Hari Om Dear Parents,
Here is the update of our Dec 1st 2023 balavihar session.
We begin our session by greeting the students followed by Likhita Japa , Opening Prayers and attendance.
We continued Geeta Dhyanam chanting today. We chanted the first 4 verses again.
We initiated the 'My Vaca' activity last week with the aim of encouraging children to reflect on their use of words in daily speech. The goal is to prompt them to consider reducing the use and frequency of negative words, lies, complaints, and also inculcate the use of positive and comforting expressions. At the start of each class, children dedicate 5 minutes to reflecting on the past week. They then mark stars or dots on a display board to visually represent their self-evaluations.
Yato Dharmah Tato Jayah (60 Mins)
The focus of the class today was to continue to understand the Mahabharata events and analyze the cause and effect of these key events. Today we covered two key episodes of Mahabharata.
1. "Lac Palace to Heavenly Palace".
Here was another attempt by Duryodhana to destroy Pandavas. He had a beautiful palace built for them to live in. However, the palace is secretly constructed to be inflammable (made of Lac material). The Kauravas plan to burn the palace down while the Pandavas are inside. Fortunately, the Pandavas, being warned by Vidura, escape through an underground tunnel. But the Kauravas believed the Pandavas had died.
Following the escape of the pandavas, they wandered through the forest disguised as brahmins. They heard King Draupada of Pancala was having a swayamvara for his daughter Draupadi. Swayamvara, those days was a practice where a princess selects a groom from a gathering of eligible princes.
In Draupadi's Swayamvara, the challenge for the suitors is unique. They must string a giant bow and shoot an arrow through a revolving target. Many princes try and fail, including Karna, who is denied the opportunity to participate as he is not a Kshatriya by birth. The Pandavas, in disguise, attend the swayamvara. Arjuna, the third Pandava, successfully strings the bow and pierces the target, winning Draupadi's hand in marriage.
Key learning from this event:
We played a small game to outline the focus arjuna has during archery. We had students sit in a circle and had students start saying the number 1,2,3 etc but had them replace 3 and its multiples with 'OM'. Anyone who failed was out of the game and the came continued with the rest. The kids really enjoyed this game and understood the importance of focus and concentration.
We continued the Mahabhartha discussion:
After winning Draupadi in Swayam Vara the Pandavas came home, the Pandavas called out to Kunti who was busy in the kitchen, to tell here that they had brought a wonderful surprise. Kunti Said 'Whatever it is dear sons , share it equally'. As a result Draupadi was married to all the five pandavas. The cause and effect we see in this event is:
Soon people came to know that Pandavas were alive and well. To save face Duryodhana made Yudhistir the king of a barren piece of land. But with divine help, Pandavas converted into a prosperous city (Indraprastha) and built a wondrous palace. They conducted a raja Surya Yagna where they invited all the kings including the Kauravas. However Duryadhana felt humiliated and the prosperity of his cousins made him jealous as well.
1. "The Game of dice".
Following the yagna, Duryodhana, knowing Yudhistra's weakness for gambling, manipulates the Pandavas into a game of dice against his uncle Shakuni, who is known for his cunning tactics.
As the game progresses, Shakuni ensures that Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava, loses everything, including his kingdom, wealth, and even his brothers and himself. The game becomes increasingly unfair, with the dice loaded against the Pandavas. In the end, Yudhishthira, bound by duty and unable to refuse, wagers and loses his wife Draupadi.
Draupadi is humiliated in the Kauravas court. Duryodhana's brother Duhsasana attempts to disrobe Draupadi in the assembly hall in front of everyone. Draupadi begs the help of elders in the assembly hall, but no one comes to her rescue. She finally prayed to Krishna asking for help. Krishna came to the rescue and saved Draupadi from the humiliation.
There was one more round of dice left. The Pandavas lose again and this time the Pandavas are forced into exile for 13 years, including one year in anonymity. This unjust and deceitful game of dice becomes a turning point, setting the stage for the deep-rooted animosity between the two factions and ultimately leading to the great war of Kurukshetra. Well this event bring up another question that explains the cause and effect from a different angle.
Geetha Chanting: (10 mins)
Verses 8 & 9 from chapter 4 were covered and practiced this week, guided by the chanting video led by Swamiji.
We concluded the day today with closing prayers and assembled in the main hall for aarti and Pledge.
Next Class : Dec 8th 2023.
Thanks and Hari Om
Purnima and Shankar
