Hari OM Dear Families,
Week 21:
07th April 2024 / 9:15 AM
Opening prayers and Shlokas
Slokas: 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)
Our lesson Krishna- Krishna everywhere
Salvation of Sudarshana
Krishna was now twelve years old. Nanda had taken a vow that when Krishna turns twelve, he would
offer a special worship to the family's idol of worship, Goddess Ambika. Along with neighbors, friends and family, Nanda went to the temple of the Goddess with gifts of milk, curd, butter, and sweets. Nanda devotedly performed the sacred ritual in all its beauty. He fed all the Mahatmas.
By the time the puja was over it had become dark. So, they decided to spend the night in the temple courtyard. Nanda and his followers lay down to rest. Suddenly, the party was woken by a disturbed shout from Nanda. They lit their torches and saw that Nanda's foot was in the mouth of a huge python. They beat the snake with sticks, but still the snake did not leave its hold. Nanda cried out, "I am caught, Krishna! Krishna! This big serpent caught me. I surrender to you…Please save me." Krishna rushed to his father's rescue. He touched the back of the snake with his foot. At once, the ugly python turned into a handsome and shining Vidyadhara. He bowed down to Krishna. Krishna asked him who he was. He replied, "My name is Sudarshana. I am a celestial magician. Out of arrogance I disturbed Sage Angira, and he cursed me to become a python, and said that I would be released from the curse only with the touch of Lord Krishna. "Offering deep prostrations, Sudarshana mounted his chariot and sped away to the Deva loka. Sudarshana had no control over his mind and hence got into trouble. We should always guard our senses and make sure we always do the right things. Just like fire and water are essential for life, but can create havoc if uncontrolled, like wildfires or floods, Our mind, intellect and senses are very powerful, but have to be in control to achieve good results.
Shankhachuda
Krishna and Balarama were playing the flute in the forest and the Gopis were spellbound by the music. Just then, Shankachuda, the evil servant of Kubera arrived. He grabbed the girls and put them in their chariot and drove away. The girls screamed for help. The brothers uprooted trees and chased Shankhachuda. He was frightened and dropped the Gopis and tried to run to save his life. Krishna asked Balarama to guard and take care of the Gopis and ran behind Shankhachuda. Krishna punched him with his fist and killed Shankachuda. A precious gem rolled down from his crown. Krishna gave the gem to Balarama. The Gopis were ever thankful to the brothers and always sang glories of Bhagwan.
My Twenty-four Teachers
After a brief recap of the teachers and lessons that we had learnt from our previous class we started with the riddle to find out today's teacher.
Ø I am an ornament usually made up of metal, glass or plastic.
Ø When I am with my companions, I make too much noise.
Ø That's why sometimes I have to stay all by myself and still look beautiful.
Who Am I?
Lady with one bangle
We told the class a short story about a lady who was home alone as her parents had gone away for a while. A young man and his family had come to see the lady in hopes of asking for her hand in marriage. The lady did not want them to find out that she was home alone and had to do "everything" herself. She had to husk the rice to make food. She didn't want them to see how poor they were, so she went out back. When she started husking the rice, her bangles made a lot of noise. So, she went on to remove most of them but kept two on each arm. When she started husking again, she still heard some noise, so she removed one more on each arm. Now with only one bangle on each wrist, no one could hear the husking.
Lesson Message:
• From this girl we learn that there is always a lot of noise and quarreling when many people gather.
• Even when there are two people there is small talk and gossip.
• This can lead to unpleasantness later.
• Like the single bangle on the girl's wrist, one should be alone whenever one needs to pray or concentrate to do some important work.
• Concentration is essential if one desires to attain oneness with the Lord.
To be alone for some time is absolutely necessary for introspection and reflection. This is when we become capable of fixing our own goals in life.
Our next teacher
Ø I am helpless, totally dependent, and usually messy
Ø But people adore me.
Ø Everyone wants to be close to me and finds bliss in my company.
Who Am I?
A Child.
Learning to be childlike (not childish). We discussed the difference between the two. The kids had a lot to say about being "childish"! Babies are innocent, never affected by respect or disrespect. Live in the present and be free like a child. Children say as things are; they are innocent and straight.
Tale: Clever Weavers
Some of the kids already knew the story of the Emperor's New Clothes. The story is about how a bunch of clever weavers trick a King, who was always engrossed in his clothes and appearance. They tell him that they will make special clothes made of gold and silver, but the condition is that anyone who is unfaithful cannot see them. Although no one could see anything, they kept quiet as they might be unfaithful if they spoke the truth. No one including the emperor wanted to say anything about the so-called "invisible" expensive, special cloth that his new clothes were made of. It took a child witnessing the procession to say that the emperor had no clothes on! The moral, or message, of this tale is that we must not let pride or fear keep us from speaking up. Another moral is that children speak the truth when no one else will. A child is not afraid of the consequences. Be like a child and speak the truth.
Tale: Pride And Devotion
Ekanatha Maharaja and his wife were great devotees. They had a son, who was sent to Banaras to study Vedas. Ekanatha Maharaja read Bhagavatam to the villagers every evening and explained the meaning in Marathi. Everyone enjoyed that. This went on for years. The son returned after several years and insisted on his father teaching only in Sanskrit, Ekanatha Maharaja said that they would not understand. But his son said he would teach in Sanskrit. Unable to understand Sanskrit, the villagers lost interest and stopped coming.
The son was full of pride that he had all the knowledge of the scriptures, and the dad was full of devotion to the Lord. An old lady in the village had vowed to feed 1000 brahmins. She was poor, so she decided to invite Ekanatha Maharaja for dinner and feed him as he had supreme devotion, and it would be equivalent to 1000 brahmins. The son declined the invite. So, she took the food to their house and served it on a banana leaf. Whatever was left behind was considered prasad. When the old lady went to take the leaf, the son snatched it and threw it away. To everyone's astonishment, another banana leaf appeared in its place. This happened 1000 times! The proud son understood the devotion and greatness of his father. He was not disturbed by the insult and the arrogant wrong attitude of his son. Ekanatha Maharaja was above honor or dishonor, like a child.
After the lesson, we brainstormed ideas for our play and then went to the main hall for JCHYK's Bhagavad-Gita (chapter 4) chanting followed by pledge.
Bhagavad-Gita Chanting:
Online Registration is NOW open to all young and adult students of the Gita, for Central NJ Regionals that is scheduled to be held in Chinmaya Vrindavan on April 20th, 2024.
Please click the Register button to register and participate in Central NJ Regionals 2024.
Last date to register online is April 12, 2024, 8:00 PM ET.
This event is conducted every year by Chinmaya Mission Centers all over the world, open to each student of Bhagavad Gītā as envisioned by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda.
Our next class is on Sunday,14th Apr 2024..
Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you and Hari Om,
Neelima Turaga & Rekha Pai
