Hari Om Parents,
Below is a recap of what we did during today's class. As always, we began our class with 3 OMs and the following shlokas.
1. "Om Saha Navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)
2."Vakrathunda Mahakaya" (page 27 in My Prayers book)
3. "Saraswathi Namasthubhyam" (page 12 in My Prayers book)
4. "Karagre Vasate" (page 11 in My Prayers book)
5. "Samudhra Vasane" (page 11 in My Prayers book)
6. "Shubam Karoti" (page 12 in My Prayers book)
7. "Gurur Brahma" (page 60 in My Prayers book)
8. "Brahmarpanam" (page 12 in My Prayers book)
9. "Krishnaya Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)
10. "Sri Rama Rama" (page 129 in My Prayers book)
11. "Budhir Balam" (page 152 in My Prayers book)
12. "Kara Charana" (page 12 in My Prayers book)
Krishnashtakam : We practised the first five shlokas and learnt the sixth shloka : Rukminikeli samyuktam - peetambhara susobbhitam - Avaapta tulasi gandham - Krishnam vande jagadgurum
We explained the meaning - The Lord who is engaged in playing with Rukmini, adorned and resplendent with peetambaras (silk garments woven with gold), one who is attracted to the scent of Tulasi. Salutations to the teacher of the universe (I bow to you Lord Krishna, the Guru of the world). Please have the kids practice the shlokas at home. Ty.
Today's lesson - The Naming Ceremony
We began with a brief recap of our story so far. Then got into the naming ceremony. Rishi Garga, the Guru of the Yadavas, as per the request of Vasudeva went to Gokula to perform the naming ceremony. He named Rohini's son as Balarama. Rishi Garga named the little boy KRISHNA – one who has a dark complexion or VAASUDEVA – the son of Vasudeva.
"He has many names and forms, and no one can fully
understand them. He will give you great joy and blessings. He will save you from many mishaps. Those who love Him wholeheartedly shall never know any danger or fear. He has all the qualities of Narayana. Know Him to be the same." Having made these profound statements, Garga blessed the two boys and left Gokula.
Krishna and Balarama were growing up fast. They soon went from crawling to running around everywhere in Gokula. They were becoming more and more naughty. Krishna loved milk, butter and curd. After they had their fill, Krishna fed the rest to monkeys and calves. Krishna along with His friends, loved to steal His favorite items to consume. The gopis would go to Yashodha to complain about Krishna. We asked the class if it was right to steal, there was a resounding, "NO"! So we then explained that Lord Krishna did that to make everyone constantly have Him on their minds. Yashoda ma would catch Krishna by his ear and want to punish him. But looking at his innocent face, she would soon forgive him. The moment he is forgiven, he would run away and get back to doing mischief again! The lessons we are learning from Lord Krishna so far are to forgive and to share.
Today's lesson - 24 Teachers
Like always, we started with a riddle : - People say that I am very beautiful - My looks have inspired poets to write poetry - I am definitely not tall and slim like one of our Miss World Models - As a matter of fact, I am on the rounder side. There were several guesses...flower, nature, tree, rainbow, sun, it was a tough riddle this week, the answer was The Moon.
We began with a short story about how the Moon asked her mom to design and stitch her a nightgown. Upon that request, Moon's mom responds saying that she's unable to tailor a suitable size nightgown for her, as she is constantly changing. We went on to discuss if the moon was actually constantly changing or does it appear to be constantly changing. We went into the phases of the moon and briefly discussed the recent total lunar eclipse.
We then went into a story, "This Too Shall Pass". It was about how Oscar was a traveller and had observed in a small town a man pulling a heavy load on a cart to be delivered to a factory. When he asked the man why he was doing the job of a bull, he responded saying, "This too shall pass". On another occasion, several years later, visiting the same town, Oscar saw the same man had become the factory owner. When he approached and congratulated that man, he said, "This too shall pass". The king of that town had grown old, had no children and gave his elephant a garland to choose the next king. The elephant chose the factory owner to be king. And he told the kingdom that, "this too shall pass". Many years later, Oscar visited the same town and was stunned to see that it had been devastated by an earthquake. Saddened by the scene, he told himself, "This too shall pass"!!! We then discussed that we should accept change and not be highly elated or perturbed in any situation.
"I will eat this chocolate yesterday". This quote was shown on the screen. We had a discussion about how it is impossible to make sense of it! The kids actively participated. "Now" is the only time you have to accomplish anything. We then discussed Gurudev's famous quote:
'Everyday is bursting with opportunities for us to do and to serve, to express, to love, and to live. We must make use of these lush chances and diligently make our life rich, fruitful, and useful for others at all times.
Today belongs to us
Yesterday was
Tomorrow will be
Only today belongs to us.
So, let us do our best today."
- Swami Chinmayananda
Circumstances that we face are changing like the phases of the moon, sometimes happy like the full moon and other times not so happy like the new moon. Everyone goes through this cycle. We discussed various cycles and scenarios. We then went into a discussion of how we should not try to attempt the impossible. Like a black dog owner giving his dog multiple bubble baths trying to change him into a white dog. If our happiness relies on things that are changing, we are bound to be unhappy when they change. Enjoy things when they are there. We concluded the Moon, with some Gratitude time, sort of like the season...Thanksgiving!!
What should we do when circumstances are like the full moon? We should thank God for giving us this good time. We should thank all the people for bringing this good time in our life. What should we do when the circumstances are like the new moon? We should thank God for bad times, as we will be able to appreciate what people go through during tough times. It will make us sensitive to other people's needs. The kids actively participated in all the discussions! Super impressive!!
Krishna ashtakam practice - The Kids have been learning Krishnashtakam the past weeks and they have two more shlokas to learn, out of eight. Today we asked the kids to chant the shlokas upto where they learnt. Many kids were able to recite the first two, some were able to do the first four. Please encourage the kids to practice in their free time. We will practice again in the next class.
Gita Chanting - We followed Swamiji's videos to learn Shlokas 45 and 46 of Chapter 2.
Aarti and Pledge - We concluded the class with Aarti and pledge.
Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, we are so thankful to be able to spend time with your kids during Balavihar! There will be no class on Sunday November 28th, in observance of the holiday. We will see you all back on December 5th. Stay safe.
Pranam,
Neelima & Keerthi