High Level Agenda:
· Chanting OM and opening prayer
· Guru Stotram (Verse 1, 2 , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
· Geeta Chanting – Refresh verse 39, to 46 and Attendance
· Recap of last class – Quiz
· Topics for today:
o Dhruva's story and his firm resolve
o Story of Narayana Das and the Genie – Shows how our mind is like a genie
o On controlling our mind,
· Recap word wall game
· Wrap-up
Today's Class in detail
Prayers:
· We started by chanting OM three times, and our opening prayers
· We continued with Guru Stotram, verse 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Then learnt verse 8. Children took turns to say verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
· We revised the Geeta Chanting Verses 39 to 46 from Chapter 2
· We did a recap using word wall game on what we learnt today
Dhruva's Story:
Today's main story was of Dhruva. We refreshed about Manu and Satarupa, their first son was Uttanapada. We continue by reading an online story book of Dhruva. The story in short is that there was a king called Uttanapada. He had two wives, Sunithi and Suruchi. Sunithi had a son called Dhruva, and Suruchi had a son called Uttama. The King was partial towards Suruchi and her son Uttama, and ignored Sunithi and Dhruva. One day, the little boy Dhruva sees Uttama sitting on their father's lap. Dhruva also wants to sit on his lap, but is rudely pushed away by Suruchi, his step mother. Suruchi tells him that Dhruva has to pray to God and be reborn as her son, to have the right to sit on the king's lap. Dhruva's father also does not do anything in fear of gaining the displeasure of Suruchi. Little Dhruva is upset and runs to his mother crying. His mother consoles him and tells him to pray to Lord Vishnu and He will surely bless him. Determined to see the Lord, Dhruva goes to the forest to do penance. Sage Narada, tested him to figure how strong Dhruva was in his resolve. Seeing the boy's resolve, Sage Narada teaches him the Narayana mantra and the way to do tapas. Dhruva does intense tapas for many months. The worlds are heated up with the intensity of his tapas. The Gods go to Lord Vishnu and ask him to bless Dhruva, and save the worlds. Lord Vishnu appears before Dhruva, and blesses him. The Lord tells him that not only will he gain everyone's affection, he will also become a great king, and after his life on earth will become the Dhruva nakshatra or the pole star and shine high up in the sky forever.
We discussed how one can be like Dhruva (meaning "Firm" in sanskrit), and how one can achieve anything with determination and focus.
Activity : The kids took turns to read aloud an online story book of Dhruva. And they stood on one leg for 2 minutes and chanted Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Saint Narayana Das and the Genie:
We discussed the story of a poor, but good pious man, Saint Narayana Das. Saint Narayana Das's village was going through a famine, and he wanted to help. He decu=uded to get input from his Guru (teacher) in the forest. He goes to his guru to ask for help. The teacher shares him a powerful mantra, that he should keep repeating. If we does that, a genie will apperar, and Das can use the genie to fullfill his wishes. Das asks the genie to get food for all the people. The genie does it. Then, Das request that roof of the hut be fixed. That too is done so quickly. Next, the genie wants more job. Das asks the genie to clean the garden. In minutes, the garden is clean with beautiful flowers. The genie wants some work continuously. He cannot be idle. If left idle, he can devour the man himself. Das panics, and runs to his teacher for help. The teacher advises him to erect a bamboo pole in his backyard. If he cannot think of any work to give to the genie, he must order him to keep going up and down the bamboo pole. That way the genie is always busy, and is happy. In comparison, our mind is also like the genie. It has to always be engaged in a meaningful activity. If left idle, it can create unnecessary mischief. An empty mind is a devil's workshop. The mind should then be given the bamboo pole, which is nothing but the name of God. Chanting the God's name can keep the mind focused, and pure.
Monkey's Fast:
Another related story was of a monkey who wants to fast. A monkey decides to fast for one whole day and pray. Thinking he might become weak after that; he collects many bananas and keeps them right next to him. After some time, the monkey becomes hungry and the smell of the bananas makes him hungrier. He is not able to meditate anymore, and decides to eat first and then meditate. He fills up with bananas and soon falls asleep. Our mind is also like the monkey, which keeps changing and jumping here and there. It's important to train the monkey mind, so it calms down and remains stable and focused.
We discussed about how we need to ensure our mind does not:
§ Regret the past (R)
§ Get Over Excited about the future (GOE)
§ Be Anxious of the future (BA)
Recap Word wall game: To recap, students engaged in a word wall game.
Geeta Chanting: @Parents, please help your child practice the following Geeta chanting verses
Ø Verse 39-40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3pRQIaPdPE&list=PLwv-WSJSokEORu2iEsVanXQhQHOoiiQIy&index=18
Ø Verse 41-42: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCA0uDFICAQ&list=PLwv-WSJSokEORu2iEsVanXQhQHOoiiQIy&index=19
Ø Verse 43-44: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ09tsR8asI&list=PLwv-WSJSokEORu2iEsVanXQhQHOoiiQIy&index=20
Ø Verse 45-46: Link is here
Ø Complete playlist of verses is here
We completed the class with the pledge and closing prayers.
With sincere and warm regards,
Vasudha and Aruna
(Chinmaya Vrindavan Bala Vihar Grade 3 Teachers)