Parent Portal 2021-22: Apr 10, 2022

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 22:

10th April 2022 / 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 practiced/reviewed Mahisasura mardhini stotram, each child chanted a verse.

We had a discussion on the Sri rama navami festival, pooja and the mahaprasadam.

India our sacred land -

The Indian Temples:

Temples serve as holy halls of retreat for the masses. Temples serve as a speed breaker for lives- source of inspiration and solace during times of depression and disappointment. Constructing temples is considered as a sacred activity, as any other community service- from ancient times.

Architecture of a temple
Naagara (the north Indian- beehive shaped tower) ;
Dravidian (the south Indian pyramid shaped tower)

5 Distinctive portions of the temple-
1. GarbhagRham 2. The Vimanam 3. Artha Mandapam 4. Prakaaram and 5.Gopuram.
Vimanam attracts holy powers from the cosmos. Gopuram is considered as the gross body of the deity- odd number stories. 3 (awake, dream, deepsleep) 5 (senses, experience of the outer world) 7 (mind+intellect+5 senses) 9 (7+ego+heart)
The garbhagruham (the dark and un-decorated walls) the sanctum reflects the womb house.
We watched "Why should I go to a temple" An eye opening video by our Gurudev
Why should i go to a temple? - Swami Chinmayananda - YouTube

Why do we go to the temple?

The Idol- Saguna Bramhan--helps us focus on the form and creates the awareness of God's presence. Temple visit purifies and calms the mind and fulfills the spiritual needs of a person. A temple visit kindles our senses. Hearing the bell sound, Seeing the Lord in the light of karpoora neerajanam, the smell of agarbathis and flowers, the touch of the deepam and the taste of theertham and prasadam.

Indian classical Music. Indian music is called Sangitam and includes singing, playing of instruments. Indian music is melodic in nature
Sruti is a pitch in which a musician chooses to sing or play an instrument.
Sruti- Maata (mother) : Laya- Pitaa (father) *Structure of Melody is Raagam : Made of a specific set of notes in an octave, ascending or descending.

Raaga is a melodic scheme that expresses emotions and mood. Each Raga is made of a specific set of notes in an octave (at least five) in an ascending and descending arrangement (scale).

*Structure of rhythm is Thalam (Cycle of beats maintaining the rhythm of the song) (Variation on structures chosen appropriately) Thalam is a cycle of beats that maintains the rhythm for the song. Unlike the raagam (which are in the thousands), there are only a few structures of the thalams.

Symbolism of swaras "ornamentation of silence is swara pattern" says our Beloved Gurudev

Sapta swaras have bird and animal sounds

Sa-Aadhara swaram 1 saguna Brahman (Lord identical with His own Infinite Jnana) Shadjam - peacock Ri- Rishis/ sages (Brahmaji revealed the concept of music to Rishis) Rishabum - Ox Ga- Gandharvas- (celestial beings from the Heavens who were given the job of singing,dancing and entertaining) Gandharam - Goat
Ma- Mahipalas (the kings who patronized) Madhyamam - Krouncha bird (crane) Pa- Aadhara swaram 2 Praja (music reached praja/ the people) Panchamum - cuckooDha- Dharma (to lead a righteous way of life) Dhaivatam - HorseNi- Nirguna brahman (dharma to paramatma) Nishadum - Elephant
Sa to Sa- Jeeva comes from God and goes back to God.

Music and types. Classical- Nothing in written format, preserved by oral tradition, Guru sishya parampa. North India- Hindustani- secular music. South- Carnatic- devotional. Light songs are film music.
Folk- Rural music, story telling, culture following- communication methodology.

The Music instruments of India:

There are varied types of string, wind, and percussion instruments that are performed as accompaniments or solo in Indian music. Traditionally, some of them are unique to certain regions. For example, Ghatam, Veenai, Nadaswaram, and Mridangam are typically South Indian, while Santura (shatha tantri or the 6 strings based), Sitara, Shehnai, and Tabala are North Indian.
We saw a video on the basic introduction of theory of the Indian classical music Introductory episode: Basic theory of Indian Classical Music - YouTube

We concluded the session with Arathi and Pledge.
Our next class is on April 24th 2022.
Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions. Hari OM
Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer

Parent Portal 2021-22

Please select your child's session and grade
from the list on the right side for the latest updates

Apr 10, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

The Indian Temples:

Temples serve as holy halls of retreat for the masses. Temples serve as a speed breaker for lives- source of inspiration and solace during times of depression and disappointment. Constructing temples is considered as a sacred activity, as any other community service- from ancient times.

Why do we go to the temple?

Raaga is a melodic scheme that expresses emotions and mood. Each Raga is made of a specific set of notes in an octave (at least five) in an ascending and descending arrangement (scale).

*Structure of rhythm is Thalam (Cycle of beats maintaining the rhythm of the song) (Variation on structures chosen appropriately) Thalam is a cycle of beats that maintains the rhythm for the song. Unlike the raagam (which are in the thousands), there are only a few structures of the thalams.

Symbolism of swaras "ornamentation of silence is swara pattern" says our Beloved Gurudev

Sapta swaras have bird and animal sounds

Music and types. Classical- Nothing in written format, preserved by oral tradition, Guru sishya parampa. North India- Hindustani- secular music. South- Carnatic- devotional. Light songs are film music.
Folk- Rural music, story telling, culture following- communication methodology.

The Music instruments of India:

Please select your child's session and grade from the list on the right side for the latest updates

Apr 10, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

The Indian Temples:

Temples serve as holy halls of retreat for the masses. Temples serve as a speed breaker for lives- source of inspiration and solace during times of depression and disappointment. Constructing temples is considered as a sacred activity, as any other community service- from ancient times.

Why do we go to the temple?

Raaga is a melodic scheme that expresses emotions and mood. Each Raga is made of a specific set of notes in an octave (at least five) in an ascending and descending arrangement (scale).

*Structure of rhythm is Thalam (Cycle of beats maintaining the rhythm of the song) (Variation on structures chosen appropriately) Thalam is a cycle of beats that maintains the rhythm for the song. Unlike the raagam (which are in the thousands), there are only a few structures of the thalams.

Symbolism of swaras "ornamentation of silence is swara pattern" says our Beloved Gurudev

Sapta swaras have bird and animal sounds

Music and types. Classical- Nothing in written format, preserved by oral tradition, Guru sishya parampa. North India- Hindustani- secular music. South- Carnatic- devotional. Light songs are film music.Folk- Rural music, story telling, culture following- communication methodology.

The Music instruments of India:

Please select your child's session and grade
from the list on the right side for the latest updates

Music and types. Classical- Nothing in written format, preserved by oral tradition, Guru sishya parampa. North India- Hindustani- secular music. South- Carnatic- devotional. Light songs are film music.
Folk- Rural music, story telling, culture following- communication methodology.