Param Pujya Swamiji’s arrival at AVM

Though the onset of spring season in February month marked the parting of winter but lives at AVM campus still lacked a certain force, trees never wore the shroud of greenery, the flowers delayed their spring cheers as if stillness engulfed the whole campus and the devoted souls prayed with eager eyes …. until He came! His Divine Holiness Param Pujya Swamiji.

On the 7th day of April 2015, Swamishree’s arrival enlivened everything around. As if the entire campus had restored freshness - the trees turned jade green and the leaves and flowers of various colours danced in the vernal wind and the students, the teachers resumed sprightliness. There was an unusual verve of happiness and joy all around in the school campus. Radiance and splendour emitted by His divine aura illuminated the weary souls and the elated hearts filled with vitality. No matter how busy and hectic Swamiji’s schedule is, He arrives time to time to bless the AVM family and reinvigorate our spirits. "As and when the wick of enthusiasm burns low, comes ‘He’ yet once again to rekindle our spirits with His Torch of Love and Truth".

 

 

The blessed and most awaited moment arrived when Swamiji wished to hold a Sabha and bless the students and teachers with His golden words. Sabha started with a melodious devotional bhajan sung by students of grades 7 and 8. The senior students of class XII were called on the stage to receive Swamiji’s blessings personally. After toiling tooth and nail for board exams and having sheer anticipation of good result, this moment with Swamiji was summum bonum for them. Swamiji listened to the prayers of each and every one of them and counselled them by showering all His grace and blessings on them. As one comes nearer to Him, it seems that He is but a fountain from which there is a continuous emanation of rays of love, soothing every soul that approaches.

Everybody listened with great eagerness and attention as Swamiji addressed the Sabha and spoke His golden words. Swamishree advised the students and teachers to brush aside the laziness and prepare earnestly for hard work. Thereafter, by giving examples from history, Swamiji explained us that most essential condition of a happy life is to be God-loving and religious. Swamiji reminded us quite affectionately that nothing is impossible for us if we believe that God is our eternal father and a god realized saint is like a loving mother. Swamiji affirmed that there are three monsters which reside within all of us: ego, jealousy and obstinacy and at any cost we should get rid of them - this is the only way to be eligible to receive the ever flowing grace of the Supreme. He further added that personal association with saints helps to destroy delusion. As the students listened to Him with much devotion, Swamiji gave them the golden sutra which is a condition to keep good friends who are religious and who have integrity of character. Everyone in the Sabha had His darshan with folded hands and devoted hearts until Swamishree left the prayer hall.

What better be the sublime sight for eager eyes?

What better be the euphonious voice for curious ears?

What better be the blissful touch for weary frames?

What better be the grand feast for craving souls?

What better be the enthralling scent for withered spirits….If Param Pujya Swamiji arrives to bless us all.

Book Review: The One Thing

The most challenging yet the most exciting and enduring activity in our journey through 11th standard was the Book Review assignment. The very first Book Review Session was conducted on 10th March 2015. It was on the New York Times bestseller book - ‘The One Thing’ by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. Dharmitbhai, Neelbhai and Mohitbhai nicely presented the book. The Book Review was conducted during the sports hour in the school auditorium. There was a charming audience, which included the students of class 10th, 11th and 12th and all the teachers from junior and senior section.

 

 

During the session, we witnessed what is our “One Thing”. Dharmitbhai introduced the book and then Neelbhai took the explanation ahead. Neelbhai nicely introduced some of the concepts of the book such as “The Domino Effect” and why and how we should organise our schedule. Then the book review continued with unknown facts about the how the one thing dominates all the other things that we do in our life with the domino effect.

Then came Dharmitbhai who introduced the first part of the book, which was “The Lies” that steal us of our productivity. He explained Six Lies which were, Everything Matters Equally; Multitasking; A Discipline Life; Willpower is always on Will-call; A Balanced Life; and the last Big is Bad. He then also explained to us why we should not make a to-do list instead make a Success list. He explained it with the help of a juggler’s video that, why focusing on the One Thing is important. And he also explained that we don’t need any more discipline, we need habits to become successful. Neelbhai again explained the part 2, which was the truth - The simple path to productivity. He asked us a focusing question, which was ‘what's the one thing I should do such that by doing that everything else will be easier or unnecessary?’ Then they conducted an activity in which all the students were given a sticky note to write their present and future ‘one thing’ which they had to stick at the end of the presentation on the whiteboard in the big and specific pie.

Mohitbhai explained the third part that was “extraordinary results - unlocking possibilities within you”. He shared three possibilities of achieving extraordinary results, which are live with purpose, priority and productivity. Mohitbhai also explained their concept draw in which they drew an iceberg which depicted that 80% of the iceberg is underwater, which signifies our purpose in life and the priorities we set based on our purpose. Our productivity is the 20% of iceberg, which we see and feel. So our success is based on our purpose and priorities. Mohitbhai also explained the four thieves that steal our productivity. Thereafter, Neelbhai gave a very brief conclusion of the book and Dharmitbhai explained the cover page.

In the end, Keyurbhai asked a question to them which the whole group answered very appropriately and concluded the book review.

In the end after the book we all have decided as a class that we will follow our One Thing as students, which is to follow the Recipe of Success formula as given by Param Pujya Swamishree which is:

1. Sincere Hard work
2. Earnest Prayers
3. Company of Good Friends

By students of 12th Commerce

फाल्गुनिका (Holi Celebration 2015)

‘ह्लाद’ संस्कृत भाषा का शब्द है । ह्लाद शब्द में आ तथा प्र उपसर्ग का प्रयोग करने पर शब्द बनते है: आह्लाद एवं प्रह्लाद जिनका अर्थ होता है आनंद, उल्लास, प्रेम आदि।

होला अर्थात् मुरझा कर सुखी हुई ज्वलनशील लकड़ी जो जलन , इर्ष्या द्वेश का प्रतीक है।

सदियों से प्रह्लाद को भस्म करने में असफल होलीका का इस वर्ष भी दहन कर के आत्मीय विद्यामंदिर में शागिर्दों के लिए “धूर्तमेव पराजयते” का पाठ दोहराया गया।

यशोमति मैया से बोले नंदलाला , राधा क्यों गोरी, मैं क्यों काला ???

माना जाता है कि उपरोक्त प्रश्न को बार-बार पूछे जाने पर यशोदा मैया ने कान्हा से कह दिया कि ‘जा जो रंग तू चाहता है, वो राधा के चेहरे पर लगा दे। कान्हा ने वैसा ही किया और उस दिन से धूलंडी का पर्व प्रचलन में आया।

किंतु गौरतलब है कि इस बार इम्तिहान को मद्देनज़र रखते हुए तमाम तालीमार्थी अलिफ़(अक्षर) के रंग में ही रंगे नज़र आए।

********।।रंगों भरी शुभकामानएं।।********

लेखक:  पुष्पक सर 

SARANSH: the Closing Ceremony of 2014-15

No sooner had the humdrum of prolonged study hours of February month settled in, amazingly, exhilaration extended its reaches and fatigue sneaked away. Hardly a few weeks after the recent sports fiesta, it was yet another gala time for AVM family members as they gathered to celebrate ‘SARANSH’ the closing ceremony of the year 2014-15.

 

On the evening of 14th Feb '15, all students, teachers and mentors assembled at the well-adorned ‘Atmiya Prarthana Hall’ to commemorate outstanding performances of students in academic and co-curricular activities throughout this year. The programme started with evoking God’s blessings through Thakorji’s pujan. Quite significantly, this year marked a change in the slogan of the programme: "We are ONE". Afterwards, the formal announcement of the closing of house activities (competitions) was made with the marching off by the student council members and office bearers. The evening grew extremely engaging as the school’s orchestra and choir group presented Naad Brahma, an enthralling musical treat to the audience. The amazing fusion of various musical instruments: octopad, drum-set, congo, daf, dholak and tabla being played by the students set the stage on fire. It was an incredible synchronization of various musical instruments attuned in a melodious rhythm. Hats off to the maestros Jaimin Sir and Himanshu Sir.

The excitement and fervour surged when the awards for individual categories were announced. The flourishing talents in singing, acting and dancing and the budding percussionists were honoured. These young artists (the winners) have showcased their distinctive flair in different competitions and cultural programmes held in the school during this academic year.

The nifty and sprightly hosts of the programme, Shubhbhai and Devarshibhai entertained the audience through their witty remarks and apt dialogues.

The ‘Atmiya Prarthana Hall’, the venue of the event, reverberated with much clamour and cheers when the awards for house activities were being announced. All the four houses: Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram and Suhradam bagged a prize in one or the other categories which included Best Sports House, Best Republic Parade, Best Debating House, Best Softboard Display and Best Creative Assembly.

Quite instantly, solemnity set in, as the audience listened with much attention the speeches of all four house captains and the Vice Headboy. Some of them shared their learning experiences and memorable events with their house members while the others extended their gratitude to their other house members and teachers for their support, encouragement and guidance.

The next category of award was the most prestigious (individual) award of the evening, the ‘Best Student of the Year’ award. Once again the lively students burst with cheers when these special awards were given to the students who had consistently demonstrated exemplary conduct in every aspect of their life.

Towards the end of the event, the prayer hall resonated with much more hullabaloo, applause and cheers when the name of the ‘Winning House of the Year’ was announced. The entire arena echoed with calls of ‘Sundaram’ as the members of this house were invited on stage to collect the coveted trophy. Thus, once again, fun and frolic spilled in abundance, once again AVM family got a reason to enjoy together, once again studies got an occasional dodge and once again feast followed the fest.

The awards won were as follows:

Students of the year:

• Darsh Darji (Std 5)
• Madhur Modi (Std 7)
• Dhwanit Tamboli (Std 10)

Debating Champions: Satyam House
Best Academic House: Satyam House
Best Sports House: Satyam House
Annual Athletic Meet Champions: Sundaram House
Best Softboard: Shivam House
Best Creative Assembly: Shivam House

House of the Year: SUNDARAM HOUSE

Truly! Atmiya Vidya Mandir is synonymous with celebration…

Window of Wisdom

Under the guidance of our English teacher, the 7th grade students enjoyed an activity of making display board based on stories from our long reading book. First of all, we were given stories from the book ‘How I taught my grandmother to read and other stories’ written by well-known author Sudha Murthy. This book, which is a part of our English syllabus, is based on life values.

 

 

 

We were divided in groups and were asked to present each story on the allotted display boards. Working as a team, we read and developed an understanding of the main aspects of the given story in depth. Then, we made a rough draft of the layout of the display. We included root values, wisdom sentences, characters and their traits and the summary of the story. We finally displayed the content with the material provided by our teacher. Finally, all the groups gave a presentation of our group displays in the class.

It was truly an amazing learning experience and an opportunity to discover the creativity within us. This activity has been very beneficial for us as we were able to comprehend and present the stories with ease. This display board activity has opened a new window of wisdom in our life.

Written by: Anshul Gohel & Taarak Trivedi (7A)

The Republic Day, 2015

The 66th Republic Day of India was celebrated with grandeur at Atmiya Vidya Mandir. The occasion begun, welcoming the Principal and other distinguished guests by the school’s student council.

The honourable School Principal, Dr. Vijay Patel performed Thakorji's poojan and then unfurled the National Flag which was followed by the National Anthem. Students in their respective house groups, marched boldly to pay respect to the National Flag with a great deal of patriotic zeal and passion. The choir group presented the National Song "Vande Mataram". The whole school joined the choir and the song echoed in the surroundings. 

Moving further with the event, students brought the stage alive with their patriotic spirit via a specially choreographed dance "Salaam India" for the occasion. The unbeatable music and graceful movements of the dancers were mesmerizing. The entire school courtyard reverberated with the rhythmic beats of the song “Salaam India".

Later on, our respected Principal Dr. Vijay Patel addressed the students on this remarkable day which is celebrated every year on the 26th of January to commemorate the date and moment when the Constitution of India came into effect. The students were also reminded that how little tasks needed to be done and how the students of today hold the future of their country in their hands.

On this special day, students who showed their outstanding performances in the fields of sports were awarded the certificates by the distinguished guests.

The students dispersed after sweets with the delightful and inspiring image of the waving tri-colour in their hearts.

Written by: Rashmi Ma'am

AVM Debating Club Report 2014-15

Who is the Judge?
God.
Why is He God?
Because He decides who wins or loses not my opponent.
Who is your opponent?
He does not exist.
Why does he not exist?
Because he is merely a dissenting voice of the truth I speak.
So speak the truth.
~ from the movie: The Great Debaters

The above dialogue from the movie, The Great Debaters is the underlying principle on which, the AVM Debating Club functions. Though the students of the club engage in fierce verbal battles, they understand that they are just trying to find the truth. The purpose of the club is to improve the logical reasoning, analytical thinking and persuasive communication skills of the students. Under the guidance of teachers, all the debaters get an opportunity to work in a team, representing their respective houses.

 

The yearlong club activity commences with new registrations from class 6, at the beginning of each new academic year. Immediately after the registration, students become a part of the club and initiate their training as a debater. After the training, they participate in practice debates. In these debates they are observed by their teachers and receive constructive feedback to improve their skills. Once registered, the students remain an active member of the club till they graduate from the school. Currently, the AVM Debating Club serves 94 students from classes 6 to 10.

The teachers of the English department of the school have prepared nine graded modules. Each newly registered student of the club goes through a nine-week course, learning the basic skills of the art of debating. The details of the training sessions held during the year are as follows:

Simultaneously, when the new debaters are learning the art, the previously registered members participate in practice debates throughout the year. This year fourteen practice debate sessions were organized, wherein, students got the opportunity to hone their skills, based on positive and constructive feedback from the teachers. The details of the practice sessions that were held during the year are as follows:

The activities of the year come to an end with the organization of a school-wide Inter House Debate Competition. This year’s competition brought out the best of the language skills of all the students. Participating students worked six to eight hours a week on their speeches. Teachers constantly helped them in revising and updating their drafts. This year’s competition was fierce and you could see the participants preparing and practising their speeches with great zeal.

Details of the Inter House Debate Competition for class 6:

Details of Inter House Debate Competition for classes 7-8:

Details of Inter House Debate Competition for classes 9-10:

Details of the House Points for the Inter House Debate Competition:

In the end, it was the Satyam House team that became the debating club champion for the year 2014-15. The students of the house shall lift the trophy and the winners and runners-up team members shall be awarded certificates in the school closing ceremony on 14th of February.

Thus, an electrifying year came to an end with the students becoming better debaters than yesteryear.

Written by: Chirag Sir

Success comes with responsibility: Sundaram House assemblies on the outstanding companies of the world

At AVM, flourishing with their inherent talent and growing with clarity of destination and vision for future, students aspire and strive to become entrepreneurs, industrialists and business giants of tomorrow. Quite considerately, these young aspirants (students) are being taught to live up to their dreams. Up against the fact that the high-tech entrepreneurial world is living through a time of high temptation and ethical morass, Sundaram House was all set to explain the students that integrity, values, trust and social responsibility comprised the much needed ethical bedrock of a successful company.

By presenting the success stories of outstanding companies of the world, Sundaram House members traced the small steps of these companies which led them to greater heights. The week started with exploring the secrets of success of the world’s fastest growing company: Google. Purvesh Sir explained the students that great organizations like Google are comprised of people who have a passion for what they are doing. Students were explained that thrill and challenge lead to success and merely putting in time to collect a pay cheque leads nowhere. Students learnt in this day’s assembly that people who made this company successful are excited, driven, and they believe that their work and efforts can make a difference.

On Tuesday, Mukesh Sir told the success story of Amul, the company which is the largest producer of milk in the world. Root to wings, the flying success of Amul brought the insight to students that in a world where temptation and competition are the driving forces, for a company like Amul, professional ethics and standards are of greater importance in establishing the necessary trust and integrity in the delivery of its services.

Wednesday brought yet another learning lesson from another big business giant of the world – Amazon. It was interesting for the students to know how good ethical behaviour reflects smart business practices and the secret of success of Amazon.com. Inc. Through the illustrations of Amazon’s success story, these young students were made to believe that people who rise above the crowd should be morally, ethically and socially accountable.

Yet another business giant, which is better known for ethics, integrity and trust is the Indian conglomerate – the Tata Group. Students learnt from the success story of this company that persistence should be tied to passion and a belief even when results are not in match with expectations.

In the junior assemblies, young tiny tots learnt about the values, ethics and quality-based output of companies like Mapro and Balaji. Though these assemblies were much fun filled, yet presentations and speeches and other activities brought many learning lessons for these tiny tots.

Thus, these assemblies of Sundaram House instilled the very quality of social responsibility in students where students find themselves accountable for fulfilling their civic duty while living onto their dreams. Students were encouraged to be innovative and foster a habit of thinking “out of the box”. Students learnt from these outstanding companies that safe paths never helps to grow and prosper.

આત્મીય યુવા મહોત્સવના તેડાં

न गुरु: अधिकं तत्वं, न गुरु: अधिकं तप:।

न गुरु: अधिकं ज्ञानं, तस्मै श्रीगुरुवे नम:।।

અર્થાત્: ગુરુથી કોઈ શ્રેષ્ઠ તત્વ નથી, ગુરુથી અધિક કોઈ તપ નથી; ગુરુથી વિશેષ કોઈ જ્ઞાન નથી એવા શ્રી ગુરુદેવને નમસ્કાર.

પરમ પૂજ્ય ગુરુહરિ હરિપ્રસાદ સ્વામીજી આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરના ભૂલકાંઓને આશીર્વચન આપવા અવારનવાર આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરમાં પધારે છે. જ્યારે જ્યારે સ્વામીજી આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરમાં પધારતા હોય છે તે દિવસનું વાતાવરણ દિવ્ય, અનેરું તથા અલૌકિક જોવા મળે છે. તેમાં આ વખતે ભૂલકાંઓને તથા આત્મીય પરિવાર જનોને આત્મીય યુવા મહોત્સવનું આમંત્રણ આપવા તારીખ 12/12/2014ને શુક્રવારના રોજ સ્વામીજી પોતે પધાર્યા હતા. 

આંગણીયે શુકનવંતા પગલે લાગણીઓ પથરાય જાય છે,

આવા અવસર ઉજવવા માટે ચોઘડીયા ભૂલાય જાય છે.

આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરમાં પણ સ્વામીશ્રીના આગમનથી ભૂલકાંઓ તથા હરિભક્તોના મનમાં આવીજ કંઈક લાગણી જન્મી હતી તથા તેઓ સ્વામીજીના અમૃત વચનોની આતુરતાથી રાહ જોઈ રહ્યા હતા અને આવા ભક્તિમય વાતાવરણમાં સભાની શરૂઆત થઈ.

સભાની શરૂઆતમાં તરૂણ સરે શાળામાં થતી વિવિધ પ્રવૃત્તિઓનો અહેવાલ સ્વામીશ્રી આગળ ટૂંકમાં રજૂ કર્યો તથા ધોરણ 12 ના સમગ્ર ભૂલકાંઓ વતી તન્મયભાઈ, પાર્થભાઈ અને સચીનભાઈએ પૂજ્ય સ્વામીજી સમક્ષ પોતાની પ્રાર્થના રજૂ કરી આશીર્વાદ પામ્યા. પોતાને દેહે કરીને ઘણી તકલીફો હોવા છતાં તથા તેમના અત્યંત વ્યસ્ત કાર્યક્રમો વચ્ચે પણ સ્વામીજી આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરનાં ભૂલકાંઓને મળવા આવ્યા હતા. આ દિવસે સ્વામીજીની આનંદમય અમૃતવાણીમાં ભૂલકાંઓ અને ભક્તો ભાવભીના થઈ ગયા હતા. સ્વામીશ્રીએ વિવિધ પ્રસંગો દ્વારા ભલકાંઓને સમજાવ્યું કે આપણી પાંચેય ઇન્દ્નિયોને પૉઝિટિવ રાખવી. તેઓએ સંત સમાગમનું મહાત્મ્ય પણ સમજાવ્યું તથા જીવનમાં સ્વધર્મ પાળવાનું વિશેષ જ્ઞાન આપ્યું. 

કોઈકે સાચું જ કહ્યું છે કે....,

જે કાંઇ થઇ શકે તે કરી લે આ જનમમાં,

આનાથી રૂડો બીજો અવસર નહીં મળે.

આ વાતને સમર્થન આપતા સ્વામીશ્રીએ તેમની પરાવાણીના અંતમાં સૌને આત્મીય યુવા મહોત્સવનું ભાવભીનું આમંત્રણ પાઠવ્યું.

- ગૌતમ સર

Wisdom and Teachings of Gunatitanand Swami ni Vaatu

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.” said Francis Bacon.

Books are our best friends, but according to the above quotation only a few books show us the true north and become the guide of our spiritual life because we are not human beings having a spiritual experience but we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Books like Gunatitanand Swami ni Vaatu, Shikshapatri, Shreemad Bhagvat Geeta, Ramayan, Ram Charit Manas, Purushottam Bolya Prite and Vachnamrut are the kinds of books that one should chew and digest. Life is full of challenges and in the midst of these challenges we seem to lose track many a times. However the people who have made these books their constant companions are the ones who smile their way through adversities and remain happy.

So, with a desire to introduce to our students with one such companion for life, Suhradam House celebrated the teachings and wisdom of the book Gunatitanand Swami ni Vaatu in the very first week of the month of December. During the week, Suhradam House teachers shared various vaatu in order to help students understand the glory of God, how to gain spiritual knowledge and how to attain peace and happiness.

To simplify the meaning of vaatu for students and to help them relate these gems in their life through a real life example, Suhradam House presented a drama on Saturday in the morning assembly: "જો બકા! આપણે દેહ નથી, આત્મા છીએ.". The drama was inspired by a true incident from respected Vijay Sir’s life, the Principal of Atmiya Vidya Mandir. Vijay sir has been a voracious reader of Vaatu since childhood. He has chewed and digested the book in true sense. Students have been learning from him about vaats from time to time in his assembly talks.

The drama narrated a challenging situation from his life and how Swami ni Vaatu helped him overcome his challenges despite extreme adversity. The incident was taken from the time when Vijay Sir was doing his PhD in Physics at Stony Brook University New York and he was working on making a micro-chip in the one of its kind state of the art lab. He had worked tirelessly on this invention for 3 months and was successful in making it. However, on the day after he made it, he broke it accidentally. He saw all his hard work done in vain. At that time, he was invited by Param Pujya Swamiji to attend a shibir in India. He had two choices – to immediately start working on his life time achievement and get the chip done again or go to India to attend the shibir and meet Swamishree. In such a time of difficulty he remembered Swamiji’s word to seek solution from Swami ni vaatu, so, with a prayer in his heart, he took help of Swami ni vaatu. He came across two teachings from the books:

1. The unwavering faith in God enables a person to remain stable in any adverse situation. The faith is to believe that whatever happens, is the wish of God and God never does anything wrong to His child.
2. Whenever one faces any perplexing situation and when it seems difficult to take decision, one should do bhajan – take the name of God and pray to Him to show the way.

These vaats helped him decide to go to India and he found peace in his heart being in the divine company of Swamiji and he forgot all his worries. After coming back to US, to his greatest astonishment, he found the chip in working condition. This experience strengthened his faith in God and in vaats. Gunatitanand Swami ni Vaatu is his favorite book and his constant companion.

After enacting, seeing and understanding this incident of the person who is a role model for all at Atmiya Vidya Mandir, students got a very convincing insight about the need to regularly read such scriptures as Swami ni Vaatu. Our former Head Boy, Sachinbhai Verlekar, now in grade 12, shared his favourite Swami ni vaat in the assembly: the one who wants to study, should never expect any pleasures or conveniences. Not only him, but the entire batch of class 12 students live this vaat day in and day out. They work close to 15-16 hours a day and sometimes more than that, without getting tired and they do it rather happily. Such is the impact of practicing Swami ni vaatu in their lives.

It’s a matter of great pride and honour for the students and teachers alike, to have such an accomplished and yet humble individual in Vijay Sir, as a School Principal, whose invention of making the fastest chip in the world has still not been made better by anyone.

Suhradam House was further honoured to have had this humble opportunity in attempting to learn lessons for life from a great book Gunatitanand Swami ni vaatu and help students lead a happy life without worries.

Written by: Nirali Ma'am

Interpersonal Intelligence Competition 2014-15

"It's not how smart you are that matters, what really counts is how you are smart." 

-by Howard Gardner

We all are supreme creation of GOD and HE has gifted all of us with the skills we cannot even imagine. So it doesn’t really matter to know how much smart we are. But it is important to unleash our potential and to introspect and find out how we are smart, what is that one or few skills which we have that make us different and successful than others. That is what really matters. This concept is very well explained by Howard Gardner in his theory of multiple intelligences. So in continuation with the school’s theme of developing multiple intelligences in the students of various age groups, the Interpersonal Intelligence Interhouse Competition 2014-15 was held on 29th November at Atmiya Vidya Mandir.

Interpersonal skill is one very important skill required in this day and age. We are social animals, we have to interact with other fellow members. So, the main motive of this competition was to make participants work as a team and to make them realize the importance of developing interpersonal intelligence.

For the competition, students were divided into four groups as per their age. Following is a brief description of the group wise events:

Group 1: (Std. 1 to 3)

The participants from Std. 1, 2 and 3 had to solve the jigsaw puzzle in a team of four. For teachers, it was a memorable event to see their youngest rising stars to work in a team and solve the puzzle.

Group 2: (Std. 4 to 6)

The participants from Std. 4, 5 & 6 had to work in a team to think & design a logo for their respective houses and explain its meaning.

Group 3: (Std. 7 & 8)

For Std. 7 & 8, there was a poster making competition on the theme of “Recipe of Success: Hard work + Earnest Prayers + Company of Good Friends”. Participants, in groups of 4, had to work as a team and make a poster. All the participants (total: 16) demonstrated a good ability to work in teams and also showed their creativity by making very nice posters that were rich in content.

Group 4: (Std. 9 & 10)

There was a dialogue writing competition for the participants from Std. 9 & 10. They had to work in a team of four and come up with the dialogues for given situations like conversation between father and son, husband and wife, two friends, teacher and student, and guru and disciple.

All the participants and non-participating students enjoyed the competition and mesmerized their friends and teachers with their teamwork and creativity.

The overall result of the competition is given below:

Written by: Priyavadan Sir

Real Intelligence: Vachanamrut Pratham 18

Among all the species in the history of evolution, humans are at the top of the evolution chart. We are able to think, understand, communicate and perform various tasks and activities, which the other species are unable. This is possible because humans have a gift that no other species have. That is a programmable brain. Real Intelligence lies in programming or training our brain to avoid or bypass all the distractions, conserve our energy and focus on the task at hand. If one is able to do so effectively then the phrase ‘Nothing is impossible!’ is not far from reality.

Shivam House was privileged with the opportunity to ponder upon the topic and share thoughts and experiences everyone in the last week of November 2014.

Taking reference from the holy scripture Vachanamrut and excerpts from the blessings of Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji, the following was conveyed in the assemblies throughout the week:

• If we speak inappropriately, we fill ourselves with negativity via our tongue. Negative or inappropriate words take away our energy and decreases our ability to perform our daily tasks. When we eat inappropriately, that negativity is reflected out when we crave to taste a particular food item that we bind ourselves with and that leads to frustration when we don’t get it. It also lures us to overeat and makes us lazy.
  
  But if we speak appropriately and only about relevant things and also do not allow our sense of taste to defeat us, we will remain enthusiastic and energetic, and experience positivity in ourselves.

• If we listen to irrelevant or inappropriate words or music, it fills us with negativity. On the other hand, wise and positive words, good books, appropriate songs or bhajans increases the positivity in us. Relating to the daily experiences of students, it was highlighted that sometimes when we sit down to study or try to think about something new, we hear in our head, some music or song that we may have heard in the past. That actually divides our focus and ends up wasting our time.

• Our eyes are also remarkably capable of experiencing the world around us. Most of the times, we are not even aware of what we are seeing. If we allow our eyes to watch the negative of others or irrelevant things or inappropriate movies or shows, we will actually harm our own self. However, if we just see positive in others or allow our eyes only to see relevant and appropriate things, we shall experience an increase in energy and enthusiasm in our own self. Children also understood that memories of inappropriate movie scenes or irrelevant scenes or looking at the negative aspects of others or negativity in different situations, causes us to lose our concentration and even leads us to anxiety, anger and frustration.
  
  And the same is the case for our sense of smell and touch.

• Further it was made clear that our brain is like a sponge. It absorbs everything through the five senses. Anything we see, hear, taste, feel and smell will get stored in our brain. As a result, this will ignite emotions based on the quality it possesses.
  
  If the input is positive then it will help us to conserve our energy, keep us enthusiastic, motivated and bring eternal bliss.
  
  If the input is negative and we keep or dwelling upon it again and again the effect of it will be brutal. It will be like taking an intoxicant, a drug that will take control of our thinking ability and not allow us to think appropriately and hence we will feel anxiety, anger, frustration etc… It will also be a waste of lot of energy and time.

• In Pratham 18, Shreeji Maharaj has also showed the way to keep our senses positive i.e. being with positive people, having darshan of Thakorji or saints, or watching appropriate documentaries or movies, can inspire us greatly.

Hence, Pratham 18 acts as an eye opener in our life. One who is aware of the ill-effects of dwelling on the negative things and puts consistent effort to maintain the positive inputs through one’s senses is a real intelligent person. Such a person will be able to conserve, nurture and utilize his energy to do productive tasks and will be able to achieve all his goals.

Children were also made aware that Shreeji Maharaj, towards the end in this Vachanamrut, says that “If you do so, I shall consider it to be equivalent to you having served Me in EVERY WAY. I will also bless all of you and be EXTREMELY PLEASED with you.”

Thus throughout the week we understood that

1. Senses are the precious gift of God to humans. Moreover, capability to think is like icing on cake.
2. We must be clear of what we want to do with our life. Have a goal, a destination to achieve.
3. Keep the company of people who are positive, who aim high and who persevere to achieve their destination and goal.
4. Perform daily religious and spiritual rituals like aarti, prayers, pooja and swadhyay.
5. Have complete faith in God.
6. Keep the company of God realised saint to get constant motivation and guidance.

Thus, it was understood that by keeping our senses positive, we are actually serving God and, that is the true service of our soul and hence, of God. A real intelligent person realises that there is no limit to the bliss of God. He understands that he is different from his body, he is aatma and his birth here is mainly to purify his aatma and attain higher bliss of God.

Written by: Shivam House Team

Nilkanth Charitra

After Suhradam House celebrated the remarkable value of Grit and a very joyful celebration of Anand Divas on 14th November, it was the privilege of Satyam House to celebrate the life and message of Nilkanth Varni. Regular daily assemblies were designed to give the essence of Nilkanth’s spiritual journey through the chosen episodes in a cultural set up of its original style and speech. It would start with Thakorji’s poojan and would follow with elucidation of two episodes a day, wherein, a student in traditional attire would read the episodes and the other would present the visuals on screen for the same. The reading and explanation was done in the form of ‘parayan’, a typical cultural way of narrating God’s acts. By the end of assembly, a video clip from the movie ‘Mystic India’ was shown to aid better understanding of Nilkanth’s journey and its purpose. This series ended on Friday with special a parayan by respected Pushpak Sir.

 

The week was concluded with a heart touching creative assembly on Saturday, “નીલકંઠ વર્ણી ની કલ્યાણ યાત્રા”. Bal Ghanshyam left His home at the age of 11 and was later known as Nilkanth Varni during His spiritual journey. He travelled to various places of pilgrimage across the length and breadth of India for more than seven years. During His penance, He undertook several austerities. Many interesting anecdotes found in the various accounts of Nilkanth’s life, which may awaken the varied interest of the students were highlighted to inspire them to higher spiritual endeavour. Few of its glimpses are as follow.

A young and innocent boy of age 11 has gone through a very tough journey, bare foot, facing extremely difficult situations where temperature is −40° C; which makes it almost impossible to survive for any human being. He also faced severe heat, rain and hailstones. Many a times He went without food and water. He lived between poisonous reptiles, insects and wild animals. He passed through the forests, over the mountains and through deep valleys. Barefooted, Nilkanth toured all the way without any conveniences.

Why had this boy gone to harsh forests? What was the purpose of His journey? How come He moved so fearlessly? Answering these, Nilkanth says “My journey is for the kalyan (the ultimate liberation) of countless lives”.

Nilkanth travelled across India and parts of Nepal in search of a true master and a true spiritual abode. In order to find such a pure and pious place, Nilkanth Varni would ask five the most mystic questions – What is Jiva? What is Ishwara? What is Maya? What is Brahma? What is Parabrahma? And in 1799, after seven years of journey, in the village of Loj in Saurashtra (Gujarat), Nilkanth Varni met Muktanand Swami, who was a senior disciple of Ramanand Swami. Muktanand Swami answered the five questions to Nilkanth’s satisfaction and He then decided to stay for the opportunity to meet Ramanand Swami. He eventually met Ramanand Swami after a few months, after which he decided to stay there itself and hence completed His journey.

The play not only inspired the students to fight against the hardships of life but also sparked an insight for faith and belief in the purpose of Supreme. Satyam House with all the students, didis and teachers tried to contribute their best to justify the several aspects of Nilkanth’s Kalyan Yatra.

Written by: Kshitij Sir

GRIT –‘Saying YES when your fear says NO’

“Success is the name of failure turned inside out,
The silver shade of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst,
That you must not quit”

NEVER QUIT, the message given by the imposing poem above reflects a very important value which the Suhradam House was privileged to celebrate: GRIT –‘Saying YES when your fear says NO’ from 10th to 15th Nov ‘14. The house members put in sincere efforts to help the students understand the core concept of a winning personality - GRIT.

On Monday, the value was introduced by respected Gautam Sir using a few illustrations about how grit helps in a student’s life. The message conveyed was that a student with grit is not the one who works really hard and eventually gives up after many trials he is the one that always stretches his limits and strives for improvement.

In addition to this, a few videos were shown about how all great achievers of the world had displayed that grit was the one of the most important characteristic responsible in helping them to achieve their goals.

Moreover, the interesting thing told to the students was that keeping grit is a choice. It’s an attitude. It’s not something that someone is born with, nor is it something that is given to them. In fact, grit can be developed through an optimistic mind set and coping with setbacks, disappointments and failures. This elucidation really strengthened the eagerness of students to attain GRIT.

On Tuesday, respected Anand Sir explicated the value Grit as “sticking with things or plans over a very long term until you master them”. To make this definition more meaningful, he provided students a real life example of Juliane Koepcke. She was a 17 years old girl when the aircraft in which she was travelling was destroyed by a storm and crashed in the jungle and she had fallen down about 10000 ft from the aircraft into the Amazon rain forests. Her struggle for survival really moved the students and it worked as a great motivational source for them due to the message and learning derived from the story.

On Wednesday, respected Archana Ma’am enlightened all about the value grit with the saying: “A smooth sea never made a skilful mariner.” She explained that winners always endure, they never quit. For instance, she said, “Athletes put in years of practice, and commitment for a few seconds or minutes of performance”. She also provided two highly inspiring incidents from the lives of Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lankan cricketer) and Chris Moon (a double amputee who has competed in a wide range of marathons and ultra-distance races). It helped the students really believe that “Characters cannot be developed in ease and quite. Only through trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. Triumphs don’t come without effort.” It also left the students with a zealous heart full of desires to reach their goals.

Thursday brought its own charm in form of divine blessings from Param Pujya Swamishree, manifestation of GRIT Himself, when respected Prajval Sir helped students to learn the value from him. A video clip from one of his discourses at AVM was shown wherein He asked students to do three prayers whenever they visited the prayer hall:

1. the ability to score above 70% marks in all the subjects,
2. to have a company of good friends, and
3. the ability to keep calm and never get angry in any situation.

Students were contented to get to know what to pray in order to achieve a very important value like grit and to become a fantastic performer in whatever they do in life.

With the fabulous celebration of the Children’s Day, the journey of learning grit began with the value instilled in their heart which will surely help them become great achievers, fighters and the makers of history one day.
 

Submitted by: Nirali Ma’am

आनंद दिवस - The Children’s Day Celebration 2014

In AVM, the student-teacher relationship isn’t what usually runs around the globe. It is more of completing and complimenting one another, where our world is our teachers and more importantly, we are the world for the teachers. Our teachers live with us playing so many different roles such as mentor, friend, parent, guide and much more. At AVM, we all live together as a family and there’s not a moment when we are without their ever so friendly and warm company.

It will be not be an exaggeration, if 14th November, 2014 is considered a golden day , which will always hold a very significant importance in the history of AVM, because this day, adorably termed as ‘आनंद दिवस’ was a day of joy, surprise and excitement for all AVM students. This Children’s Day celebration was like never before.

The start of the schedule of the day itself was a great surprise. All of us were asked to wear home clothes, and after breakfast we all hit the play grounds with our counterparts of the day, our teachers. Our state of confusion immediately turned into a surge of excitement and joy as soon as we got to know that our dearest teachers had organized a series of games for all of us. Moreover, the much fun filled cricket matches, we all had been grouped into as many as 8 teams and the number of matches had been organized in such a way that each one of us got a chance to be the part of the game.

The atmosphere was completely fun-blended and the teachers demonstrated a new avatar with track pants, umpire hats and the ever reassuring love and affection from their gestures. The surmounting thrill and unbolted joy was flowing and gushing all over with the very presence of these ‘God sent angels’: our teachers, who seem to be descended from heaven for the day.

It became all the more fun when our teachers, housemasters and sports teachers joined us wholeheartedly in supporting us and cheering us up to make the day very eventful. We students could not but be amazed at the well-planned activities for the day. Their love and concern was much expressed. How engrossed they were with us playing all the games! We all enjoyed at the fullest!

It melted our hearts and made us wanting to hug them as we saw them doing different, little tasks for us. At one glance we could see our teachers noting down scores, giving a live commentary of the matches being played, at another glance we saw our teachers encouraging us, giving us useful tips, sharing jokes and many a times playing with us. That day, we had forgotten that they were our teachers, because their love towards us made us feel as if they were our best buddies.

At the same time, our junior friends were not being any less entertained. Our junior grade teachers had organized a series of cultural events, where they performed anchoring, dance, skits and acts. Our juniors could not hold themselves from yelling and roaring with laughter in joy throughout the programme which was organized specially for them in the school-auditorium. The teachers danced, enacted funny scenes, conversed in a funny and chatty manner and brought the stage to fire with all sorts of performances for their little angels: the students.

Anyone who observed the scene could never stop the feeling of joy and sweetness infecting everyone in the campus. Seeing the teachers and students enjoying in such unison with no age and experience barriers, we could not stop ourselves from thinking that we were blessed to have such wonderful teachers which made the day for us.

All of us had to admit that there’d never been a day as this where we enjoyed to the fullest.

And that is not all, fun-fiesta ended with super-delicious mouth-watering dishes like Canapés, all kinds of fancy dosa and ice creams, specially arranged for all of us. The day left its mark with much-enjoyed and enthralling part of the fun fair – the variety of games on different stalls. We laughed, played, ate and enjoyed like never before.

This day has been imprinted on the memory plates of our minds, forever, as the day of greatest joy – truly आनंद दिवस.

Submitted by: Yathansh Joshi (Class 9)

AVM sings the glory of Gujarat!

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high……. 

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments…………

When the great poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote these lines, hardly had he thought that his words would take shape of reality in Gujarat. Gujarat, the ‘Land of the Legends’ which leaves behind impressions with footprints on the sands of time. Life is a Celebration for those who live in Gujarat, a place where Gods chose to exist! Hence Sundaram House unfolded the astounding features of ‘Garvi Gujarat’ in the first week of this November.

Throughout this week, during morning assemblies, members of Sundaram House showed informative presentations, enchanting videos and explanatory speeches in order to make the students aware of the rich heritage and unique culture of Gujarat.

On Monday, to begin with, students were shown a video-clip about the Gujarat Development Model, which explained and showed Gujarat as India’s fastest developing state, stating Gujarat’s commendable achievements. The next day, a captivating and much convincing PowerPoint presentation was shown on the topic, ‘Contribution of Gujarat in the fields of Science and Literature’. Students acknowledged the role of Vikram Sarabhai and Pranav Mistry in the field of Science and Technology. On the third day of this week, students were shown some videos related to the contribution of Gujarat born leaders in the Freedom Struggle and politics. Legendary personalities like Gandhiji, Sardar Patel and Narendra Modi were praised for their inspiring lives.

On the following day, students got the opportunity to watch a video clip which showed Param Pujya Swamiji mentioning in his speech that Gujarat is a pious and the most sanctified land as it has been the ‘chosen land’ by saints, deities and religious Gurus of India.

The week was concluded with highlights of other remarkable and fascinating features of Gujarat, its cultural significance, historical places and temples and architecture. Through speech and video, students were made aware about the vast natural resources and its rich, cultural heritage which has endeared Gujarat and Gujaratis even to the rest of the world.

Additionally, in the assemblies of junior students, there was much fun with glimpses of marvelous features of their motherland Gujarat. Each day of this week, brought some valuable information to these little young minds. They acknowledged much information and facts about food, music, religion, custom, traditions of Gujarat. Most noticeably, the last day was extremely fun-filled for them, as the junior group of Sundaram House presented a scintillating Garba Dance.

Thus the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir realized and rediscovered the charm and charisma of Gujarat, where the future is expected to have in store, days full of peace, prosperity, wealth and immense beauty of culture, tradition and nature.

Truly, let’s all sing together…JAY JAY JAY JAY GARVI GUJARAT!!!

सम्मान – आत्मीयता का प्रथम चरण

होता हो... सम्राट वही, जिसके शीर्ष पर ताज है,

पर प्रतिष्ठा, पूंजी, पूर्णता का, सम्मान कब मोहताज है?

आज यह जगत जहाँ खड़ा है, वहाँ से एक और विश्वयुद्ध की हद, महत दूरी पर नहीं है। क्या आप बता पाएंगें कि, संसार में वैमनस्य का वर्धन क्यों हो रहा है ? क्यों द्वेष अपनी पराकाष्ठा पर है ? वैर क्यों इतना पोषण प्राप्त कर रहा है?

प्रश्नों की इस शृंखला के जिम्मेदार प्रत्युत्तर के रूप में, पूर्णरूपेण उच्छृंखल(बेलगाम) हो कर, सर उठाए जो खड़ा है, वो है – असम्मान।

रत्न मत ढूंढो, यहाँ तो दीपक जलते हैं, ये तो वो जगह है, जहाँ मानव ढलते हैं।।

समाज में भ्रातृत्व एवं आत्मीयता के पुनर्स्थापन हेतु कटिबद्ध, कामयाबी के दस वर्षों को पूर्ण करने जा रहे, योगी डीवइन सोसाइटी के एक उपक्रम - ‘आत्मीय विद्यामंदिर’, जो कि अपनी प्रार्थना सभा की एक विशेष शैली के लिए भी जाना जाता रहा है। विद्यालय के ‘सत्यम हाउस’ द्वारा निर्देशित सप्ताह ‘सम्मान – आत्मीयता का प्रथम चरण’ (Respect - First step of Atmiyata), गत कार्तिक मास के कृष्ण पक्ष की पंचमी से दशमी तक (13 से 18 अक्टूबर 2014) मनाया गया।

छह दिनों तक चले समय के इस दौर में सत्यम हाउस के छात्रों, शिक्षकों और सदस्यों का पूर्ण उत्साह और उमंग के साथ योगदान रहा। बताया गया कि वास्तव में सम्मान सभ्य समाज का एक आवश्यक अंग क्यों है? इसकी उपस्थिति से क्या लाभ है और अनुपस्थिति से क्या क्षति ?

“सम्मान व्यक्ति का नहीं, व्यक्तित्व का होता है”

‘सम्मान’ विषय पर आधारित इस तरह के कथन, नई-पुरानी सभी तरह की कहानियाँ, कविताएं, प्रेरक-प्रसंग एवं चलचित्र प्रस्तुत किए गए। अच्छे कार्य की प्रशंसा होनी ही चाहिए, फिर चाहे वो किसी कुख्यात व्यक्ति द्वारा ही क्यों न किया गया हो, वह व्यक्ति फिर से ऐसा कुछ अच्छा करने को प्रेरित होगा। और इस तरह से उसका जीवन सामान्यता की ओर अग्रसर होगा। किसी को सम्मान देने के लिए प्रौढ़ता, प्रतिष्ठा और पद आवश्यक नहीं बल्कि योग्यता, प्रतिभा और सुजनता होनी चाहिए।

सत्यम हाउस ने इस बात पर भी विशेष बल दिया कि सम्मान केवल सजीवों का ही नहीं बल्कि भावनाओं, संवेदनाओं और उम्मीदों का भी होना चाहिए। आपसी सम्मान से समाज में सोहार्द का पनपना और उससे समय, धन, ऊर्जा का सदुपयोग होना स्वाभाविक प्रक्रिया है। समाज विकास के पथ पर अग्रसर होता है। सम्मान, आज के समय की मांग है।

हाउस द्वारा किए गए सम्मान के महिमा-मंडन को प्रशंसको द्वारा सराहा तो खूब गया, किंतु इस विनम्र प्रयास का मूल्यांकन तो आधारित होगा, प्रशंसको के वर्तन में आने वाले परिवर्तन पर।

लेखक:  पुष्पक सर

‘दशहरा अर्थात कम से कम दस अवगुणों को हरना’

दिनांक 03, अक्तूबर 2014 को आत्मीय विद्यामंदिर के प्राटंगण में दशहरा का त्योहार मनाया गया। शाम सात बजे तक पाठशाला के सारे छात्र फूटबोल मैदान पर एकत्र हो चुके थे।

सुरज अपना कर्तव्य इस स्थान पर पूरा कर पृथ्वी के किसी और छोर पर गमन कर चुका था एवं लगभग 30 फीट ऊँचा हमारे अवगुण रूप रावण का पुतला चंद्र की चंद्रिका में चमक रहा था। आत्मीय विद्यामंदिर के हिन्दी शिक्षक श्री.मुकेशभाई जोशी ने दशहरा के उत्सव की महिमा बताते हुए कहा कि दशहरा अर्थात इस दिन हमें निश्चय करके कम से कम एक दुर्गुण की आहुति इस अग्नि में देनी है, जिससे आगे का विद्यार्थी-जीवन कार्यकलाप उत्तम छात्र एवं उत्तम नागरिक बनने की तरफ अग्रसर हो।

आत्मीय विद्यामंदिर की प्रणाली—किसी भी कार्य की शुरुआत प्रार्थना-पूजा से होनी चाहिए—इसका वहन करते हुए प्राचार्य श्री विजय सर, आचार्य श्री आशीष सर, महेन्द्र बापा, अर्जुन मामा, अन्य शिक्षक गण, हाउस मास्टर, दिदिज़, संपूर्ण छात्रगण ने भगवान की पूजा अर्चना की। तत्पश्चात स्पोर्ट्स शिक्षक श्री रितेश सर के सहयोग से आधुनिक रोकेट तीर का उपयोग कर रावण का दहन किया। छात्रों का मन उत्सव से आनंदित था।

सभी छात्र अपने अंवगुण एक चिट्ठी में लिखकर लाए थे। श्री रितेश सर ने सभी छात्रों से वो चिट्ठियाँ एकत्र की एवं उसे रावण के दहन में उस आहुति को छात्रों की और से समर्पित की।

यह उत्सव लगभग साँयकाल 7:30 बजे तक चला। पश्चात सभी छात्रों ने शिक्षकगण एवं प्राटंगण में उपस्थित सभी जन सहित भोजनालय की और प्रस्थान किया।

हिन्दी शिक्षक

मुकेशभाई जोशी

Joining the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan!

All religions insist on cleanliness before worship. This clearly conveys the significance of cleanliness, both internal and external, in our daily lives. These aspects of cleanliness have their own ways of being achieved and both need to be strived for proactively.

With great courage and foresight, the external cleanliness matter has been taken up at a national level in the form of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) by the Government of India. This campaign was officially launched on 2nd October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi with the mission to clean up the streets, societies and villages of the country. Immediately after the launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself wielded a broom and swept a parking area at Mandir Marg Police Station followed by pavement in Valmiki Basti, a colony of sanitation workers, at Mandir Marg, near Connaught Place, New Delhi.

Being a future nurturing institution of India, Atmiya Vidya Mandir too played an active role by taking part in this cleanliness drive. Students of various classes participated in this event to clean up the entire school campus. It was an enriching experience for the students wherein they felt the joy of serving selflessly and also some sort of discomfort to work in the afternoon time. This not only helped them appreciate the efforts of school hospitality team who work for them day in and day out but also made them realize the value of dignity and respect that all types of work carry. The campaign went beyond the school classrooms till the school security cabins. Even the teachers took initiative to clean the areas surrounding their residences i.e. the staff quarters with the same spirit!

The event was also used to create an awareness that as a citizen, we need to contribute to our society in all possible aspects. Clean India is a responsibility of all the Indians. Inspired by the statement of our Honourable Prime Minister 'ना में गन्दगी करूँगा, ना में गन्दगी करने दूंगा' (I would not litter and won't allow anyone to do so), every student decided to take the initiative to clean up if they found any litter in their surroundings.

Together, let us all sincerely and enthusiastically work towards achieving this very fundamental goal of a Swachh Bharat.

Written by: Rashmi Ma’am

Simple Life High Thinking

Simple Life High Thinking નો અર્થ થાય છે કે “સાદુ જીવન, ઉચ્ચ વિચાર.”

સાદુ જીવન અને ઉચ્ચ વિચાર નામની સુક્તિનો અર્થ વ્યક્તિના વ્યક્તિત્વ અને ચરિત્રથી છે.

સાદુ જીવન એટલે જરૂરિયાત મુજબની વસ્તુઓનો ઉપયોગ, અને ઉચ્ચ વિચાર એટલે ઉત્તમ વ્યવહાર. જ્યારે આપણા વિચાર ઉચ્ચ હોય ત્યારે એ વિચારોને આચારમાં ઉતારવાની કળા પણ હાંસલ કરવી પડે છે. અને એ વિચારો જ્યારે આચારમાં આવે છે ત્યારે આપણી જિંદગીમાંથી ઘણી બધી મુશ્કેલીઓ દૂર થતી જાય છે. તેથી આપણા વિચારોમાં ભીડ રહેતી નથી અને મન પર ઓછી ભીડને કારણે એનું વ્યવસ્થાપન સરળતાથી થઈ જાય છે અને આપણું જીવન સાદુ બને છે.

જે વ્યક્તિ સાદુ જીવન જીવે છે તે જરૂરિયાત મુજબ જ વસ્તુઓ રાખે છે. પરંતુ આજનો માનવી દેખાદેખી પ્રમાણે વસ્તુઓ રાખે છે. જો મારો પડોશી કાર લે તો મારી પાસે પણ કાર હોવી જ જોઈએ, જો પડોશીના ઘરમાં નવી ટેક્નોલોજી વાળું washing machine આવે તો મારે પણ લેવું જોઈએ, જો મારો મિત્ર iPad Air લે તો મારે તેની જરૂર ન હોવા છતાં લેવું જ જોઈએ. આમ, આ બધા ઉદાહરણો બતાવે છે કે મારું જીવન સાદુ નથી. સાદુ જીવન જીવનારા વ્યક્તિને કોઈપણ લોભ કે લાલચ પોતાની તરફ આકર્ષિત નથી કરી શકતું. તે પોતાના ઉચ્ચ વિચારોથી સંપૂર્ણ જગતમાં સન્માન પ્રાપ્ત કરી શકે છે.

સાદુ જીવન જીવવાથી જીવનમાં શાંતિ મળે છે. આવા વ્યક્તિના જીવનમાં કોઈ દેખાડો હોતો નથી. આવા વિચાર વાળા વ્યક્તિઓનું વ્યક્તિત્વ અને તેમનું ચરિત્ર એકદમ સાદુ હોય છે. તે હંમેશાં બીજાના હિત માટે વિચારતા હોય છે. તેમના જીવનમાં ખરાબ ભાવ માટે કોઈ જગ્યા નથી હોતી. તેમના જીવનમાં સ્વાર્થીપણું નહિ પણ જનહિતપણું છુપાયેલું હોય છે.

આપણા વિશ્વના ઈતિહાસમાં એવા કેટલાય મહાપુરુષોના નામ છે કે જેમણે પોતાના સ્વાર્થને ત્યાગીને હંમેશાં બીજાનું કલ્યાણ જ સર્વોપરી માન્યું છે. ગાંધીજી, ઈશ્વરચંદ્ન વિદ્યાસાગર, રવીન્દ્નનાથ ટાગોર, મધર ટેરેસા, ગુરુનાનક, ગૌતમ બુદ્ધ, સ્વામી વિવેકાનંદ, પરમ પૂજ્ય હરિપ્રસાદ મહારાજ, તથા બીજા ઘણા મહાપુરુષોએ એકદમ સીધુ સાદુ જીવન જીવીને માનવતાના વિકાસ માટેના કાર્યો કર્યાં છે. આ બધા સમ્પન્ન પરિવારોમાં પેદા થયા હતા, પરંતુ સંસારના ભૌતિક સુખ તેમને પોતાની તરફ ન ખેંચી શક્યા. આ તમામ મહાનુભાવોના જીવનમાં મુખ્ય ગુણ ‘સાદગી’ રહેલો છે.

સાદુ જીવન જીવવાથી ઉચ્ચ વિચારો પોતાની જાતે જ મનમાં પોતાનું ઘર બનાવી લે છે. જે વ્યક્તિના વિચારો ઉચ્ચ નથી હોતા તે પશુ સમાન છે. સાદગી પ્રિય વ્યક્તિ કઠોરમાં કઠોર વ્યક્તિના હ્નદયને પરિવર્તન કરવાની ક્ષમતા ધરાવતો હોય છે. આવો વ્યક્તિ જ સમાજ તથા રાષ્ટ્રનો નિર્માણકાર બને છે.

મહાત્મા ગાંધીએ કહ્યું છે કે “સદાચાર એટલે કે સારા આચરણમાં થોડી પણ ચૂક રહી જાય તો મને રડવું આવે છે.” આવા વિચાર વાળા વ્યક્તિ કેટલા આદર્શ હોય છે.

પરમ પૂજ્ય સ્વામીજી કહે છે કે, “યુવાનો મારું સર્વસ્વ છે.” કેટલો ઉચ્ચ વિચાર....!!!

સાદુ જીવન, ઉચ્ચ વિચારમાં વિશ્વાસ રાખવા વાળા સજ્જનોનું ચરિત્ર બધા લોકોને આનંદિત કરી દે છે.

તો આવા જ સજ્જન પુરુષોની ચર્ચા સુહ્નદમ હાઉસની ટીમે અઠવાડિક પ્રાર્થનાસભામાં કરી હતી. જેમાં પ્રથમ દિવસે પ્રેરક સરે PPTના માધ્યમથી વોરન બફેટનો મહિમા વર્ણવ્યો, ત્યારબાદ મંગળવારે પ્રભુમગ્ન સરના સાનિધ્ય હેઠળ ડૅા.ઈ.શ્રીધરન વિશે માહિતી આપી, ત્યારપછી બુધવારના રોજ આનંદ સરની પ્રેરણા હેઠળ શ્રી નરેન્દ્નભાઈ મોદીના દેશ માટેના ઉચ્ચ વિચારો વર્ણવ્યા, તથા ત્યારબાદ શનિવારના રોજ અર્ચના મેડમે અઝીમ પ્રેમજીના જીવનમાં રહેલી સરળતા અને ઉચ્ચ વિચારો વિશે આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરના વિદ્યાર્થીઓને માહિતગાર કર્યા.

આમ, શિક્ષકોના માર્ગદર્શન હેઠળ, સુહ્લદમ હાઉસની ટીમે વિડિઓ, પ્રસ્તુતિઓ અને ભાષણો દ્વારા દૈનિક પ્રાર્થનાસભામાં Simple Life High Thinking ઉપર ચર્ચા કરી બાળકોમાં મૂલ્યશિક્ષણ શીખવવાનો એક નમ્ર પ્રયાસ કર્યો હતો.

આજના આ ભાગાદોડી વાળા જીવનમાં સમાજનું જીવનદર્શન તથા જીવન સ્તર બદલાઈ રહ્યું છે. આજે કૃત્રિમતાએ આપણને પૂરી રીતે જકડી રાખ્યા છે. આપણી આંતરિક ઉન્નતિ તરફ કોઈ ધ્યાન નથી આપતું. આપણે બીજાની નજરમાં તો મહાન બનવાની કોશિશ કરીએ છીએ પરંતુ પોતાની જ નજરોમાં આપણે પડી જઈએ છીએ. આપણો અહમ આપણને ખોટું કાર્ય કરાવે છે. જેના કારણે આપણું નૈતિક પતન થઈ જાય છે. પરંતુ આપણા માટે તે શ્રેષ્ઠ હશે કે, આપણે પણ આવા મહાપુરુષોના જીવનમાંથી, પ્રેરણા લઈને બાહ્ય દેખાડાથી બચીએ, તથા સરળ જીવન જીવવાની સાથે સાથે ઉચ્ચ વિચાર રાખીએ.

જય સ્વામીનારાયણ.

લેખક: ગૌતમ સર