Hari Om Dear Families,
We had a fun Sunday afternoon with our kids. We did start our class with a few yoga poses and some stretching exercises to calm down. Please find below the summary of our class on Sunday, April 07th 2024.
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. We started the classes with the revision of all 8 values of Hanumanji and did a recap of all the verses we did in past Verse 1 to verse 27.
Hanuman Chalisa: We started learning Hanuman Chalisa in the last 14 weeks. We have learnt 27 verses so far.
We did verses 28,29 and 30.
Verse 28:
Aura manoratha jo koi lëvai, soi amita jívana phala pavai.. (Verse 28)
Meaning:
You bless everyone who seeks Your grace and grant in large measure all that one wants and also grant one the full fruit of life.
Story:
Once, a man noticed a board in a shop, which read, "God's Shop. Come and get what you want." The man was curious so he went in and asked, "Just give me an apple; I am hungry." The shopkeeper handed him a tiny package. The puzzled man said, "Sir, maybe there is a misunderstanding, but all I want is an apple." The shopkeeper nodded and said, "Yes, sir. What I have given you is apple seeds. This is God's shop. You will receive the seeds of your desire, but it is up to you to work hard and reap the fruit." God is large hearted. The man wanted only an apple but God gave him the possibilities of bushels of apples.
Moral:
Everything we have is God's gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to God. God is the wish fulfiller, provided we put forth our efforts and hard work with sincerity and dedication
Group Discussion:
We all shared an example of what God gave us , and how we use it correctly to give back our reward to God.
Verse 29:
Charo juga para tëpa tumhërë, hai parasiddha jagata ujiyara . (Verse 29)
Meaning:
Your glory radiates through all the four yugas and Your fame shines everywhere in the universe
Story :
In the forest, all the animals gathered in front of a saint to complain about their unhappiness with human beings. The fox said, "I am very intelligent. Does man cheat less than I do? No, he is also cunning as I am." A dog joined and complained, "I am the most loyal, and yet man hurts me when he is not in a good mood!" Next, a peacock indignantly said, "Even Lord Krisna loves me and adores me as He wears my feather on His head. But, I feel man is no good." "I keep the waters clean, but man catches me and eats me! He is heartless," shouted the fish. The mule added to the discussion. "Man is heartless. I carry his entire load and all I get in return is a few hard blows!" "Even the skin that man sits upon is my skin! What is the use of man's skin? Nothing!" whined the deer. An eagle spat, "Can any man fly like me? Will they ever have my sharp eyesight? We definitely are greater than mankind." Even the gentle cow cried, "And I give my milk for their nourishment. What do they give me? Just dry grass." Every animal had some complaint regarding humans. Finally, the saint responded, "You are all right. Yes, you all have something more to offer than man does. Nevertheless, man is still great because of his sense of discrimination. He can judge what is right and what is wrong. Man has intellect and, if he uses it, he can be the king of the universe, but, if he does not use it, he is worse than an animal."
Moral:
Only when we use our intellect, we rise above the animals. When we use our intellect, we recognize God's glory everywhere. We become humble and we start serving Him. Only by serving Him, we can fulfill the goal of our life. Let us use our intellect, not to deceive but to see the glory of Lord and make our life glorious and worthwhile. Hanumanji made His life glorious and worthwhile by keeping Lord Rama in His Heart.
Group Discussion:
Kids did share things that makes us different from Animals.
Verse 30:
sadhu sañta ke tum rakhavëre, asura nikañdana rama dulare. (Verse 30)
Meaning:
You are the protector of the righteous and destroyer of the wicked. You are very dear to Srí Rama.
Story:
A saint earned his livelihood by stitching and selling clothes. A merchant purchased clothes from him, but always paid the saint in counterfeit coins. One day the saint had to go out for some work and so he left his servant to operate the shop. The cheating merchant came to purchase clothes and as usual tried to pay with counterfeit coins. The servant returned the coins and said, "These are bad coins. I cannot accept them." After his master returned, the servant reported how the merchant was trying to cheat him by giving them bad coins. The Saint said, "Why did you not take the bad coins? He has always paid me with bad coins and I accept them readily. I am burying them underground. If I do not accept them, you know other people will be cheated by him."
Moral:
This is how saints unselfishly serve the people.
Other Activities:
Yoga: We did do few yoga poses and did some stretching exercises to calm down and get the class started.
Likhita japa: We did Likhita japa of the kid's favorite god in the book. Please remember to send it with the kids every class.
We did Listen to the Gita chanting.
Yellow is our house color. To read more about Balavihar Houses, check out this link and participate in the upcoming events.
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 parent's 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,
Aastha and Rajeswariji.
