Dear Parents and Students,
Hari OM!
We had a good session last Sunday. Please read through the details of what we covered in the class.
· We started by chanting OM three times, and our opening prayers.
· We did a recap of last class using a quiz covering questions about Veda Vyasa, Narada and Bhagavatam.
· We took attendance. A new student has joined from today.
· We recited 1st and 2nd verses of Guru Stotram. We request kids to practice at home.
· In today's lesson, the story was how King Parikshit meets Kali, what PAKT stands for, and how we can create Satyuga in Kaliyuga. Kids can read the story
· Who was King Parikshit?
o King Parikshit was the son of Abhimanyu and grandson of Arjuna (the famous Pandava)
o Parikshit's father Abhimanyu was born to Arjuna, and Krishna's sister Subhadra
o Arjuna is one of the five Pandavas, and also a good friend of Krishna
o When the Pandavas retired, they made Parikshit the king and went to the forest.
o Parikshit was a good king, he was noble, he had learnt from his grandfathers, the Pandavas, how to rule well He did a good job and the people in his kingdom were happy.
· How did Parikshit meet Kali?
o One day Parikshit was walking on the banks of river Saraswathi, when he saw a strange sight
o He saw a bull whose legs were being chopped by a wicked man in royal clothes.
o He also saw a cow that was weeping at this sight, and calling out for help
o King Parikshit warned the cruel man to stop this torture, while he asked the bull on how he lost his three legs
o The bull didn't want to share any bad words on anyone – He said he was not sure whether the suffering was because of his past actions, or because of his ignorance.
o Parikshit was pleased by the bull's decision to not bad mouth (cugali) even an adharmic person
o King Parikshit realized that the bull was Dharma, the weeping cow was Mother Earth, and the wicked man in royal clothes was none other than Kali, the spirit of Kaliyuga.
o The bull, Dharma had lost his 3 legs and the only had 1 leg remaining
· What is Dharma? And what do for 4 legs stand for?
o Dharma means righteous. So, it means being a good person.
o How can you be a good person?
§ Share your own allowance or gifts, be kind and helpful
§ The more you think about yourself, the less there is Dharma. The more you think about others, the more there is Dharma.
§ You can think of yourself but you have to think of others also.
o The 4 legs of Dharma stand for PAKT
§ P for Purity (Saucham)
§ A for Austerity (Tapah)
§ K for Kindness (Daya)
§ T for Truthfulness (Satyam)
· What does Purity mean?
o It means to keep our hearts and mind clean – we did an experiment by showing a glass of clean water and how it becomes impure by adding stuff like salt, sugar and dirt. We discussed how the mind is actually pure like clean water, but become impure with bad thoughts
· What does Austerity mean?
o This means able to decide and control what you want to do. Also, being able to do things that are hard to do
o Example: You decide to stand in a tree pose for a long time, and you do it
o You control your mind, and not let your mind control your actions
· What does Kindness mean?
o Trying to help others when they are sad or suffering. Sharing with others.
o Give a hug to someone who is sad or say something nice about someone.
· What does Truthfulness mean?
o Speaking the truth, no matter what
o At the same time, do not speak hurtful words
o If you did speak hurtful words, have the courage to say Sorry.
· Where is Kali's address? (continuing the story)
o King Parikshit was ready to chop of Kali's head
o At that time, Kali begged for mercy and asked that he be spared as he is ruler of the next age
o King Parikshit was touched by Kali's humility and spared his life
o Parikshit asked Kali to leave his kingdom, and he did not want to see him anywhere as long as he was ruling the kingdom. But Kali said he needed a place to live
o Parikshit gave 5 places where Kali can live, where the Lord's name is forgotten:
§ Untruth = Lie
§ Arrogance
§ Cruelty
§ Running after wealth
§ Overwhelming desire
· Satya yuga vs Kaliyuga
o We talked about how just like in 1 year there are 365 days, a yuga has thousands of years
o Thousands of years ago it was called Satya yuga when everyone always spoke the truth
o We are living now in Kaliyuga - Even though we live in Kaliyuga we can live away from the influence of Kali by:
§ Being Truthful like Rama/Gandhiji (not lie)
§ Being humble like Hanumanji (not arrogant)
§ Being Kind, not like Ravana
§ Be charitable, like Karna
After that we all assembled in the temple hall for Pooja and Aarthi. All kids performed Sarasvathi pooja using akshata and flowers. They chanted slokas recited by the priest. They did ashtottara shatha namavali archana to Goddess and offered raisins as Naivaidya. We concluded the session after taking the pledge.
With sincere and warm regards,
Aruna and Subbu
(Chinmaya Vrindavan Bala Vihar Grade 3 Teachers)
