Hari Om Parents ,
We started the class by chanting three Om's , Sahana Vavathu, followed by Vakrathunda Mahakaya. We helped everyone chant Sahana Vavathu - most of the kids from last year chanted very well! We taught the rest of them to chant individually.
This week we started a bhajan on Vinayaka and practiced clapping our hands in rhythm. They all liked it and took turns singing :-)
Story :
We did a quick recap of the bala Ramayanam story and then continued king Dasharatha with advice of his Guru Vasishta performed the "putrakameshti yagna" and four princes were born. They were Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrugna.
The four princes are growing up from toddlers to teenagers. Under the guidance
of their Guru Sage Vasishta they learnt vedas, upanishads, archery and other arts of warfare. All four brothers excelled, but Rama outshone
the rest. He was the ideal son and a born leader. Rama and Lakshmana had deeper affection for each other, while Bharata bonded closely with
Shatrugna. One day the powerful Sage Vishwamitra arrived at King Dasharatha's court. Sage Vishwamitra was a brahmarishi so the king received him with reverence. After prostrating to the sage, King Dasharatha asks if there was
anything he could do for him he would gladly do it. Sage Vishwamitra was performing a special yagna, but the rakshasas Subahu and Mareecha
were disrupting the sacred ritual. He required Rama's help to protect the yagna as he was best qualified to deal with the powerful rakshasas. The king is shocked since Rama is not even sixteen years old, how could he fight terrible rakshasas. The king offers to go
with the rishi along with his army instead of Rama. Vishwamitra's anger flared when he heard the king go back on his word. Sage Vasishta
stepped in and advised the king to send Rama with the rishi. He reminded the king that by protecting the sage Rama will gain fame and
glory. He asks the king to send Lakshmana to protect Rama. King Dasharatha reluctantly agrees and the two princes leave Ayodhya with
Sage Vishwamitra . After walking sometime they reached Sarayu river and slept there for the night . In the morning , Guru Vasishta wakes up Rama singing " Suprabhatham " then we talked about the prayer.
We started the class by chanting three Om's , Sahana Vavathu, followed by Vakrathunda Mahakaya. We helped everyone chant Sahana Vavathu - most of the kids from last year chanted very well! We taught the rest of them to chant individually.
This week we started a bhajan on Vinayaka and practiced clapping our hands in rhythm. They all liked it and took turns singing :-)
Story :
We did a quick recap of the bala Ramayanam story and then continued king Dasharatha with advice of his Guru Vasishta performed the "putrakameshti yagna" and four princes were born. They were Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrugna.
The four princes are growing up from toddlers to teenagers. Under the guidance
of their Guru Sage Vasishta they learnt vedas, upanishads, archery and other arts of warfare. All four brothers excelled, but Rama outshone
the rest. He was the ideal son and a born leader. Rama and Lakshmana had deeper affection for each other, while Bharata bonded closely with
Shatrugna. One day the powerful Sage Vishwamitra arrived at King Dasharatha's court. Sage Vishwamitra was a brahmarishi so the king received him with reverence. After prostrating to the sage, King Dasharatha asks if there was
anything he could do for him he would gladly do it. Sage Vishwamitra was performing a special yagna, but the rakshasas Subahu and Mareecha
were disrupting the sacred ritual. He required Rama's help to protect the yagna as he was best qualified to deal with the powerful rakshasas. The king is shocked since Rama is not even sixteen years old, how could he fight terrible rakshasas. The king offers to go
with the rishi along with his army instead of Rama. Vishwamitra's anger flared when he heard the king go back on his word. Sage Vasishta
stepped in and advised the king to send Rama with the rishi. He reminded the king that by protecting the sage Rama will gain fame and
glory. He asks the king to send Lakshmana to protect Rama. King Dasharatha reluctantly agrees and the two princes leave Ayodhya with
Sage Vishwamitra . After walking sometime they reached Sarayu river and slept there for the night . In the morning , Guru Vasishta wakes up Rama singing " Suprabhatham " then we talked about the prayer.
We then played a game to review all the names from last week! They had fun. Some of them need a little help in figuring out how to play so it would be helpful if you can be around for a couple of weeks if they need help. Also please don't let them login using a phone!
We then showed them Swamiji's message to children on why we should chant the Bhagavad Gita and then watched a primer video where they learned to properly pronounce the Sanskrit alphabet and a few words from the second chapter. We will be teaching them verses from the 2nd chapter this year.
You can watch Swamiji's message here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8cRDI4Cs4Q
We ended the class with Pledge !! We hope they all did their homework for last week - which was to tell their parents the story they heard in class! If not, please ask them to :-)
Hope to see all the kids on Friday sharp 7 pm !! Please make sure they have their My Prayers book, the Balavihar Handbook, the Ramayana coloring book, the Likhita Japa notebook (in case you didn't pick up one, they can use any composition notebook), pencils and crayons.
Regards ,
Uma & Jayashree
Hope to see all the kids on Friday sharp 7 pm !! Please make sure they have their My Prayers book, the Balavihar Handbook, the Ramayana coloring book, the Likhita Japa notebook (in case you didn't pick up one, they can use any composition notebook), pencils and crayons.
Regards ,
Uma & Jayashree