Hari Om!
Dear parents,
We had a wonderful second class. Most of the children had joined on time. Below is a quick summary of the session.
9/24/21 Class Update
We started the class with a likhitha japa of 'Om Gam Ganapathaye' and continued with the opening prayers.
Shloka
The first stanza of the Ganashe stavaha (Pg No. 28 in the 'My Prayers Book') was taught. 3 of the student volunteers took turns to repeat after the teacher. The recording will be sent via whatsapp for the children to practice at home.
Mahabharata
We continued with the Adi Parva in the Mahabharata story, covering
1. Swayamvaram at Kashi - Bheeshma goes to the Swayamvara at Kashi and wins the three brides Amba, Ambika and Ambaalika as brides for Vichitraveerya. Mother Satyavati and the Prince Vichitraveerya welcome the brides with delight.
2. Amba's revenge - Amba refuses to marry Vichitraveerya as she was already in the act of garlanding King Salva when Bheeshma had arrived to win the brides. Bheeshma obliges and sends her to Salva. But Salva also disagrees to marry as Bheeshma had won her and according to the Kshatriya rule, the winner should only marry. However, Bheeshma is unable to help due to his promise of bachelorhood. Amba reaches out to Guru Bhargava to convince his disciple but that effort becomes futile. Then she does penance on Lord Shanmukha who gives a garland and tells that whoever wears that shall kill Bheeshma. She tries in vain but leaves it on the pillar at King Drupada's court when nobody agrees to wear it. Then she meditates upon Lord Shankara and He grants the boon that she will be reborn as King Drupada's daughter and she will remember all the incidents from her previous life and will be avenged.
3. Satyavati's request to Bheeshma - Vichitraveerya marries Ambika and Ambalika and starts a good life but soon misfortune befalls and he dies of a disease. To continue the Kuru dynasty, Satyavati requests Bheesma to give children to Ambika and Ambalika. But Bheeshma refuses politely at first and then, sternly with anguish and anger when commanded, as he is righteous and would not fail his promise. And it was for Satyvati's happiness that he had taken the pledge in the first place.
4. Vyasa's arrival - Bheeshma, feeling sad for this mother suggests that as per the tradition, a noble brahmin could give children to the girls. Satyvati thinks of her son from Sage Parashara and calls upon him. Vyasa gives Dhritharashtra to Ambika but he is born blind because Ambika closes her eyes not wanting to look at Vyasa. He gives Pandu to Ambalika but he is pale and white as Ambalika was pale and white in fear. Vyasa revisits Ambika at Satyaavati's request but she sends her maid in her place. Vyasa blesses the maid with Vidura and he is born wise and noble as the maid had welcomed Vyasa with love and respect. We paused here with the introduction of the kuru clan, the Pauravas, until the birth of Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura.
We had prepared a presentation of the family tree showing the characters introduced so far. We will share it on whatsapp.
India, the Sacred Land
We started the 'Saints of India' with Saint Samartha Ramadasa of Maharashtra. We shared his life stories and interesting anecdotes from his life. He was a great devotee of Lord Shri Rama and Chatrapati Shivaji was his disciple. Some of his important teachings were
1. Love all
2. Have satsang with devotees
3. Always keep the image of Rama in your hearts
4. Believe in 'I am third' - God First, others next and I am third
Bhagavad Gita
As an introduction to Gita chanting, we watched a presentation on pronunciation guidance during class. The students got to practise the sounds of ten different words taken as examples, along with the video. The curriculum for this year is Gita - Chapter 2, verses 39-72. The script for all of chapter 2 is given in the Handbook.
Regards,
Shanthi and Rashmi
Materials needed for every class: notebook & pen for likhita japa, My Prayers book for shlokas, Bala Vihar Handbook for Gita Chanting, aarti, pledge