Hari Om!
Dear Parents,
Our schedule for Bala Vihar on November 3rd was as follows:
Opening Prayers:
1. Om chants (3 times),
2. Shanti mantra - Sa ha navavatu,
3. Ślokā on Lord Vishnu - Śuklām Baradharam
4. Ślokā on Goddess Saraswati - Saraswati Namastubhyam
5. Ślokā on Hanuman - Buddhir Balam
Yoga and Sanskrit:
We revised the Sanskrit phrases for
- Good morning
- What is your name?
- My name is…
- Welcome
- Thank you
- Please
Rāmāyana:
The itihāsa resumes with King Dasaratha, heartbroken, pining for his Rāma, as life slowly wanes from his body and death prevails.
Meanwhile Bharata and Shatrughna, who were spending time at Kekeya, returned to Ayodhya. Seeing the despair on the faces of their citizens, Bharata rushed to see his father. Kaikeyi intercepted him to give him the good news of Rāma's banishment and the unfortunate consequence of the King's sudden demise. Bharata, the devoted brother and son, could not make sense of the happenings. Kaikeyi's machinations were revealed in her vile speech, leaving Bharata utterly disgusted with his mother's behavior. Unable to digest both pieces of news, he sought Kausalya, to apologize for the events and seek her forgiveness for his inaction. He promised to bring Rāma back to rule the kingdom, as it was his birthright.
Clad in simple garments of bark and cotton, he set out with his army, ministers and scholars towards the forest. He ate frugally, slept on the ground - a penance undertaken to undo the injustice meted out to Rāma.
Fun time: We watched a couple of short animated videos from Chinmaya Mission.
It was a short class as there was Saraswati Puja performed by all children at the temple.
Looking forward to our next class today Friday, November 17th at 7pm.
Pranām,
Uma and Nivedita
Friday Grade 1 Sevikas
