Dharma Shiksha - Class 8 & 9

Jai Jinendra everyone!

First of all, a big heartfelt thank you to all the amazing mommies who make the effort to send their little ones to class every Sunday. Your support and consistency motivate us to keep striving to make the classes better and more enjoyable for the kids while also imparting invaluable pearls of wisdom.

And of course, a big round of applause for the kids too who sit patiently through the entire class without fans in this hot and humid weather! Both Shri Prabhas Muni ji Maharaj and Upadhyay Bhagwant Shri Jitendra Muni ji Maharaj commended the kids for their patience and eagerness to learn about our divine religion.

Now we know Class 8 was all about Shri Prabhas Muni ji Maharaj answering the questions put out by the young, inquisitive minds. Maharaj ji tried to clear their doubts in the simplest manner possible, and it was quite an interesting and interactive session.

In Class 9 too, the first half an hour was spent with Maharaj ji answering the remaining questions and he also gave akshars of Tikkhuto Path. The audio will be shared in the group soon.

Next, we took up the topic of Gatis.

What is Gati?

Before we start discussing Gati, we should know what "Bhav" means. Literally speaking, Bhav is one lifespan. In Jainsim, we believe every soul is on its own journey. One Bhav means one stop in that journey. Once that stop is gone (meaning the soul has left the body), our journey to the next "Bhav" starts.

Now Gati has two meanings - one is speed and one is travelling from one place to another. In Jainism, Gati means where the soul goes next, based on how it lived its past life. If the soul has collected a lot of good karmas, it will go to a good Gati; but if the soul has collected more bad karmas, it will have to go to a bad Gati.

Let us know discuss the different types of Gatis.

Types of Gatis:

1. Narak Gati – Life in hell (because of very bad karma)

Narak Gati is the worst realm full of severe pain, suffering, and fear. The beings here live in dark, miserable conditions and go through constant torture - sometimes by others, sometimes due to the extreme conditions around them.

They may suffer from extreme heat, extreme cold, violent attacks by others, or complete isolation in darkness — depending on the type of hell they are in.

What does a soul do to deserve Narak Gati?

• Hurting or killing living beings with cruelty or simply for pleasure (like hunting animals).

• Enjoying the pain of others—whether humans or animals.

• Harming others for personal gain and profits, even if it leads to their suffering.

• Lack of regret which means repeating bad actions without feeling sorry or trying to change.

• Hoarding or accumulating too many materialistic things with excessive greed.

2. Tiryanch Gati – Life as an animal, bird, insect or plant (because of more bad and less good karma)

In Tiryanch Gati, animals, birds, insects or plants live a life of fear, pain and helplessness. A vast majority of these beings have little or no ability to understand the spiritual path.

Their life is usually full of struggle for food, survival, and safety. 

What does a soul do to deserve Tiryanch Gati?

• Lying without thinking about what harm it may cause to others. For example, you steal your friend's notebook and then lie about it.

• Manipulation and conspiracy. For instance, let's take the above example. You don't just lie about not stealing your friend's notebook, you even blame your friend for forgetting to bring it to school. That's lying with manipulation.

• Deceitful actions. For instance, you ask the shopkeeper to give you 1 kg apples. He charges you for 1 kg but puts only 900 grams of apples in the packet. That's deceit.

• Wrongfully blaming others without proof.

3. Manushya Gati – Life as a human (because of more good and less bad karma)

Humans (men, women and transgenders) experience a mix of happiness and suffering, unlike the extremes of heaven or hell. They have the unique ability to think, reflect and make choices.

Only in this Gati can a soul follow the path of Dharma, practice self-control and seek Moksha.

However, if humans misuse this life and collect bad karma, they may be reborn in a lower Gati like animal or hell.

What does a soul do to deserve Manushya Gati?

• Practicing non-violence and treating all living beings with kindness.

• Being humble and polite - even when others try to instigate you.

• Living your life with kindness and compassion.

• Being moral and thoughtful in your words, actions and thoughts.

4. Dev Gati – Life as a heavenly being (because of lots of good karma and very little bad karma)

In Dev Gati, Devs and Devis live in beautiful, luxurious worlds with no hunger, illness, or pain. They enjoy long lives filled with comfort, joy, and power. They even have special abilities, like moving instantly or knowing many things.

However, they cannot achieve Moksha while in Dev Gati because they are busy enjoying pleasures and have little interest in spiritual growth.

What does a soul do to deserve Dev Gati?

• Doing tapasya (with whatever motive).

• Cutting karmas by tolerating pain with self-control.

• Living your life ethically with highest focus on spirituality (like Jain monks do).

• Being an overall good human being in every aspect (like a true Jain shravak/shravika).

Activity Fun 1:

To make the concept of gatis clearer, we did a fun activity. We showed the kids four glasses of water - but water in each was of different colour.

The first glass had jet black water. The second had dark grey water, the third had light grey water and the fourth had milky white water.

Then we asked the kids to guess which glass represented which Gati. Being the smart kids that they are, they were able to answer easily that the first glass represented Narak Gati, the second showed Tiryanch Gati, the third stood for Manushya Gati and the fourth represented Dev Gati.

Then we showed them a fifth glass with crystal clear water. That one represented Siddha Gati - the only Gati where there are no karmas whatsoever. THAT's the Gati every soul should wish to attain!

Activity Fun 2:

In the second game, we divided the kids into two teams (girls vs boys) and gave them 4 pictures depicting each Gati. The kids were then asked to put the relevant pictures under the corresponding Gati, and they all did a fantastic job!