Apr 24, 2022 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9^th Graders,

Hope all are doing well. After Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanthi celebrations looks like there is a bit of a break until we get to Ganesh Chathurthi sometime in August. It's been so great to celebrate these festivals in person at the Ashram if you are able to attend. The aura and vibes are totally different. As we come to the tail end of our academic year, we trying to wrap up any unfinished topics between now and the last class. Last Sunday we spoke about Hanumanji , who our kids are learning from Kindergarten. From an active playful cute monkey to a responsible, empathetic, and devoted friend Hanumanji exemplifies strength, power, and dedication. From childhood stories to Karmic fables, we explained how it is important to have true devotion and complete surrender. We also  explained the meaning of the hanuman shloka Buddhir Balam.

As a devotee, Hanuman represents the mental body, which is made up of the thought currents that float in our chitta or consciousness. It is responsible for our imagination, astral travel, and dream experiences. The intelligence body is made up of buddhi or discretionary intelligence, which is considered one of the highest tattvas or principles of Nature. Our buddhi is said to be a direct reflection of divine intelligence. It is responsible for our decision-making ability, rational thinking, and conscience. This was a great segway into the topic of What is BODY? What is MIND? What is INTELLIGENCE. Here ,we started with Vasanas topic and explained what it meant? , Why do we have Vasanas? How do you identify it and try to sublimate the same. Going through simple examples we walked them through vasana eruptions, imprints, and sublimation. From Vasanas we logically introduced to them the famous BMI chart that Gurudev used to explain Vedanta. 

This BMI will be the foundation of Chinmaya Mission Vendantic study and from next year your children will be slowly starting to learn Bhagvadgita so it's important this abstract concept is registered. Please ensure your children are not missing their classes. We will be continuing with BMI in the next class as well. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Unto his feet with our hearts,

Your 9^th grade teachers

Apr 3, 2022 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9^th Graders,

Hope all is well as we are headed towards celebrating this beautiful spring season. This past Sunday your children have learnt about some famous temples of India. We started with recap of 16 step pooja, then went to discuss how temples are the important place of worship and then go through them one by one by visually through google images. The temples we covered are:-

• Somnath Temple
• Badrinath Temple
• Kedarnath Temple
• Vaishnov Devi Temple
• Padhmanabhaswamy Temple
• Ramanathaswamy Temple
• Siddhivinayak Temple
• Tirupathi Balaji Temple
• Meenakshi Amman Temple
• Golden Temple

We've tried our best to spark their curious interest in showcasing the rich architecture, a brief historical and legendary background, and some fun facts. As Hindus, spirituality and religion are part of our everyday life. 

Personal devotional belief, rituals, and temple worship have created the most amazing architecture. India is known for its rich past and cultural heritage. Each dynasty that ruled on Indian soil left its mark in the form of architectural marvels that are today a phenomenon for the world to witness. From North to South and East to West, every state is resplendent with different styles of temples, gurdwaras, mosques, monasteries, and churches, many of which have been declared heritage sites for their antiquity and craftsmanship. A visit to India would be incomplete without beholding the beauty and richness of these architectural sites. Please do so when you get an opportunity. We've given a homework exercise where they have to do research on a few temples and present the same in the class this Sunday.

Talk to your kids and ask them about what they have learnt and their understanding and please share it with us,

Unto his feet with our hearts,

Your 9^th grade teachers

Mar 27, 2022 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9^th graders,

Happy Gudi Padwa/Ugadhi/Spring festival to everyone!!!. Last Sunday we were planning to cover some famous temples but deferred it to tomorrow due to lack of required quorum. Instead, we did small topics like "maya" and "shraddha"/"Faith". 

In an ordinary sense, the word 'maya' means, trickery, fraud, or deceit. Our senses have the limited ability to perceive and discern truth, although we take them from granted and rely more on the appearances of things rather than the truth underlying them. In the spiritual parlance, maya means unreality, distinct from the reality represented by God or Brahman. God in His eternal and absolute aspect is pure consciousness, and His creation is a mere formation within that consciousness. It exists so long as there is an experiencer distinct from the experience. Etymologically speaking, maya is that which arises from Prakriti (nature) or Pradhana (primal energy). 'Ma' means the source, the cause and 'ya' means that which proceeds, goes, walks, or spreads out. Thus, literally maya means that which issue forth, expands, or arises from the source, 'ma', the universal mother.

We discussed about how Maya cannot be overcome without a fundamental shift in our awareness and inner conditioning. Where there is duality, the sense of separation, there is maya. When our minds and senses are active, we remain under the influence of Maya. When we perceive things in a state of duality, we remain in the domain of Maya. Maya disappears only when our minds and senses are fully stabilized, and we can experience things without the division of the seer and the seen. 

Swami Chinmayanandaji, succinctly conveyed this concept: "Faith or Shraddha is to believe what you do not see. The reward of faith is to see what you believed.". "Astikya" is to cultivate an unshakable faith. Believe firmly in God, Gods, guru, and your path to enlightenment. Trust in the words of the masters, the scriptures, and traditions. Practice devotion and sadhana to inspire experiences that build advanced faith. Be loyal to your lineage, introspect and live a detached life doing all your duties in your respective ashramas of life. We discussed some basic practice of faith and asked the kids to participate in the round robin.

We will be doing Temples of India on Sunday Apr 3rd. Please make sure your kids attend the class. Also watch out for all the announcements and events coming through all the respective whats app groups and emails.

Hari Om,

9^th Grade Teachers

Mar 13, 2022 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9th Graders,

 

Hope you are all doing well and staying safe in the crazy changes in weather! 

Today's class we did a quick review of the previous class, where we talked about the 4 steps of Vairagya (ways to remove your addictions and attachments). 

We then dived into the topic of "Friendships" or those people we got along with very well at some point in our lives. We asked the students who their first childhood friend/acquaintance was, what they liked about them, and why they enjoyed spending time with them? After a round robin discussion of everyone's response, we gathered that the majority of us chose our friends based on similar interests and positive characteristics (ie: trustworthy, helpful, caring, etc).  

This transitioned into the conversation of "Satsangha" vs "Dusangha". Satsangha is being in association with those of like-minded, positive influence, people. Dusangha is being in association with people who are bad influences, constantly share negative thoughts, etc. We also discussed how it is hard to catagorized anyone as a "bad person", but rather to acknowledge their bad actions and thoughts that will determine whether or not it is beneficial to keep them in your company/friendship.

All in all, we want to make and keep friends that provide more of the "Satsangha" atmosphere, because that will help us grow in a more positive and uplifting direction.

We hope that the students took away some positive thoughts about today's class, especially when they continue in their high school years, and eventually progress towards college and beyond!

A friendly reminder that there is no class next week! We will see all the students on March 27th!

With lots of love and in his service,

9th Grade Teachers

Feb 27, 2022 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9^th Graders,

Hope you all are doing well and awaiting this beautiful spring weather as eagerly as celebrating our upcoming Mahashivaraatri festival. We were very excited today to see your Children after one week's break. Our topic today:- As a part of our Hindu Culture, there are numerous forms of worship, of which Pooja is one of the more popular. The most widely accepted and followed system of Pooja is the Shodasa – Upachara Pooja, or 16 – Service worship.

The main purpose of this type of Pooja is two-fold. Primarily it is to uplift the five senses of the worshiper and by doing so elevate him to a higher level of consciousness that will promote good thoughts and actions including purity of mind. Secondly, it draws upon the Indian traditions of honoring a guest, wherein each upachara is a service to the deity who is omnipresent in the sculpture for the duration of the Pooja. Today's class, we explained in detail the 16 step pooja that entails the following:-

1. Dhyaana – Meditating on the deity that is being invoked.
2. Aavaahana – Inviting the deity into the altar.
3. Aasana – Giving the deity a seat.
4. Paadya – Washing the deity's feet with clean water.
5. Arghya – Offering the deity water to rinse hands and mouth.
6. Aachamana – Offering the deity water to drink.
7. Snaana – Bathing the deity with various auspicious items.
8. Vasthra – Dressing the deity in clean clothes.
9. Yagnopaveetha – Offering the deity a clean sacred thread.
10. Gandha – Spreading fresh sandalwood paste on the deity.
11. Pushpa – Offering fresh flowers while chanting the deity's names.
12. Dhoopa – Spreading incense smoke throughout the altar.
13. Deepa – Waving a lamp to illuminate the freshly decorated deity.
14. Naivedya – Offering the deity food.
15. Taambula ­– Offering the deity a refreshing mix of betel nut and leaves.
16. Pradakshina & Namaskara – Circumambulating the altar and bidding farewell to the deity

We discussed with meaningful examples and asked our children how they now felt about attending any Pooja vs prior to knowing these steps. Also, on eve of upcoming Mahashivratri celebrations we've discussed all the details and significance of this festival, the stories of Lord Shiva and something they could do at home to be a part of this celebration. Please speak to your children and let us know their feedback as we continue to progress on our Hindu culture discussion topics. 

Next week our Bramhacharini Akalkaji will be virtually attending our class for 15-20 mins so please make sure your child is prepared to ask any specific Q&A to her as they are figuring out their own spiritual journey. The topic could include whatever we may have taught so far or something their inquisitive mind wants to explore. 

Happy Mahashivaratri Celebrations to all!!!!

At his Grace and unto the happiness and wellbeing of all,

9^th Grade Teachers.

Jan 30, 2022 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9^th Graders,

Hope this cold weather finds you all in the best of wellbeing and spirits. We are progressing quite a bit in our class and this past Sunday introduced "Swadharma" to our eager children. This was a perfect segway after learning the topics of Karma, Gunas and the Varna system. 

Swadharma, meaning one's own Dharma, is derived from the words Swa meaning for oneself and Dharma. Swadharma has been explained as the lawful conduct of oneself based on one's ability. It requires one to be aware of one's strengths, abilities and weaknesses. The idea of Swadharma is emphasized in the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita states that if one accepts Swadharma, the actions that one performs becomes effortless. This is because the ability to perform these actions come naturally and the complexity of the task is not an impediment. The Bhagavad Gita also says that it is better to perish while performing Swadharma rather than perform actions that should be performed by others. This is because one will perform one's Swadharma with great conviction but such conviction is not guaranteed when doing someone else's Dharma.

Swadharma is often related to Swabhava or one's innate tendencies and abilities. It is defined as one's innate nature or personality that defines one's existence. That is, one's Swabhava is one's real nature which dictates how one interacts with this universe. In the end, one Swabhava is nothing but "sat-chit-ananda" leading to moksha.

We explained this concept in a most creative way using the below diagram and asked everyone to explain their own Swabhava. Through round robin evolved their innate personalities and it was excellent to see how a lot of our kids have empathy, compassion and a need to really serve what the world needs. We even discussed how this exercise makes it so much easier to choose one's profession or interests & hobbies or even goals. Thoroughly and thoughtfully the concept was introduced with a lot of passion, discussion and purpose. Please ask your children what they learnt and send us your feedback.

Looking forward to close the discussion on Swadharma and moving on to the next enlightenment topic.

Until then, stay blessed and stay happy.

Hari Om

9^th Grade Teachers.

Jan 23, 2022 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9th Graders,

 

Happy Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Uttarayan, Lohri to all!! 

Today's topic primarily focused on the discussion of the two paths of decision making: Sreyas vs. Preyas. Sreyas is the path of the "good" or righteous decision; Preyas is the "easy" path or that which is convenient or gives us most pleasure. We defined that Preyas is not necessarily a "wrong" path, but more a decision that seems convenient and takes less effort, but may not be the right thing to do. We did an activity with the students, asking them to list their daily activities in order of when they would complete it: List 1 a typical day and List 2 an "ideal" day without any deadlines. As a class, we concluded that List 2 were ordered in a way that felt more convenient for the students, as the activities completed first were those that were easier or "more fun" for the student; thus, List 2 mimicked the path of Preyas. We also went through some hypothetical situations, and had the students brainstorm the path of Sreyas and Preyas for each scenario (ie: using social media: Sreyas is using it for networking or spreading positive awareness purposes, Preyas is indulging into the pressures and addiction). 

We also talked about the "Art of Right Contact" where we listed random objects and discussed the positive and negative uses of each (ie: a knife: can be used to cut vegetables or can be used to hurt someone). We concluded the class with showing a video by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda speaking on Sreyas vs Preyas. We always try to engage our students in dialogue and discussion on how these concepts can be applied to their daily lives! We sincerely hope these critical messages are absorbed and stay with them as they are growing up.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us. See you all next class on January 30th!

With lots of love and in his service,

9th grade Teachers

Jan 9, 2022 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9th Graders,

 

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!!!!. I hope you all got some much-needed break and staying safe and healthy. We are all very excited to be back in action for the New year and have some fun things planned for our kids for the remaining part of this balavihar year.  Our Jan 9^th class was a bit light due to next week's holiday and getting back to routine. We just recapped our teachings and conducted a knowledge quiz on concepts learned so far. We also went through the upcoming Makar Sankranti festival details and discussed how several Indian states celebrate it so differently from Lohri to Pongal to Bihu to Uttarayan. 

We also showed the class a video speech by Pujya Gurudev talking about Hindu culture. Our constant dialogue with kids is to be proud of who they are and embrace their ethnicity, culture and their rich heritage. We also went through talking about how sometimes, things are just imposed on us to follow but Hinduism is rather, a way of life which you can question, debate and yet will come back to you to follow it. We sincerely hope these critical messages are absorbed and stay with them as they are growing up.

As a reminder there will be no class on Sunday Jan 16^th so we will resume on the 23rd . If you have any questions, please feel free to email us.

With lots of love and in his service,

9th grade Teachers

Dec 12, 2021 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9th Graders,

 

Hope all are excited for the upcoming winter break with our last class this coming week on Dec 19th. Today's class we went with round robin for our Guru Stotram. Everyone had to recite one stanza of the Stotram and It was such a pleasure to see kids singing with the right pronunciation as well as tune but the best which was beyond both, was, they sang with so much of love and bhakti in their hearts. Please encourage them to practice during winter break as they could easily memorize this and get all geared up when classes resume in January.

We recapped last week's topic on Ahimsa and Saatya while discussing any pending questions they have had after they contemplated on the topic. In our class we not only introduce these Hinduism ideologies but also encourage the kids to Introspect and contemplate on how they want to apply these in their lives. Our Chinmaya mission statement is "To help children learn values with fun, to delight like the moon and shine like the sun" and we do everything to imprint these values and bring the best in them.

This class we also did a new topic on "Dana" or Charity and with several stories and examples spoke about the types of dana, who is the benefactor, the giver and how does karma interplay in Dana. Slowly one by one some of these isolated topics are now getting interlinked into a full executable action. 

The last 20 mins we used to prepare them for next weeks presentation. We've dissected the reposnsibilities and assigned each of them a topic which they will need to talk about for 2 mins with an example. Looking forward to see their enthusiasm and creativity.  We will be having a short class next week which will be our last class for this year.

There will be no blog for next week and we sincerely Thank you for your continued support as we tread on this Spiritual journey reiventing ourselves. Inspired by Swami Tejomayanandaji's words "Unto Him, Our Best" wishing each and everyone happy holidays and New Year. 

Indeed May His grace flow through us to the world around us!

With lots of love and in his service,

9th grade Teachers

Dec 5, 2021 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9th Graders,

 

Hoping to see you all in the holiday spirits as we wind our class for winter break. Today we recapped the four Ashramas Bramhacharya, Grahasthashram, Vaanaprastha and Saanyasa. We also did girls vs boys recitation of our Guru Stotram. Kids did well and getting a hang of it. It's just a matter of practicing a few times before they get a good hold of the tune and memorize the whole verse. 

 

In addition, in today's class we also covered "Ahimsa" (non-voilence) and "Saatya" (Truth). We've narrated a few stories from our mythology exemplifying these values and given examples on inculcating these ideals in our daily lives. Ahimsa is non-injury in mind, speech as well as actions towards any creature. It's that Hindu belief that symbolizes love, genuine care and compassion towards all living beings. From freedom fighters to mass shootings there were tons of examples with contexts that were given.

We also went on a "Saatya" hunt starting with the universal war cry by Madan Mohan Malaviya "Satyamev Jayate" (Truth alone shall triumph). There was some confusion on when to say a white lie vs lying vs telling the truth but through examples, we've tried to clarify any confusion they may have had. Today was a great discussion on simple topics giving it a very higher-level spiritual spin with Hinduism ideologies.

We've also circulated everyone's email address for the upcoming project for next week. Please make sure you talk to your kids about its progress for the upcoming presentation on Dec 19th which I believe would be the last class before winter holidays. More details to follow next week.

Stay happy, stay safe and please reach out to us if you have any further questions,

9th grade Teachers

Nov 21, 2021 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents of 9th Graders,

 

Hope all is well and you are all awaiting the much-needed break on the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays. This class, we're proud to finish our Guru Strotram. Kids would now be to recite all 14 verses and may also be able to comprehend them if they've paid attention. The goal was to explain the meaning and metaphor behind the recitation which we have successfully completed. Going forward it's more of singing and memorizing. Last week, we went over Gunas and Varna system in Hinduism that was recapped in the class. This week, we covered the four Ashramas Bramhacharya, Grahasthashram, Vaanaprastha and Saanyasa.

 

We went in details with each one of the Ashramas with various examples and asked the kids what they felt about the same especially given the parallel universe that uses millennials , Gen X,Z ranges. Brainstorming to the granular details we went further to challenge why and how societal pressures refrain us from following these Ashramas and the importance of keeping this philosophical Dharma in Hindusim as our goal to attain moksha. Absolutely had some great discussion points that triggered some introspection. Please talk to them and let us know your feedback.

We shall not be meeting the next class on observance of Thanksgiving Break but will resume on Dec 5th. We've also created a Whatsapp group to discuss a collaborative activity that is expected of the class to be presented on Dec 19th. More details to follow as we go along.

Message from Pujya Tejomayanandaji on occasion on Thanksgiving:-

"The true meaning of Thanksgiving is that we graciously live and utilize our blessings-not just offer verbal thanks. Let us bow down to the Lord and our Guru in gratitude for making us His instruments. "

Hari Om and hope you all have a great Thanksgiving,

9th grade Teachers

Oct 24, 2021 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om parents of 9th graders,

 

Hope all is going great with you and your families. This Sunday we continued with our karma discussions and went over in detail the types of karma namely Sanchit, Prarabhdha and Agami. While we still recapped some of the topics from a couple of weeks ago on Karma: Law of cause-and-effect , types and the principles of Karma we went into detail with tons of examples with each type of karma fructifications. Here are the two analogies we've explained so it kids could easily grasp the abstract:- 

Imagine Lord Arjuna as a bowman. During the Mahabharata war let's say the bowman has already sent an arrow and it has left his hands which he cannot recall. Then he is about to shoot another arrow. The way these are easily distinguishable are : The bundle of arrows in the quiver on his back is the Sanchita karma; the arrow he has shot is Prarabdha; and the arrow which he is about to shoot from his bow is Agami. Of these, he has perfect control over the Sanchita and the Agami, but he must surely work out his Prarabdha. The past which has begun to take effect needs to be experienced by him.

There is another beautiful analogy also. The granary represents the Sanchita Karma; that portion taken from the granary and put in the shop for future daily sale corresponds to Agami; that which is sold daily represents Prarabdha. 

Taking a step further we continued to challenge if one can change Karma?. This connected us to understand concepts of  Prarabdha and Purushartha and how one can through their self-effort and free will change the so-called destiny. We also went over papa and punya in Sanchit karma.

We had some excellent questions and discussions on hierarchy of birth and how Karmas get accumulated over the course of several births and how we, as Hindus, perceive this concept thereby trying our best to exhaust these karmic bonding. This led into who is a Karma yogi and what are the characteristic traits of one?

Thus, the conclusion here, the Law of Karma when correctly understood is the greatest force of vitality in our Hindu philosophy. It makes us the architects of our own future. We are not helpless pawns in the hands of a mighty tyrant, God, who, it is believed, has created us so weak or fearful to live our lives of limitations and pains.

We also continued through verses 7 and 8 of Guru Stotram. Looks like everyone is getting a great rhythm and understanding of this Stotram which is the way to go!!!!. Guru Stotram is a selection of 14 verses from Guru Geeta, found in Skanda Purana. It is a conversation between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati on the glory of the Guru. Gu-Darkness: Ru-Remover. The goal is to understand all of these 14 verses before the end of the curriculum.

Looking forward to the next class before Diwali break the week after. Please talk to your kids, discuss their understanding on the topics taught and do let us know if you/your kids have any questions or need any further clarifications. 

 

Hari Om,

9th grade Teachers

Oct 17, 2021 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om parents of 9th graders,

 

Hope this email finds you in the best of spirit and also hoping you'll had great Navratri and Dusshera Celebrations this past week. This Sunday our class was very short only until 1:40 PM on the eve of Saraswati puja online at the ashram under the guidance of Swamiji. We recapped our topic from a couple of weeks ago on Karma: Law of cause-and-effect , types and the principles of Karma. Got some great participation as well as feedback from kids along with some relatable comprehensible examples. Appreciate if you as parents can ask your kids how their understanding on this topic is coming along and share your feedback ,so we can incorporate any specific content to solidify this concept.

We also went through verses 5 and 6 of Guru Stotram and made it a bit easier for the students to break down the verses into four parts to translate its Sanskrit meaning. Guru Stotram is a selection of 14 verses from Guru Geeta, found in Skanda Purana. It is a conversation between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati on the glory of the Guru. Gu-Darkness: Ru-Remover. The goal is to understand all of these 14 verses before the end of the curriculum.

On the special occasion of Navratri, we also went over the significance of Navratri and the Goddesses that are worshipped along with some short mythological stories behind them. Given our diversity we spoke about Golu dolls, it's importance and evolution both culturally and traditionally.

 

Please do let us know if you/your kids have any questions or need any further clarifications. So far, the classes are going great but we would sincerely request you parents to encourage your kids to participate and contribute. 

 

Hari Om,

9th grade Teachers

Oct 3, 2021 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om parents of 9th graders,

 

Hope all are doing well and looking forward to the upcoming Navratri Celebrations. This Sunday the topic was Karma : The law of cause and effect. We kicked off with Guru Stotram explanations III & IV and delved directly into what is Karma?. Karma comes from Sanskrit word "Krtm" where both the act and the actions are both called the same. After brainstorming and getting some participation from kids, we went on to give a few examples of Karma classification. More than how we perceive the karmas to be, it's imperative to understand how Karmas come into play to begin with. We discussed several relatable examples from real life day to day happenings, to our epic Mahabharata story on how Lord Krishna saved Draupadi during her Vrastraharan to a few fictional fables.

 

We then moved on to compare it to Newton's third law which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. How? Why? What? Essentially, we started to slowly connect how cause and effects are related to each other and how they fructify in certain span of lifetime/s and how reincarnation which is another topic is closely connected. Sky's the limit when it comes to explaining this concept as one can do deeper and deeper almost to Bhagavad-Gita chapter 3 on Karma Yoga but we have to condense it making it easily comprehensible to 9th graders. Finally given the timing, we explained the 12 laws of Karma which opened up a very curious and introspective angle to contemplate on this topic. Please speak to your kids and discuss how their understanding on this topic is coming along and let us know if we can incorporate any specific activity or syllabus to make it more solid since this will keep coming up in the future in almost all texts.

 

Please do let us know if you/your kids have any questions or need any further clarifications. Would sincerely request for our students to actively engage in conversations and dialogues so please encourage your kids to participate and contribute. 

 

Hari Om,

9th grade Teachers

Sept 26, 2021 - Grade 9 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om parents of 9th graders,

Hope this email finds you all doing well. This past Sunday Devika and myself have kicked off "Hindu Culture" topic with your kids. This portion discusses various detailed chapters including critical philosophies and concepts of what makes one a "Hindu".  This class we are teaching now sets up the stage for learning Shrimad Bhagavad-Gita for the next three years. All the stories your children have learnt so far are now turning into ideologies and questioning the "why" thereby learning it's true reasoning. 

We kicked off the class with opening prayers and explaining the first two lines of Guru Stotram. We also worked on a simple white board brainstorming of what culture meant then went a little in depth into the Sanskrit meanings for Samskara, Samskriti, Prakriti and Vikriti. Through examples, we've discussed how different Vritti's do different things and what one should aspire to do keeping their single focused goal of being a Hindu. We also summarized various chapters which we shall be covering in detail as we go along with the weekly agenda. Lastly, we spoke about the importance of Hindu culture as to how it guides us in our daily tasks, adding value and meaningful purpose to our lives.

Please do let us know if you/your kids have any questions or need any further clarifications. Would like for our students to actively engage in conversations and dialogues so please encourage your kids to participate and contribute. 

Hari Om,

9th grade Teachers

Welcome to Gr 9 - Sunday PM Session

Please look out for regular updates from 

the teachers 

soon after the session starts.