High Level Agenda:
· Chanting OM and opening prayer
· Guru Stotram (Verse 1, 2 , 3, 4 and 5)
· Story of Varaha Avatar
· House Inaugural
· Game activity
· Inaugural session to see presentations from older students
Details:
· We started by chanting OM three times, and our opening prayers
· We continued with Guru Stotram, verse 1, 2, 3 and 4. Then learnt verse 5. Children took turns to say verses 1, 2,3, 4 and 5.
· We did a quick recap of the previous class and did topic of today's class on Varaha Avatar
· VARAHA AVATAR
First, we talked about the cycle of day and night and the seasons. The kids watched short time lapse videos representing this. We then talked about how the world also exists in the creation phase and the rest phase, called pralaya, and this is a cycle as well.
Today's story starts in the pralaya time, just before new creation starts.
Lord Brahma is born from the navel of Lord Vishnu and is responsible for creation on the earth. Lord Brahma creates Manu and Satarupa and gives them the task of helping with creation on the earth. But the earth is hidden under the oceans of the Pralaya.
Lord Vishnu emerges as a Boar, or Varaha Avatara, finds the earth and retrieves her to orbit safely. As he is doing this, the demon Hiranyaksha tries to take possession of the earth. He is defeated and killed by the Lord in the Varaha avatar.
The kids also watched a video depicting this story. In this connection, we discussed how God can assume different forms as per the necessity. Each one of us, including plants, animals and insects have come with a purpose, and each one of us has to do what we have come here to do.
· House Inaugural
· It was game time! Students played a game to learn more about important places using the map of India that they have heard in Indian cultural stories.
· Students then joined the main group to see the inaugural session where older students presented their work
· The focus for today's House inaugural is 'Dama' meaning Self Control at a physical level, mind, and emotional level
· Swamiji gave some takeaways for the students to keep in mind while they celebrate Halloween and Diwali
o Postpone angry words for tomorrow. If you know that your words would hurt people, then postpone it to next day
o Don't get tempted to eat all the candies at the same time. Eat only few candies at a time
o Sweet is good for brain, but not too much sweet. Eat in balance
· Announcements/Request:
· Parents, please send the photos of the bookmarks created by the children last class
· Gita chanting link for Verse 39 and 40 is here
· In case your kids do not have a physical copy of the Bala Vihar handbook, the link to the online handbook is here: http://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/balavihar-handbook/
The handbook has all the Gita shlokas the kids will be learning in the class. Please encourage the kids to practice the shlokas in their free time.
· As part of House Inaugural:
o Sewa Diwali: You can drop off food at the Ashram before Nov 15th that would be given to Food shelters. If you like, you can donate money using Ashram Venmo account @chinmaya-vrindavan and mention 'Sewa Diwali'
o Story Telling/Oratorical Contest: Contest will be planned virtual/in-person on Jan 27th – Details to follow. For any questions, please email bvhouses@chinmayavrindavan.org
o Likitha Japa: Write the Lord's name in the Likitha Japa book every day for at least 11 times. This will help the child to calm down and make it easier to concentrate. Also, the kids can submit the writing and get house points for it
o Shloka courses: Shloka classes are offered from Nov 21 to April 22nd 2022 – For details, please review and register here http://bit.ly/Shlokas21
· The class concluded with the Chinmaya Pledge.
We wish you all a very Happy Deepavali !
There will be no class next week. We look forward to seeing the kids on November 14th.
With sincere and warm regards,
Vasudha and Aruna
(Chinmaya Vrindavan Bala Vihar Grade 3 Teachers)