Visit regularly for the latest updates each week.

Children are not vessels to be filled but lamps to be lit.
- Swami Chinmayananda
_________________________________________________

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




Showing posts with label Gr 6 - Sunday AM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gr 6 - Sunday AM. Show all posts

June 12, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 29

12th June 2022 / 9:15AM


After a gap of two years, we had an in person annual day at Chinmaya Vrindavan, our ashram. Our class showcased the presentation post lunch session and it was applauded by all- Good job children! Earlier in the day, we had a few other grade presentations and the very inspiring the outgoing senior's graduation speech. It was a long day, spent beautifully meeting everyone after a long break. With this event, we officially finish the balavihar year and are ready to enjoy summer.

See you all in the fall for in person Balavihar year 2022-2023

This is the link to register.

https://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/balavihar/registration


Thank you. Hari OM

Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer

By at
Labels:

June 5, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 28

5th June 2022 / 9:15AM

Opening Prayers and Stotrams:

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 mahishasura mardini stotram, mahalakshmi ashtakam and amba parameswari bhajan.

Being our last zoom session this year, the children discussed what all they learned this year from mahabharata and India, the sacred land, stotram and Gita. All children shared their best takeaway on the shared screen of the whiteboard.

We concluded this Balavihar year's classes. Next week on June 12th, there is annual day and our class is presenting a show live at the ashram. With the annual day presentations, officially we finish this Balavihar year and go into summer break. We will resume classes in the Fall.

See you all at the Ashram on 6/12. Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions.

Hari OM Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer
By at
Labels:

May 22, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 27:

22nd May 2022 / 9:15AM

Opening Prayers and Stotrams:

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 mahalakshmi ashtakam and amba parameswari bhajan

Today we completed India, the sacred land with the concluding topics given below. We watched a couple of videos related to the topics. (links are given below)

The Holy cities of India
A List of Holy Pilgrimage Sites in Hinduism, which bless the Pilgrims with Moksha (Liberation from Cycle of Birth and Death).
1.Varanasi (Spiritual capital of India)
2.Prayag (The Triveni sangamam)
3.Haridwar/Haradwar (The entry point of the Dham Yatra)
4.Rishikesh/Hrishikesh (The yoga capital of the world)
5.Mathura (Lord Krsna janma sthalam)
6.Vrindavana (The Lords' growing up sthalam)
7.Ayodhya (SriRama Janma bhoomi)
8.Ujjain (Sakthi peetham)
9.Dwaraka (Lord Krsna's kingdom)
10.Kanchipuram (The temple city, Nagareshu Kanchi says Mahakavi Kalidasa)

 Spiritual exploration experience.
1. Konark temple
2. Khajuraho
3. Golden temple
4. Bahai - lotus temple
5. Bodhgaya
6. Mahabalipuram

 Historic (Monuments) Exploration experience.
1. Taj mahal
2. Red Fort
3. Qtub Minar
4. Mysore Palace
5. Hawa Mahal
6. Ajanta/ellora

 Scenic exploration experience. (understanding the varied landscapes)
1. Srinagar, Kashmir
2. Backwaters of Alappuzha
3. Munnar
4. Jaisalmer
5. Dilwara, Mt.Abu
6. Girnar Mountains

We played an interesting kahoot game related to some important cities and towns of India. We discussed costumes and accessories, background and props for our upcoming play on the annual day, 6/12

We concluded the event with the Aarathi and pledge.

Our next class is  on June 5th 2022. It's a zoom session Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions. Hari OM Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer

By at
Labels:

May 15, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 26:

15th May 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 mahishasura mardini stotram.

We practiced for our upcoming presentation on the annual day. We want all students to memorize their lines and talk with expressions.

Our lesson - India, the sacred land

We saw the char dham yatra, chote char dham by adi shankaracharya and 12 jyotirlingas. We watched videos of the same as well (links below each category, given)

Char dham yatra
Yamunotri is the source of the Yamuna river. This is famous for thermal springs, glaciers and scenic locales. It is believed that a holy dip here in the river relieves from any painful death. The pilgrims cook rice and boil potatoes for prasad from the hot springs.this temple is dedicated to the River Yamuna (Hindu Goddess,Daughter of Sun God).It is situated in Garhwal Region of Uttarakhand State.

Gangotri The temple is devoted to Goddess Ganges (Most sacred river in India). Gangotri town located at the banks of river Bhagirathi is the origin of river Ganga. Birthplace of Ganga is devprayag, where the Bhagirathi meets Alaknanda. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Ganga took the form of a river to wash away the sins of King Bhagiratha's predecessors, following his severe penance of several centuries.

Kedarnath-  This temple is devoted to God Shiva in the form of Kedarnath (Lord of Kedar). This is one of the 12 main Jyotirlinga in India.  -The Abode of lord Shiva at the banks of the mandakini river.  The Pandava brothers came here to meet Shiva because they wanted to seek forgiveness for killing their kin during the war.  Lord Shiva  turned into a bull and dived into the earth. The Pandavas worship the hump formed because of the dive as the Lingam. Nara and Narayana rishis did penance and got to have the divine darsan of Lord Siva. Adi Sankaracharya is worshipped here.

Badrinath-  This temple is dedicated to God Vishnu in the form of Badrinath (Lord of Badri). This is located Near the banks of Alaknanda river. Lord Vishnu meditated near badri bushes and lakshmi took the form of the badri, stood next to him sheltering him from scorching sunlight. This temple is closed for 6 months in winter and cold weather. Adi Sankaracharya built a temple here for Lord Narayana.

https://youtu.be/KJff9q2PdBM
(Char dham yatra)


The Chota Chardham yatra
The four Shankaracharya Peeth (Seats) at the Chaar Dham school of Hinduism, created at least four Hindu monastic institutions. He organized the Hindu practitioners under four Maths (institutions/monasteries), with the headquarters at Dwaraka in the West, Puri Jagannatha temple in the East, Sringeri Saradhambal in the South and Badarikashrama in the North.

Badrinath i.e. the Lord of Berry forest. This all happened in the Sathya/Sath-Yugam. So Badrinath came to be known as the first chota Dham.

The second place, Rameswaram when Lord Rama (Treta Yugam) built a Shiva-Lingam here and worshiped it to get the blessings of Lord Shiva

The third Dham Dwarka  when Lord Krishna (Dwapara yugam) made Dwarka His residence instead of Mathura, His birthplace

The fourth one i. e. Puri Dhaam has got its own significance. Lord Vishnu gets worshipped here as Jagannath.

 https://youtu.be/PMDZkFGoIqQ

 (Facts about chota char dham)


The 12 Jyotirlingas
Jyoti is Agni. Siva Puranam says Lingam is a form of Shiva, the pillar of light on earth. There are 12 such bright Jyotirlingas all are self ascended, swayambhu, signifying the Lord chose to take a form (lingam) at that particular spot.

1.Somnath - Gujarat
2.Mallikarjuna - Andhra Pradesh
3.Mahakaleswarar - Madhya Pradesh
4.Omkareswarar- Madhya Pradesh (Adi sankaracharyal met his Guru Ji Govinda Bhagavatpadar here)
5.Vaidyanath- Jharkhand
6.Nageswarar - Gujarat
7.Kedareswarar- Uttarakhand
8.Triambakeswarar-Maharashtra
9.Rameswarar- Tamilnadu
10. Bhimasankar- Maharashtra
11.Viswanathar- Uttar Pradesh
12. Grsneswarar- Maharashtra

We concluded the event with the Aarathi and pledge.

Our next class is  on May 22nd 2022. It's a zoom session Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions. Hari OM Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer



By at
Labels:

May 8, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 25:

8th May 2022 / 9:15AM


It took 25 weeks to see most of our students in person today! Being Gurudev Jayanthi, we had an in person all AM session- assembled paduka pooja in our ashram. That was a beautiful event. The children also did a lovely House activity of writing a nAma from the Chinmaya-aShTottarashata- nAmAvali on cut paper flowers which were then all combined in garlands for the portraits presences of Gurudev and Swami Tapovan Maharaj. 

Followed by the third and the fifth graders' performance live on stage. We had all these in the esteemed presence of our dear Swamiji and Swamini amma.

We concluded the event with the pledge.

Our next class is  on May 15th 2022. It's a zoom session Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions. Hari OM Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer



By at
Labels:

May 1, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 24:

1st May 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 Mahalakshmi Ashtakam stotram and amba parameswari, each child chanted a verse.

We had a discussion on the annual day, our presentation.

We learned about shodashopachara pooja steps. We watched the paduka puja vidhi (link given below) and learned about the steps.

Shri_Guru_Paduka_Puja_Vidhi_final.pdf (chinmayamadhuvan.org)

Sodasopachara pooja--16 steps of Puja

1. Dhyanam (prayer)- Dhyanam is reciting a short prayer specific to god that one worships and engages our mind into the lotus feet of that God
2. Avahana (invocation)-Inviting the worshiped God/Goddess to come to the place of worship  by chanting the Vedic verse,as though you are inviting a lovable guest.
3. Aaasana (offering seating)-Offering the worshiped God a seat
.4. Paadya (washing of feet)-Wash the feet of God by pouring water at His feet.
5. Arghya (washing of hands)-Water is offered to the deity to wash hands.
6. Aachamana (Offering water to drink)-Water is offered to drink with the chanting of the relevant vedic mantra.
7. Snana (bathing with water or panchamrutham)-Sprinkle water on God as if giving Him a bath. In a detailed pooja, bathe God with panchamrutham (Milk, Yoghurt, Ghee, Honey, Sugar, Coconut Water, Fruit Juice, Sandal Powder, Turmeric one at a time). This is followed by a bath with fresh water.
8. Vastra (new clothes), Abharana-Offer new clothes, Jewellery. Imagine that you adore the Lord with the ornaments of your love and other good qualities.
9. Yajnopavita (sacred thread)-Offer Yagnopaveetham(sacred thread/flower/akshathai).
10. Gandha (sandal paste)-Place sandalwood paste on the forehead of God.
11. PushpaArchana (flowers)-Glorify God by reciting His 108 names, and offer one flower or a petal at a time.
12. Dhoopam (incense)-Show incense to God. 
13. Deepam (Oil lamp)-Show oil lamp to God. It is not expected to make your guest sit in the dark.
14. Naivedyam (offering of specially prepared food).-Offer specially prepared food to God. This food must be prepared in a satvik manner without tasting or smelling it.We offer hot food and the steam is smelt by the lord before it comes back to us as Prasad.
15. Tamboolam (offering Betel Leaves and Betel nuts)-Betel leaves and  nuts are offered to God after the Naivedhyam. After delicious food, it is the practice to offer betel leaves for proper digestion.
16. Neerajanam and Atma Pradakshinam-Camphor lamps are shown to God. After every puja, aarati is offered to the deity. This is an important and auspicious occasion when the Lord himself has come home, so we show him our utmost devotion.
We concluded the session with aarathi and pledge.
Our next class is  on May 8th 2022. It's an in person session and there will be a Guru paduka pooja live event owing to Gurudev jayanthi.

Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions.

Hari OM

Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer

By at
Labels:

Apr 24, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,
Here is this week's update.

Week 23:

24th 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 quick discussion on our class presentation on the annual day.


Temples of 5 elements- The pancha bootha sthalams
The 5 elements make up the whole cosmos or the Lord's expressions. We worship the elements as the Lord is all pervading.
1. Formless space at Chidambaram/ Thillaisthanam/Thillai Vanam is the worship of space as a supreme being. He is in the Ananda Tandava posture, (The dance of the delight) with the raised left foot and shows the abhaya hasta on the right palm. He's dancing in the Golden hall of consciousness ,The ponnambalam or the chitsabha or the kanakasabhai. The formless form is the Chidambara rahasyam (chit- consciousness, amber-space and rahasyam the secret)The temple opens for the darisanam -a garland is found hanging in space. The temple lingam is Akasa Lingam- Chidambaram Natarajar is the name of the Lord  and Sivagamasundari ammai is parvathi. Vyaghrapada, Aanantha, Nagaseri, Brahmma, Sivaganga are some of the main sacred ponds. This temple is located at the lotus heart of the universe – Virat hridaya padma sthalam and is the fifth largest temple in India. Sivarathri festival is celebrated with much pomp and show with offering of various classical dance forms to the Lord. From all over the world dancers assemble to offer the art form. This also acts as a cultural role of the temple.

2. A flickering lamp in the Kalahasthi  shows the play of Wind/Vayu/Pavan- emphasizing the worship of Lord as AIR. The movement of air inside the sanctum sanctorum never puts off the deepajyothi /lamp near the lingam- you might see the flicker as if blown by moving air. Vayu lingam is a self manifested lingam, Kalahasteeswara lingam. Gnana prasunambigai ammai is the mother parvati called here. Surya-chandra pushkarini is the sacred theertham. This temple is called the Dakshina kailasam, the kailasa of the south. It is said that the priests never touch the Vayu Lingam of the Kalahasteeswara temple with their hands.

3. Shiva is worshiped as Arunachalesvara or Annamalaiyar, in the form of agni lingam The lamp at Thiruvannamalai is worshipped as fire (Agni) lingam. The lord takes the fire form which has no beginning or end. The entire mountain is believed that the Lord is within  and shows darsan at the time of karthigai festival in the form of annamalai deepam. Arunachaleswara lingam and mother Parvathi is Unnamulai Ammai. 
Pilgrims circumnavigate the temple base and the Arunachala hills in a worship called  Girivalam, a practice carried out by many devotees yearly. This is a 14-km long walk. The legend is that this walk washes away sins, fulfils desires, and gives one freedom from the cycle of birth and death. "Magizham tree"  is the sthala vriksha and Sivaganga is the sthala theertham. This is the largest temple in the world dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva and the eighth largest temple in India.

4. The water spring in the innermost sanctum of the Thiruvanaikkavil temple near Trichy is the worship of water as the lord. The lingam is called Appu lingam. Underneath the lingam , all the time water keeps flowing and is also trickling over the lingam. 
The name of the Lord  is  Jalagandeeswarar/Jambukeswarar -Agilandeswari is the name of mother parvati. The "Sthala Vriksham '' is "White Jambuka or rose apple. The Holy Pond, Theertham is the Nava Theertham. The daily afternoon pooja is very famous in this temple, the priest dresses up in a saree, representing Goddess Parvathi, and performs Abhishekam on the Appu Lingam.

5. The swayambhu lingam in the sand of Kanchipuram signifies the deity's association with the earth, 'Bhoomi' / "Prithvilingam". The temple has a huge rajagopuram and a huge outer prakaram. Lingam made of sand by matha parvathy. It was the godesses Kamatchi or Elavar Kuzhali
 that stopped the water flow from engulfing the lingam. This lingam has no abhisegum. The "Sthala Vriksham" is a mango tree that is more than 3500 years old under which Kamakshi worshipped the Shiva Lingam and is still present here. This is one of the significant landmarks of the temple. The Holy pond names - Sivagangai, Kambai, Mangala, Sarva (Theertham). This temple is the tenth largest temple in India.
We watched the following video
Murthi Sthapana & Prana Pratishtha

The installation of religious idols and the following important poojas to be performed.

Ganesa pooja
Navagraha pooja
Kumbhabhishekam (Gopura darisanam)
Kalasa pooja
Dravya pooja
Atma Pooja
We watched the following video, our ashram murthi sthapana, prana prathishta and kalasa pooja.

We concluded the session with Santhi path before joining the assembly zoom link for the fourth grader's presentation.

Our next class is  on May 1st 2022.

Please feel free to reach out in case you have any questions. Hari OM

Abhirami Shrinivas and Vidhya Aiyer



By at
Labels:

Apr 10, 2022 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)

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 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

By at
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)