Hari Om! Parents
Week 18 Bala Vihar class started with children writing 11 times likhita japa, 'Om Gam Ganapataye Namah'.
Shlokas
Om chanting, Sahana vavatu (pg 8, My Prayers Book). The children took turns to chant all the verses of Sri Ganesha Stavah (pg 28, My Prayers book) and the Sri Ganesha Pancharatnam (pg 30, My Prayers book). Both these MP3 audios were shared with you in the Parents WhatApp Group. Please use it so your child can practice correct pronunciation of the shlokas.
Bhagavad Gita
We are learning part two of the Gita Chapter 2 this year from our Swamiji. Grade 5 is the Partha Group and the assigned verses are 39-63 (Bala Vihar Handbook). We have now covered all of Verse 39 - 63 (pg 22&23, Bala Vihar Handbook). The children are taking turns to review the Gita chanting in every class. Your child must use this YouTube Gita Playlist to practice pronunciation of the Gita correctly.
Reminder: CNJ Gita Chanting Regionals registration is now open, it will be held on April 2, 2022. Please register your child soon.
Activity
Reminder for Grade 5 Annadanam Seva on March 19th. Please see the link below for the items that can be donated. Scroll down the SignUpGenius list, sign up for the items you would like to contribute, and then hit submit at the bottom. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044fa4a72aa1fa7-balavihar1 Please drop off the items at the ashram,on the specified tables marked on Saturday, March 19, by 12:30 PM @ Chinmaya Vrindavan, 95 Cranbury Neck Road, Cranbury, NJ. A suggested donation of $15 or more can be sent by Venmo to the Ashram account @chinmaya-Vrindavan, please mention 'Soup kitchen' in the comments.
Mahabharata
After a quick review of the prasangas from last class, we continued with the Vana Parva. After five years away, Arjuna returns to Badarikashrama. The rest of the Pandavas and Draupadi welcome him. Arjuna narrates all his adventures to them and tells them of the story of the asuras Nivatakavachas. They had lived in a city that belonged to Indra which was in the middle of the ocean. Arjuna fought them and defeated them with the Vajra astra. He also defeated the Kalakeyas using the Pasupata and took back their floating city, Hiranya Puri. His brothers praised his bravery and told him how proud they were of all his accomplishments. Arjuna told Yudhistira of Urvashi's curse. Soon Indra also visits them and gives his blessings. He gifts Arjuna an impregnable armour and asks Yudhistira to go to Kamyaka for the last few years of exile.
On their way back, the Pandavas stop at Vrishaparva ashrama. One day a huge python grabs Bhimasena in the forest and starts squeezing the life out of him. The mighty Bhima tries to fight but feels his strength going away. Yudhistira comes searching for his brother and finds Bhima in the clutches of the python. The python introduces himself as the cursed celestial being, Nahusha. Nahusha had disrespected sage Agastya and was on earth as a python. He tells Yudhistira that if he answers questions on ethics, then the curse would break. Yudhistira agrees and with great humility answers several questions on Dharma correctly. The curse is broken, Nahusha releases Bhimasena and leaves.
The Pandavas spend two more years in Dwaitavana, when Lord Krishna and queen Satyabhama visit them. Since only three years of exile were left, Lord Krishna asks Yudhistira if he would now battle the Kauravas. Once again Yudhistira politely refuses and the Lord leaves Dwaitavana. Meanwhile in Hastinapura, Durydhana is agitated at the thought that the Pandavas would return in less than three years. The evil four, Duryodhana, Dussasana, Sakuni and Radheya plan to do something to hurt the Pandavas. By flaunting their wealth and power, the Kauravas wanted to humiliate the Pandavas and show them how powerful they are.They get permission to go to Dwaitavana on the pretext of inspecting cattle. With a large army, pomp and ceremony they set up camp near a lake in Dwaitavana so the Pandavs could see them. Duryodhana goes for a swim in the lake. A Gandharva stops him, says since the lake belongs to him and forbids Duryodhana to enter. The vain Duryodhana gets angry and orders his guards to attack. Soon a huge battle breaks out between the Kauravas and the Gandharva army. Radheya is badly defeated, runs away to save his life and Duryodhana is taken prisoner.
The news reaches the Pandavas and they all go to rescue Duryodhana. They prepare to fight, but Arjuna recognises his Gandharva friend, Chitrasena. When Indra heard of the Kauravas' intentions to humiliate the Pandavas, he sent Chitrasena to capture Duryodhana and teach him a lesson. Chitrasena tells the Pandavas about this. Yudhistira asks Chitrasena to release Duryodhana and he agrees. Duryodhana is ashamed when he sees the Pandavas are there to rescue him. We discussed Yudhistira's advice to Duryodhana - "Spite never brings happiness, give it up". Duryodhana is very angry at this and quickly goes back to his camp. Radheya joins him and tries to console his friend. Burning with anger and humiliation, Duryodhana decides to take his life. Dussasana begs him to reconsider and to not abandon him. Radheya and Sakuni also try to tell Duryodana to forget the incident as a trivial matter. However, Duryodana dismisses them all and says that after this incident his life is not worth living anymore. He does not sleep, but sits on kusa grass to meditate all night. We paused the story here.
India, the Sacred Land
Going forward we are asking the students to share stories of saints with their classmates. They can narrate, dress up, make a slide or find creative ways to share interesting stories of saints they know. Please sign up your child with the link posted in the WhatsApp group. The children were asked to keep a journal about how they used the saint's values in their everyday life, and then share it in class.
Class ended with aarti, shanti mantra and pledge recitation.
- Rashmi Kuroodi and Shanthi Chidambaram
Materials needed for every class: notebook & pen for the likhita japa, My Prayers book for the shlokas, Bala Vihar Handbook for the Gita Chanting, aarti and pledge recitation.