Dharam Shiksha - Class 22
- Pooja Jain
- Dec 24, 2025
- 5 min read
Jai Jinendra everyone!
We are happy to share a quick recap of everything that was taught and discussed in the last Dharam Class. We're grateful for the active and enthusiastic participation of the little ones that makes every session truly invigorating.
So we started the class with a revision of the "Arihanto" and "Ichhakaren" Paths. Many children could recall them perfectly which warms our hearts and gives us faith that the kids are moving ahead in the right direction.
A humble request to all parents - please make sure the kids keep recalling these Paths (with meaning) every now and then so that they get imprinted on their memory. As we all know, "Parivartana" and "Anupreksha" are important aspects of "Swadhyay" - so inculcating this practice from a young age will set up a strong foundation of Dharam in their lives.
MEDITATION
On the occasion of World Meditation Day (December 21), we thought of introducing the kids to a simple meditation exercise - just to calm down their minds for a bit in a digitally overloaded world. To our delight, the kids really enjoyed the experience!
In this age of mindless scrolling and constant digital stimulation, children’s attention spans are shrinking faster than ever. Teaching basic meditation helps them slow down, become aware of their thoughts, and build focus from an early age. Even in our Dharam, "Dhyaan" is one of the twelve forms of "Nirjara."
We're sharing the meditation audio here - you can play it every time your little one feels too anxious or hyper active. For best results though, we recommend making it a part of your little sweetheart's morning routine.
TOPIC OF THE DAY - MAAYA
All of you must have heard the phrase - "Sab moh-maaya hai!"
But do you what it actually means? Have you ever wondered what the word "Maaya" refers to?
Well, in simple words, Maaya means something that looks very real but it actually isn't. It includes words/actions/things that trick us into believing they are real when they are not.
For example, when you watch a magic show, the magician makes you believe something amazing is happening, but it’s actually a clever trick.
Maaya is similar. It fools us into believing that worldly pleasures guarantee peace and happiness when in reality, it is only "Dharam" and "Moksha Marg" that will give us the ultimate peace and happiness. Rest everything is transient and temporary.
By understanding the concept of Maaya, we can learn to focus on what truly matters—kindness, honesty, learning, and inner happiness—rather than getting lost in temporary pleasures.
STORY TIME
We all know that there are 24 Tirthankars in Jain dharma. Usually, Tirthankars are born as males. But there is one special exception. Our 19th Tirthankar, Bhagwan Mallinath Ji, was born as a female.
Do you know why? That's because she did Maaya in her previous birth.
Let us understand this better through a story.
A very long time ago, there was a beautiful city called Veetashoka. The king of this city was King Bal, and his wife was Queen Dharini. They were kind and respected rulers. One day, Queen Dharini gave birth to a handsome baby boy named Mahabal.
As Mahabal grew older, a great Jain monk, Muni Dharam Ghosh Ji, came to Veetashoka. King Bal and Queen Dharini went to listen to his sermons. His words touched their hearts deeply. They understood the true meaning of life and decided to give up their kingdom and take Deeksha. They handed over the kingdom to their son Mahabal, who became the new king.
King Mahabal had six very close friends. They had grown up together—playing, studying, fighting, and sharing happiness and sadness. By chance, all six of them also became kings around the same time as Mahabal.
One evening, while sitting together, King Mahabal said:
“Friends, just as we have lived our lives together, shared joys and sorrows together, when the time comes, we should also take Deeksha together.”
All his friends happily agreed.
After some time, all seven kings handed over their kingdoms to their children, went to Muni Dharam Ghosh Ji, and took Deeksha together.
They then decided to do a tough tapasya called “Tela Tap.” In Tela Tap, they would fast for three days, then do paarna (break the fast), and then fast again for three days. They all started this tapasya sincerely.
When the time came to do paarna, Mahabal told his six friends to eat and break their fast. But he himself chose not to eat and fasted for one more day. In his mind, he thought:
“I am special. Why should I do the same tapasya as them? If I do Chaula Tap (four days of fasting), I will get better results.”
So while his friends continued with Tela Tap, Mahabal started doing Chaula Tap.
Now even though Mahabal’s tapasya was harder, his cheating or Maaya caused him to be reborn as a female in his next life.
That soul later became Bhagwan Mallinath Ji, our 19th Tirthankar.
EXPERIMENT TIME
To explain the concept of Maaya further, we did a little experiment with the kids.
For this experiment we took 2 identical bowls.
Under one bowl, we place a candy and the other bowl had nothing underneath.
We placed both the bowls on a table and asked the kids to come closer. We pointed to the empty bowl and announced confidently:
“There is a candy under this bowl.”
Then we pointed to the candy bowl and said:
“There is nothing here.”
Next, we asked them to choose:
“Which bowl should we open first if we want the candy?”
As expected, the kids pointed towards the first bowl. But when it was lifted, there was nothing underneath.
That's when we asked them 3 important questions:
• “What did we say?”
• “What was the truth?”
• “Why did you believe our words?”
Through this experiment, we explained to the kids that when words/actions shown outside are different from the truth inside, it constitutes "Maaya." Just like in Mallinath Bhagwan’s previous birth, he said he would do parna even when he didn't intend to. That created karmic bondage which is why he was born as a female in his next birth.
💡 Moral for kids:
When intention is different from expression → it becomes Maaya.
FUN GAME
We ended our class with a fun "Chinese Whisper" game. We framed some phrases related to "Maaya" and passed them onto the kids.
By the end, our phrases were totally distorted and we all shared a good laugh about that!
The purpose of this game was to explain to the kids that just like our phrases got twisted when they moved from one person to another, similarly facts also get distorted when they are told by different mouths.
This is why we should avoid spreading rumours or doing "Maaya".
QUIZ TIME
We are now sharing the link to a short quiz that will help gauge how much the kids understood in this Dharam Class. Please make sure your child takes this quiz.
Comments