Sept 23, 2022 - Grade 4 (Friday)

Hari Om! Dear Parents,

Announcements:

1. Next Balavihar class is on Oct 07, 2022 (in 2 weeks, no class on 9/30)

2. Please use the link below to sign up for bringing and distributing prasadam:

https://tinyurl.com/prasad2022

3. Please join the class WhatsApp group if you haven't already, using this link,

Please find below the summary of our class on Friday, Sep 23, 2022

Opening prayers: Om Sahana Vavatu                            

Vasudeva Sutam Devam (homework - practice chanting)

Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra (homework - practice chanting)

Curriculum: Krishna Leela stories from Srimad Bhagavatam 10th Canto

Story: King Parikshith, Kali and Durukti

Discussion: Words we use

Game: Stop the Kali

Homework: Use kind words, avoid harsh words

Activity: Meditation/concentration (marble drop counting)

Curriculum: Avadhuta Gita (My 24 Teachers) from Srimad Bhagavatam 11th Canto

Story: Avadhuta and King Yadu

Discussion: Teachers, learning with humility, key to happiness

Gita Chanting: Chapter 3

Chanting primer

Practice words from Chapter 3

Closing prayers: Om Purnamada Purnamidam

Aarati and Pledge: in the Prayer Hall

Class Details

We started the class by chanting opening prayers. We chanted 'Vasudeva Sutam..' and 'Mrityunjaya Mantra' multiple times - quarter by quarter, verse by verse and in full. Many of the kids already knew one or both of them; we expect everyone will practice and learn these in the coming weeks.

[ Children have been given a sheet with these prayers on one side, and the Govinda Damodara Stotram on the other side (we will start this 8 verse stotram in the next class). Please have them keep this sheet inside the handbook safely - no additional copies will be given out if the sheet is lost or damaged. ]

We started the curriculum with the story of King Parikshith who, while traveling in disguise in his country, happened to see Kali mercilessly beating a cow. Parikshith ordered Kali and his sister Durukti (harsh / bad words) to stay only in places where the name of Bhagavan is forgotten, and people fight / lie / cheat / gamble etc. We briefly talked about why gambling is bad - because it is an attempt to take short-cuts rather than work for something. We discussed that Kali gets empowered with harsh / bad words, and the way to drive Kali away is to stop using harsh / bad words and always use only kind / good words instead. We talked about how one gets good karma with good words / actions and bad karma with bad words / actions. We played the game of 'Stop the Kali', with each child reading out 'pleasing words'. The children agreed to practice these as much as possible before next class, and report back.

Next we practiced the 'marble drop counting' meditation / concentration practice game, wherein children sat quietly with eyes closed for 3 minutes, listening for and counting the marble drop sounds. This is a practice we plan to continue in most classes, in one form or other.

[ We encourage parents to motivate children to practice meditation daily (sit still, eyes closed, and silent, with attention focused on one and only one thing). ]

We then continued the curriculum with an introduction to Avadhuta Gita. We first discussed the importance of teachers in our life, our good fortune in learning from a Guru Parampara starting with Bhagavan, and the importance of having humility to learn from anyone. The story started with King Yadu meeting the blissful Avadhuta in the forest. Yadu asked Avadhuta how he could be so happy and fearless in roaming around the forest/world without any possessions or family/friends. Avadhuta replied that happiness and fearlessness come from inside due to the good qualities and virtues, and not from any external possession or relationship. He then proceeded to explain how he learnt the qualities and virtues from 24 teachers, starting with Mother Earth.

- Mother Earth taught him forbearance / perseverance to stay firm / steady on one's course following Dharma / objective / goal even when subject to bad treatment.

- Mountains taught him the quality of showing patience (tolerance / fortitude) even while facing adversities.

- Trees taught him the joy of sharing and the concept of service (seva) i,e, giving without expecting anything in return.

[ This resonated with the quote that we had discussed in the first class - "Happiness depends on what you can give, not on what you can get". ]

Gita chanting sessions started this class with a primer on pronunciation of Sanskrit sounds and words. A few words from Chapter 3 were used for practice. After this, we chanted closing prayers and went to the Prayer Hall to perform Aarati and chant the Pledge along with all other grades.

The children were very well behaved, quite engaged, and did an awesome job in class yesterday! Please discuss the class details with them to reinforce the concepts and deepen their understanding. We look forward to meeting them again on Oct 7th at the Ashram.

Happy Navratri to all!

Pranaam,

Anandhi and Suresh

(Grade 4 Sevaks)