Dear Parents,
The schedule for Bala Vihar was as follows:
Opening Prayers:
- Om chants (3 times),
- Shanti mantra - Sa ha navavatu,
- Ślokā on Lord Vishnu - Śuklām Baradharam
- Ślokā on Goddess Saraswati - Saraswati Namastubhyam
- Ślokā on Hanuman - Buddhir Balam
As we were starting the class, the children had questions about the photos that were on the window sill - those of Goddess Saraswati and the Guru Parampara. We chanted the Ślokā Sadāśiva Samārambham…. and spoke about the importance of our Gurus (from Lord Dakshinamurthy to our Swami ji's).
Rāmāyana:
This week brought us to the very beginning of the epic - the prosperous Kingdom of Ayodhya, with King Daśaratha and his wives Kauśalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. They belonged to the Raghu Dynasty (Raghu Kula) that worshipped the Sun.
The need for an heir brought him to Sage Vasiśta who asked him to perform a Putra Kameśti Yagna. A Yagna Purusha (celestial that arises from the flames of the Yagna) gave the King a bowl of Payasam, to be consumed by his three Queens. While Kauśalya and Kaikeyi had a share each, Sumitra got two.
The result was not just one heir, but four! Kauśalya had Rāma, Kaikeyi had Bharata, and Sumitra had the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna. The Kshatriya Princes were strong yet gentle, with a strong bond uniting them all. From the very beginning it was clear that they all looked up to Rāma, who was a shining example of Dharma.
Stotram Chanting:
This year's Stotram is a few verses of the Guru Stotram. We started with the first verse, Akhanda mandalākāram…
We will go slow with these till the children are comfortable with pronunciation and flow.
Gita Chanting:
The Sanskrit Primer (a video on pronunciations) was played in class. This is to familiarize the children with the sounds that they will encounter while chanting.
Please make sure the children have the following in their bags: the Bala Vihar Handbook, My Prayers book, and Rāmāyana coloring book. Looking forward to our next class on Friday, September 22 at 7pm.
Pranām,
Uma and Nivedita
Friday Grade 1 Sevikas
