.

Linganna had many cows but Satyam

was particularly fond of the cow named
Ganga. Ganga also surged with joy on
seeing Satyam and took Satyam as her
own calf.

One day Satyam saw Ganga left behind and tethered while the other cows had gone for
grazing. He was too young to know that Ganga was to soon have a calf and it was
dangerous for her to go grazing in the wet season. He untied Ganga and holding the rope
took her to graze along the banks of the river.

Ganga was grazing near the banks of the river when the earth under her feet sank and the
current in the water was taking her away. Satyam held on to the rope and prayed to the
river Goddess Ganga, “Gangamma (mother goddess of the river) please save Ganga, she
is as dear as life to my grandfather. If I go home without her he will kill me. As a matter
of fact he will also die. Oh, my God! If I can’t have my Ganga how horrible it is to die!
So please give me my Ganga.”

There was no response to his prayer. The cow Ganga was now making painful sounds as
the rope around her neck chafed painfully due to the rapid flow of the water.

Satyam losing all patience had a flash of an idea, “If I go home without Ganga my
grandfather will kill me. If I go away with Ganga then, who can kill me?” He jumped into
the river and hugged Ganga around her neck. The river Ganga was carrying away the cow
Ganga and the cow Ganga was taking away Satyam.

Satyam did not know the river would flow into a deep valley and they would fall into it!
After going some distance the cow Ganga found some hard ground and got up to the
bank. “I thought you did not listen to my prayers Gangamma. You have saved both of
us.” Satyam said to himself.

86
When Ganga saved Satyam and
brought him ashore the great
Sage Agastya gave darshan
(blessings) to Satyam. He
gifted him the art of curing
diseases with herbs and sacred
ashes.

Moral :

Whenever you protect broadmindedly animals and

good people you will get the blessings of great souls
without any effort.

87
EXERCISE (15-20 min)
Practice the three part yogic breathing. Lift hands up as you inhale in three steps and then lower your
hands as you exhale.. Do about five rounds.

Sahaya Kriya (5 rounds)

Practice Sahaja Kriya from lessons 1 & 2. Pretend you are a seed in the ground and you grow into tree
and bear fruits. The fruits fall to the ground and the seeds then grow into a tree.

Surya Chandra Nada Bhedana Pranayama (5 rounds)

Surya is the sun and fiery energy in the body. It helps us to reason and use logic for solving problems.
Chandra is the moon or cooling energy in the body. It helps us to improve our artistic and musical
abilities.

In order to balance the Surya and Chandra energy in the body you do alternate nostril breathing. Breathe
in through the left nostril, out through the right, breathe in through the right and out through the left.
This is one round of the pranayaama.

Hatha Yoga Exercise

Raise your hand straight up and imagine you are the universe, as you bend forward imagine you are
empty and nothing – repeat five times

Bumblebee Breath for Kids

Bumblebee Breath (also known as Sounding Breath,

Humming Breath, or Ommm!) involves an extended
exhale which is especially effective at calming
the parasympathetic nervous system. Producing a sound
while closing the eyes and blocking the ears makes it
easier for young children to bring their focus inward.
And this particular breath is perfect for times when
practicing 'Om' is not appropriate or when you and your
students simply want to try experimenting with other
sounds.

Doing Bumblebee Breath in the progressive stages below introduces children to the importance of the senses and
the idea that sometimes closing off our senses and finding a ‘quiet place’ can help to calm, soothe and focus - not
to mention it feels really good! That is often a novel concept for a child, especially in this era of overwhelming
buzzy-ness. I have also found using this progression keeps even the most active children engaged and involved in

88
the process. These same children are the ones who look at me in awe after step 3 and say, "Wow, can we do that
again?!". Try it with your children or students and let me know your experience!

Bumblebee Breath

1) Begin in Sitting Mountain Pose with a tall, straight spine. Take a slow, deep breath in through your
nose before exhaling out to “Hummmmmm,” as long as possible.

2) Try it again, but this time with your eyes closed. Focus on the humming sound. Notice the vibration
created in your lips.

3) Try the same breath again with eyes closed and ears blocked with your hands. Notice your focus go
inward where there is peace and calm. Repeat this breath several times. Discuss your experience.

Here’s an idea!

Sound it out. Try breathing out other sounds such as ‘Zzzzzz’ or ‘Ohhhhh’ and ‘Shhhhh.’

Mini Vacation. Some people have noticed that practicing Bumble Bee Breath (especially with eyes
and ears closed) is like taking a mini vacation. Do you agree? Why or why not? Did you take a
vacation in your mind while practicing Bumble Bee Breath? Where did you go?

Focus on the Sound. Instead of taking a mini vacation, try focusing on the humming sound. As you
notice your thoughts drift off, try and bring your focus back to the sound of the hum. How was this
different from the experience of taking a mini vacation? Where did you ‘go’?

Remember to ask your child or students about their experience while practicing Bumblebee Breath.
Helping children to tie-in what they've learned, whether it's a breath, physical pose or piece of yogic
wisdom, to their experience in mind and body, will empower and inspire them over time to make yoga a
part of their life.

Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)

Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

89
3D Bumblebees Paper Craft

This is a cute, simple paper craft that results in a 3D ornament you

can hang around the room.

Materials:

printer
paper
scissors
something to color with (if using the B&W version)
hole punch
string, thread, ribbon or wool

Optional: thin cardboard

Instructions:

Print template of choice and color as necessary

Cut out the template pieces.

Fold each piece in half (on the dashed line) so they are all colored on both the front and
the back.

Optional: Put thin cardboard in between the front and back of each template piece to
make them a bit sturdier.

Glue together so the pieces are colored on both sides.

3D Bumblebees:
Cut on one of the dotted lines of each template piece (only cut as far as the
dotted line goes, not all the way through the piece).

90
 Slide the pieces together, top to bottom
Glue a piece of ribbon, string or thread onto the top (or hole punch a small hole
and tie a ribbon through). If you hole punch, do it through the bee that is cut from
the bottom, not the one that is cut from the top.

Beehive:
punch three holes in the bottom of the beehive template (one in the center and
one on each edge)

string one bumblebee through each of the holes so it hangs down from the hive

punch a hole in the bottom of the middle bumblebee and string the fourth
bumblebee through that hole

Optional:
print as many copies of template 3 as you like and keep adding bumblebees to
the bottom of the other bumblebees and the hive to make a very busy beehive!

'numbers practice' -- count the bees

'colors practice' -- color the background of each bee a different color.

91
92
93
Bee Bouquet

Instructions
1. Hold a sheet of black construction paper with the shorter ends at the top and bottom.
Starting at the lower right-hand corner, roll the sheet into a cone and tape or staple the
overlap. Trim the top to create a rounded head on the front side.

2. Form antennae by folding a pipe cleaner in half, stapling the bend to the back side of
the head, then curl each tip around a small black pom-pom.

3. Create stripes by wrapping torn strips of yellow paper around the cone and gluing them
in place. Tape or glue on paper wings and a heart-shaped paper face complete with a
drawn mouth and glued-on pom-pom eyeballs topped with googly-eye pupils.

For a hanger, make holes in opposite sides of the cone a half inch from the top. Thread a
length of ribbon through the holes from inside the cone and tie each end into an overhand
knot.

94
 LESSON #7

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE FISH

95
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari

Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam
A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih Ra-
n-chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beej-aak-sha-ra Mu-
dri-taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-du-kaa-bhyaam

Om Sar-ve Bha-van-tu Su-khi-nah

Sar-ve Shan-tu Ni-raa-ma-yaah |
Sarve Bha-draan-ni Pash-yan-tu
Maa Kash-chid Duh-kha Bhaag Bha-vet |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Om
May All become Happy,
May All become free from Illness.
May All see what is Auspicious,
Let no one Suffer.
May there be Peace, Peace and Perfect Peace always

96
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE FISH

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Fish.”

When a fisherman wants to catch a fish what does he do?

The fisherman places bait on his fishing pole, the fish sees something tasty to eat and gets
caught.

Datta learnt from the fish that it is important to control the tongue!

How can you control your tongue?

Eat only light food, eat small amount of food do not overfull the stomach (only half full
the stomach, ¼ full with water and leave space for the air to help digest the food), eat at
the right times.

Speak softly and speak kind words. Speak the truth. Do not speak ill of others. Don’t call
others by unkind names.

Say please and thank you.

Say “excuse me” when others are speaking and you wish to say something to the person.

Datta learnt from the fish that you should

always speak sweetly and softly.

THINK BEFORE YOU TALK

97
 THE MONKEY AND THE SHOPKEEPER

Once upon a time there lived a shopkeeper in a small village. The shopkeeper would
place a few jars of sweets on his counter top. People coming into the shop would buy
sweets when they saw them in the jars. One day a lady bought some sweets and as she
was leaving the shop the sweets fell out of her handbag. A little monkey who was on a
nearby tree saw the sweets and picked them up. The sweets were very tasty so the little
monkey had a feast.

The monkey would sit on the tree and saw children coming out of the shop eating sweets.
He understood that the sweets were in the shop.

One day the little monkey noticed the door of the shop had been left open. He ventured
into the shop when no one was around. He saw with great happiness the jars of delicious
sweets on the counter top.

The little monkey jumped onto the counter, opened the jar and took out a sweet and
began enjoying the tasty sweet. It was so good when he finished the first one he decided
to have another.

The shopkeeper saw the monkey eating his

sweets. He got a big stick to beat the monkey.

When the monkey saw the shopkeeper coming

with the stick he put his hand in the jar to take a
handful of sweets and escape from the shop.
But his hand was too full with the sweets and it
got stuck in the jar. No matter how much he
pulled, he could not free his hand from the jar.
He did not drop the sweets.

The shopkeeper came and gave the little monkey a good beating for stealing the sweets.
Finally, the monkey let go of the sweets and was able to run away.

The little monkey’s greed got him into a lot of trouble.

Can you think of other times when you got in trouble because of eating or over-eating?

98
 SATYAM LEARNS TO CONTROL THE SENSE OF TASTE

When Swamiji was a boy he stayed with his Aunt Venkamma

Aunt Venkamma would send Satyam to four houses for begging alms of cooked food.
He would collect the rice in his bag and sambar in a container.

On returning home Aunt Venkamma would be there

like a policeman.
She allowed Satyam to give rice and sambar to
Varalakshmi his sister. Then he had to feed the persons
outside the temple.
Whatever food remained he ate on the first day.
It was only two morsels of food.
Aunt Venkamma told Satyam he should have only one meal a day.

99
When Satyam brought the food home on the fifth day and he sat to eat the only meal, his
aunt was standing over him with a fan. He understood that he was not supposed to eat
even that one meal. He sat with the plate of food in front of him thinking how tasty the
food must be. His Aunt Venkamma came and hit him one whack on the head with the
fan. Then he knew he had to learn to control even the thought of the tasty food and
prevent his mouth from watering at the sight of the food.

Then one day his aunt told him he could eat the food. When he put the morsel of food in
his mouth she told him to stop eating. By then he could control his taste for the food and
his mouth did not water but the fan came down and whacked him on the head. It took him
till the next day to understand what his aunt was trying to teach him. He should not be
using any effort to control his taste buds but it should be natural. The desire for the food
should not be there.

In this way, when Swamiji was a boy his Aunt Venkamma taught him the lesson to
control his desire for food.

100
EXERCISE (15-20 min)
1. Sahaya Kriya (5 rounds)
Seed in the ground grows into tree and bears fruits. The fruits fall to the ground and the seeds then
grow into a tree.

2. Niyantrana Praanayaama (3 rounds)

Practice the Lion Pose – Simhaasana

3. Surya Chandra Nada Bhedana Praanayaama (3 rounds)

Raise your hand straight up and imagine you are the universe, as you bend forward imagine you are
empty and nothing – repeat five times

4. Stand bend legs at knee, place hands on knee, inhale then exhale forcefully. This helps strengthen
the abdominal muscles.

Lie on ground and lift leg up slightly, then little more and right up.
Lower leg slowly. Repeat on opposite side.

Practice the Plough

Lie on floor with hands on side.
Bend knees and place your feet on the ground.
Place your hand on your lower back for support.
Lift your legs up and if you can slowly bring your legs down over your head.

101
Fish Pose
Keep eyes open wide like a fish swimming in water.

Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)

Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

102
 ACTIVITY
Memory Booster and
Developing Sense of Taste

1. Collect some nuts (almonds, peanuts cashew etc),

2. Cut different fruits (apple, pear, mango etc) into small pieces
3. Let the children close their eyes
4. Give each child one item at a time to taste.
5. Ask them to remember each item and write it down.

Enchanted Learning Software's

Hanging Japanese Fish
More Crafts

A simple-to-make Japanese hanging koi (goldfish) made

from paper and old magazines. This fish looks beautiful
hanging from the ceiling. A classroom full of them is quite
impressive!
Supplies needed:
• Construction paper
• Old magazines, catalogs, colored paper scraps, and aluminum foil scraps to
cut up
• Glue
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Markers or crayons
• Hole punch
• 2 to 3 Crepe paper streamers (a few inches long)
• Some string or yarn

Draw a fish on a large piece of paper.

Put a second piece of paper under this piece of
paper. Cut out two large, paper fish.

103
Cut out a lot of scrap paper and/or aluminum foil circles. Use
old, colorful magazines, catalogs, etc.

Glue the circles onto both sides of the body of the

fish. These are the fish's scales. (The fish is not
symmetrical, so be sure that you glue circles onto
the fish in such a way that when you staple the 2
sides together later on, the scales will be on the
outside.)

Decorate the fish's head, fins, and tail using crayons

or markers.

Staple the two sides of the fish together, stapling

the ends of crepe paper ribbons inside the tail.

Punch two holes on the fish's face. String some yarn

through the holes. You now have a hanging koi (a Japanese
carp).

104
 LESSON #8

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE DEER

105
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhooyuta Shree Hari

Chihnitaabhyaam
Agastya Raykhaadibhih Ranchitaabhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beejaakshara Mu-dri-taa-bhyaam
Namo Namah Sadguru Paadukaabhyaam

THE POWER RESIDES WITH ME

Ka-ye-na Vaa-chaa
Ma-nas en-dri-yair-vaa
Budh-dhyaat ma-naa-vaa
Pra-kri-te Sva-bhaa-vaat
Ka-ro-mi Yadh-yat Sa-ka-lam Pa-ras-mai
Naa-raa-ya-naa-ye-ti Sa-mar-pa-yaa-mi

Meaning:
Whatever I do with my body, speech,
mind or with other senses of my body,
or with my intellect and soul
or with my innate natural tendencies
I offer (dedicate) everything to God (Lord Narayana).
Brief Explanation
God has given the capacity to use the body for actions, mouth for speech and mind for
thoughts.

You make all your thoughts, speech and actions holy by dedicating them to the Lord.

Thus, you pray that all thoughts, speech and actions be performed as a service to the
Lord.

106
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE DEER

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Deer.”

The deer is a gentle and innocent animal.

How does a deer run? The deer can run very swiftly.

However, the deer has an intense love for music. The hunter knowing this will play music
and the deer will stand very still with closed eyes. In this way the hunter easily captures
the deer. The hunter will then sell the deer to the butcher and the deer will lose its life.

What do you think Lord Datta learnt from the deer?

Datta learnt from the deer that it is important not to lose control because of music
and dance. Be careful! Do not be carried away by sweet words that may lead you
into trouble!

What kind of music should you listen to?

107
 SATYAM AND THE MAN AT THE TRAIN STATION

Satyam (Swamiji) and his sister Varalakshmi were staying at his brother Nanjudayya’s
house. Varalakshmi had to help with the household chores and was having problems with
grandmother Ambamma.

One day a scorpion stung Varalakshmi and she was crying with pain. Ambamma thought
that she was pretending to be in pain so she would not have to do any household chores.
She punished Varalakshmi. Varalakshmi became quiet and suffered her pain silently.

Exactly at that moment Satyam came to the house. On seeing her brother, Varalakshmi
wept loudly. She told him of her suffering. Satyam started trumpeting and roaring in
anger. His brother Nanjundayya came and pacified his anger. “You are treating my sister
as a servant, as a slave and you are trying to kill her. We won’t stay here a moment
longer.” Satyam shouted.

“I will send word for father, let him come and we will discuss the matter.” replied
Nanjundayya.

“Alright let father come, I will talk to him. Meanwhile put this in our mouth.” said
Satyam. He gave Varalakshmi a packet of medicine and rushed out of the house.

Immediately after taking the medicine with water, Varalakshmi felt, “Oh the pain has
gone down so soon.”

When his father came there, Satyam came and complained to his father.
“It is natural for human beings to quarrel with one another, leave it,” his father answered.
“But I won’t stay here,” hissed Satyam.
“All right, go away if you want to.” His father replied.

Satyam went straight to the railway station. He was told the next train was leaving for
Bangalore. Satyam moved about on the railway platform. He saw a gentleman and
thought, “He seems to be a worldly man but steady.”

The gentleman spoke to him affectionately, “Satyanarayana. I know you. You are related
to me.”
“Are we relatives?” asked Satyam.

108
“Yes, what will Jayalakshmi’s son be if not a relative? Are we not all children of one
Mother?”
This gentleman and Satyam talked for a while discussing some spiritual matters. Then
fruit juice came for sale. The gentleman bought Satyam a glass of fruit juice and made
him drink it and personally cut mango fruit and fed him. “Eat my boy”
It was a hot summer day and he offered ice cream too. In that hot summer Satyam ate ice
cream and was extremely happy at this love.

The gentleman said, “I will tell you a little of my story. By birth I am a multi-millionaire.
I am a big businessman in Bombay. Karapatraswamy came to my house one day and
taught me worship of Mother Goddess (Sri Vidya). I was married but my wife passed
away and I have no children of my own.”

“I prayed to mother Goddess, please show me a noble son to adopt.”

Satyam asked, “What did Mother say?”

“Here she has shown me a lovely child,” said the gentleman, taking Satyam two hands
into his hands, pressing them to his eyes and kissing them.

“You have run away from your house. Your father did not care to stop you. Would you
not do me this favour, and be my son though I am not mother or father to you? Together
we can perform your two sisters’ marriages grandly.”

That was enough Satyam’s heart melted and he left on the train with that gentleman.
After some time, the gentleman fell asleep. Satyam also dozed away. When the train
stopped with a jerk, Satyam woke and he saw his mother standing on a hill and looking at
him angrily.

“Satya, what principles did I teach you and what are you doing? What about your vow to
look after the welfare of the world?” Mother’s voice echoed in Satyam’s ear.

Satyam realized his mistake, he got up at once and jumped down from the door of the
train as it was about to leave. “Mother you saved me. I will not commit this mistake
again. Forgive me.”

With the little money he had in his pocket he bought a ticket to Anantapur and returned
home.

Moral : Do not be carried away by soft and sweet words. Remember your duty.

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EXERCISE (15-20 min)
1. Sahaya Kriya (5 rounds)
Seed in the ground grows into tree and bears fruits. The fruits fall to the ground and the seeds then
grow into a tree.

2. Niyantrana Praanayaama (3 rounds)

Practice the Lion Pose – Simhaasana

3. Surya Chandra Nada Bhedana Praanayaama (3 rounds)

Raise your hand straight up and imagine you are the universe, as you bend forward imagine you are
empty and nothing – repeat five times

5. Stand bend legs at knee, place hands on knee, inhale then exhale forcefully. This helps strengthen
the abdominal muscles.

6. Butterfly pose

Practice the Deer pose : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlH806woLnI

Hold ankle of one leg and tuck it to side.

Bring the sole of other leg against the knee.

Sit with back neck and head in a straight line.

Extend through the top of your head and tail bone.

Turn your upper body and face the knee of front leg.
Reach up with your hands.

Bring hands down in front of you and lengthen

through the spine. You are not trying to go too low you
want to keep some height while lengthening through the spine.

Walk hands backwards to a point where there

is a nice stretch in back. Look softly down like
a deer. Hold for a few seconds.

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Walk hands to the front. Stretch out front leg. Hold on to ankle of back leg
and place opposite hand on floor. Lean onto hand for support. With other hand
bring ankle to front.

Move back to tadaasana

Practice the Cat and Cow pose and counter pose child pose.

Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)

Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

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ACTIVITY – Developing Sense of Hearing

Let the children close their eyes and make different sounds around the room.
Jingling of bell or keys, stomping of feet, water running, etc.

Then ask the children to write the sounds they heard, in the order in which
they heard the sound.

How to make a deer brooch - http://www.squidoo.com/deer-crafts

You will need:

brown felt / light blue felt
white felt
black seed bead
brooch pin
scissors / glue / measuring tape

You will need to cut out five 1 inch thin strips of brown felt and one 1/4 inch strip of brown felt for the
tail. Apply glue to the bottom of a brown strip, the first strip with begin at the top of the ear and end at
the head. The next strip will continue from the bottom of the head and end at the first leg. The third strip
will start at the top of the leg and end at the bottom of the second leg. The fourth strip will start at the
top of the second leg and will curve to shape the body. The fifth strip will connect from the body and
end at the top of the ear. Glue the 1/4 inch brown strip for the tail. With your white felt cut out 6 super
tiny pieces and glue inside the body. Glue a black seed bead for the eye. Once dry cut around the deer.

Deer craft

Glue or sew a brooch pin to the back.

Deer brooch

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"Deer Talk" Activity
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/teacher/deertalkactivity.htm

Objectives: Students will 1) Recognize how deer use non-verbal communication for mutual
protection and interaction within a group and 2) learn the importance of this language to
the survival of the group.

Grade Level: 4th-8th grade

Subjects or Academic standards:

• Science:
o F.4.1- Discover how organisms meet basic needs
o F.4.2- Investigate how organisms respond to cues
o F.8.7- Understand that behavior evolves through adaptation
• Physical Education:
o D.4.1- Experience the opportunity for enjoyment while participating in
physical activity
o D.8.3- Enjoy learning new activities

Method: Students practice deer "body language" in a predator/prey simulation.

Materials:

• 2-3 white or brightly colored handkerchiefs

• Cones or other markers to mark either boundary and the middle of the playing
field.

Background:

This game is played using some of the body language (visual communication) of the white-
tailed deer, particularly the alarm displays. These actions are made my both male and
female deer during all seasons of the year. First, read the "real" deer alarm displays, and
then read below for the version that kids need to know to play the game.

Deer Alarm Displays:

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 • Foot Stomp - The deer will lift its forefoot slowly, pause, and then stamp
downward with great force. This is used when a deer is alarmed but cannot identify
the object of its suspicion.
• Head Bob - The head is bobbed up and down. The deer begins to lower its head
toward the ground as if to feed but then quickly jerks its head back up. This is a
typical response to an unidentified object or motion.
• Tail Flag - The tail is held up and wagged loosely from side to side exposing the
white underside and rump patch. The tail flag is used when running from danger,
real or imagined. This helps to keep the group together when fleeing.
• All Clear - When a deer wags its tail once, in a casual side-to side tail flick, it often
is an "all clear" signal.

Preparations:

1. The playing field for this game is made up of two parallel boundary lines and a
middle line, with about 75 feet in between. The entire playing field should be about
150 feet. One end is the boundary of the wolves (Predators), the other end is the
boundary or safe haven for the white-tailed deer.

114
 2. Students will portray a heard of deer and wolves. The students portraying the
deer will exhibit the different alarm displays as described below. Explain these
behaviors to students.

Kid's Game Alarm Displays

• Foot Stomp - Slowly lift one foot at a time and stomp your foot on the ground.
Made by the general deer population.
• Head Bob - Bob your head up and down. Made by the general deer population.
• Tail Flag - A whole arm wave with the white or colored handkerchief in hand. The
lead deer use this signal or display to alert the other deer to run.
• All Clear - A quick hand wave with a white or other color handkerchief. Used by the
lead deer.

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Procedure:

1. Select students to represent 3 wolves, one acting as the lead wolf, to about 22
deer. You can add another wolf if the kids seem to be having trouble. Also, you
need to pick 3 lead deer who receive a white or colored handkerchief which
represents their tail. The lead wolf does not receive anything.
2. Begin the wolves at one end of the playing field while the deer start on the
opposite side of the center line from the wolves. Ask the lead deer to spread out
among the other deer while they eat and say "munch, munch, munch." The larger
deer population needs to watch the lead deer for signs of danger, and have their
backs to the wolves. Only the lead deer face the wolves and they must alert the
other deer if the wolves get too close.
3. Instruct the wolves to sneak up on the deer from their end of the playing field.
The lead wolf will coordinate with the rest of the pack to see what strategy they
want to use (e.g. attack slowly on one side, walk in a few circles to try and fool the
deer, etc.) The, lead deer should raise their tails (handkerchiefs) as the wolves get
close. This should alert the deer population, who should stop eating and "foot
stomp" and "head bob" in reaction to the warning. The deer population should only
look at the lead deer closest to them.
4. When the wolves get really close, the lead deer should do a "tail flag" which is a
signal for all of the deer to run to the boundary or safety. It is up to the lead deer
as to when to change the from a "tail flag" to an "all clear." The wolves will try and
catch a deer (one deer for each round). If they do, the deer who are caught
become wolves. The deer population is safe once they reach the boundary line. The
"lead" deer can also be tagged. If one of the lead deer are caught, she or he
passes the flag to another deer who has already made it to safety. The wolves can
decide to be tricky, and go back and forth from their home base to very close to
the deer population before actually trying to catch a deer. If the wolf were to go
back to home base, the lead deer should give an "all clear" signal, and then the
other deer can go back to eating.

The game is over when most of the deer become wolves and/or the kids are ready to
switch. The lead deer should become wolves in the next game, and the wolves should
become part of the regular deer population. Everyone should try and take a turn and be a
different character in the next game.

* Note for the "lead" deer: It may be tempting for the lead deer to have the entire deer
population run each time predators come near, but keep in mind that deer need to
conserve energy. If the entire deer population run rather than using their other signals

116
to keep each other on alert, then the deer could weaken and use up energy that they
would other wise need to survive.

Follow Up Questions

1. Discuss what was realistic and what wasn't in this game. (All deer signal each
other, not just the "lead deer", this was a simulation and not an example from real
life, etc.)
2. Was it difficult to be the "lead deer"? If yes, how so? If no, why not?
3. Was it difficult to be a wolf? If yes, how so? If no, why not?
4. How well do you think the non-verbal communication or "deer talk" worked for your
group? Do you think that "deer talk" works well for the white-tailed Deer?

This activity was produced by Jolene Kuehn, Wildlife Education Assistant with the Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources, 2002.

117
 LESSON #9

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE MOTH

118
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhooyuta Shree Hari

Chihnitaabhyaam
Agastya Raykhaadibhih Ranchitaabhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beejaakshara Mu-dri-taa-bhyaam
Namo Namah Sadguru Paadukaabhyaam

LIGHTING OF THE LAMP

Shu-bham Ka-ro-ti Kal-yaan-nam

Aa-ro-gyam Dha-na Sam-pa-daa |
Sha-tru Budh-dhi Vi-naa-shaa-ya
Dee-pa Jyo-tir Na-mo-stu-te

Salutations to the Light of the Lamp

Which Brings Auspiciousness, Health and Prosperity,
Which Destroys Inimical Feelings;
Salutations to the Light of the Lamp.

119
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE MOTH

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Moth.”

Datta observed the moth, the light from the flames of the fire would attract the moth.
The moth attracted to the brilliance would fly into the light and get consumed (burnt to
ashes) by the flames.

What lesson do you think Datta learnt from the moth?

Datta learnt that the weakness of the moth is the eyes.

He learnt that He should not be too attracted or get carried away
by the objects that he sees with the eyes.

120
 STORY OF SHEELA AND LEELA

Once upon a time there lived a lady named Sheela. Sheela was a very nice person. She
lived in a big house and had a nice car. Sheela had a neighbour named Leela.

Leela saw the big house that Sheela had and wanted a big house, Leela saw Sheela with a
nice car and wanted a car like Sheela’s.

Whatever Leela saw that belonged to Sheela she would want the same thing.

Leela prayed to God, “Please God let me have everything that Sheela has!” Everyday she
would say the same prayer.

One day God decided, “Okay I will let Leela have all the things that Sheela has.”

Leela got a bungalow, a nice car and whenever Sheela went shopping Leela also went
shopping and got similar things from the mall.

One day Sheela became pregnant and was going to have a baby. Leela also became
pregnant. They both had sons.

As their sons grew up they went to the same school and did the same sports.

One day Sheela missed a step and sprained her ankle. Leela also missed a step and
sprained her ankle.

Then Leela got news that Sheela’s son was in a bad accident and he was in the hospital.

At once Leela went to her prayer room and prayed, “Oh Lord, I don’t want the things that
Sheela has. Please protect my son.”

Moral :
Don’t be jealous of others and wish for what others may have.
Pray and thank God for what he has given to you.

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EXERCISE (15-20 min)

1. Sahaya Kriya (5 rounds)

Seed in the ground grows into tree and bears fruits. The fruits fall to the ground and the seeds then
grow into a tree.

2. Niyantrana Praanayaama (3 rounds)

Practice the Lion Pose – Simhaasana

3. Surya Chandra Nada Bhedana Praanayaama (3 rounds)

Stand up and raise your hand up and imagine you are expanding until you become the universe.
The sun, moon and stars are shining in you. You are a brilliant light.
Then bend forward imagine you are emptying yourself. All your bad habits are falling away. What are
you getting rid off. Then you are completely hanging down loosely like a rag doll. You are completely
empty and relaxed.
Repeat this exercise five times

4. Stand bend legs at knee, place hands on knee, inhale then exhale forcefully. This helps strengthen
the abdominal muscles.

5. Butterfly pose

Sit up straight. Put the soles of your feet together.

Gently flap your legs up and down like butterfly wings. Imagine you are flying from flower to
flower collecting nectar. Do you feel the wind on your butterfly wings?

Now take a deep breath and bend forward slightly to smell the flowers. Some are in front of you and
some to the sides. Can you smell your flowers? Wiggle your antennas as you smell your flowers.
What kind of flower are you smelling?

Now rest you little butterfly head. Put your hands in fists on top of each other in front of you. Rest
your forehead on your hands like a pillow. Breathe deeply.

Walk your hands back to your body. Put your hands under your knees, bring your wings (knees)
together and give them a hug..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI9_UmjgX_o&feature=relmfu

Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)

Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

122
 ABOUT MOTHS
1. Everyone loves butterflies, but who loves moths? Did you know that there are eight
times more moths in the world than butterflies? These insects share many features.
They transform from caterpillars and have six legs, two pairs of wings, big eyes,
antennae, and a tongue.

2. So how can you distinguish between moths and butterflies? Moths don’t have knobs
on the ends of their antennae. When at rest, a moth's wings remain open, while a
butterfly's wings remain together. Some moths are night flyers, so their bodies are
thick and hairy to help them stay warm.

Moth Balancer
Supplies needed:

• A piece of paper Thin cardboard (like from a cereal box)

• Scissors Pencil
• Markers, crayons, or paint Tape
• 2 pennies for each butterfly

Optional: a small lump of clay and a small stick

To make a perfectly symmetrical moth (which is necessary for this craft),

trace half a moth on a folded piece of paper, then cut it out.

Trace the moth shape onto the cardboard.

Cut out the moth and decorate it using crayons, markers or paint.

Tape two pennies to the back of the

butterfly.

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Now you can balance the butterfly's head on a pencil eraser (or you can make
a stand for your butterfly by putting a stick in a ball of clay). You may have to
adjust the position of the coins to make the butterfly balance on the head area.
The center of balance of the butterfly is close to the spot directly between the
coins. (Before the coins were added, the center of balance was near the center
of the butterfly.)

124
 LESSON #10

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE ELEPHANT

125
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari

Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam
A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih Ra-
n-chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beej-aak-sha-ra Mu-
dri-taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-du-kaa-bhyaam

OM GAM GANAPATAYE NAMAH

Vakra Tun-da Mahaa Kaaya

Soorya Ko-ti Sama-pra-bha

Nir-vigh-nam Kuru Me Deva Sarva

Kaar-ye-shu Sarvadaa

Meaning:
O Lord Ganesha, of Curved Trunk, Large Body, and with the Brilliance of a
Million Suns

Please Make All my Works Free of Obstacles, Always.

126
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE ELEPHANT

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Elephant.”

Studying the life of an elephant, I learnt the elephant is a very strong and intelligent
animal. It is very difficult to capture. Yet it often gets caught by men due to the weakness
of touch and lustfulness.

The male elephant will rub against the female elephant and get excited. The hunter will
use this weakness as a bait to capture the elephant. A pit is dug and covered with
bamboo, a decoy female elephant is placed on it, the male elephant rushes towards it
mistaking it for a real elephant and is trapped in the pit.

Also a stronger male elephant seeing another elephant with a female elephant tries to
drive the other elephant away. The elephants will fight until either one dies.

O King, I concluded that I should stay away from objects that cause
lustful thoughts.

127
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A KING AND A ROBBER

One day Ramesh took his son Amit who was only five years old for a walk to the park.
On the way to the park there was some commotion in the street. Amit asked, “Father who
are those people?”

Ramesh answered, “Amit that man in the center is a robber and the police have
surrounded him.”

As they continued their walk to the park a big procession was on it way and lots of people
had gathered to observe. Once more Amit asked his father, “Father who are those
people?”

His father replied, “Amit the person in the center is the King and the police are
surrounding him.”

Amit asked his father, “Father what is the difference between the robber and the King?
Both persons are surrounded by the police?”

His father Ramesh replied, “Son the robber is under the control of the police. The police
will take him to prison. The King controls the police and they will obey his orders. They
will protect the King.”

Inner Meaning of the Story :

I have five senses and I must be like the king and control the senses. I should not be
like the robber and be carried away by my senses.

Do you remember what your five senses are?

Do you remember what lessons Datta learnt from the fish, the moth, the deer and the
elephant?

128
EXERCISE (15-20 min)

1. Sahaya Kriya (5 rounds)

Seed in the ground grows into tree and bears fruits. The fruits fall to the ground and the seeds then
grow into a tree.

2. Niyantrana Praanayaama (3 rounds)

Practice the Lion Pose – Simhaasana

3. Surya Chandra Nada Bhedana Praanayaama (3 rounds)

Raise your hand straight up and imagine you are the universe, as you bend forward imagine you are
empty and nothing – repeat five times

6. Stand bend legs at knee, place hands on knee, inhale then exhale forcefully. This helps strengthen
the abdominal muscles.

Have you ever seen an elephant taking a bath?

He likes to shower with his trunk.
Pretend you are a big dusty elephant who needs a shower.

STEP 1: Stand up, separate your legs a little and bring your
hands together to make a nice long trunk.

Raise your trunk up high and make an elephant sound.

Reach your trunk out in front of you and get a banana.

STEP 2: Now bring your trunk down into the river. Swing your
trunk from side to side as you suck in the water.

STEP 3: Okay lift your trunk up high

leaning back slightly. Spray yourself with fresh cool water. Doesn’t that feel
good!

Take another shower. Fill your trunk with water from the river. Lift your
trunk in the air and spray your dusty back.

STEP 4 : When you are finished washing your dusty back bring your hands
down and shake your body dry.
Now close your eyes and rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJn93YLXIkU&feature=relmfu

129
Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)
Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

130
131
 LESSON #11

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE MAIDEN

132
GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari

Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam
A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih
Ra-n-chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-da Beej-aak-sha-ra
Mu-dri-taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-du-kaa-bhyaam

PRAYER BEFORE MEALS

An-na Poor-ne Saa-daa Poor-ne

Shan-ka-ra Praa-na-val-la-bhe
Jnaa-na Vai-raag-ya Siddh-yar-tham
Bik-sham De-hi cha Paar-va-tee
Maataa cha Paarvatee Devi Pitaa Devo
Ma-hesh-wa-raha
Baan-dha-vaah Shiva Bhak-taash cha
Swa-de-sho Bhoo-va-na-tra-yam
Meaning:
O Annapurna, Who art ever full,
The beloved life-force of Lord Sankara (Shiva)
O’ Parvathi – grant me alms that I be firmly established in Knowledge and
Renunciation.
Mother is shakti, father is Shiva,
Relatives are the devotees of shiva and own country is all the three worlds

Anna Poorna is the name of the Divine Mother and some of the meaning of Her
name are :

• She who is full, complete and perfect with food and grains
• She who gives nourishment
• She who is the strength of Shiva
• She who is the grantor of knowledge

133
 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE MAIDEN

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Maiden.”

O King, there lived a village maiden whose father was searching for a groom. One day a
marriage party came to see her.

Her mother was not in the village at the time so she had to pound the rice, cook and
serve it.

It would not be proper for her to be caught doing this task so she tried to pound the rice
in secrecy. But the bangles on her wrist began to jingle. The more bangles she wore the
more jingling. So she kept two bangles on each wrist. Even then there was a little
jingling from the bangles. She began pounding with only one bangle on each wrist.

O King, I learnt from the maiden that if too many persons gather in one
place, quarrels begin. When two persons are together, talking starts.
Therefore a yogi should remain in solitude.

134
What type of discussion should we have when we are with our friends?

If we are alone we can read good books, or watch movies about holy persons, or look at
messages by good people on the internet, like Puttu Gam.

This will help you to develop good thoughts and have useful discussions when you are
speaking with your friends. You can talk about what service you can do, sing holy
songs, chant mantras or say prayers.

Never speak ill of others, if you cannot say something good then keep quiet.

135
 SATYAM’S CHILDHOOD

When Swamiji was a boy (Satyanarayana) he would keep the company of good persons.
He would ask them to tell him stories from the holy books.

Satyam would gather his friends together and encourage them to sing bhajans (songs
about God) and act out stories he had learnt from the holy scriptures.

136
When there was a drought in the village and the people did not have water, Satyam
organized his friends and together they dug a well in one night. Satyam sang holy songs
to help them complete the task quickly.

At times Satyam would sit quietly and think (meditate) about God and about who he
was really. He knew that he was not the body.

137
Daily Satyam would chant the names of God. Performing these
actions helped him to get the blessings and vision of God. It
gave him a lot of happiness.

Satyam engaged in useful speech, thoughts and actions

when he was with friend and relatives.

When alone Satyam thought about God and chanted the

Divine names of God.

138
EXERCISE (15-20 min)
Sahaya Kriya (5 rounds)
Seed in the ground grows into tree and bears fruits. The fruits fall to the ground and the seeds then
grow into a tree.

Niyantrana Pranayama
Practice the Lion Pose – Simhaasana

Stand up and raise your hand up and imagine you are expanding until you become the universe.
The sun, moon and stars are shining in you. You are a brilliant light.
Then bend forward imagine you are emptying yourself. All your bad habits are falling away. What are
you getting rid off. Then you are completely hanging down loosely like a rag doll. You are completely
empty and relaxed.
Repeat this exercise five times

Stand bend legs at knee, place hands on knee, inhale then exhale forcefully. This helps
strengthen the abdominal muscles. (Be sure your stomach is empty before you do this
exercise. Do not do this exercise if you have just eaten or your stomach is full.)

Lie on ground and lift leg up slightly, then little more and right up.
Lower leg slowly. Repeat on opposite side.

Practice the Plough

counter pose Fish Pose – slide hands below

body, lift upper body and place crown of head
on ground. Keep eyes open wide like a fish
swimming in water.

Mantra Chanting : OM (3 – 5 min)

Close : Guru Paduka Shlokam

ACTIVITY - GAME OF PASSING THE MESSAGES

139
 1. Print and cut out the cards below or write the messages on paper
2. Children can sit in a circle.
3. One child chooses one of the card / messages
4. That person then passes the message secretly to the person on his left.
5. Each person in turn passes the message that was heard to the person on his left
6. The last person then says aloud the message that he had heard

What did you learn from this game? Was the message the same as it started at the
beginning?

Always be careful of things someone might say to you, especially if it is gossip it may
not be correct.

Be very clear that the person you speak to understands what you are trying to say, speak
slowly and clearly.

You can always ask the person to repeat what he heard so you can tell if the person
understood what you were saying.

140
141
142
 GAME OF STICK

1. Two persons sit back to back

2. Each person is given 7 sticks (toothpicks, match sticks or similar)
3. Person #1 has to make a pattern with the sticks on the floor
4. Person #1 then instructs the other person to place the sticks so he/she makes a
similar pattern
5. After all the sticks are placed by the 2nd person both persons can look at the
pattern. If the instructions that were given were clear and the 2nd person had
understood the instructions the pattern should look exactly the same.

Remember the other person may not think like you so make the instructions simple.
Person #2 can ask question to ensure he/she understands the instructions before placing
the sticks.

Try it a few times giving everyone a chance to make a pattern with the sticks while
listening to the instructions.

Game : Yoga Teacher

Break out into small groups of six students. Ask one student to be the teacher. That
student has to give instruction for one of the yoga exercise he/she has learnt. See if the
others can follow his/her instructions.

Variation: One student can be the Mummy and give instructions to another student to
go and buy 5-7 items in the store and/or grocery, drop off a parcel, pick some flowers
etc. Other students can be at the store to sell and cash items bought. Did the student
remember all the instructions and follow them?

143
 LESSON #12

GURUS OF LORD DATTATREYA

LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE SNAKE

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GURU PADUKA SHLOKAM

Shree Bhoo-yu-ta Shree Hari

Chih-ni-taa-bhyaam
A-gast-ya Ray-khaa-di-bhih
Ra-n-chi-taa-bhyaam
Ni-goo-dha Beej-aak-sha-ra
Mu-dri-taa-bhyaam
Na-mo Na-mah Sad-gu-ru Paa-du-kaa-bhyaam

PRAYER TO LORD SHIVA

Om Tr-yam-ba-kam Ya-jaa-ma-he
Su-gan-dhim Push-ti var-dha-nam
Urvaa-ru-kam-iva Ban-dha-naan
Mrt-yo-muk-she-ya Maam-ri-taat
Meaning:
Om, We Worship the Three-Eyed One (Lord Shiva),
Who is Fragrant and who Nourishes all beings.
May He Liberate us from fear of Death, for the sake of Immortality,
Even as a ripe Cucumber is severed from the Bondage of the creeper.

The mantra should ideally be repeated 108 times, twice daily, at dawn and at dusk.
It is particularly useful for meditation and yoga practice.

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 LESSONS DATTA LEARNED FROM THE SNAKE

Lord Datta said,

“O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Snake.”

O King, you will observe that a serpent moves about alone. It is never
absent- minded but always vigilant or alert.

Although it has a forked tongue it does not make foolish noise.

People who own houses know from experience that when a house is built,
many worries and troubles follow. The body does not last long, why should a
house be built for it?

The serpent instead of wasting time building a shelter lives happily in a hole
built by white ants.

O King, observing this I learnt that a muni should follow this example.

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 THE TALE OF TWO SNAKES
Once upon a time there was a king named Devasakti. He had a son who was very weak
and growing weaker by the day. It was found that he had a snake in his stomach.
Experts, physicians and surgeons tried to nurse him back to health without success.

Dejected, the son left his palace one night and took shelter in a lonely and dilapidated
temple in another town ruled by a monarch called Bali. Every day, the son would go out
to beg and return to the temple in the night.

King Bali had two daughters who came of age. Following a tradition, the two daughters
would get up every dawn and touch the feet of their father in reverence.

One day, after paying respects to the king one of his daughters said, “Victory to the
king. We are happy in every way.”

The second daughter said, “O king, reap the harvest of your actions.”

The king, very angry at the words of the second daughter, called his ministers and told
them, “Take this foul-mouthed woman away and marry her off to some stranger. Let her
reap the consequences of her actions.”

In compliance with the orders of the king, the ministers took her away and married her
without pomp or ceremony to Devasakti’s son living in the old temple. The daughter
considered the king’s son as God’s gift and after persuading him, left for another
country.

The princess and the son of Devasakti

reached a city where they camped close to
a lake. She asked her husband to take care
of the camp and went into the city with
her maids to buy daily needs like rice,
salt, butter oil and vegetables. After
shopping, she returned to the lake where
she saw a surprising spectacle.

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The prince was sleeping, resting his head on an anthill. The serpent in his stomach came
out to breath fresh air. Then another serpent emerged from the anthill for the same
reason. Both of them glared at each other.

The snake in the anthill said, “You wicked creature, why do you torment such a
handsome prince.”

The other serpent retorted, “Why are you polluting the two golden urns in your hole.”
Thus in their row, they revealed the secrets of each other.

The serpent in the anthill told the other serpent, “Don’t be arrogant. Who does not
know the secret of your death? If the prince drinks a concoction made of gruel and
mustard you will die unsung”.

“Oh, is that so? You will also perish if someone pours hot oil or hot water in your
anthill. Don’t be too proud,” said the serpent in the prince’s stomach.

The princess, who heard all that passed between the two serpents, poured hot oil into the
anthill and took the two golden urns and gave the mustard concoction to her husband
and killed the serpent inside his stomach.

Both Divyasakti’s son and his daughter-in-law returned to his kingdom and lived
happily ever after.

MORAL :
UNNECESSARY TALKING LEADS TO TROUBLE!

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 SATYAM AND SWAMI ABHEDANANDA
When Satyam lived at Proddutur with his aunt Venkamma, there was a great Yogi know
as Abhedananda Swami in that place.

Swami Abhedananda saw a glow in Satyam’s face and asked him to come to his ashram
regularly.

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150
151
Swami Abhedananda
knew that Satyam was
none other than
Dattatreya, the Guru of
the world (Jagad Guru).

Before Satyam’s mother had passed away, she had given him instructions to follow
before revealing himself as Guru. Swami Abhedananda was a great Yogi and was thus
able to recognize Satyam’s true form as Dattatreya.

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EXERCISE (15-20 min)
Sahaya Kriya (5 rounds)
Seed in the ground grows into tree and bears fruits. The fruits fall to the ground and the seeds then
grow into a tree.

Niyantrana Pranayama
Practice the Lion Pose – Simhaasana

Stand up and raise your hand up and imagine you are expanding until you become the universe.
The sun, moon and stars are shining in you. You are a brilliant light.
Then bend forward imagine you are emptying yourself. All your bad habits are falling away. What are
you getting rid off. Then you are completely hanging down loosely like a rag doll. You are completely
empty and relaxed.
Repeat this exercise five times

Samasitoshana Pranayama

Curl your tongue into a tube.

Inhale through your mouth feeling the coolness of the air as it passes over your tongue.
Close your mouth and hold your breath for three (3) seconds.
Exhale through your nostril.
Inhale through your nostril, then curl your tongue and exhale through your mouth.

Repeat this four times. This exercise is good for helping to make children less hyper active.
It is a tranquilizing kriya. Don’t do this exercise with children if they have the cold, are sad,
constipated or have low blood pressure.

Practice the Cobra

Lie flat on your tummy with head to one side and arms on the side.

Place hands on ground at shoulder level, keep

elbows tucked close to body.

Lift upper body with hands into the cobra and look
up.

Can you hiss like a snake?

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HOW TO MAKE A DAMARU
Things you will need :

Two paper cups, scissors, double sided tape,

masking tape, hard cardboard, two beads,
string and paint

STEP 1 : Cut two

small strips of double sided
tape to fit on the bottom of
the paper cups

STEP 2 : Attach one piece of double sided paper to the

center of the base of one paper cup. Attach the second
piece of tape on top of the first tape.

STEP 3 : Fix both cups together at their base (the tape will
stick them together).

STEP 4 : Use the masking tape to tape the cups

together at the center

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STEP 5 : Trace out two circles on the cardboard the size of the top of the paper cup. Cut out the
cardboard circles.

STEP 6 : Tape each of the cardboard circles to the top of the paper cups using the masking tape.

STEP 7 : Paint and decorate your damaru.

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STEP 8 : Tie the beads to either end of your string.

STEP 9 : Tie the beaded string around the center of your damaru. Make a double know to secure
the string around the center of the damaru.

STEP 10 : You are now ready to play with your Damaru. Hold damaru at the center with one
hand and twist hand.

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Reference for Activities :

Eagle Activity – Page 20

http://www.freekidscrafts.com/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_cat&cat
id=66&page=2
Science lesson and activity on eagles :
http://www.ehow.com/info_7963660_bald-eagle-science-projects.html
http://www.ehow.com/list_6723993_eagle-crafts-kids.html

Cartoon Earth Page 31 :

http://www.how-to-draw-funny-cartoons.com/cartoon-earth.html

Papier Mache Hot Air Balloon :

http://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/art_recipes/Papier_Mache_Paste/Papier_Ma
che_Paste.html
http://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/quick_how_to/papiermacheballoon/papierma
cheballoon.html
http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/World/Hot_Air_Balloon/Hot_Air_Ballo
on.html

Rain Stick Craft Page 56 :

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/music/rainstick/
How to Make a Rain Stick for Earth Day | eHow.com
http://www.activitytv.com/747-make-rain-stick

Phases of the moon, moon craft Page 74 :

http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/moon/mphases.htm
Astronaut Toilet Paper Roll Craft Page 80 :
http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/space/mastronaut.htm

Bumble Bee Breath Page 89 :

http://www.thekidsyogaresource.com/2010/01/bumblebee-breath-for-kids.html
3D Bumblebee Craft Page 92 :
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/summer/m3dsummer.htm
Bumblebee Bouquet Page 96 :
http://nicnacnoodle.blogspot.com/2011/08/bee-bouquet-bee-party-craft-
idea.html#!/2011/08/bee-bouquet-bee-party-craft-idea.html

Hanging Japanese Fish Page 106 :

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http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/japan/koi/
Deer Brooch Craft Page 115 :
http://www.squidoo.com/deer-crafts

Moth Balancer Craft Page 126 :

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/butterfly/balancer/

Indian Elephant Mask Page 133 :

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/elephant_mask.htm
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/

Elephant Origami Page 134 :

http://en.origami-club.com/easy/elephant/elephant/index.html
http://en.origami-club.com/easy/index.html

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