Hari OM Dear Families,
Here is this week's update.
Week 23 :
30th April 2023 / 9:15 AM
Class began with our rehearsals on stage right in the morning. We tried our best to use the given stage time for the practice after which we proceeded to our classroom.
Opening prayers and Slokas
Slokas: 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)
"Gurur Brahma" (page 60 in My Prayers book)
"Krishnaya Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)
A man in the world undergoes all sorts of troubles and miseries when he runs after sensuous pleasures, and he becomes happy when he abandons the sensual pleasures. When we become fond of some objects, that very possession will cause unhappiness. Once that is abandoned, we gain happiness.
The Greatest Treasure
Once there was a rich man, he spent all his time counting his money. He had five sons that always wanted to play with him, but the dad never had the time to do so. The mom told her boys, "With money you are a dragon, without it you are a worm". They had a neighbor that was poor. He played the flute all day long and his five daughters sang and danced all day long. The rich man got annoyed with the sound of flute music and singing as it messed up his counting. He had a plan to put an end to the disturbance. He took a large bag of cash and gave it to the poor man. That ended up being a temporary fix as poor man was unhappy counting the cash the rich man gave him to keep quiet. The poor man's wife said, "He who has heaven in his heart is never poor." He took all his money and returned it to the rich man and began to play his flute again and his girls started to dance again. The poor man felt sorry for the rich man and decided to give him a gift. He gave him a flute saying, 'your treasure almost robbed me of my happiness!" The rich man started playing the flute, and his boys began to sing and dance!
Ramu In Luck
Once there was a sincere employee named Ramu. He had never taken a day off for the past four years, so he went and asked his boss if he could go and visit his mom, take a few days off and get his wages. The boss was happy to grant him leave and instead of wages, he decided to present him with a bag of gold. Thrilled by that, Ramu headed off to see his mom. On the way, it got hot and hilly. He was finding it difficult to walk with the extra load of gold in the hot sun, just then he saw a horseback rider galloping with a breeze in his face. He traded his gold for the horse, then wasn't able to ride it properly, got kicked off and hurt. A passing guy with a cow felt bad for him and traded his cow for the horse. Ramu thought he could get his own milk in this hot sun, but wasn't capable of milking the cow and sat upset. A guy passed Ramu with a cute pig. They traded but the pig was very stubborn and wouldn't budge. A lady with a goose passed by and saw Ramu upset, she traded her goose for the pig. Ramu was excited about having fresh eggs and feathers for a pillow. That didn't last long, the eggs didn't come immediately and he ran into a cobbler sharpening his knife. He sat and told him about his day. The cobbler said that Ramu was a great business man and would make a great cobbler and traded a cobblestone from the street for the goose. Ramu took the stone and walked on. He saw a pond and was thirsty. He put the stone down to take a drink when he saw his stone roll into the pond with a splash. The kids were asked if they thought Ramu would be upset. They all said, "yes"! But NOOO...Ramu was actually happy and relieved! No more burden! He was able to run to his mom's place, hugged her and got to eat all of the yummy food she had waiting for him. Attachment to objects brings misery. The moment the attachment is given up, there is peace and calm. You only need warmth and love to be happy, not possessions!
We are getting closer to the date of our class presentation, we want to make sure all the kids are confident with their lines, expressions and costumes.
The general costume requirements were already shared with you all. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us on whatsapp. You can send pics if you are unsure about the costume.
We are planning to meet at 3.45 pm until 5.30 pm on Saturday, 5/6 to do a stage practice with full costumes. This is a costume rehearsal.. It's important that we are all on time at 3.45 and get started soon. Reminders will be sent out at the end of Thursday/ Friday
In the practice next Saturday (5/6), we want all the kids to know their lines perfectly, and be sure of who goes before them, be alert and ready with their lines. Make sure to walk towards the mic to render lines slowly and clearly.
Neelima Turaga & Vidhya Aiyer
