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)
Today's lesson : Krishna Everywhere
Trees Are Noble:
We began today's story by describing the beauty of Vrindavana and how the seasons changed there. The cycle of summer into the rainy season to autumn to winter to summer again. On one scorching summer morning, Krishna, the gopas and the calves had wandered off into the forest like they usually do. The heat of the sun was almost unbearable and they all took shelter under the shade of trees. Lord Krishna took this as a teaching moment and as everyone had gathered under the cool trees, He went on to say that the trees were truly noble, for they live for others. They beard the seasonal tortures of the wind, rain, sun and frost and yet protect others from these elements. They offer all that they have for others...their leaves, flowers, fruits, shade, roots, bark and fragrance. We then had a quick discussion about nobility. The points we pondered were about the fact that trees can't even move, yet they do so much for all. Trees do not consider anyone special and do not have favorites. They give their all to all, and don't choose or have preferences of whom they will help! If trees can do so much without even moving, imagine all the things we can do to help others. The kids actively participated!
Do Unto Others Club:
One day there was a severe blizzard and a car was stuck. The driver was unable to dig his car out and the engine wouldn't start. Out of nowhere, a hefty man came over, dug the car out and helped get the driver back on the road. When the driver offered to pay for his help, the heft man smiled and said, "No thanks. I belong to the "Do unto club." The driver had no clue what that meant. Then the helper said, "Well, you just help someone when in need. That is the payment for this! Do unto others as you have them done to you. Let us all be members of this club and be a darling of Krishna. This was sort of an apt story for the snow dump that we just received. It was nice to hear that some of our kids did go around and help neighbors shovel their driveways yesterday!
The Devotion Of The Brahmin Women:
After hearing Krishna's stories, the gopas and calves had wandered around and played in the river and were exhausted and starving. The gopas had gotten used to asking Krishna for everything. So they approached Him and Balarama saying that they were hungry. Krishna smiled and said that there is a yagna being performed by some Brahmins, they will definitely have food there, and that they should go and request to be fed. The gopas immediately went with folded palms and asked the Brahmins for food in the name of Krishna and Balarama. But they were ignored! Unhappy and having failed at their task, the gopas went back to Krishna. Lord Krishna smiled and told them to go back and make the same request to the brahmins' wives. They did so and got a royal welcome! The wives immediately packed up everything they had prepared for the yagna and ran to feed Krishna and Balrama. They were mesmerized by Krishna and fed them all lovingly with their hands. He then requested them to go back to their husbands to complete the yagna. They were hesitant to leave as their love for Krishna was so strong and they also feared for their husbands' disapproval. But Lord Krishna convinced them to go back with His blessings. The brahmins understood what happened and regretted that incident forever.
King Sibi:
King Sibi was known for his kindness and service. One day a pigeon flew into his court and asked the king for protection. He immediately granted it. Right after that, an eagle flew in and asked to eat the pigeon for his meal. The king denied it and offered a piece of himself instead. The eagle agreed. They brought a scale into the court and put the pigeon on one side and the king cut a piece of flesh off his leg and put it on the scale, the pigeon was still lighter, the king kept adding more and more and finally he sat on the scale saying that the eagle can eat all of him to protect the pigeon! The Fire God had taken the pigeon and Indra the form of the eagle to test the king and his nature to serve all beings.
Today's Lesson : 24 Teachers
We had a brief recap of the fifteen teachers that we have talked about so far. As in every class, we began with a riddle.
You may think I am a thief.
I loot hard earned savings of busy workaholics.
Not only that, I drive them out of their homes.
But, in the end, people enjoy the sweet rewards, my loot.
Who Am I?
This was a tricky one, we had a ton of responses but it took a while to get on the right track.
Riches amassed with great pains by misers are neither enjoyed by them nor gifted away; they are enjoyed by others, who like the beekeeper discovers the hoard and appropriates it.
Bees collect honey with great trouble, but beekeepers take away honey depriving the bees.
Similarly people hoard wealth and other things with great difficulty, but they have to leave them all when they depart this world for others to enjoy.
Learn to enjoy what you have now!
Honey bees teach us not to hoard.
Honey-gatherers teach us to judiciously enjoy what we have saved.
Miserliness only leads to misery.
King Alexander waged war against countries and looted people.
He was powerful, greedy, selfish and cruel.
He was considered the richest man on earth!
When death was nearing, he reflected upon his actions: "I have committed so many evil deeds to collect this wealth. When I die, I will be leaving everything behind and going alone without taking a single coin."
He told his ministers: "When my body is taken to the grave, you have to see that my two hands are stretched out with palms open, and fully exposed, while the rest of the body is covered, so that my subjects may see that I, a great king, the richest man in the world, went on my final journey, "empty-handed," as I could not take anything with me."
The Miser
A miser had a lump of gold & had buried it in the ground and came to check on it every day.
One day he found the gold missing and stolen. He began to pull his hair and scream loudly.
A neighbor saw him and said, "Pray, and do not grieve. Bury a stone in the same hole and believe it is the gold. It will serve you just as well, for when the gold was there, you made no use of it."
The Greedy Barber
Once there was a barber who was employed by a king. He was skilled and sincere.
His house was on the other side of the forest adjoining the palace.
One day as the barber was walking home, he was thinking about his good fortune of having this loving king as his employer.
Suddenly he heard a voice from nowhere, "O barber, do you want a lot of wealth, gold, and diamonds?"
The barber ran scared, but kept hearing the same voice and finally said, "YES!"
The barber opened his door panting and see's 7 containers. He is speechless!
He inspects them all, his wife walked in from the kitchen and had no clue how they all got in their house.
Everything was real! They were thrilled, but were confused that there was one empty pot that was partially full. They concluded that him running home too fast, prevented the secret voice from filling the 7th container.
They decided to sell everything they had to fill the partially full pot! He kept blaming himself for coming home too soon.
The barber and his wife began having only 1 small meal a day and were starving as they kept trying to fill the 7th container with gold and jewels.
For the first time in his career, he asked the king for a raise in salary! The king was surprised. He knew that the barber didn't have children and the king was paying him more than enough to make ends meet!
Not knowing the real reason for the barber's appearance or request, he obliged and doubled his salary!
Even with the extra money, they were still unable to fill the pot and were very unhappy!
Six months later, the barber still had no peace, was weaker and couldn't fill the pot and decided to go to the king for another raise! The stunned king asked the barber what was really going on. Then the barber confessed. The truth of what the king said made the barber realize how he had lost sleep, quietude, contentment and joy in the last six months and how he and his wife would have died of broken hearts.
On his way back home that day, the barber shouted loudly that he did not need the Yaksha's riches anymore and that he could take back his seven containers. They all had disappeared when he got home! He and his wife did not grieve. They had regained their mental peace.His Greed Vanished And So Did His Worries!
We had a shorter class today, and joined the main assembly to watch the amazing performance by the 8th graders, and concluded the assembly with the pledge.
Please have the kids practice the Krishnashtakam. We will be having our 4th grade performance on Sunday April 24th. More details to follow.
Neelima & Keerthi