Mar 17, 2024 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Week 19:
17th March 2024 / 9:15 AM

Opening prayers and Shlokas
Shlokas: Class began with 3 OMs followed by

"Om Saha Navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)
 Om shrI Ganeśaya Namaha,  shrI Saraswatyai Namaha,  shrI Sat Gurubhyo Namaha.
"Vakratunda Mahakaya" (page 27 in My Prayers book)

Saraswathi Namasthubhyam
"Gurur Brahma" (page 60 in My Prayers book)
"Krishnaya Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)

 

Today's lesson - Krishna everywhere - Indra Yajna bhangam : 

 

It was the rainy season and there were grand preparations for a Yajna. Krishna asked his father about the Yajna..."what is all this for? In whose honor is this yajna being performed? What are the benefits of doing this yajna?" His father Nanda answered,"the yajna is in honor of Indra. Indra is the god of clouds and rain. Rain gives life to all living beings. Therefore we are praying to him to thank him and ask him to remain kind to us." Krishna then raised a doubt as to why they should thank Indra, when each person's own karma decides the birth, death and fortune of any person. Where is Indra coming in this. Krishna further added that they should instead, worship the cows, brahmins and the Mount Govardhan, who help them in many different ways. The elders did not initially agree to this as they wanted to continue the tradition. But hearing Krishna's points, they were convinced. Then it was unanimously decided that the cows, brahmins and Mount Govardhan shall be worshipped every year, not Indra.

Indra heard this and was enraged. He decided to punish the villagers for this. He summoned the lightning, clouds and winds and asked them to wreck havoc on Vrindavana and destroy it. Torrential rains and hail lashed ruthlessly on the people of Vrindavan. It was flooded everywhere.It was cold and damp and the people were suffering immensely. The whole village ran to Krishna asking him to save them from Indra's fury. Krishna then lifted the Govardhana mountain with one hand and placed it on his pinky finger. The entire village took shelter under the mountain. 

Krishna's gopa friends were so sweet that they thought Krishna wouldn't be able to hold the mountain on his own for very long and tried to support it by holding sticks up against the mountain.Krishna pretended that he needed all the help he could get.

This went on for seven days and nights. The rain did not stop. But no one was afraid now as they all had Krishna with them.

Indra was puzzled and surprised. He realized that all this anger he was showing was a waste and he was ashamed of himself. He recalled his forces of destruction. The rain stopped and the floods subsided. People thanked Krishna and went to their homes. 

Soon Indra came to Vrindavana with his head hung low and begged for forgiveness. Krishna tells him to go back and do his duties faithfully. One should not expect any reward for performing one's duty. The divine cow, Kamadhenu also came to worship Krishna. Everyone felt blessed and happy.

 

What is Karma - We discussed the concept of Karma. Karma means action. For example, when I am hungry, I eat. This is action. The result is that I feel full, which is the Karma phala.  Each person is responsible for his own karma and karma phala. If I am hungry and another person eats, will I feel full? If you sow lemon seeds, you will only get a lemon tree, not an orange tree. As you sow, so shall you reap. We have to bear the consequences of our actions.

 

Another concept we discussed was Nishkaama karma - Selfless acts, or actions performed without any selfishness or ego. We talked about Mother Theresa, who dedicated her life to the service of mankind. The actions surrendered at the feet of the Lord are the best kind of action.

Teacher for today's class -Pingala dancer. 

There once was a young, beautiful dancer called Pingala. Rich people came to see her dance everyday and give her lots of money and gifts. She didn't care about anything else except these riches. One day no one came to see her dance. She was initially very sad and upset, but slowly realized how foolish she had been, thinking about things that would perish and in the process forgot God. She drops all the attachment with the worldly things, and turns her attention to the Lord. She thanks God for putting her on the right path, by creating these problems.Pingala dancer teaches us not to have expectations, because when we expect, we are bound to get disappointed.

Story time : Once a rich,grumpy old man went to a Rabbi as he was unhappy. The Rabbi takes him near a glass window and asks him to tell what he saw. The old man saw some children playing outside and some women talking, The rabbi then shows him to a mirror, and asks him when he can see now. The man replies that he can only see himself. 

The Window is made of glass, and so is the mirror. But the glass of the mirror has been covered with silver. With the coating of silver, you stop seeing others and instead see only yourself. When our mind is engrossed in material things, we can only see ourselves. Once we drop this attachment, we can see other things.

Gita Chanting : We practiced upto 15 shlokas and learnt shlokas 16-21 following Swamiji's videos. 

The registration for Gita Chanting Yagna is open. Please register the kids for it, and have them practice regularly.

Video : We watched a video from the Little Krishna series, depicting today's lesson.

We then assembled in the main hall to watch the show by second graders and concluded with the Chinmaya mission pledge.

We look forward to seeing the kids next Sunday, March 24th.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and Hari Om,

Neelima Turaga & Rekha Pai