Oct 3, 2021 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 3:

3rd October 2021 / 9:15AM

Opening Prayers and Stotras:

Class began with opening prayers. 3 Oms and followed by Sahanavavathu,
Om Sree Ganeśaya Namaha, Sree Saraswatyai Namaha, Sree Sat Gurubhyo Namaha.

We continued to learn the Mahisasura mardini stotram, verse 2. We had one volunteer student to chant verse 1.

India -The Sacred Land : 
We had three students presenting about their roots in India, festivals they celebrate, the procedure, the food and culture they have that is being practiced for generations. Short but sweet presentations. This is a year long project that the children will continue to add to.

Scriptures:  The Vedas, Upanishads, Itihasas, Puranas and the Bhagavad Gita. The Vedas (from the root "vid" meaning "to be known") are a compilation of revelations taught orally over thousands of years. The Vedas were compiled by VedaVyasa into four - Rg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda. The Vedas are the basis of all knowledge - spiritual and social - in our lives. Gurudev has said that the Vedas are the science of living. The Upanishads which are the end part of the Vedas and expound the philosophy of life- they teach us how to release ourselves from the circle of life and death. Ramayana and Mahabharata are the itishasas. Bhagavad Gita is a part of Mahabharata. The Bhagavad Gita (Song of God) is part of the Mahabharata and has 700 verses. The Gita teaches us how to live life and attain Self-Knowledge.

The Indian Freedom movement: India's struggle for independence was a peaceful, nonviolent grassroots movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. It was a victory for the power of ideas over brute strength. Gandhiji has said -

1."The greatness of a Nation and its moral progress is judged by the way its animals are treated."

2." Do not lose faith in Humanity."

3. "All emotions within us and the one you feed acts outside, so feed the good ones."

Rabindranath Tagore says, "unity among mankind, the advancement of Unity in diversity, has been the core religion of India" He wrote the National anthem of India. His writings inspired many younger generations to get involved in the freedom movement. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Gitanjali, a collection of poems, in 1913.

Mahabharata: Krishna goes to Pandavas after his Shantidoot visit to Hastinapur. He says the war is sure to happen. Not knowing that Krishna had already visited Karna, Kunti also decides to see her firstborn. She knew of the enmity between Karna and Arjuna and as a mother, it was her duty to inform her child of imminent danger, and the guilt that ate at her could not let her watch from the sidelines. Karna calmly promised her that he would not harm Yudhisthira, Bheema, Nakula or Sahadeva, but Arjuna was fair game. The enmity between the two had grown immensely, not allowing for either egos to give in. His parting words to his birth mother was that she would have 5 sons at the end of the war, the 5th being either Arjuna or himself. TheWar preparations begin and the venue is decided as the Dharmaplace- The Kurukshetra. Pandavas and Kauravas set up camps on either side of the Hiravati river and the Spy network goes to work. Dhristadyumna is crowned the Pandavas' commander in chief and Bhishma Pitamaha, the Kauravas' commander in chief. Bhishma made it very clear that he would not hurt the Pandavas, nor fight Shikhandi, who was a woman from the previous birth as Amba. He also devalued Karna's worth as a warrior, causing Karna to refuse to fight under his command.

There were 18 akshauhinis (attached slide on number of warriors per akshauhini) in total in the war - 7 for Pandavas and 11 for the Kauravas. The rules of the war were agreed upon, which briefly were:

• War would be fought only from Dawn to Dusk- Shankhanaadam to shankhanaadam
• Equals to fight with equals
• Unarmed can't be harmed.

Gita Time: This year we are learning the second part of Chapter 2, from verse 39 and up. Today we learned, verses 39 and 40.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3pRQIaPdPE

Our next class is  on October 17th. Happy Navratri.

Required Materials:
My Prayers book,

Balavihar Handbook-

https://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/balavihar/parents-corner/handbook

Please join the class WhatsApp group if you have not already-https://chat.whatsapp.com/KBt5hJbHoobIzFI1M5cIXx

Class blog:

https://cmnjparentportal21-22.blogspot.com

 Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions.

Hari OM
Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer

Grade 6 Sunday AM