Hari Om Dear Families,
We had our class with the changes as discussed in the Prayer Hall. Please find below the summary of our class on Sunday, Dec 10th 2023
1) Opening Prayers: We chanted 3 OMs followed by opening Prayer:
Om Sahanavavatu
Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
Saraswati Namastubhyam
Vakratunda mahaakaavya(for Lord Ganesha)
Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam
Please revise as we will be asking each kid to lead in our class.
2) Hanuman Chalisa - We revised the following 8 verses of Hanuman Chalisa -
Again , Hanuman Chalisa is a great prayer with 40 verses (chaupāis) written by Sri Goswami Tulasidas. It's in Avadhi language, a dialect of Hindi spoken in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama.
We sing glories of the Lord to Purify our speech and mind. Also , Singing Hanuman Chalisa makes us Fearless
Shri Guru Charan Saroj Raj Nij mane mukure sudhar
Varnao Raghuvar Vimal Jasu Jo dayaku phal char (Doha 1)
Meaning: After cleansing the mirror of my mind with the pollen dust of holy Guru's Lotus feet. I Profess the pure, untainted glory of Shri Raghuvar which bestows the four-fold fruits of life.(Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha).
Budhi Hin Tanu Janike Sumirau Pavan Kumar
Bal budhi Vidya dehu mohe Harahu Kalesa Vikar (Doha 2)
Meaning: Fully aware of the deficiency of my intelligence, I concentrate my attention on Pavan Kumar and humbly ask for strength, intelligence and true knowledge to relieve me of all blemishes, causing pain Tulsidas ji invokes Hanuma Ji's blessings.
Jai Hanuman gyan gun sagar Jai Kapis tihun lok ujagar
Meaning:Victory to thee, O'Hanuman! Ocean of Wisdom-All hail to you O'Kapisa! (fountain-head of power,wisdom and Shiva-Shakti) You illuminate all the three worlds (Entire cosmos) with your glory.
Ram dhoot atulit bal dhama Anjani-putra Pavan sut nama
Meaning: You are the divine messenger of Shri Ram. The repository of immeasurable strength, though known only as Son of Pavan (Wind), born of Anjani.
Mahavir Vikram Bajrangi Kumati nivar sumati Ke sangi
Meaning: With Limbs as sturdy as Vajra (The mace of God Indra) you are valiant and brave. On you attends good Sense and Wisdom. You dispel the darkness of evil thoughts.
Kanchan varan viraj subesa Kanan Kundal Kunchit Kesa
Meaning: Your physique is beautiful golden coloured and your dress is pretty. You wear ear rings and have long curly hair.
Hath Vajra Aur Dhuvaje Viraje Kandhe moonj janehu sajai
Meaning: You carry in your hand a lightening bolt along with a victory (kesari) flag and wear the sacred thread on your shoulder.
Sankar suvan kesri Nandan Tej pratap maha jag vandan
Meaning:As a descendant of Lord Sankar, you are a comfort and pride of Shri Kesari. Because of your lustre, you are worshipped all over the universe.
3. Brainstorming- Kumati or Sumati ? Kumati means wicked thoughts & Sumati means good thoughts. We gave 5-6 examples and asked kids to recognize on the Sumati and Kumati in them.
4. Revised the following stories -
(i) Once there was a man who, out of deep jealousy, was constantly plagued with negative thoughts of his neighbor. One day a genie 🧞♂️ appeared and said to him," I can give you whatever you want, but the only condition is that your neighbor will get twice as much." The man was very happy, but did not know what to request. Every good thing he asked for, his neighbor would get twice as much. Since he was jealous of his neighbor, he did not want anything good for him. After much thinking he said to the 🧞♂️, " take out one of my 👁 ". The neighbor became blind. This is Kumati. A jealous man is willing to harm himself so that he could hurt others.
(ii) Once there lived a rich man called Dharmaram. He thought what can I do to please the lord? Hmm.. maybe I can light a pure ghee lamp in lord's temple everyday. So every evening at dusk, he lit a pure ghee lamp at the temple.A poor man named Karmaram lived nearby. He thought the road to the village was dark and lonely. I will light an oil lamp 🪔 so that passersby don't stumble and hurt themselves. So every evening he would light the 🪔. One night lord came in Dharmaram's dream and said I love Mr.K's lamp more than yours. Stunned Dharmaram said but lord I use pure ghee while he uses cheap oil to light the lamp. The lord then patiently said the material value of your lamp is of less importance. The temple is already well lit and does not need any more lamps. Karmaram's 🪔lights the path of so many travelers. Your actions should be such that they benefit the maximum number of people. Service of the world is the service of the lord. This is Sumati. Hanumanji always gives us good thoughts and eliminates evil thoughts.
5. Bhagavad Geeta : We have been learning Bhagavad Geeta for few classes but we had each of the kids repeat the prelude and first verse individually. I will send the recording. Please have them practice
Prelude : om śrīparamātmane namaḥ. atha caturtho'dhyāyaḥ. jñānakarmasannyāsayogaḥ
Verse 1: śrībhagavānuvāca
imaṁ vivasvate yogam proktavānahamavyayam
vivasvānmanave prāha manurikṣvākave'bravīt
6.Meditation/Yoga : We did silent meditation for 2 minutes and couple of yoga poses.
7.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.
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,
Divya and Rajalakshmi
