Hari Om Parents!
Following is a brief summary of the Bala Vihar classes conducted in the month of April.
The first classes ( 4/5 and 5/12) were dedicated to the practice and the actual play. Children have done a fabulous job in demonstrating the glory of Veer Angada and the vales we learned through the characteristics and behaviors Angada demonstrated in different situations. We hope you all enjoyed the play. We would like to sincerely thank you all for your flexibility in bringing the kids for additional practice sessions and supporting the costume needs. Everyone's costumes were nicely chosen to represent the character they were playing. It was an excellent show from the kids.
We covered the following topics in the remaining two classes in April:
After quickly recollecting the stories of how Kumbhakarna and Ravana himself were defeated and killed by Lord Rama, We concluded the Ramayana story reflecting on how Good always wins over Evil at the end. Dharma always wins ( Yato Dharma, Tato Jayah). At the end, Vibhishana is crowned the king of Lanka. Rama rajya, an age of supreme contentment, joy and goodness took birth in Ayodhya. Rama and Sita live forever in the hearts of the devotees. JAI SRI RAM!
p.s. – Please encourage the kids to read the Ramayana by C. Rajagopalachari over the summer months.
Dharma Chariot discussion:
We continued our discussion from the Vibhishana Gita exploring more values which Shri Rama taught Vibhishana as part of the Dharma chariot.
1. Talked about Karma and karma phala by comparing it to a boomerang. What we do in life alone returns to us as results. As you sow, do you reap. This is the boomerang effect.
2. We talked about the negative tendencies in our mind, like hate, anger, jealousy etc which reflect the traits of Ravana. We can correct ourselves by living a life of love and compassion for all.
3. The wheels of the chariot are represented by Sauraja or Valor and Dhiraja or patience. Talked about Valmiki's story. Courage helped him to give up his sinful life. He transformed his life and became a Saint who later wrote the Ramayana. Accepting people and situations around us helps us to develop patience.
4. The next values were Satyam or truthfulness and Sila or good character which represents the flag of the chariot. Always keeping your words is being truthful. Talked about the life of Gandhiji. Having good friends helps us to develop good thoughts. Good thoughts shape our character.
5. The horses of the chariot are represented by balam or strength, discrimination between right from wrong is Viveka. Control of senses is Dama and caring for others is Parahita. Developing inner strength is balam.
6. The reins of the chariot are represented by Kshama or forgiveness, krpa or compassion, and samata or equanimity. Told the story of Eknath Maharaj. After being insulted many times by an arrogant person, Maharaj forgave him. Having empathy for everyone makes forgiving easy. Riding the changes in our life with cheer helps us to develop Samatvam. We talked about Lord Rama's story. He dealt every challenge in his life with cheer.
7.The intelligent charioteer has Devotion towards the Lord. Surrendering to the Lord and accepting his will helps us lead a life of happiness and peace.
8. The enemies we deal with in our life are attachment and passion. We talked about detachment'- attachment yoga as taught by Pujya Gurudev. We talked about not being a slave to the gadgets around us. Enjoy them but don't become a slave.
9. The shield is Birati or Dispassion and Contentment or Santosha is the sword.Had a discussion on the quote- 'the earth provides us for every man's needs but not for every man's greed'. Sharing our time, money in society helps us to be content.
10. Charity or Danam is the Axe or Parasu, and right understanding. We discussed the generosity of Mother nature. Discussed Pujya Gurudev's quote- ' what we each have is a gift from God, but what we do with what we have, is our gift to God'. Charity helps us to put other people's needs as important as our needs.
11. Buddhi is the missile that helps us make the right decisions when handling our strongest and deep desires ( Vasanas)
We talked in detail about each of the above values of the Dharma chariot with stories that bring these to life. We discussed how practicing one value will automatically lead us to other values explaining the interconnectivity of these. We have asked Kids to chose one value that resonates with them and start putting that into practice. We will discus more about that in the upcoming classes along with covering the remaining values.
Pranams
Nirmala and Mythili
