October 26, 2014

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

·         Om Saha Navavathu

·         Agajaanana Padmaarkam

·         Yaakundendu

Stotram:

GuruStotram – Practiced Sloka 1 2, 3, 4 & 5, and learnt Sloka # 6.

Sarvaśrutiśiroratna virajitapadāmbuja 

vedāntambujasūryo yaḥ tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ [6]

Salutations to that Guru, who is like the Sun (which enables the blossoming of) the lotus of Vedanta, and at whose lotus feet abide the crown jewels of all the Veda.

Quiz:

Before continuing with the story, we did the Crossword Puzzle from the 'Bala Ramayana Junior Balavihar',  recalling some characters and events in Balakanda Story so far. Children took turns answering the questions, and also writing the answers on the blackboard.

Story time:

We started the next Kanda in Ramayana – Ayodhya Kanda.

We talked about how happy Ayodhya was with Sri Rama and Princess Sita's arrival. Thus passed 12 years. Soon, King Dasharatha was thinking about retiring to the forest after handing over the kingdom to Sri Rama. As his coronation was being planned, Manthara-the hunchback maid of Keikeyi sowed the poisonous seed in Keikeyi's mind that only Bharatha should be made King. So, Keikeyi asks Dasharatha to give her the 2 boons (promised earlier) - 1. Bharatha should be made king. 2. Rama should be sent to the forest for 14 years. This devastates King Dasharatha, but in order to be true to his dharma he sends for Rama and gives him the orders to go to the forest. Rama takes these orders as calmly as he did when he was told he would be coronated. Lakshmana and Sita convince Rama that they will accompany him in his exile to the forest. They depart to the forest, amidst a very sad Ayodhya.  

The King Dasharatha is grief stricken. That night he confesses to Kaushalya the story of Sravana. " A young prince Dasharatha had learnt the art of shooting at his target without seeing it. One day while he was out hunting he heard the sound of an elephant drinking water and immediately shot his arrow only to find he had hit a young boy filling water in a pitcher. His name is Sravana and he says that he was taking the water to his blind parents. Prince Dasharatha asks Sravana's forgiveness as he had shot at Sravana by mistake. Sravana asks Dasharatha to got to his parents and dies. On seeing Sravana's blind parents Dasharatha explains his mistake and tells them of their son's death and seeks their forgiveness. The parents tell Dasharatha that even though he committed the sin unknowingly he will still have to bear the consequences. He too will suffer separation from his beloved son." Thus narrating the story to Kaushalya King Dasharatha breathes his last with Rama's name on his lips. Ayodhya is in mourning.

Conclusion:

We ended the class with Shanthi Mantra.

Comments:

Children are making progress with Sloka and Guru Stotram. Please make them practice on a frequent, if not, a daily basis, so that they can keep up with the rest of the class. Also, some kids are missing ‘My Prayer Book’, and ‘Bala Ramayana Junior Balavihar' books. Please remember to send those in.

Reminders:
Please remember to send along the following items in your child’s bag along with the books:

Supplies:

1.       Crayons
2.       Sharpened Pencils
3.       Erasers
4.       Notebook
5.       Glue
6.       Age appropriate child proof scissors
7.       A folder to keep their pictures/artwork

and a nut free Snack/Drink to have during the break

Next class is on November 2, 2014.  

October 19, 2014

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

·         Om Saha Navavathu

·         Agajaanana Padmaarkam

·         We learnt the new Saraswathi Sloka:

“Yaa Kunde[a-I]ndu-Tussaara-Haara-Dhavalaa Yaa Shubhra-Vastra-[A]avrtaa
Yaa Viinnaa-Vara-Danndda-Mannddita-Karaa Yaa Shveta-Padma-[A]asanaa |
Yaa Brahma-Acyuta-Shankara-Prabhrtibhir-Devah Sadaa Puujitaa
Saa Maam Paatu Sarasvati Bhagavatii Nihshessa-Jaaddya-Apahaa ||1||

Meaning:
1.1: (Salutations to Devi Saraswati) Who is Pure White like Jasmine, with the Coolness of Moon, Brightness of Snow and Shine like the Garland of Pearls; and Who is Covered with Pure White Garments,
1.2: Whose Hands are Adorned with Veena (a stringed musical instrument) and the Boon-Giving Staff; And Who is Seated on Pure White Lotus,
1.3: Who is Always Adored by Lord Brahma, Lord Acyuta (Lord Vishnu), Lord Shankara and Other Devas,
1.4: O Goddess Saraswati, Please Protect me and Remove my Ignorance completely.

Stotram:

GuruStotram – Practiced Sloka 1 2, 3, & 4, and learnt Sloka # 5.

cinmayaṁ vyāpi yatsarvaṁ trailokyaṁ sacarācaram

tatpadaṁ darśitaṁ yena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ [5]

Meaning: Salutations to that Guru, who has shown to me That Pure Consciousness, which pervades all the three worlds, including all movable/immovable objects.

Quiz:

We began with a ‘Character Description’ quiz where kids were asked to tell three things they know about a character.

Story time:

We continued the story from Ram-Sita Wedding. Along with Ram, his brothers also got married at the same time,  Lakshmana  to Urmila, Dasharatha’s other daughter, Bharatha & Shatruguna to Mandavi & Shrutakirti. With heavy heart, Dasharatha sent Sita off, to Ayodhya, with Rama and family. Vishwamitra went to the Himalayas to continue with his Tapas, after blessing the newly wedded couples.

  Vishmitra was actually a king before he became a Brahma Rishi. One day tired from a battle when he was returning home with his army he reached the Ashram of Sage Vasishta. Vasishta welcomed the king and took care of him and his army with good food and nice place to rest. Vishmitra was surprised that a sage could provide all the comforts and then found out that Vasishta had a magic cow named Sabala. Vishmitra wanted the cow for himself but Sage Vasishta was not willing to part with it so enraged Vishwamitra fought with Vasishta but Vasishta won the battle. Vishwamitra went to the forest to do a penance for many years and came back with powerful weapons to fight with Vasishta but he lost again. After many such trials he gave up on revenge and then did penance to overcome his anger and became a Brahma Rishi.

As they were returning to Ayodhya, they saw some signs of bad omen, such as, the sky becoming dark, earth trembling, trees shaking etc., In front of them, suddenly appeared Parashurama, with matted locks, burning eyes, and a brilliant face. He had a bow, an arrow, and a battle-ax. Since his father Jamadagni was killed by a Kshatriya, he wanted to get rid of all the Kshatriyas. Parashurama asked him to bend ‘Vishnu’s bow’ that he was holding, since he already broke ‘Shiva’s bow’ in Mithila. Rama lifted the bow, strung it, and fixed the arrow, and asked Parashurama, ‘Where should I destroy ? Your tapas or your power of movement’ since he could not kill a Brahmin. Parashurama asked Rama to take away the fruit of all his penance, and after paying his respect to Rama by doing ‘Pradakshina’, went back to the Himalayas. Eventually Dasharatha and his party reached Ayodhya. Everybody was happy to see the Princes and their new wives in Ayodhya.

You might want to ask your kids for the new names/terms learnt in this class. Wives of the brothers, Parashurama, his father’s name, Pradakshina etc.,

Activity:

Kids did another beautiful craft activity today for the upcoming Diwali festival. They painted and decorated a ‘Diya’ which we hope they would have lighted with a candle during Diwali.

Conclusion:

We ended the class with Shanthi Mantra.

Comments:

We celebrated the birthday of Lasya and Aniruddh. Thanks to Lasya’s Mom for the birthday goodies. As always, please have the kids practice the Slokas and Guru Stotram at home regularly.

Reminders:
Please remember to send along the following items in your child’s bag:

Class Text Books/Workbook:

·         My Prayer Book

·         Ramayana Characters Children’s Workbook

·         Bala Ramayana Junior Balavihar

Supplies:

1.       Crayons

2.       Sharpened Pencils

3.       Erasers

4.       Notebook

5.       Glue

6.       Age appropriate child proof scissors

7.       A folder to keep their pictures/artwork

and a nut free Snack/Drink to have during the break

Next class is on October 25th 2014.  

October 12, 2014

Hari Om!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakrathunda  (in response to kids’ requests)
• Agajaanana Padmaarkam

Stotram:

GuruStotram – Practiced Sloka 1 2, & 3, we learnt Sloka # 4.

Sthaavaram Jangamam Vyaaptam
Yatkinchit Sacharaa Charam
TatPadam Darshitam Yena
Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha.
 
Meaning:
4.1: (Salutations to the Guru) By Whom is Pervaded all the Movable and Immovable objects as well as the Moving and Non-Moving beings,
4.2: By Whom is Revealed (out of Grace) That Feet (of All-Pervasive Presence); Salutations to that Guru.

Quiz:

We started the class with a quiz, which was even more fun with volunteer moms participating as a team against boys’ team and girls’ team.

Story Enactment:

We took a different take to our usual ‘story telling’ today, with the kids actually enacting the scene. Kids chose their roles, and enacted the scenes with dialogue, after hearing the story/dialogue only once.  It was almost extemporaneous. After a quick recap, we did the ‘turning Stone into Ahalya’ scene. Vishwamitra took Rama and Lakshmana to attend a Yajna performed by King Janaka. As they were nearing the city of Mithila, they saw the deserted Ashram of Sage Gautama. We learnt how Ahalya was turned into a stone by her husband Sage Gautama. When Lord Ram’s feet touched the stone, Ahalya became a human being again. We then introduced King Janaka of Mithila. He had found a beautiful baby when he was ploughing the land in preparation for an Yajna. He named the baby Sita and thanked Bhumidevi for the gift of this divine child.  Sita was and is considered the very symbol of perfection.  As she grew older and attained marriageable age, King Janaka was worried about how he would find a husband worthy of Sita. He decided that the man who lifted and bent the ‘Shiva Dhanush’ (bow of Rudra, given to his ancestors by God Varuna) would marry Sita. When King Janaka heard that Vishwamitra was staying in the outskirts of Mithila, he went with his court of ministers and invited the sage to be his guest. There he saw the two sons of King Dasharatha and was struck by their brilliance. He learnt that they were the sons of his childhood friend, Dasharatha, and invited them also to Mithila.  The next day Vishwamitra, with Rama and Lakshmana proceeded to the Yagna Mandap.  Shiva Dhanush was brought by 5000 mighty warriors on an eight wheeled chariot, and kept in the center of the Mandap/hall.  With the blessings of Sage Vishwamitra, Rama lifted the bow with such ease, and snapped it into two, to the roaring applause of everyone gathered there.  King Janaka sent swift messengers to King Dasharatha to convey the good news, and to invite him for the wedding. Dasharatha, who was anxious to know about the welfare of his sons, was overjoyed.  He rushed to Mithila with family and ministers to attend the wedding. Rama and Sita were married with all pomp and splendor fit for a royal wedding.

Children had so much fun enacting the scenes.  You might want to do a role-play at home on the story so far. This, you will find, to be a fun family activity, and also help the kids  to develop theatrical talents.

Bhajans:

After the wedding, we learnt this Ram Bhajan:

Aatma Rama Aananda Ramana
Achyuta Keshava Hari Narayana

Bhava Bhaya Harana Vandita Charana
Raghukula Bhushana Rajeeva Lochana

Aadi Narayana Ananta Shayana
Sachidananda Satyanarayana

Activity:

Kids did a beautiful craft activity today in honor of the Ram-Sita Wedding. They made a picture frame for Ram-Sita Wedding picture, and decorated with gem stones, and glitter glue.

Materials needed:

Ram-Sita Picture

4 Popsicle Sticks

Some gemstones, stickers, whatever you want to decorate with

Glue (with glitter optional)

1 Pipe cleaner or Satin Ribbon of desired length

Tape

Conclusion:

We ended the class with Shanthi Mantra.

Comments:

Today’s class was probably the most fun class so far.  Thanks to all the parents who dressed the kids up in festive clothes for the Ram-Sita Wedding. Many thanks to all the volunteer moms, who brought sweets, drinks, and cutlery, helped out with the craft activity in the class, and were also good sports, playing along during the quiz.

Please have the kids practice the Slokas and Guru Stotram at home regularly.

Reminders:
Please remember to send along the following items in your child’s bag:

 Class Text Books/Workbook:

·         My Prayer Book

·         Ramayana Characters Children’s Workbook

·         Bala Ramayana Junior Balavihar

Supplies:

1.       Crayons

2.       Sharpened Pencils

3.       Erasers

4.       Notebook

5.       Glue

6.       Age appropriate child proof scissors

7.       A folder to keep their pictures/artwork

and a nut free Snack/Drink to have during the break

Next class is on October 19th 2014.  

October 5, 2014

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Agajaanana Padmaarkam

Stotram:

GuruStotram – After practising Sloka 1 & 2, we learnt Sloka # 3.

Gurur-Brahmaa Gurur-Vissnnur-Gururdevo Maheshvarah |

Gurure[-I]va Param Brahma Tasmai Shrii-Gurave Namah ||1||

 

Meaning:

1.1: The Guru is Brahma, the Guru is Vishnu, the Guru Deva is Maheswara (Shiva),

1.2: The Guru is Verily the Para-Brahman (Supreme Brahman); Salutations to that Guru.

Navarathri:

We started the class talking about Navarathri celebrations, including Saraswathi Pooja, and Vijaya Dasami. Lord Rama worshipped Goddess Durga for nine days, in order to gather the strength and power to kill Ravana. He wanted to release Sita from the clutches of powerful demon king Ravana, who had abducted her. Those nine nights became to be known as Navratri and the tenth day, on which Lord Rama killed Ravana, came to be called Vijayadashmi or Dusshera, signifying Rama's (good) triumph over Ravana (evil).

Value of the Month:
This year, we have started to observe 'Value of the month'. This month's value is - Sathyam/ Sense Control / Victory over bad qualities / Light of knowledge. We talked about how it is so relevant to Sathyam class, and also the theme for the class, which is Ramayana, and how Rama exemplifies all these qualities.

Story:

We recapped the story from last class. We continued the story of how the news of birth of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Shatrughuna made all the Ayodhya-Vaasis (people of Ayodhya) happy. There was dancing, singing, and merry-making. The king celebrated by distributing presents, cows, horses etc.  As the brothers grew, they showed great remarkable qualities. Rama showed a steady devotion to duty and truth. Rama was the best archer, and he outshone his brothers in every sphere.  All the parents wanted their children to be like Rama. When Dasaratha was basking in the glory of his sons, Vishwamitra, the great sage visited his court.  Feeling very happy, and blessed to be visited by the great sage,  King Dasaratha told him that he would do whatever he wants him to do, and give him anything that he asks for. Vishwamitra rejoiced on hearing this, and explained the purpose of his visit which was to get Rama to protect the Yagna, from Rakshasaas especially Mareecha and Subhahu.  Dasaratha was completely shocked by this request, but after Sage Vashista convinced him, he was OK to sending Rama and Lakshmana.  

Rama and Lakshmana went with Vishwamitra to help him fight the demons. We talked about how Rama and Lakshmana were very excited about this adventure, and how Sage Vishwamitra convinced a hesitant Rama to kill Tataka.  Vishwamitra praises Rama and teaches him the use of divine weapons.

Rama and Lakshmana along with Vishwamitra crossed the River Ganges on a raft and finally reached Vishwamitra's ashram 'Siddhasrama'. The next day Vishwamitra started his Yajna and for 5 days and nights everything went smoothly. On the 6th day Marica and Subahu appear in the sky ready to disrupt the Yajna: Rama uses the 'Manavastra' to tie Marica in a bundle and hurl him near the sea; he then uses the 'Agneyastra' to kill Subahu. Vishwamitra complete his yajna without any problems.

We concluded this week's lesson by talking about how Vishwamitra decides to take Rama and Lakshmana to Mithila to attend a yajna conducted by King Janaka.

Quiz:

We did a mini-quiz on the story so far. There was enthusiastic participation, and it was heartening to know that children are paying attention.

Yoga:

We also did some simple yoga exercises  such as Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Vriksasana (Tree Pose), Badhakonasana (Butterfly Pose) and some gentle stretches.

Games:

We played ‘4 Corners’ based on the Ramayana Characters, that children loved, and participated actively.

Conclusion:

We concluded the class with Shanti Mantra.

Reminders:

Some kids are still learning the Prayer Slokas, and Guru Stotram taught so far. Please have them practice at home regularly.

Next week, we will be celebrating Ram-Sita Wedding. Please feel free to dress your kids in festive Indian Clothes.

As always, please send along the following items in your child’s bag:

Class Text Books/Workbook:

·         My Prayer Book

·         Ramayana Characters Children’s Workbook

·         Bala Ramayana Junior Balavihar

Supplies:

·         Crayons

·         Sharpened Pencils

·         Erasers

·         Notebook

·         Glue

·         Age appropriate child proof scissors

·         A folder to keep their pictures/artwork

and a nut free Snack/Drink

Next class in on 12th October 2014.