Hari Om Parents,
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)
We learned the 5th & 6th verses of The Govinda Damodara Stotram. The pdf of the shlokas has been shared with you. Please print out & share with the kids so they can practice at home.
As the kids entered the zoom session, they were super excited that their show was gonna be presented at the assembly today.
Today's lesson :
Prior to beginning today's Krishna story, we did a brief quiz-like recap of our story so far.
Narada and Kamsa
We began the story by asking the kids if they remembered all the demons that tried to harm Krishna. The kids took turns and came up with most of them. Then they were asked who sent the demons, they all knew that it was Kamsa. An image of Sage Narada was shown on the screen. The kids were asked if they knew who he was. Several nodded their heads, but Shree was able to narrate the story of Narada that she was able to recall from 3rd grade! With that being said, we went into today's story.
Sage Narada delivers the news that Kamsa has been tricked!
He announces that Devaki's eighth son still lives in the house of Nanda in Vrindavana.
The female child that flew away was Yashoda's baby that was switched when Krishna was born.
Krishna and Balarama are brothers.
They have been destroying all the asuras sent by Kamsa.
The kids questioned why Narada had to come and reveal the truth about Krishna and Balarama! We then explained that Kamsa's story is nearing its end, so Narada was just being a messenger to give him sort of a heads up! Then we continued on. Kamsa is terribly irritated and angered by the news! Kamsa wanted to immediately kill Vasudeva.
Narada stopped him and said that Vasudeva is innocent.
Kamsa threw his sister Devaki and her husband into the darkest dungeon.
Kamasa informed his ministers of what Narada said.
He decided to invite the brothers to his court for a wrestling match.
He places Kuvalayaapeeda at the entrance to try to finish them off before they even enter.
Kamsa invites the brothers to the Dhanuryajna and to see the city's sights.
He told Akrura to entice them and get them to Mathura in any way possible.
He thinks his elephant will finish the job.
If Kuvalayaapeeda is not successful, the wrestlers will finish the job.
Then he will have Vasudeva, his dad Ugrasena, his brother Devaka and all the Yadavas killed.
He will keep only asuras and will rule the world.
The wise Akrura softly replied, "Your plan is indeed detailed Kamsa. But one must keep a balanced mind in success and in failure. Many times lofty plans frustrate us because of unforeseen obstacles, causing us as much grief as their success would have caused us joy. Nevertheless, I will carry out your bidding"
Akrura goes to Vrindavana
Akrura is very pleased and overjoyed that he will finally be able to see the lotus-feet of the Lord. He fell at Krishna's feet with tears rolling down his cheeks. Nanda greeted Akrura and they all shared a meal together. Akrura revealed Kamsa's evil plan to the brothers and dad.
Krishna and Balarama laughed heartily.
Akrura, Krishna & Balarama were set to depart for Mathura early the following morning. Nanda prepared carriages and presents for the trip to Mathura. Nanda, some elders and some gopas joined them.The gopis weren't included but figured out what was going on. They were all beyond devastated to see their Lord depart. Yashoda was inconsolable. Krishna said, "The world will always know that My Mother is, and always will be, My Yashoda maiya."
We paused our story here. We all joined the main assembly to share our presentation with everyone. Swamiji complimented the kids on a job well done. Kudos to the kiddos. They put in a lot of effort making their slides and presenting them. Thank you to the parents for all your support.
We concluded the assembly with the Chinmaya Mission Pledge.
Pranaam,
Neelima & Keerthi