Hari Om Dear Families,
Re-sending these in the correct format :).
We had a fun Sunday afternoon with our kids. Please find below the summary of our class on Sunday, Dec 10th 2023
Opening Prayers: We chanted 3 OMs followed by the following opening Prayers
- Om Sahanavavatu
- Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
- Saraswati Namastubhyam
- Vakratunda mahaakaavya(for Lord Ganesha)
- Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam
Kids are given an opportunity to come in front and lead the group for chanting. Please revise as we will be asking each kid to lead in our class.
Hanuman Chalisa: We started learning Hanuman Chalisa since last 5 weeks. We have learnt 10 verses so far.
We did verses 8, 9 and 10.
Verse 8:
Prabhucharitra sunibe ko rasiya; ramalakhana sita mana basiya (Verse 8)
Meaning: You always delight on listening to the glories of Lord Rama. You have Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Sita residing permanently in your heart.
Story 1: Where is Rama
Sitaji gifted Hanumanji a pearl necklace. HAnumanji was searching something in each pearl and throwing the pearl away. Sitaji is surprised and asks him why he is doing that. HAnumanji said that he was searching for Lord Rama's name in each pearl. Then Sitaji asked Hanumanji if he had Rama inside him. Hanumanji then tore open his chest and Sitaji sees a glowing chest with Rama and Sitaji residing in there. This shows his deep love for Lord Rama and Sitaji.
Story 2: To please my Lord
Sitaji wears red sindoor and Hanumanji asks her about it. She tells him she wears it to please Lord Rama. Next day he drenches himself with sindoor and becomes fully red all over his body. Rama is surprised and asks him about it. Hanumanji immediately tells him that he did it to make him happy. Lord Rama is deeply touched by his devotion and gives him a big hug.
Group Discussion: The children laughed a lot listening to both of these stories. We discussed about Hanumanji's immense devotion for Rama. The children understood what devotion is and also how easy it was to please Lord Rama. We discussed what can be done by each of us to show our devotion. Some said prayer, some said likhita japa.
Verse 9:
Sukshmarupadhari siyahi dikhava; vikata roopadhari lanka Jarawa (Verse 9)
Meaning: You assumed the smallest form when you revealed yourself to Mother Sita and by assuming a fierce form, you burnt down the city of Lanka
Story: Burning of Lanka
When Hanumanji reached Lanka to Ashokavatika, he takes the form of a mosquito and sits on a tree above where Sitaji was sitting. He overhears the conversation of Sitaji and Ravana. Ravana was telling Sitaji to become his wife and that he will give her all the luxuries. Sitaji gets very angry and tells him she is already married to Lord Rama and tells Ravan to get rid of his wicked desire and threatens him that he could lose his kingdom. Ravana tells her that she has only 2 months to decide. HAnumanji heard all this and feels very bad for Sitaji and wants to help her. When all rakshasis fall asleep he starts to narrate story of Rama and this catches Sitaji's attention. Then she sees HAnumanji and he gives her Rama's ring. Sitaji in return gives her ring to him to give to Rama. Since he wanted Ravana to know Rama's power, he expands himself and jumps all over the garden and ruins it. When he gets captured by Ravana's folks, he praises Lord Rama which angers Ravana. They set his tail on fire and HAnumanji takes this opportunity and sets the whole Lanka on fire.
Group Discussion: The kids loved how Hanumanji could expand or shrink his body depending on the situation. They loved that he was so resourceful and intelligent. We discussed how we should use our intelligence in doing good things in our life like to help someone in need be it siblings, friends or parents or teachers.
Verse 10:
Bhima rupa Dhari asura samhare; Ramachandra ke kaja sanware (Verse 10)
Meaning: Assuming a dreadful form to destroy the demons, You accomplished the mission of Lord Rama.
Story: Ravana, The Demon
Ravana is called dasamukha because he has 10 heads. Hanumanji killed many demons to fulfill Lord Rama's mission. We discussed how we have some inner demons ourselves like anger, jealousy hatred etc. We also discussed how we sometimes do not use our 5 senses eyes, nose, ears, tongue and skin in a good way. This cause our inner demons to rise.
Group Discussion: Many kids gave examples of situations where inner demons come in them. They realized and we discussed about how we should not be like Ravana's 10 heads and be more like Hanumanji.
Other Activities:
Hero Pose: We did the Hero Pose where we stand straight keeping our hands at the waist and smile. We discussed how we should start our day with that.
Meditation : We did silent meditation for 3 minutes.
Talent show: We asked the children to display their talent in any area. Some kids came in the front and showed some good Taekwondo moves.
Likhita japa: We did Likhita japa of the kids favorite god in the book. Please remember to send it with the kids every class. Yellow is our house color. To read more about Balavihar Houses, check out this link and participate in the upcoming events. https://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/balavihar/balavihar-houses
Things to note:
You will receive class updates through email every week.
WhatsApp group if you haven't joined yet: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JTCTZ4rPWLPH8te76B1QGy
Class starts at 1 PM sharp with opening prayers. Please make sure kids are inside the classroom 5 mins before the class starts.
Please make sure kids use the restroom before entering the class.
This year's parents handbook is available at the following link- https://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/balavihar/parents-corner/handbook
Materials Needed for the Class
Notebook for Likhita japa ( Pencil and Eraser)
Hanuman Chalisa book
Balavihar Handbook (Bhagavad Gita)
Regards,
Aasthaji and Rajeswari
