BG - 9

Recap

BG 15.14 - last session the focus was on the MIRACLE of the DIGESTION PROCESS - how food is converted into BLOOD. Ask a few questions. The first session in this series was about the COMPLEXITy of Digestion. Second about MIRACLE and today's sessions will focus on WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DIGESTION DOES NOT WORK.

Bhajan

Katha (Duryodhana tries to kill Bhima with Poison mixed with Food)

https://vedabase.io/en/library/mbk/1/4/

Teaching Time

What Children Need to Bring

Each child should bring one decomposed piece of food. Please send below message to Parents.

Dear Parents,

We have an exciting hands-on activity coming up this Sunday! Your child will be learning about the concept of Digestion—how Krishna personally digests the food we eat. We would love your help with a simple home preparation.

What to do (with your child):

1. On Saturday, cut a banana into slices or an apple into pieces
2. Place the fruit in a zip-lock bag, then put that bag inside another zip-lock bag (to contain any smell)
3. Leave it at room temperature until Sunday
4. Your child should bring this bag to class

A few notes:

• The fruit will look and smell unappetizing by Sunday—that's the point!
• Children will only observe, not touch, the decomposed sample
• Please label the bags with your child's name

This comparison will help illustrate how Krishna digests our food—and what happens when he withdraws.

Thank you for your support in making learning come alive!

Warm regards, BPSS Teaching Team

Opening Hook

Children bring their bagged fruit. Build anticipation:

"Everyone has a special science experiment today. On the count of three, open your bags just a little and take a small sniff..."

Reactions will be immediate! Let them express their disgust freely — this is the hook setting itself.

Key questions:

• "What happened to the fruit? Is it yummy anymore?"
• "Could you eat this? What would happen if you did?" (Tummy ache, sick, poison)
  

Simple storyline:

"Inside your tummy, there's a special fire — not a burning fire, but a cooking fire. And guess who that fire is? Krishna Himself!"

"When you eat your breakfast, Krishna is right there inside you, cooking your food and turning it into energy so you can run, play, think, and grow."

"But the fruit in the bag? Krishna wasn't inside the bag cooking it. So instead of becoming energy... it became yucky!"

Teach the phrase:

"Aham Vaiśvānaro" — "I am the digesting fire"

Have them repeat it with you 2-3 times. Explain: "This is Krishna saying 'I am the fire in your tummy!'"

Gratitude connection:

"So every time you eat, who should we thank? Not just for giving us food, but for cooking it inside us too!"

Medical Angle (when digestion stops then what?)

Step 1: Connect bag to body

"This fruit rotted in the bag. Now imagine if this happened INSIDE your tummy. What would happen?"

Let them guess. They'll say "sick" or "tummy ache."

Step 2: Escalate with real examples

"Has anyone ever eaten something bad and had to vomit? Or had a really bad tummy ache?"

(Some kids will share experiences — food poisoning, stomach bugs, etc.)

"That's your body trying to push out something it couldn't digest properly. Your body is saying DANGER! GET IT OUT!"

Step 3: Go to the hospital

"Sometimes it's so bad that you have to go to the hospital. Doctors give you medicine through a needle in your arm. Sometimes they have to wash out your stomach with a tube."

(Can show a simple image of a child in hospital with IV if appropriate, or just describe)

Step 4: The most serious cases

"And in some very serious cases... when the poison spreads too much... people can die. Even from just eating bad food."

(Let this land. Pause.)

Step 5: Flip to gratitude

"But most of the time, this DOESN'T happen to us. Why? Because every time you eat, someone is working inside you to cook that food properly, to turn it into strength instead of poison.

Who is that person?"

→ KRISHNA

"Every single meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, every snack. Krishna is there, making sure food doesn't become poison inside you. He's not taking a holiday. He's not sleeping. He's always working.

Aham Vaiśvānaraḥ — I am the fire of digestion."

Optional: Real Numbers to Share

If you want to add weight:

"Every year, around the world, about 4 lakh (400,000) people die just from eating bad food. Many of them are children."

This makes it concrete — death is not abstract, it's a real protection Krishna offers daily.

Activity

Activity: "Two Plates" — Krishna's Fire vs. No Fire

Overview

Children sort identical food items onto two plates — one representing food digested by Krishna's fire (becomes energy), one representing food left without Krishna (becomes rotten). The visual contrast drives home the lesson powerfully.

Time: 10-15 minutes Age: 5-8 years (Juniors)

Materials Needed

Per child:

For teacher to prepare in advance:

Food Pictures to Prepare

Print or cut from magazines — you need TWO identical copies of each food item per child:

Suggested items (pick 4-5):

Simple approach: Create one A4 sheet with 5 food items, photocopy twice per child, children cut them out (or pre-cut for younger ones)

Setup Instructions

Before class:

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Decorate Plate 1 — "Krishna's Fire" (3 minutes)

Say:

"Take your first plate. This plate is your TUMMY — with Krishna's fire inside! Let's decorate it."

Children do:

Teacher walks around helping, encouraging bright warm colors

Step 2: Decorate Plate 2 — "No Fire" (3 minutes)

Say:

"Now take your second plate. This plate has NO Krishna inside. No fire. What happens to food with no fire? It becomes...?" (ROTTEN!)

"Let's make this plate look yucky!"

Children do:

Let them be creative with the "yucky" — they'll enjoy this part!

Step 3: Sort and Paste the Food (5 minutes)

Say:

"Now here's the important part. I'm giving you pictures of food — rice, apple, dal, banana...

You have TWO of each. The same rice. The same apple. The same food.

One copy goes on Plate 1 — inside your tummy with Krishna's fire. One copy goes on Plate 2 — outside, with no Krishna.

Same food. Two different places. What happens?"

Children do:

While they work, reinforce:

"Same rice, same apple — but one becomes energy for your body, one becomes poison. The ONLY difference is Krishna."

Step 4: The Big Reveal — Compare Your Plates! (2 minutes)

Say:

"Hold up both your plates. Look at them.

This plate (Krishna's Fire) — this is what happens inside you every time you eat. Krishna takes your food and turns it into strong muscles, sharp brain, energy to play!

This plate (No Fire) — this is what happens to food WITHOUT Krishna. Same food, but now it's rotten, smelly, poisonous.

Which plate do you want happening inside YOU?"

Children respond: Krishna's Fire!

Say:

"And who do we thank for that?"

Children respond: KRISHNA!

Step 5: Add the Verse (2 minutes)

Final touch:

On the back of Plate 1 (or on a small strip pasted on front), help children write:

अहं वैश्वानरः Aham Vaiśvānaraḥ "I am the fire of digestion" — Krishna

Say:

"Every time you see this plate at home, remember — Krishna is doing this inside you right now. Thank Him!"

Teacher Script — Key Lines to Use

Common Questions / Troubleshooting

"Can I draw more food instead of using pictures?" Yes! If a child wants to draw their own food items, encourage it — more personal connection.

"What if a child puts all food on one plate?" Gently redirect: "We need to see the SAME food on both plates — so we can compare what happens to it."

"What about younger children (5-6) who can't write?" Teacher or helper writes the labels. Child just decorates and pastes.

"What if we run short on time?" Skip individual cutting — have all pieces pre-cut. Skip writing on Plate 2 — just decorate it yucky.

Take-Home Connection

Tell parents (via note or WhatsApp):

"Today your child learned Bhagavad Gita 15.14 — Krishna says 'I am the fire of digestion (Vaiśvānaro) inside every living being.'

Your child made two plates showing what happens to food WITH Krishna's fire (energy!) and WITHOUT Krishna's fire (rotten!).

Please ask them to show you the plates and explain. Before meals this week, you can remind them: 'Krishna is about to cook this food inside you!'"

Materials Checklist

For Seniors

The Stark Reality: Digestion Cannot Be Replaced

What Machines CAN Replace

Key point for kids:

"Doctors have made machines for almost everything. Can't breathe? Machine. Heart not pumping? Machine. Kidneys not cleaning blood? Machine.

But if your digestion stops? There is NO machine. No scientist, no doctor, no hospital in the whole world can digest food for you. Only Krishna can do this."

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What Happens When Digestion Fails — Medical Facts

Intestinal Failure / Short Bowel Syndrome:

• If your intestines stop working or are removed, you cannot absorb nutrition from food
• Only option: TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) — liquid nutrition directly into bloodstream through IV
• This is NOT digestion — it bypasses the gut entirely
• TPN is not a long-term solution:
  • Causes liver failure over time (50% of long-term TPN patients develop liver disease)
  • High risk of blood infections (sepsis)
  • Blood clots, bone loss, kidney damage
  • Most patients eventually need intestinal transplant or die

Intestinal Transplant:

• One of the rarest and most dangerous transplants
• Only about 200 done per year worldwide
• Survival rate: Only 50-60% survive 5 years
• Requires lifelong immunosuppression drugs
• Body often rejects the new intestine

The bottom line:

"If Krishna's fire switches off inside you, doctors can try to keep you alive by putting food directly into your blood through tubes. But your liver starts failing within a few years. Your body gets infection after infection. Even with the best doctors and millions of rupees, most people don't survive long.

There is no Option B for digestion."

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Statistics That Hit Home

Food Poisoning Deaths (Digestion Rejected the Food):

• 4,20,000 deaths per year globally from foodborne illness (WHO)
• 1,25,000 of these are children under 5 — their digestion is weaker
• In India alone: estimated 1.5 lakh deaths annually from contaminated food

Intestinal Failure:

• Without intervention: death within weeks from starvation/dehydration
• With TPN: 40-50% die within 5 years from complications
• Intestinal transplant waiting list: many die waiting, organs rarely available

Stomach/Digestive Shutdown (Gastroparesis, Ileus, Obstruction):

• Complete intestinal blockage: death within days if not surgically corrected
• Even after surgery: 15-20% mortality rate for emergency bowel surgery
• Sepsis from gut bacteria entering bloodstream: 30-50% mortality rate

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Simple Comparisons for Children

The 3-3-3 Survival Rule:

"You can survive:

• 3 weeks without food
• 3 days without water
• 3 minutes without air

But if your digestion stops working? Even if you eat, the food becomes poison inside you. You might not even survive 3 days."

Money Cannot Buy Digestion:

"The richest person in the world — with 10 lakh crore rupees — cannot buy a machine to digest food. Ambani, Elon Musk, the President of America... if their digestion stops, they will also have to pray to Krishna. There is no shop, no hospital, no country where you can buy digestion.

Only Krishna gives this. Free. Every day. To everyone — rich or poor, good or bad."

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The Fire That Never Bills You

This could be a powerful reflection:

"If Krishna sent you a bill for digestion...

'Breakfast digested — ₹500' 'Lunch digested — ₹500' 'Dinner digested — ₹500' 'Snacks — ₹200'

That's ₹1700 per day. ₹50,000 per month. ₹6 lakh per year.

From birth to now — 6 or 7 years — Krishna has done maybe ₹40 lakh worth of work inside your tummy. And He has never asked for payment.

He only asks that we remember Him. That we say thank you."

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Summary Points

1. No machine exists that can digest food — dialysis for kidneys, ventilators for lungs, but NOTHING for digestion
2. TPN is not digestion — it's emergency bypass that destroys your liver over time
3. Intestinal transplant — extremely rare, extremely dangerous, most don't survive long
4. 4+ lakh people die every year from food-related illness — when digestion fails or is overwhelmed
5. The richest humans on earth cannot buy what Krishna gives free to the poorest child
6. Krishna's service is 24/7, free, flawless — and we rarely even say thank you