Hari om everyone,
Welcome back to another exciting year of Bala Vihar! It was delightful to see the familiar faces of 11th and 12th graders and to welcome the 10th graders into our class.
We will be sending a brief synopsis of our classes after every Bala Vihar. Here is this week's overview.
We started the class with a short meditation. From the very first class, we started learning to chant the Bhagavadgita, Chapter 4. This is the assigned chapter for everyone in Bala Vihar to learn this year. We learnt 5 verses and the students have already impressed us!!
Before taking attendance, we always start the class with a Quirky Question to which they can only give answers after the attendance is marked. (This tests their willpower/self-control in not giving out the answers immediately 
).
). The Kyun Kyun (QQ - Quirky Question) of the day was - On a dark night, someone was driving very fast in a car, on a single-lane road with barricades on both sides. Suddenly he sees a baby, a dog, and an old man standing smack in the middle of the road! He is allowed to hit only one thing. So what should it be?!
Some students had the right answer - 'hit the brakes!' (Of course, duh! :)
Few others were stumped. They thought that the old man was the right option - he had already lived his life (
). NO!! Hit the brakes, please :).
). NO!! Hit the brakes, please :). Here, we discussed that many times, we listen only to respond but not to understand. In the question, nowhere was it mentioned that he should choose to hit one of them on the road. But we were engrossed in the imagination of the scene. We made a wrong and unethical choice. So, we were reminded to listen with full attention always :).
Students were numbered in pairs and asked to introduce each other to the class. They were also asked about what they expect to get out of Bala Vihar this year.
We did a quick Bhagavadgita (BG) trivia about how many chapters, verses, etc. BG is the Lord's manual for us humans. A manual should be referred to, before using any equipment. So, the best time to learn the Bhagavadgita is now! It is Bhagavaan's song, words of advice, that are relevant at all times.
We then discussed the difference between a discussion and an argument. We concluded that discussions are better and are always welcome in our class. This is the reason -
The children took this advice to heart already :). We were talking about the order of the universe and how are we all connected. One of the students said, 'Whatever they didn't know 500 years ago, they attributed it to God. Today we do the same. Going forward, even after 100 years, whatever we don't know will still be attributed to God, isn't it!'
Great thought! We didn't have enough time to discuss this question. We will continue in the next class.
We had a quick parent briefing about our curriculum and Youth Social events. We will be sending all those details on our WhatsApp groups.
Have a wonderful rest of the week. See you Sunday.
Regards,
Rashmi and Sirisha.
Rashmi and Sirisha.
