Hari OM Dear Families,
Here is this week's update.Week 8:
21st November 2021 / 9:15AM
Opening Prayers and Stotras:
Class began with opening prayers. 3 OM's and followed by Sahanavavathu,
Om shrI Ganeśaya Namaha, shrI Saraswatyai Namaha, shrI Sat Gurubhyo Namaha.
We continued to learn the Mahisasura mardini stotram, verse 7. We had two volunteer students to repeat and chant the verse.
India -The Sacred Land : We had five children to talk about their personal understanding of the culture.
The kids also wrote their names in their native languages (mostly those missed out last week) here are pics from their whiteboard writings.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/G1DRS5BfHvgDpwtXA
Contributions to the World from Ancient India:
Universities: Takshashila- was the oldest university, established in 700 BCE. The kings governed the universities and each teacher had full autonomy in their respective subjects (Teachers were recognized authorities). Chanakya, Paanini and Acharya Charaka learned and became renowned teachers in the university. Nalandha - located in current day Bihar. It was internationally recognised at the time and more than 10500 students studied at a time. 60 subjects and more were taught here. Students came to learn from India and all over the world. It had a huge library and huge dorms for students with all facilities. It was founded by King Shakraditya of the Gupta Dynasty in 5th century AD.
Geniuses: Indian astronomers knew that the earth was round and it revolved around the Sun, 1000 years before Copernicus. The approximate speed of light is mentioned in the Rg Veda . "Zero" is mentioned in the Chandas shastra of Pingala in 200 BC. There were several towering intellects who contributed greatly to the knowledge systems prevalent to this day.
Aryabhatta was a master in Astronomy and Math. He was a student of Nalandha- later became the Head teacher. He postulated the earth is round and the Moon is dark and shines because of the sun, the scientific explanation for eclipses, the value of Pi (3.1416), value of Sines and the Sine function and expression of large numbers in words. Acharya Charaka was an exponent of medical system "kayachikitsa". He believed in the theory that "Physicians entering the body of a patient with a lamp of knowledge and understanding, could treat diseases better". He prescribed medicines to restore the imbalances created by the Doshas- Vaada, pitta and kapha. He practised preventative medicine (Great timing as we're taking precautions to prevent the prevailing CoronaVirus). He authored the Charaka samhita and Agnivesa tantra. He was a master in genetics and anatomy. Acharya Susruta was the father of surgical medicine. He was an expert anesthesiologist. He conducted surgeries for Cataract, brain surgeries, plastic surgeries,Artificial limbs, c-sections. His susruta samhita gives tips for more than 300 types of surgeries/operations. He designed over 125 types and more instruments from jawbones of animals and birds. Bharathwaja Rishi was a contemporary of SriRama. He was an expert in Aeronautics and wrote the book "Yantra sarvasva.". Bhaskaracharya the 2nd- He was a master in Algebra, Geometry and astronomy. His works are compiled as "surya siddhanta". He wrote on the force of gravity and defined the center of gravity. Patanjali was the father of yoga, to control the fluctuating thoughts in the mind. He postulated the 8 points-Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranaayama,Pratyahara,Dharana, Dhyana and Samaadhi.
We saw a video of the genius contributors on our Ancient India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2KsoNr1RyI
Gita Chanting:
Today we learned, verses 49 and 50 from Chapter 2.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9Q439FolDQ
Our next class is on December 5th
Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions.
Hari OM
Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer
Grade 6 Sunday AM