Hari Om,
We had a very busy and exciting class today. We started off with Om and our opening prayer. The prayer is below for kids to practice. After attendance, we started our first 2 chapters in our book. There are a total of 40 chapters. We went through the following:
We had a very busy and exciting class today. We started off with Om and our opening prayer. The prayer is below for kids to practice. After attendance, we started our first 2 chapters in our book. There are a total of 40 chapters. We went through the following:
Chapter 1- We talked about meaning of Ramayana: adventure/Journey of Rama.
Rama was born in Ayodhya, which was ruled by the wise King Dasaratha. Ayodhya was a beautiful place with palaces, gardens. Everyone in Ayodhya was happy. The meaning of Ayodhya is place where there is no fighting.
-King Dasaratha had 3 wives- Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi
-King Dasaratha was sad because he did not have children. He went to his Guru Vasistha, who guided him to Sage Hrsyasrnga. Sage Hrsyasrnga asked the king to do a Putrakamesti Yaga.
-Yaga is a fire ritual.
Chapter 2- All the people in Ayodhya prepared for the Yaga. They made garlands, decorations, Rangoli and prepared sweets.
-We described the Havan Kuda where fire is lit, herbs and wood are placed in the havan, the sages say mantras.
-Something very special happened in the Havan. Yajna Purusa came from the fire and gave a bowl of payasam to the King. The king was asked to share the payasam with his wives and assured him that they will have children.
-Queen Kausalya and Kaikeyi shared half the portion of their payasam with Sumitra. That is why Sumitra had twins.
-In time, all 3 queens had children. Kausalya gave birth to Rama, Sumitra to Lakshamana and Shatrghna, Kaikeyi to Bharata.
Activity- we had a few kids come and put some rice and dry leaves into a makeshift havan. They each got 1 misri from the prasadam bowl.
Game- we divided the kids in 2 teams and asked them names of everyone, what we learned above. Both teams did well and got equal points.
Bhajan- We started teaching the first 2 verses of a beautiful Rama Bhajan. We will continue to learn this in our classes.
At 2:15- all of the kids heard the Gita Primer on the t.v. screen. They practiced some sanskrit alphabet and words.
Opening Prayer
Om saha navavatu
Saha nau bhunaktu
Saha viryam karavavahai
Tejasvinavadhitam-astu ma vidvisavahai
Om santih santih santih
Homework for kids: quiz them about what we learned
-What is meaning of Ayodhya?
-Who ruled Ayodhya?
-How many wives did King Dasaratha have? Names?
-Who did the king go to for help?
-What does Yaga mean?
-Why did Sumitra have twins?
-Names of King's children
With our Guru's Blessings,
Saratha and Kavita
Saratha and Kavita
