Balazine January 2008

Japa mala in Senior Year
A month ago, Swamiji instructed
some of the high school students on the
use of japa malas, giving each one of us
our own. In the following class, Pankaj
uncle dared the 12th graders to try japa
for five minutes a day, promising that
the practice would help us maintain focus
during the school week. Because I
count myself among the many teens
whose classes are characterized by
chaos, I took up uncle’s challenge.
Generally, except for the homework,
tests, and studying, I really love school.
The topics are intriguing, I have a lot of
respect for teachers, and hanging out
with friends is always fun. But there is
one class that I never look forward too:
Spanish V. Every day I dread going into
that class and for fifty minutes the endurance
of my eyelids is tested as I
fight to stay awake. Sometimes I even
wonder if the teacher purposely reads in
monotone for its hypnotic effect on students.
On one Monday as I was walking to
Spanish class when Abirami noticed that
I was wearing the japa mala that Swamiji
had handed out to us. Because I was
at the time complaining about Spanish,
Abi suggested doing japa in class to stay
awake. When I asked her if she was serious,
Abirami responded that Sra.
Smith (our teacher) would never see me.
Knowing that this was true, I told Abi
that I would try to get away with it. So
five minutes into class, while pretending
to count the syllables in a Chilean poem,
Balazine January 2008
I did four rounds of japa. I was amazed
at how quickly I was able to complete
the rounds. The silent environment of
my Spanish class, something I had previously
thought to be soporific, facilitated
my meditative needs. For the rest of
the week, I set aside about ten minutes
of every Spanish class to complete five
rounds of japa.
In the beginning, I took the challenge as
a joke; just to see if I would be able to
escape Sra. Smith’s attention. But in
the middle of the second day, I detected
that my mind started to clear
after japa. Because japa is so attention
intensive, focusing on Spanish after a
few rounds became markedly easier.
Soon after, Abirami brought in her japa
mala to Spanish and a few of my other
friends in the class borrowed my japa
mala after I was done. I also began to
use brainstorming techniques I learned
at Balavihar to think about how I could
lessen my abhorrence of Spanish. After
a few days of japa in Spanish class, I
was able to stay awake for the entire
period, something that had never previously
occurred.
High school is a lot of work, a lot of fun,
and probably one of the most hectic periods
in a teenager’s life. Especially in
12th grade, when inaction seems an action
and graduation day appears elusive.
I am glad that my fellow seniors and I
have been able to apply the concepts
learned at Saaket.
Niharika Mallepally,
Grade 12, Session I