June 4, 2023 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 27 :
4th June 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)

We practiced Krishnashtakam and  Govinda damodara stotram.

Today's lesson was our last teacher (My 24 teachers) The Arrow maker

Once there was an arrow-maker, who kept himself very busy in his work. One time a big party of the king and his retinue were passing by but he did not even notice them.

Saint Dattëtreya said, "I saw this and learned to have concentration of mind."  

Today's teacher was the "Arrowmaker".

We started by discussing what concentration is?  How often the kids heard this word and where, and why is this important. 

What is concentration of mind?
Concentration of mind is to make the mind think in one form, an object, a thought, or a concept steadily for a long time.
Everyone has this ability. 

One with high degree of concentration alone can turn out better and accomplish more work

Short story about Sir Isaac Newton - Once, someone invited Sir Isaac Newton for dinner. He went to his host's residence and was shown to the living room by the butler. The host gentleman had forgotten all about Sir Isaac Newton waiting. He ate his dinner and retired to bed.
 Newton sat musing on some important point of science. He did not move from his seat. He had forgotten all about dinner! That was how much he was engrossed in his thought and that was the level of his concentration.
Apples have fallen down from trees for years; it takes a thinking person like Mr. Newton to come up with gravitational law! His ability to concentrate, and focus led to great inventions. Newton's single-pointed attention earned him fame.

We talked about some examples in nature that demonstrate the power of concentration.

Sunlight does not burn a piece of paper placed out in the open. However, if a magnifying glass is held a few inches away from the paper and let the concentrated sun's rays fall on the paper, the paper begins to burn.
When a dam is built on a river, it can generate electricity.
A boiling kettle loses steam as steam dissipates into the air; but when the steam is collected in the steam engine, it can move a whole train.
Every creature in the world has to concentrate to succeed in what it does. Think about animals hunting for food.  They are still, head down, and ears flat, in complete concentration, before they leap on their prey. Concentration is a must for a successful and satisfying life

Short story from the Mahabharata -
Dronacharya taught archery to the Pandava and Kaurava princes. One day he wanted to test their skills. There was a bird on the branch of a tree, and the test was to shoot the arrow at the bird's eye. One by one all the princes came, and Dronacharya asked them what they could see when they were aiming their arrow. All of them said they saw the bird, tree, branches, sky, etc. Finally it was Arjuna's turn. Dronacharya asked him what he could see. Arjuna replies that he could only see the eye of the bird.  

This story illustrates the concentration of Arjuna, which made him one of the greatest archers. 

A single pointed attention is needed  to attain perfection in any endeavor.

We then played a picture quiz. The class was divided into two groups and we showed pictures from what we learned this year. The questions included, the names of the characters shown in the picture, the event or the situation, the name of the place etc. It was very entertaining and interesting when kids came up with every answer.

We had a small farewell snack as we closed this beautiful balavihar year.

Thank you everyone , children and parents from team Grade 4 Sunday AM for making it a successful year.

The registration for the following year 2023-2024 is open.

Registration (chinmayavrindavan.org)

bv_reg_manual_new.pdf (chinmayavrindavan.org)

There is our Chinmaya Ananda mela on 6/10 from 10 am until 5.30 pm at our ashram premises. Please come and enjoy. Please check this link for more info.

Chinmaya Vrindavan Mela - Home (weebly.com)

Please feel free to leave our group whatsapp. thanks.

Pranam and Hari Om

Neelima Turaga and Vidhya Aiyer

May 21, 2023 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 26 :
21st May 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)

Govinda damodara stotram- We practiced the Govinda Damodara sthotram that we had completed in the last class.

Krishna Everywhere (The last lesson of the year) :

After a brief  recap of our story so far, we jumped into our Krishna story. With Kamsa gone and Vasudeva, Devaki and Ugrasena freed from the deepest darkest dungeon, Vasudeva decided that it was time for Krishna and Balarama to have their Upanayanam. They received their sacred thread, making them eligible to enroll in a Gurukula to learn the scriptures from a Guru. After the Upanayanam, the boys were sent to Rishi Sandipani to live with and learn from their Guru under strict discipline and service. The brothers were diligent and quick to learn. They mastered the Vedas and the Vedangas, phonetics, grammar, astronomy, logic, philosophy and economic sciences, ALL in 64 days!

The boys approached Guru Sandipani to ask him what they could offer as Guru-dakshina. The rishi knew of their divine nature and did not want anything. When they insisted, the Guru consulted with his wife and they requested that they bring back their son who drowned in the sea. Balarama and Krishna went to the seashore. The sea brought tons of precious gifts to welcome the duo. The sea denied swallowing the rishi's son. Then the brothers went to Yama and demanded a restoration of their Guru's son. Their Guru and Guru-ma were overjoyed! Everyone bade them farewell after receiving the most precious Gurudakshina. The brothers  were blessed, and were told that their glory would shine wherever they went. They were sent off to purify the whole world. Krishna and Balarama went back to their parents in Mathura. He remembered the fun He had in Vrindavana and knew that His avatara was to restore Dharma and He had a ton of work to do! Krishna appointed Uddhava to carry His message of love to Vrindavana. His visit is one of the most beautiful, mystical, and memorable episodes in Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sudhama

Lord Krishna and Sudama were childhood friends. While Krishna thrived and prospered, Sudama didn't. He led the life of a poor Brahmin man, living in a small hut with his wife and kids. Most days, the kids wouldn't even get enough to eat from what Sudama got as alms. One day, his wife suggested that he go and ask his friend Krishna for help.

Sudama was reluctant to seek favors, but he also didn't want his kids to suffer. So his wife borrowed some rice from the neighbors to make some rice snacks that Krishna liked, and gave it to Sudama to take it to his friend. Sudama took it and set out to Dwaraka. He was amazed at the gold that was used to build the city. He reached the palace gates and was obstructed by the guards, who judged him by his torn dhoti and poor appearance.

Sudama requested the guards to at least inform Krishna that his friend Sudama has come to meet him. The guard, although reluctant, goes and informs the lord. On hearing that Sudama was here, Krishna stops doing whatever he was doing and runs barefoot to meet his childhood friend.

Krishna hugs Sudama, welcomes him to his abode and treats him with utmost love and respect. Sudama, ashamed of the poor man's rice snacks he got for Krishna, tries to hide it. But the all-knowing Krishna asks Sudama for his gift and eats his favorite rice snacks that his friend brought for him.

Krishna and his friend spend time laughing and talking about their childhood but Sudama, overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion shown by his friend, is unable to ask for help. When he returns home, Sudama finds that his hut has been replaced by a huge mansion and his wife and kids are dressed in fine clothes.

Sudama realized how lucky he was to have a true friend like Krishna. He didn't even ask, but Krishna knew what Sudama wanted and gave it to him.

Moral : True friends do not distinguish between rich and poor. They are always there for you when you need them.

The End - Krishna Lila
As we approached this final chapter, we went on to discuss briefly, various important incidents that occured in Krishna's life as He continued to restore Dharma. We told the class that they will be visiting episodes in great detail when they are in fifth grade.

End of Jarasandha

Jarasandha was the king of Magadha, whose two daughters were married to Kamsa. When Kamsa was killed, Jarasandha wanted to take revenge.

Lord Krishna says, "The reason for My birth is only to lighten the burden of earth by killing asuras and protecting good people." "From time to time, for the protection of Dharma and for stopping the rise in adharma, I take birth in different bodies." Bhagavan knew that if Jarasandha stays alive, he will collect more and more auras and will come back again to defeat Him. Lord allowed Jarasandha to return many times so He can fulfill His mission of ridding earth of asuras.

Rukmini Haranam

The king of Vidarbha had five sons and one daughter named Rukmini. Her marriage was fixed with Sishupala by her brother Rukmin. But, Rukmini had her heart set on Krishna. She sent a letter of request to Sri Krishna to come and take her away and make her His wife. As per instructions, Krishna came and before she could be married to Sishupala, took her away to Dwaraka and married her.

Narakasura Slain

Mother Earth was still in distress as Narakasura was harassing people. Mura, the architect of his capital, placed rings of fire, wind, and water all around the city with many traps and self-shooting weapons. Krishna with His discus, destroyed all the three rings of fire, wind, water, and with His swords, slashed all the traps. Then He blew His conch Pancajanya. The sound of the conch woke up Mura who had five mouths. Lord's discus killed all the five heads of the monster. One by one Krishna also killed other demons including Narakasura.

Kishna Leaves For The Supreme Abode

After finishing the job of ridding the earth of asuras, Lord retired to the forest where a hunter named Jara took the Lord's feet as a deer's mouth and shot an arrow at it. Jara was full of sorrow when he realized what he had done. He fell at Krishna's feet and begged Him, His pardon. Krishna told Jara not to be afraid, and that he just carried out His own will and would go to heaven with His blessings.

And Lord returned to His Supreme Abode.

"He who perceives Me everywhere and beholds everything in Me, never loses sight of Me, nor do I ever lose sight of him."

Om Namo Narayanaya Namaha

Quiz - We divided the class into two teams, and had a quiz based on the Krishna stories learnt through the year. All the kids were super excited about the quiz and scores. All of them did great!

24 Teachers : We learnt about another teacher today. As usual, we started with a riddle.

I am woolly in the beginning, sheltered and wrapped inside a cocoon, Only to come out in flying colors.
Who am I ?
Most of the kids answered either caterpillar or butterfly. With a few more hints, they got the right answer. Its the Larva.
What does a Larva teach us ?

When one identifies oneself to something with love, hate or fear, one becomes that.
A larva stays in the cocoon for a long time thinking of a butterfly, so it becomes one later. If you think of God, you become God.

Once a caterpillar looks at another one hanging down, expresses its doubt...How can a fuzzy me, become a butterfly?
Then the hanging caterpillar replies - It is something you are born to be.
A  butterfly is beautiful, has colorful wings, drinks nectar from flowers, Goes from flower to flower, spreading their messages of love. Makes the whole world a more colorful  and beautiful place. You just have to believe that you can be one, and you will be one some day.
One may not physically transform into what they want to be, but can surely imbibe those qualities, or personality traits. If one aspires to be like God, he / she cannot physically  become God, but can surely attain the Godly qualities of love and kindness.
Similarly, if we have a goal to be great, and constantly keep thinking about it, we will surely work toward it and will achieve our goal and become what we want. Whether we want to be an astronaut or a doctor, or anything else if we put our heart to the goal and believe we can, we can surely achieve it.
There is a short story about a little girl in a small village, who believed that she could become Miss America someday. Although it seemed impossible at that time, she still believed she could. And after some years, she actually did win that crown.

Video - On popular demand, we watched the Dhenukasura ( the donkey demon) video again. The kids totally enjoyed watching this 4 minute video.

We concluded the class with Aarti and pledge.

There will be NO Balavihar on the 28th in observance of Memorial Day.
Have a wonderful long weekend.

Our last class for this year's balavihar will be on June 4th.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and HariOm,
 Neelima Turaga  &  Vidhya Aiyer

May 14, 2023 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 25 :
14th May 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)

Govinda damodhara stothram- we learned the seventh and the eighth verse, "Sukhaavasaane idam eva..." and "Srikrishna Radhaavara.." respectively. Next week on 5/21 we have a test in this  Govinda damodhara stotram. They can refer to the lyrics (lyrics also shared in the whatsapp group), but all should attempt to sing either one or a few verses.
Lyrics given here.

Krishna everywhere
We started with a recap from Narada's meeting with Kamsa  and subsequently, Akroora heading to Vrindavana to bring Balarama and Krishna.

End of Kamsa: Krishna and Balarama visited all the places of interest in Mathura and finally arrived at the hall where the huge and heavy bow, studded with precious gems, was being exhibited. The bow was heavily guarded by fierce armed men. But before they knew what was going on, Krishna seized the bow and drew its string until it snapped into two pieces. The thunderous breaking sound reverberated in the hall and shook the earth making everyone tremble from head to toe. Not only this, but the terrific thunderclap reached as far as Kamsa's interior compartments and shook him from head to toe with immense fear.

Kamsa had a very bad restless sleep. His head swirled with the day's shocking events : the destruction of the bow, the death of his stalwart guards and soldiers and his own servants and citizens. He was trembling with fear from head to toe and he was plagued by nightmares of death, torture and dishonor. Kamsas nerves were on the edge and he knew no rest or peace.

At last the sun rose and it was the day everyone was waiting for. The massive arena and amphitheatre was luxuriously decorated with flowers and garlands. Spectators had started lining up from early morning to make sure to get good seats. The galleries were filled with princes and chiefs and ministers and traders. The wrestlers Chanura, Mustika, Kutam Sala and Tosala, world renowned for their strength, prowess and skill, were itching for the matches to begin.

Krishna and Balarama as they came into the amphitheater there was an elephant and a mahout. Krishna asked the manhout to move the elephant from the gate instead the manhout set the elephant to trample the boys under its feet. Krishna however slipped between the legs of the elephant  and caught the elephant's trunk. It fell down with a mightly thud. Krishna ripped out the elephant's tusks and with one blow killed both the animal and its manhout.

Soaked in perspiration and armed with the bloody tusks, the warrior brothers looked like lions as they marched majestically. Everyone including the wrestlers and Kamsa were scared. At last the signal was given for the games to begin. To all the spectators' surprise all the wrestlers were killed by Krishna and Balarama. The trumpets sounded for the victors and the crowd stood on its feet cheering joyously. Kamsa's rage knew no bounds. He ordered the trumpets to be silenced and shouted...."Drive the boys out of Mathura..Take away the possessions of the gopas. Seize Nanda and put him in chains. Kill the wicked Vasudeva and my father Ugrasena, Kill them. Do it now"

Before Kamsa could finish giving his orders, Krishna started walking toward the throne and in long leaps and strides jumped onto the raised platform and immediately drew his sword. But Krishna was fearless and he caught hold of Kamsa by the hair, swung him around and threw him down into the arena dead. It was just that quick.

But in spite of his disgraceful end, Kamsa was rewarded in his last moment with a blissful vision of the Lord Himself in entire divine splendor. He obtained oneness with the Lord because he never spent a single moment without thinking about Krishna. Even though he thought of the Lord only with hate, anger, and fear, his focus on the Lord was single pointed and constant. Kamsas eight brothers immediately drew swords to kill Krishna and Balarama but soon were overpowered by Krishna and Balarama and killed.

Krishna and Balarama then hastened to join. They released Ugrasena, the family elder and the king now of Mathura. The brothers then bowed to the king and asked for the release of their parents. Then Krishna and Balarama met their parents Vasudeva and Devaki and all the years of pain melted away for that time as they joined in happiness.

Krishna kept his promise to Trivakra(once hunch backed girl now beautiful lady). Then with Balarama and Uddhava, he visited Akrura's home who received them all with great devotion.

Krishna and Balarama met Nanda and respectfully addressed him saying "Dear Father you and Mother Yasoda shall ever be our parents, because it was you who raised us. We request you now to go to Vrindavana to console all the gopas and gopis"

We saw the death of kamsa, in the following video link, Krishna vs Demons | Full Movie (HD) | Great Epics of India | Watch this most popular animated story - YouTube

We also saw another video, Dhenukasura demon's death Dhenukasura, The Deadly Donkey - Little Krishna - YouTube

As we are almost finishing our lessons in this year's balavihar, we had a short discussion about the stories they liked from bala bhagavatam and what lessons they learnt from them. We then talked about the roadmap to Krishna. This is about the virtues one should have to get closer to the Lord. To forgive, share, be gentle with animals and having control over the senses are some of the points we discussed.

We concluded the session with the Arathi and Pledge by the 7th graders.

Next Balavihar class is on 5/21

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and HariOm,
 Neelima Turaga  &  Vidhya Aiyer

May 7, 2023 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 24 :

7th May 2023 / 9:15 AM

Today is an auspicious day, Gurudev jayanthi. We are all fortunate to perform guru paduka pooja. After which our class presented the class play followed by grade 7th. It was live streamed and the link is given here https://www.youtube.com/live/3Xnjn1AZAsc?feature=share

We thank all our class parents for their great support in bringing the play a successful one.

We concluded the session with the Pledge by the 8th graders.

Next Balavihar class is on 5/14 

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and HariOm,
 Neelima Turaga  &  Vidhya Aiyer 

A couple pics to enjoy and to save in memory :)

Apr 30, 2023 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

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)

Saraswathi Namasthubhyam
"Gurur Brahma" (page 60 in My Prayers book)
"Krishnaya Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)

Today's lesson : 24 Teachers -

The riddle was tough for the children to arrive at the answer- The teacher for today is "osprey." An osprey teaches us, says Dattatreya rishi -"that the source of misery is indeed the acquisition of whatever we love the most- holiding on to it leads to be unhappy with worries, just give up and that leads be happy" Once there was an osprey carrying a fish in its beak. It was attacked by a number of stronger birds. The moment the osprey dropped the fish, they stopped troubling him.

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.

We look forward to seeing the kids on 5/6 practice  session/ costume rehearsals on stage at 3.45 pm until 5.30 pm. 

Next Balavihar class is on 5/7 and that's the day we will showcase our play on stage in the assembly.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and HariOm,
 Neelima Turaga  &  Vidhya Aiyer 

Apr 23, 2023 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 22 :

23rd April 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)

Today's lesson : 24 Teachers -  A Child.

Learning to be childlike (not childish). We discussed the difference between the two. The kids had a lot to say about being "childish"! Babies are innocent, never affected by respect or disrespect. Live in the present and be free like a child. Children say as things are; they are innocent and straight.

Clever Weavers

Some of the kids already knew the story of the Emperor's New Clothes. The story is about how a bunch of clever weavers trick a King, who was always engrossed in his clothes and appearance. They tell him that they will make special clothes made of gold and silver, but the condition is that anyone who is unfaithful cannot see them. Although no one could see anything, they kept quiet as they might be considered to be unfaithful if they spoke the truth. No one including the emperor wanted to say anything about the so-called "invisible" expensive, special cloth that his new clothes were made of. It took a child witnessing the procession to say that the emperor had no clothes on! The moral, or message, of this tale is that we must not let pride or fear keep us from speaking up. Another moral is that children speak the truth when no one else will. A child is not afraid of the consequences. Be like a child and speak the truth.

Pride And Devotion

Ekanatha Maharaja and his wife were great devotees. They had a son, who was sent to Banaras to study Vedas. Ekanatha Maharaja read Bhagavatham to the villagers every evening and explained the meaning in Marathi. Everyone enjoyed that. This went on for years. The son returned after several years and insisted on his father teaching only in Sanskrit, Ekanatha Maharaja said that they would not understand. But his son said he would teach in Sanskrit. Unable to understand Sanskrit, the villagers lost interest and stopped coming. 

The son was full of pride that he had all the knowledge of the scriptures and the dad was full of devotion to the Lord. An old lady in the village had vowed to feed 1000 brahmins. She was poor, so she decided to invite Ekanatha Maharaja for dinner and feed him as he had supreme devotion and it would be equivalent to 1000 brahmins. The son declined the invite. So she took the food to their house and served it on a banana leaf. Whatever was left behind was considered prasad. When the old lady went to take the leaf, the son snatched it and threw it away. To everyone's astonishment, another banana leaf appeared in its place. This happened 1000 times! The proud son understood the devotion and greatness of his father. He was not disturbed by the insult and the arrogant wrong attitude of his son. Ekanatha Maharaja was above honor or dishonor, like a child.

After the lesson, we practiced for the play. It was a short class, so we headed to the main hall around 10.15 a.m.

We enjoyed the Earth day presentation and the skits by 5th and 8th graders.

As 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 around 8.45 a.m next Sunday to do a stage practice. Stage is available only from 9-9.30, so it's important that we are all on time at 8.45. Reminders will be sent out at the end of the week. 

In the practice next week, 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.

We look forward to seeing the kids in the class next session (4/30)

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and HariOm,
 Vidhya Aiyer & Neelima Turaga 

Apr 16, 2023 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 21 :
16th April 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)

Today's lesson : 24 Teachers 

riddle : Who am I?

I am not really ugly, but people get petrified by me
The earth is my home, but nobody wants to be near me
Some boys and girls like to keep me as a pet, but mommies still hate me
Yes, it's the snake.

Saint Dattatreya tells king Yadu that he learnt from the snake to live alone and speak less.

           Snake is quiet and lives alone.

•Snake teach us to say only what is necessary.
•Silence is golden.
•Keep your affairs to yourself.
•The man who is always telling what he is going to do, never does anything.
•This is called procrastination.
•DO NOT TALK ; ACT !

Short story : Once there lived an old couple. The old woman was bored, so asked her husband to bring her a cat. The old man goes to the cat mountain and finds thousands of different kinds of cats. Not knowing which one to pick, he brings all of them home. His wife is surprised that he brought so many cats. They are unable to pick the cat they like, so the old man asks the cats to vote among themselves as to who is the most beautiful. Unable to bear the noise that the cats were making, they went inside the house and shut the door. After some time, they notice that it's completely quiet outside. The cats had all killed each other. Only one little cat was sitting there quietly. The old man asks the tiny cat how he managed to survive. The cat tells him "I am just a simple cat. When they all said they were beautiful, I just did not say a word. I was quiet, so no one bothered me." This story illustrates the importance of staying away from arguments and being silent.

One more teacher-

Riddle : I use my saliva to build my home anywhere.  

I use my home to catch my prey

Who am I ?

Our next teacher today is the Spider.

A spider makes the web with its saliva, plays with it, lives in it  and then swallows it. Just like the spider makes the cobweb from itself, and swallows it back, the world comes out of God and goes back into God and again it comes out again. That is the fun of it……it never gets destroyed really..It only changes shapes and comes back!

We practiced for our class play. We have sent the scripts to all families in the email, please print a copy for them. (each child should have a personal copy, please ) Parents, please help our children to memorize the lines with expressions and make them understand to note whose line is before theirs to form into a sequence.

Play on 5/7 - the stage rehearsal date and time

 5/6 - 4.00 pm - 5.30pm  

(These are given in the whatsapp group. FYI)

House contests- 

The Geeta chanting yagna is on 4/22 at our ashram, an in person event. The registration is closed. Good luck to all those who are going to participate. Participation itself is a success and a blessing.

Bhajanotsav on 4/29, at our ashram 9 am until 12.30 noon, an in person event. The registration is closed. Good luck to all who are going to sing bhajans.

We concluded the session with arathi and pledge in the assembly.

We look forward to seeing the kids in the class next session (4/23)

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and HariOm,
Neelima Turaga & Vidhya Aiyer

Apr 2, 2023 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 20 :
2nd April 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)

Govinda damodhara stothram- we learned the sixth verse, "jihve sadaivam..."

Krishna everywhere
We started the lesson with a comparison - how Ravana had Maaricha do his bidding to entice Sita by posing as the golden deer, even though he did not want to. Both Akrura and Maaricha unwillingly obeyed their king's orders, but here, Akrura was unable to keep Kamsa's evil plan to himself.)

Akrura, Krishna & Balarama were set to depart for Mathura early the following morning. Nanda prepared carriages and presents for the trip to Mathura. Nanda, some elders and some gopas joined them.The gopis weren't included but figured out what was going on. They were all beyond devastated to see their Lord depart. Yashoda was inconsolable. Krishna said, "The world will always know that My Mother is, and always will be, My Yashoda maiya."

Akrura takes Krishna and Balarama with him in the chariot. They start their journey to Mathura. It becomes noon, and as it's very hot, they take a break on the banks of River Mandakini. Krishna and Balarama refresh themselves in the cool waters. Akrura goes into the river to offer his noon prayers. He takes a dip in the river, and lo! He sees Lord Vishnu with all his splendor lying down on the thousand headed Seshanaga, surrounded and worshipped by rishis, and sages, including the Sanat Kumaras, Prahlada and Narada.

{Who are The sanat Kumaras - They are four sages (rishis) from the Puranic texts of Hinduism who roam the universe as children, generally named Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara. They are described as the first mind-born creations and sons of the creator-god Brahma} 

Continuing the story, Akrura returns to the chariot reveling in the divine vision he had in the river. They start their journey again and reach Mathura by sunset. Akrura invites the brothers to his house, but Krishna gently refuses, saying that they will come after their mission is accomplished.

Mathura was a beautiful city with wide, clean roads. There were beautiful gardens, parks and marketplaces. There were simple rest houses for travelers and majestic mansions. Krishna and Balarama were utterly delighted by what they saw. 

As they continued to roam the streets, word quickly spread that Krishna and Balarama had arrived. Women and children rushed to the windows to get a glimpse of them.He showered flowers on them and worshipped them with incense, milk, curd, flowers and fruit. Krishna and Balarama entered the home of a garland maker named Sudama. Sudama worshipped them with betel leaves, garlands and many different kinds of flowers. Krishna blessed him in abundance. As they proceeded further, they met a hunchback woman, Trivakra. She was the royal maid at Kamsa's palace, and made sandalwood paste and other perfumes for Kamsa. When she saw Krishna, with great devotion she offered all the sandalwood paste and watched them as they put it on their face and arms. Krishna thanked her. With a smile he put his feet on hers and placed two fingers under her chin. Her body straightened up magically then and there. She was transformed into a beautiful woman.

As the brothers keep walking, they come across the hall where the huge dhanush was kept for the yagna. Fierce looking guards were appointed to safeguard the place. Within minutes, Krishna leaped towardsthe dhanush and broke it in no time. That sound was certainly horrifying like the thunder blow. Then the brothers fought with all the guards and killed them. The sound of the breaking of the bow reached Kamsa and he was filled with fear and anger. Krishna and Balarama casually continued their walk until they reached their camp in the night.

We practiced for our class play. We have sent the scripts to all families in the email, please print a copy for them. (each child should have a personal copy, please ) Parents, please help our children to memorize the lines with expressions and make them understand to note whose line is before theirs to form into a sequence.

Play on 5/7 - the stage rehearsal dates and timings

4/15 and 5/6 - 4.00 pm - 5.30pm  

(These are given in the whatsapp group. FYI)

Geeta recording - We recorded verses 17-25 (Chapter 3, karma yoga) and sent them to earn house points.

House contests- 

The Geeta chanting yagna is on 4/22 at our ashram, an in person event. The registration is now open and the link is given below. Please register early to choose your choice of slot. We will share the link in the whatsapp group as well.

 Geeta Chanting (chinmayavrindavan.org) 

This is the link to register.

Bhajanotsav on 4/29, please register and form your own groups (4-6) for this unique group competition. House Events (chinmayavrindavan.org)

(Registration links also provided in the whatsapp group)

We concluded the session with arathi and pledge in our class (akhanda ramayanam parayanam was almost to conclude by noon, so we did not have the assembly and arathi/pledge etc together)

We look forward to seeing the kids in the class next session (4/16), No class on 4/9

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and HariOm,
Neelima Turaga & Vidhya Aiyer