Hari OM Dear Families,
Here is this week's update.
Week 13 :
5th February 2023 / 9:15 AM
Opening prayers and Shlokas
Slokas: Class began with 3 OMs followed by
"Om Saha Navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)
Om shrI Ganeśaya Namaha, shrI Saraswatyai Namaha, shrI Sat Gurubhyo Namaha.
"Vakratunda Mahakaya" (page 27 in My Prayers book)
Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you and HariOm,
Vidhya Aiyer & Neelima Turaga
Here is this week's update.
Week 13 :
5th February 2023 / 9:15 AM
Opening prayers and Shlokas
Slokas: Class began with 3 OMs followed by
"Om Saha Navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)
Om shrI Ganeśaya Namaha, shrI Saraswatyai Namaha, shrI Sat Gurubhyo Namaha.
"Vakratunda Mahakaya" (page 27 in My Prayers book)
Saraswathi Namasthubhyam
"Gurur Brahma" (page 60 in My Prayers book)
"Krishnaya Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)
Swamini Radhikananda ji's visit to our class : We were very blessed to have Swamini Amma in our class today. She taught us the very beautiful song in praise of Lord Krishna, "Madhurashtakam". All the kids enjoyed singing along with Swamini amma, who was singing and playing the guitar. After Madhurashtakam, Swamini ji taught another very peppy song on "Happiness" (will send the lyrics of the 'happiness' song in the whatsapp group). We are very thankful to Swamini amma for the great 20 minute session of singing. We appreciate all the kids for coming to the class in Indian attire😍🤗, ready with the printouts and singing with lots of enthusiasm.🙌👌
Today's lesson : Krishna Everywhere -
"Gurur Brahma" (page 60 in My Prayers book)
"Krishnaya Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)
Swamini Radhikananda ji's visit to our class : We were very blessed to have Swamini Amma in our class today. She taught us the very beautiful song in praise of Lord Krishna, "Madhurashtakam". All the kids enjoyed singing along with Swamini amma, who was singing and playing the guitar. After Madhurashtakam, Swamini ji taught another very peppy song on "Happiness" (will send the lyrics of the 'happiness' song in the whatsapp group). We are very thankful to Swamini amma for the great 20 minute session of singing. We appreciate all the kids for coming to the class in Indian attire😍🤗, ready with the printouts and singing with lots of enthusiasm.🙌👌
Today's lesson : Krishna Everywhere -
Trees Are Noble:
We began today's story by describing the beauty of Vrindavana and how the seasons changed there. The cycle of summer into the rainy season to autumn to winter to summer again. On one scorching summer morning, Krishna, the gopas and the calves had wandered off into the forest like they usually do. The heat of the sun was almost unbearable and they all took shelter under the shade of trees. Lord Krishna took this as a teaching moment and as everyone had gathered under the cool trees, He went on to say that the trees were truly noble, for they live for others. They beard the seasonal tortures of the wind, rain, sun and frost and yet protect others from these elements. They offer all that they have for others...their leaves, flowers, fruits, shade, roots, bark and fragrance. We then had a quick discussion about nobility. The points we pondered were about the fact that trees can't even move, yet they do so much for all. Trees do not consider anyone special and do not have favorites. They give their all to all, and don't choose or have preferences of whom they will help! If trees can do so much without even moving, imagine all the things we can do to help others. The kids actively participated!
The Devotion Of The Brahmin Women:
After hearing Krishna's stories, the gopas and calves had wandered around and played in the river and were exhausted and starving. The gopas had gotten used to asking Krishna for everything. So they approached Him and Balarama saying that they were hungry. Krishna smiled and said that there is a yagna being performed by some Brahmins, they will definitely have food there, and that they should go and request to be fed. The gopas immediately went with folded palms and asked the Brahmins for food in the name of Krishna and Balarama. But they were ignored! Unhappy and having failed at their task, the gopas went back to Krishna. Lord Krishna smiled and told them to go back and make the same request to the brahmins' wives. They did so and got a royal welcome! The wives immediately packed up everything they had prepared for the yagna and ran to feed Krishna and Balrama. They were mesmerized by Krishna and fed them all lovingly with their hands. He then requested them to go back to their husbands to complete the yagna. They were hesitant to leave as their love for Krishna was so strong and they also feared for their husbands' disapproval. But Lord Krishna convinced them to go back with His blessings. The brahmins understood what happened and regretted that incident forever.
Today's Lesson : 24 Teachers
We learnt about five teachers today. As usual, we started with riddles and got the children to guess the answers.
I can lose my life for the love of bright light - Moth
People may say I have gone crazy because I constantly stay"beezzy" running back and forth from my work to my home. Yes, I am a workaholic, but I enjoy what I do - Bee
I am strong and big and have become huge by eating veggies. I have a special place in the Hindu scriptures and am famous for being so smart - Elephant
I love to eat, drink and be merry. I come in many different sizes and shapes. Some people use me to decorate inside of buildings and homes because of my beauty - Fish
I love to hear and run madly to catch that tune - Deer
What we learnt from each teacher :
Moth - Gets attracted to bright light and perishes in the flame. Moth teaches us to guard our sense of sight.
Bee - Bee gets attracted to the smell of a lotus and sits inside the flower, forgetting that the flower will close at dusk. When the sun goes down, the flower closes and the bee gets trapped inside and dies. Bee teaches us to guard our sense of smell.
A bee picks up honey from many different flowers, whether big or small. Similarly we should also pick up good knowledge from great people, books and our scriptures. We talked about what we learnt in the Ramayana and Bhagavatam.
Elephant - Elephant has a weakness of touch. They like to be close to other elephants. The elephant hunters used this weakness to attract elephants to a ditch and trap them. Elephant teach us to guard our sense of touch.
Fish - Fish cannot control its sense of taste, so gets easily caught through the bait. Fish teaches us to guard our sense of taste.
Deer - Deer hunters use sweet music to attract deer and trap them. We should also not get carried away by sweet words and praises. Just like when driving, the focus needs to be on the road and not get carried away by music playing in the car. Deer teach us to guard our sense of hearing.
Story of catching a monkey : Some hunters in Africa used a technique to attract monkeys and trap them. They would make a hole in a coconut and put a sweet smelling orange inside it. The monkey would smell the orange and put his hand in the coconut to get it. The monkey's hand gets stuck in the coconut. Unless it lets go of the orange, it cannot get its hand out, but the monkey does not want to let go of the orange, and in the process, gets caught.
Story of King and the Wizard - A King, who was happy, handsome and rich was visited by a wizard. He offers to grant any wish that the King had. The KIng didn't have anything to ask then, but sought the wizard after some years. The King now looked tired, obese and sad. He tells the wizard that he is neither handsome nor happy anymore and asks him to do some magic. The wizard tells him that there is a magic mirror in the mountains, and he must find it to regain his original form. The condition is that he has to go on foot early in the morning to find it. The King did this for many months, and found himself handsome and happy again. The daily exercise and the fresh mountain air were the actual magic there. This is another story to tell that one can achieve anything by letting go of laziness and working hard. Over indulgence in the senses can destroy a person.
How much? : A Swamiji once tells a devotee:
One bowl of food a day is necessary
Two bowls are good
Three bowls are a luxury
Four bowls will make one ill, and
Five bowls will kill
We need to think and decide where to stop.
We began today's story by describing the beauty of Vrindavana and how the seasons changed there. The cycle of summer into the rainy season to autumn to winter to summer again. On one scorching summer morning, Krishna, the gopas and the calves had wandered off into the forest like they usually do. The heat of the sun was almost unbearable and they all took shelter under the shade of trees. Lord Krishna took this as a teaching moment and as everyone had gathered under the cool trees, He went on to say that the trees were truly noble, for they live for others. They beard the seasonal tortures of the wind, rain, sun and frost and yet protect others from these elements. They offer all that they have for others...their leaves, flowers, fruits, shade, roots, bark and fragrance. We then had a quick discussion about nobility. The points we pondered were about the fact that trees can't even move, yet they do so much for all. Trees do not consider anyone special and do not have favorites. They give their all to all, and don't choose or have preferences of whom they will help! If trees can do so much without even moving, imagine all the things we can do to help others. The kids actively participated!
The Devotion Of The Brahmin Women:
After hearing Krishna's stories, the gopas and calves had wandered around and played in the river and were exhausted and starving. The gopas had gotten used to asking Krishna for everything. So they approached Him and Balarama saying that they were hungry. Krishna smiled and said that there is a yagna being performed by some Brahmins, they will definitely have food there, and that they should go and request to be fed. The gopas immediately went with folded palms and asked the Brahmins for food in the name of Krishna and Balarama. But they were ignored! Unhappy and having failed at their task, the gopas went back to Krishna. Lord Krishna smiled and told them to go back and make the same request to the brahmins' wives. They did so and got a royal welcome! The wives immediately packed up everything they had prepared for the yagna and ran to feed Krishna and Balrama. They were mesmerized by Krishna and fed them all lovingly with their hands. He then requested them to go back to their husbands to complete the yagna. They were hesitant to leave as their love for Krishna was so strong and they also feared for their husbands' disapproval. But Lord Krishna convinced them to go back with His blessings. The brahmins understood what happened and regretted that incident forever.
Today's Lesson : 24 Teachers
We learnt about five teachers today. As usual, we started with riddles and got the children to guess the answers.
I can lose my life for the love of bright light - Moth
People may say I have gone crazy because I constantly stay"beezzy" running back and forth from my work to my home. Yes, I am a workaholic, but I enjoy what I do - Bee
I am strong and big and have become huge by eating veggies. I have a special place in the Hindu scriptures and am famous for being so smart - Elephant
I love to eat, drink and be merry. I come in many different sizes and shapes. Some people use me to decorate inside of buildings and homes because of my beauty - Fish
I love to hear and run madly to catch that tune - Deer
What we learnt from each teacher :
Moth - Gets attracted to bright light and perishes in the flame. Moth teaches us to guard our sense of sight.
Bee - Bee gets attracted to the smell of a lotus and sits inside the flower, forgetting that the flower will close at dusk. When the sun goes down, the flower closes and the bee gets trapped inside and dies. Bee teaches us to guard our sense of smell.
A bee picks up honey from many different flowers, whether big or small. Similarly we should also pick up good knowledge from great people, books and our scriptures. We talked about what we learnt in the Ramayana and Bhagavatam.
Elephant - Elephant has a weakness of touch. They like to be close to other elephants. The elephant hunters used this weakness to attract elephants to a ditch and trap them. Elephant teach us to guard our sense of touch.
Fish - Fish cannot control its sense of taste, so gets easily caught through the bait. Fish teaches us to guard our sense of taste.
Deer - Deer hunters use sweet music to attract deer and trap them. We should also not get carried away by sweet words and praises. Just like when driving, the focus needs to be on the road and not get carried away by music playing in the car. Deer teach us to guard our sense of hearing.
Story of catching a monkey : Some hunters in Africa used a technique to attract monkeys and trap them. They would make a hole in a coconut and put a sweet smelling orange inside it. The monkey would smell the orange and put his hand in the coconut to get it. The monkey's hand gets stuck in the coconut. Unless it lets go of the orange, it cannot get its hand out, but the monkey does not want to let go of the orange, and in the process, gets caught.
Story of King and the Wizard - A King, who was happy, handsome and rich was visited by a wizard. He offers to grant any wish that the King had. The KIng didn't have anything to ask then, but sought the wizard after some years. The King now looked tired, obese and sad. He tells the wizard that he is neither handsome nor happy anymore and asks him to do some magic. The wizard tells him that there is a magic mirror in the mountains, and he must find it to regain his original form. The condition is that he has to go on foot early in the morning to find it. The King did this for many months, and found himself handsome and happy again. The daily exercise and the fresh mountain air were the actual magic there. This is another story to tell that one can achieve anything by letting go of laziness and working hard. Over indulgence in the senses can destroy a person.
How much? : A Swamiji once tells a devotee:
One bowl of food a day is necessary
Two bowls are good
Three bowls are a luxury
Four bowls will make one ill, and
Five bowls will kill
We need to think and decide where to stop.
Gita Time- today we learned verses 19 and 20, given along is the youtube link for practice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmyii3ijvwE&list=PLwv-WSJSokEMjzRiL_CQC--igySyIgJqA&index=10
Please encourage the kids to practice.
Our class presentation - Our class is scheduled to do the monthly program on May 7th. We have already started working on the skit and very briefly discussed with the kids today. More details in the upcoming weeks!
Aarti and Pledge - We concluded the class with Aarti and Pledge. Our class sang along with 5th graders. Everyone did a great job!
We look forward to seeing the kids in the class next week (2/19)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmyii3ijvwE&list=PLwv-WSJSokEMjzRiL_CQC--igySyIgJqA&index=10
Please encourage the kids to practice.
Our class presentation - Our class is scheduled to do the monthly program on May 7th. We have already started working on the skit and very briefly discussed with the kids today. More details in the upcoming weeks!
Aarti and Pledge - We concluded the class with Aarti and Pledge. Our class sang along with 5th graders. Everyone did a great job!
We look forward to seeing the kids in the class next week (2/19)
House contests-
Shlokathon on 3/18 and please register for the levels given in the website.
Bhajanotsav on 4/29, please form your own groups (4-6) for this unique group competition.
There is also kala arangam (talent show) on music, dance, instrumental - balavihar kids are eligible to participate and show their mettle in their learning ground/s. Please be reminded this is not competition but a talent displaying event. The event is scheduled on 3/4 saturday around 1 pm until 4/4.30 pm. More details will be shared as you approach to enroll children.
Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you and HariOm,
Vidhya Aiyer & Neelima Turaga
