Dharam Shiksha - Class 20
- Pooja Jain
- Nov 12
- 7 min read
A Short Note from Team Dharam Shiksha to the Parents:
Dear Parents,
Jai Jinendra!
Over the past few months, it has been a true blessing to share with your little ones the beautiful values and teachings of Jainism, under the loving guidance of our revered Gurus — Upadhyay Bhagwant Shri Jitendra Muni Ji Maharaj and Shri Prabhas Muni Ji Maharaj.
Now that our Gurudevs have begun their vihaar yatra, their divine presence may not always be around us, but their teachings, blessings, and inspiration remain deeply rooted in our hearts. With their guidance as our compass, we will continue this journey — doing our best to pass on their wisdom and the essence of Jain values to your children with the limited knowledge we have, but with infinite sincerity and devotion.
We are deeply grateful for your trust and support, and we hope to keep nurturing these young minds with love, compassion, and the light of Gurudev’s teachings.
With warmth and gratitude🪷
Team Dharam Shiksha
Alochana Sutra (Icchakaren Path)
So in this Dharam Class, we did a quick recap of the Path (portion that was already taught in Class 19) and then went on to explain it further till "...Matti Makkda Santana Sankmane."
(The portion taught in class has been clearly demarcated in the picture above)
Here is a detailed explanation of the Path:
Icchakaren Sandisah Bhagwam:
This means - Oh Guru Maharaj ji, please give me your consent...
Iriyawahiyam Padikkmaami:
To do pratikraman (alochana) of every action of mine committed while sitting, standing or walking that may have led to violence (himsa) in any form.
Iccham Icchami Padikkmiun:
I wish with all my heart that walking on the path showed by you is always my topmost priority.
Iriya-vahi-yaye:
If while walking or doing any movement...
Virahanaye:
I have caused harm to any living being...
Gamna-gamne:
It could be due to walking...
Panakk-mane:
Or crushing a tiny being like an insect...
Beeyakk-mane:
Or even crushing a tiny seed... (seeds have life too!)
Hariyakk-mane:
Or crushing any form of plant life like grass, plants etc.
Osa-Uttinga-Panag-Dag-Matti-Makkda-Santana-Sankmane:
Or if I have ever walked on dew drops, homes of tiny insects like ants, green moss, water, sand/mud or webs of spiders...
Parents, please try to make sure the kids learn this Path by heart along with its meaning till the portion taught in class 🙏
Today's Topic - Krodh (Anger)
We all feel angry at some point in our day-to-day life, right? But did you know that anger is a human emotion that arises mainly due to the 8 karmas that we have collected? When any of these karmas comes back to haunt us, it triggers an emotional reaction within that we call anger.
So basically, anger is a strong feeling we get when something doesn’t go the way we want — like when someone takes our toy, says something mean, or we lose a game.
It’s okay to feel angry — everyone does sometimes! But what’s important is how we react when we’re angry.
If we shout, hurt others, or say mean things, the fire of anger only grows bigger. But if we take a deep breath, stay quiet for a moment, or talk about how we feel, the fire slowly cools down and goes away.
Anger is just a feeling — and WE have the power to choose what we do with it.
EXPERIMENT TIME
To explain the concept of "Krodh" better, we did a little experiment in front of the kids. We brought a clear jar of water and placed a bowl of mud next to it.
We told the little ones that the clear water jar symbolizes a peaceful, calm mind while the mud stands for the feeling of anger.
Next, we asked the kids, "How much anger would you feel when you're watching TV and mommy asks you to switch it off and do homework instead?
They answered - "A little bit." So we took a pinch of mud and dropped it into the clear water jar. It created small ripples in the water.
Then we asked them, "What if the same day, you get some vegetable for lunch that you hate? Or maybe, you did the homework as mom asked but you made mistakes and got scolded for it. How much anger would you feel now?"
The kids replied, "More than earlier! We'll feel quite angry now."
So we took 3-4 pinches of mud and dropped it into the jar. This created bigger ripples as the mud went on to settle at the bottom.
Next we asked, "What if after all the scolding, your elder brother/sister comes and hits you for no reason? How angry would you feel now?"
As expected, the kids answered, "We'll feel VERY angry now."
So we took a whole spoon of mud and dropped it into the jar which created quite a bit of turbulence inside.
This little experiment showed the kids how anger destroys our peace of mind. Just as when we increased the quantity of mud that went into the jar, the ripples formed kept getting bigger and the water kept getting dirtier.
In a similar way, the angrier we get, the more it impacts our body and mind. Like you must have noticed, whenever someone gets angry, their face and eyes get red, their voice tone gets higher and often they end up saying mean things they don't even mean!
Some people have so much anger inside of them that they do not even hesitate to harm/kill others in their fit of rage! We showed this to the kids by dropping a fistful of mud into the jar and letting them see how turbulent and dirty the water got with its impact.
5 Tips to Help You Control Your Anger
Now it is natural to feel angry at times. But the trick lies in realizing how we can minimize its impact!
The next time you feel angry, try any of the following 5 tips:
🌬️ Take Deep Breaths - Close your eyes and take slow, deep breaths. Breathe in like you’re smelling a flower… and breathe out like you’re blowing out a candle. Do this a few times!
🧘♀️ Count to Thirty - When you start to feel angry, count slowly from 1 to 30. It gives your mind a chance to cool down before you react. Or you can also chant 5 Navkar Mantras to make the anger go away slowly.
🧸 Walk Away for a Bit - If something is making you upset, it’s okay to step away for a few minutes. Go to another room, drink some water, or sit quietly.
🎨 Do Something You Love - Draw, listen to music, play, or hug your favourite soft toy — it helps your mind feel happy again.
💬 Talk About It - Tell a parent, teacher, or friend what made you angry. Talking helps you understand your feelings and makes the anger smaller.
So kids, anger is one of our soul's biggest enemies. Sometimes, it might stem from within, sometimes it can be triggered by the action of others - but no matter what the source of your anger is, you MUST learn how to handle it and try these 5 tips to make sure you don't do anything in anger that you might have to regret later on.
STORY TIME - THE PREVIOUS BIRTHS OF CHANDKAUSHIK NAAG
All of us are aware of the story of Bhagwan Mahavir Swami and the deadly Chandkaushik Naag. We know that Chandkaushik Naag had some MAJOR anger issues - he used to kill anyone who dared to come near him. But do you know why he had so much "krodh" inside of him? Let us find out the reason.
So kids, in one of his previous births, Chandkaushik was a shraman - meaning he was a Jain sadhu. One night, he was going somewhere with one of his disciples. By mistake, he trampled a female frog under his feet. Although he realized what had happened, he was not willing to accept his mistake.
Chandkaushik (in his sadhu birth) did not even do a pratikraman for killing the frog by mistake! When his disciple pointed that out, the sadhu got so angry that he ran to hit his disciple but since it was pitch dark (they did not have electricity back then), he missed a step and his head hit a pole. The sadhu died as a result.
Now kids, sadhus are always reborn in Dev Lok because of all the tyaag and tapasya they do. So that sadhu also went to Jyotish Dev Gati. After completing his time there, the jeev of Chandkaushik was born as Kaushik Tapas.
Because of his earlier birth "sanskaar," Kaushik Tapas was always angry. Although he did a lot of yagyas and havans, people were really scared of him because of his unpredictable nature.
One day, Kaushik Tapas was performing "pooja" in his beautiful garden. Just then, a few people from the King's court arrived and started plucking the flowers without even asking.
This made Kaushik Tapas so angry that he grabbed his axe and ran after them. In anger, he threw his axe with all his might - but just then, he slipped and the axe fell right on him, killing him on the spot.
Now since Kaushik Tapas died with SO much anger inside, he went to Tiryanch Gati and was reborn as the notorious Chandkaushik Naag.
Moral of the Story: 👉 “If we let anger stay inside, it grows - just like Chandkaushik's. If we let kindness stay inside, it glows.”
So dear kids, which one do you want to grow in your heart?
A Quick Recap - Quiz Time
To make sure children grasped everything taught in the class, we've curated a little quiz for them. It has a series of multiple choice questions related to the topics we covered - let's see how many get them all correct!
Here's the link to the quiz -
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