About Us

Short-course in Well-being or Susthiti for Junior Certificate.

Sanskrit is an ancient language used by the Vedic tradition which has lots of philosophical literature covering many aspects of wellbeing. The Śāstras are ancient philosophical discourses about the true nature of the self, useful for spiritual and emotional wellbeing. The Yoga Sūtras focus on mental attitudes for wellbeing. Aspects of Āyurveda (literally the Science of Life, a complete medical system) are included here for physical wellbeing. There are also some resources under the heading Saṃskṛitam to study the Sanskrit language itself, through songs.

The sections on Āyurveda and Yoga Sūtras contain the material for a Short Course in Well-being for the Junior Certificate run by John Scottus Secondary School. We are encouraging First and Second Year students to try out new suggestions to form good habits and thereby discouraging them from bad habits which lead to stress, anxiety, depression, self-harming, etc. Ancient wisdom from the Bhagavad Gītā is also included.

The course is accredited with a classroom-based assessment at the end of Second Year, using an oral interview taken by outside examiners. The result appears on the Junior Certificate at the end of Third Year.

BHAGAVAD GĪTĀ

The Bhagavadgītā, literally 'The song of the Lord', is a 700-verse conversation between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer Kṛiṣṇa at the cusp of a famous battle fought over 5000 years ago at Kurukṣetra in North India. It forms part of a much larger epic called the Mahābhārata composed by Vyāsa, the longest epic poem in the world with over 100,000 ślokas or verses.

BASICS OF YOGA

A few thousand years ago Patañjali, a sage from India, developed a scientific step-by-step approach to lead ordinary human beings from the commonly experienced chaos, confusion and negative emotions to higher and highest levels of well-being.
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UPANIṢADS

SANSKRIT

The Sanskrit language is there, pure, majestic, inclusive; the ancient great-grandmother of all speech. Her beautiful sound is known in the experience of chanting her. She is the carrier of a universal knowledge system with all its branches, as fresh and pertinent today as it was in the ancient times of Āryāvarta, a much larger India, where people lived without poverty or suffering because they followed the spirit of Sanātana Dharma in peace and harmony. Mother Sanskrit implores us in so many ways to reclaim our human birthright of happiness, health and prosperity by listening to her teachings and live with dignity and respect for each other and Mother Earth. The world may be conflicted, greedy and unruly right now; we may be at the edge of destroying our own fragile and beautiful spaceship, but in such troubled times we are pressed to be led from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light and from death to ever-present life.

एषा सुसखी, एषा सुनायिका, महामित्रम्। तया सह यात्रां कुरु। वेदः सरलः सुनिश्चयः च॥ eṣā susakhī, eṣā sunāyikā, mahāmitram. tayā saha yātrāṃ kuru. vedaḥ saralaḥ suniścayaḥ ca. She is the good companion, the good guide and the great friend. Journey with her and knowledge is simple and sure. Śrī Śāntānanda Sarasvatī.

ĀYURVEDIC LIFESTYLE

Those who have balanced doṣas, agnis, dhātus and malas* and who have a sense of well-being in themselves, their mind and their senses – are called HEALTHY.

How can I attain optimum health with Āyurveda?

How will Āyurveda benefit me?

Use of the senses

Morning Routines