Almost there...

The year (Balavihar calendar) is almost at an end. Some of us are confident and know what we have been taught, the rest of us still need some work.

The kids seem quite comfortable with the shlokas and bhajans and we were able to run through them fairly quickly till we reached Guru Sthothram, some of the kids haven't memorized it yet, parents please help them with the same.

The shlokas we have learnt so far are the Dhyaana Shloka - Om Sahanavavatu (pg 9) and the daily prayers (Karaagre Vasate, Vakratunda, Saraswati Namastubhyam, Bramhaarpanam, Shubham Karoti, Kara Charana - pages 14-17 of the My Prayer Book) while the bhajans are Rama Naama Thaarakam (pg 211), Atma Nivasi Ram  (pg 209-210) and  Radhe Radhe (pg-169). 

In Ramayana, we covered the chapters involving the vanaras approaching Lanka under the guidance of Rama and Lakshmana. Repeated attempts by messengers from Rama, advice from Ravana's grandfather and wise ministers, nothing works on Ravana. He is determined to keep Sita for himself. He attempts to fool her by making a replica of Rama's head and presenting it before her to convince her that Rama is dead and so she should marry Ravana. But the approaching armies forces him to reveal that this is just a trick. Finally when the battle begins, it is fierce. Ravana's son Indrajeet becomes invisible and fires arrows with snake poison, making Rama and Lakshmana unconscious and sending the vanaras into a panic. But Vishnu's vaahan Garuda saves the princes by withdrawing the poisoned arrows.

We discussed the lessons that we have learned from Ramayana so far.

We practiced our consonants in Sanskrit.

We ended the class with the concluding prayers Om Poornamadah (pg-20) and Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaha (pg-19) and also practiced the Chinmaya Mission Pledge.

See you at the Chinmaya Guru Jayanthi and Mother's Day picnic on Sunday.

Back From Spring Break!

Back after the spring break, the class saw a low turnout, looks like people are still in vacation mode :)

As usual, we started the class with the attendance followed by a run through of the Dhyaana Shloka - Om Sahanavavatu (pg 9) and the daily prayers (Karaagre Vasate, Vakratunda, Saraswati Namastubhyam, Bramhaarpanam, Shubham Karoti, Kara Charana - pages 14-17 of the My Prayer Book) the bhajans Rama Naama Thaarakam (pg 211), Atma Nivasi Ram  (pg 209-210) and  Radhe Radhe (pg-169). I was supposed to conduct a test of Guru Sthothram (pg 85-86), but decided to do an informal check/revision of sorts instead, as there were very few kids. Just one child (Vedant) was able to recite the entire Guru Sthothram without mistakes. Please make sure everyone has memorized the same, as I will be testing them during any of the next few sessions.

In Ramayana, we read about how Vibheeshana, along with a handful of his supporters, left Lanka and approached Rama, Lakshmana and the warriors. While most of the vanaras, including Sugreeva, eyed the rakshasas with suspicion, Rama chose to welcome them with open arms. Hanuman also agreed with Rama that they should give Vibheeshana the benefit of doubt.Vibheeshana pledged his full support to Rama and then they set about making plans for the attack. Rama performed fasting and prayed to the sea God to make the ocean part so that they could walk to Lanka. When nothing happened despite 3 days of prayers and fasting, Rama got furious. That is when the sea God appeared and said that he could do nothing as parting the sea water would be going against nature. Instead, he suggested that the vanaras should build a bridge over the sea, using the architectural skills of the vanara Nala. He assured Rama, that he would support the foundation of the bridge and bear the weight and make sure the water did not break the bridge. Everyone agreed to this plan and the vanaras worked day and night side by side and built a bridge over the sea to cross over to Lanka. Once this was done, everyone set forth, the rakshasas flew ahead while the vanaras took turns carrying Rama and Lakshmana, so that they could proceed faster.

We practiced our vowels and two rows of consonants in Sanskrit. Please make sure the kids practice the same at home, so that we can move ahead.

We ended the class with the concluding prayers Om Poornamadah (pg-20) and Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaha (pg-19) and also practiced the Chinmaya Mission Pledge.

See you at the next class. Please be on time and bring your folders.