Stories, poems and symbols
The youth programmes teach through stories, parables and poems that carry real moral weight, and give young people practical ways to handle anxiety, low days and pressure from friends. There is a class for ages 8 to 16, a class for older students, half-day Saturday workshops, and a course for parents.
Two circles: the monkey and the decision-maker
Vyasa draws two circles on the board. In one sits the mind, a monkey that wants the pleasant thing now: the group chat at midnight, the dare from a friend, the exam put off until tomorrow. In the other sits the intellect, which can ask one question before anything happens: is this good for me? A young person who knows which circle is talking can make their own decision when the whole group is pulling the other way.
That is the whole of the youth programme in one picture. The stories, the poems and the festival symbols all teach the same move, in forms a child of eight or a student of sixteen can hold on to.
Select English Poems
Online, Sundays · one hour · dates to be announced
A collection of twenty poems and passages from English literature, from Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth and Matthew Arnold to Cowper’s nightingale and the glow-worm, read one at a time for the idea inside each one. Swami A. Parthasarathy chose the poems and wrote the commentary; the class reads the poem aloud, works out what the poet is saying, and asks what it means for a week at school.
The class trains the subtle thinking that finds the idea embedded in a verse, the habit of reflecting on a message before reacting to it, and the practice of turning what a poem says into a principle for the week.
The twenty poems
- The Turkey and the Ant John Gay
- The Pond Jane Taylor
- The Olive Tree Sabine Baring-Gould
- Abou Ben Adhem James Henry Leigh Hunt
- Casabianca Felicia Hemans
- The Mountain and the Squirrel Ralph Waldo Emerson
- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm William Cowper
- The Pineapple and the Bee William Cowper
- The Toys Coventry Patmore
- The Blind Men and the Elephant John Godfrey Saxe
- The Village Preacher Oliver Goldsmith
- On His Blindness John Milton
- Even This Shall Pass Away Theodore Tilton
- The Daffodils William Wordsworth
- Polonius’ advice in Hamlet William Shakespeare
- Mark Antony’s oration in Julius Caesar William Shakespeare
- Letter to the Earl of Chesterfield Samuel Johnson
- Laodamia William Wordsworth
- Andrea del Sarto Robert Browning
- Sohrab and Rustum Matthew Arnold
- For
- Young people from secondary school age; adults who love literature are welcome
- Book
- Select English Poems, Swami A. Parthasarathy
- Cost
- Free, with the book to buy
The symbolism of Hindu gods and rituals
Eight Sundays · one hour · limited to 20 students · dates to be announced
An interactive study of the book of the same name, for children and teenagers. Every god, ritual and festival carries a philosophy, and this course teaches what each symbol means so that a child understands what they see at home and at a festival. It is taught for every reader and assumes no religious background.
How a class runs
Reading
The young learners take turns reading a portion of the text aloud. Reading aloud is one of the best ways to absorb an idea.
Explanation
The teacher explains the symbol in plain words, with a story, so that the idea behind it is easy to hold.
Art
Drawing and colouring what was studied helps the idea stick, and makes the hour something to look forward to.
What the symbols teach
- Ganesha. The elephant head and the big belly: a large mind that listens more than it speaks, and the ability to take in the sweet and the bitter of life. The remover of obstacles teaches clear thinking and never giving up.
- Subramanya. Also called Murugan, with his peacock and his spear, the vel: courage, duty, and standing up for what is right.
- Shiva. Seated in meditation, with the moon, the snake and the Ganga in his hair: staying calm, and governing the emotions before they spill into words.
- Durga. Many arms, a lion to ride, and weapons for what is wrong: strength that protects, and the courage to face a hard time.
- Krishna. The flute is hollow, and the music comes through it: how helping others with a smile begins with an empty ego.
- The Ramayana. Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman: honesty, strength and doing the right thing when it costs something.
- Ages
- 8 to 16
- Book
- The Symbolism of Hindu Gods and Rituals, Swami A. Parthasarathy. Each student needs a copy.
- Where
- Durban and online; the venue is confirmed when the dates are set
- Cost
- Free, with the book to buy
Workshops for young people
A half-day Saturday workshop takes one tool, such as the two circles or catching a thought on the first bounce, and practises it with stories and exercises. There are workshops for young people and for the educators who teach them.
About the workshopsYouth retreats at the Vedanta Academy
The Vedanta Academy in India, where Vyasa trained, runs residential youth retreats every May and December. They are a week of study, sport and company of the good, with young people from many countries.
About the retreatsMould Your Children
An e-learning course from the Vedanta Academy for parents, on what a child needs from the adults around them and how to give it: a higher ideal in the home, a calm mind to copy, and the difference between what a child wants and what is good for them. Study it at your own pace. About e-learning.
Parents of children in the symbolism course and the poems class hear each term what their child has practised, for how long, and what they will bring home.
Support, alongside help
The classes give young people tools for anxiety, low days and pressure from friends, and they are no substitute for treatment. If a young person is struggling, please speak to a doctor, a school counsellor or a helpline as well, and tell us so that we can support them in class.
In South Africa, the SADAG helpline is open day and night on 0800 567 567.
Tell us about the young person, and we will suggest where to start
A parent registers for a child. Older students can register themselves. We reply with the next dates for the class that fits.