Author: Harsh Mendiratta

From a very young age, a simply yet powerful lesson is taught to us to not criticize others (दूसरों की निंदा ना करें). However, rarely do we follow this teaching in our lives. No matter how much we grow physically, socially, and spiritually, this flaw (अवगुण) has the potential to pull us down. Well before forming a critical opinion, the observer must pay attention […]

In the Hinduism, among all the prescribed rituals, the Yagya/Hawan is accorded the highest place. While many do perform it on daily basis, on auspicious life-events like Greh-Pravesh to sanskars like Vivah and Anteyshthi, majority of the Hindus perform Yagya to pray and seek God’s blessings. By nature, Yagya is intrinsically sacrificial and benevolent (Propkaar – परोपकार) act – and […]

Through the monthly assignments, research, presentations, and discussions/real-life example expositions on the assigned topics, the hawan kids are building a gradual yet profound understanding of many of the subtler aspects of human character and noble life. Continuing the exploration we started last year on Human Characteristics, this month’s assignment is Shauch (cleanliness). Per Patanjali Yog, Cleanliness has two aspects: internal (aantrik shuddhta/shauch) […]

Namaste, Like previous years, in the month of December, instead of a new assignment, we review our year-long learning. The theme for this year was Human Characteristics as prescribed in the Hinduism. Before embarking on this journey, in January’2014, we set a goal for ourselves as stated below. “This year we will learn and focus on one trait per month. […]

“Thanks!” “No, please don’t say thanks! It was my duty.” (“Nahin, nahin. Yeh to mera kartavya tha.”) We observe such exchanges on regular basis in movies and storybooks – and sparingly in real life. Even though it sounds fine, do we really understand the true meaning of the term Kartavya? Hasn’t the word “kartavya” become a cliché, which nobody wants […]

What image does come to your mind when you hear the word Tapasya? For the majority of people, it is of a sage sitting under a tree in the meditative pose with his back straight, eyes closed, and hands in gyan mudra. However prevalent this association may be, relevancy of tapasya is much broader than meditation only: without tapasaya, no […]

This month’s topic is Brahamcharya. It is one of the attributes of Hinduism that has a large variety of definitions: on one end of the spectrum is pure celibacy and on the other end is moderation in enjoyment. Even though celibacy has come to be a typical definition and often quoted meaning, we will tilt more towards the moderation in […]

Continuing on the theme of the year articulating different attributes that define human character per Hinduism, this month we will cover Daan (Donation). In the series of virtuous acts, Daan comes in the top category. In the Hinduism, Daan is considered ‘axis of religion’ and first step on the path of religious obedience. The donation is highly esteemed as a righteous act […]

As you know, the theme for this year is ‘Traits that define human character’. In the past five months, we covered the following five attributes: Truthfulness, Non-violence, Non-stealing, Forgiveness, and Curiosity. Based on what kids have presented, it is obvious that kids are building a fine understanding of the everyday as well as spiritual meanings of these attributes. However, to […]

This month’s topic is Jigyasa (curiosity). In Hinduism, Jigyasa is one of the highly esteemed attributes of human nature. Last year, we learnt about Hindu scriptures, which cover a broad spectrum of topics ranging from philosophy, human nature, human body, physical phenomenon (visible and invisible), to Trinity (matter, soul, and God) in amazing details. If it wasn’t for the deep rooted spiritual […]