Hari Om Dear Parents,
Here is the update of our third balavihar session: Oct 6th 2023.
We begin our session by greeting the students followed by Likhita Japa , Opening Prayers and attendance.
Symbolism in Hinduism (15 Mins)
We started our class today with a short discussion on the upcoming festival of Navratri. We talked about how each of our families celebrate Navratri. We then discussed the meaning and significance of Navratri and concluded with explaining the symbolism of Devi's - Durga , Laksmi and Sarasvathi. We also listened to this short Chinmaya mission video on Navratri The Festival of Navaratri: Thinking About It
Yato Dharmah Tato Jayah (40 Mins)
We continued our discussion on the laws of karma .
· Started with a Recap of the last class discussion on laws of karma including the takeaway from the activity game to depict the laws of karma.
· Highlighted the section in Mahabharata where the laws of karma are discussed ( Danadharma-in Anushashana Parva - 13th Parva of Mahabharata) and thus set the context of how our puranas guide us on how to act (karma) to lead a peaceful and happy life. One among the many teachings.
· Purnima ji then narrated the story of a king who went in search of answers to 3 key questions that was nagging him and how the Wise man (saint) helped the king understand
o that the right time to start the most important work is - 'now'
o The most important person is the - 'person in front of you'
o And the most important work is to serve others
Key message being to live in the present moment and serve others is the right thing to do.
· We then briefly discussed the dialogue between Bhisma Pitamah and King Yudhisthira where the King asks 'if one wants to have a good life , What should one do ? what actions should one avoid?' and the reply of Bhishma Pitamah is "One must give up the following 10 karmas: Three of Body, Four of Speech and three of the mind."
We introduced the 10 karmas that a person must give up to lead a peaceful and happy life. We will continue this topic into the next class as well.
Geetha Chanting: (10 mins)
We concluded our class by listening to Swamiji chant verses 2 & 3 of Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 4 and repeated the same.
Link: https://bit.ly/Ch4verse2-3
We concluded the day today with closing prayers and assembled in the main hall for Aarthi and pledge.
Next Class : Oct 27th 2023.
No Balavihar class for next two weeks – Which you all Happy Navratri to all Oct 15th to 24th 2023. Celebrate the festival with your kids, families and friends.
Thanks and Hari Om
Purnima and Shankar
