Dec 3, 2023 - Grade 2 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Dear Families,

Special Note to Parents: Please assemble in the prayer hall on Sunday, Dec 10th at 1:00 PM. We have a special announcement to make.

RECAP: 

We had a fun Sunday afternoon with our kids. Please find below the summary of our class on Sunday, Dec 3rd 2023

1) Opening Prayer : 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

Some of the kids are even leading the above Prayers. Please revise as we will be asking each kid to lead in our class.

2) Hanuman Chalisa:  We started learning Hanuman Chalisa since last 3 weeks. 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

We have learnt 8 verses so far. Please revise if possible at home

1. 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).

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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. Learning: Why is Hanumanji called Mahaveer or Mahabira? Bira means a hero, a man of courage, strength and valor. But, Hanumanji is called Mahabir, the greatest warrior. There are five different kinds of heroism mentioned in the Scriptures. They are: 

* Tyagavirah ~ A hero in annunciation and sacrifice

* Dayavirah  ~ A Hero in compassion

* Vidyavirah ~ A Hero in knowledge and learning

* Danavirah  ~ A Hero in charity

* Ranavirah  ~ A brave warrior on the battlefield.

Hanuman Ji has all the five kinds of valor, hence he is called Mahabira. He used all the five in service of the Lord, hence he is called the super superman.

4. Story time: Indra's Vajra. 

     During a major war, Indra could not defeat the Asuras who were causing great harm to the people. Indra approached Brahmaji, the creator of the world and asked for a weapon for which the Asuras would have no match. Bramha ji replied, "such a weapon can be made only from the backbone of a great sage named Dadhichi". Indra was perplexed. How could you get the bones of a living person? Indra was in a serious predicament. He reluctantly approached the rishi Dadhichi and told that he desperately needed his bones to make a weapon to destroy the Asuras. He was a great saint and out of compassion and welfare of the people, he readily agreed to sacrifice his body to make this powerful weapon, Vajra.

     Hanuman Ji is also called Bajrangi, which means he is as strong as Indra's Vajra or thunderbolt.

5. 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.

6. Story time:  An eye for an eye

     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.

7. Story time: The Greater Good

        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. 

8.Meditation : We did silent meditation for 2 minutes.

9.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.

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 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 Purushotham and Rajeswari Ummettala

Oct 1, 2023 - Grade 2 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Dear Families,

We had a fun Sunday afternoon with our kids. Please find below the summary of our class on Sunday, Oct 1 2023

1)  Opening Prayers

We chanted 3 OMs followed by opening Prayer:

Vakratunda mahaakaavya(for Lord Ganesha)

2) Shloka

We learned and chanted Sahanavavatu. We also learned the meaning of each verse.

Om Sahanavavatu (May he protect us both)

Saha nau Bhunaktu (May he nourish us)

Sahaviryam karavavahai (May we get the capacity to study and understand our scriptures)

Tejasvinavadhitamastu mavidvisavahai (May we study and get along well)

Om Shantih Shantih Shantihi

3. Dhyana Shloka of Sri Hanuman

Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam nirbhayatvam arogataa

ajaaDyam vaakpaTutvam cha hanumat smaraNaat bhavet

Buddhi (intelligence), Balam (strength),Yasas (fame),Dhairyam (courage),Nirbhayatvam (fearlessness), Arogata (free from diseases), Ajadyam (alertness) and Vakpatutvam (eloquence) - These are the eight virtues that make our invisible back bone strong.

Throughout the next few classes , we will continue to learn about virtues of Hanuman and what constitutes a strong backbone.

4. We then revised what we discussed in the last class - Buddhi, Balam and Yashas. We proceeded to the next great trait of Hanuman ji -  Dhairyam

Story:  Ratnakara was a professional robber, who had a wife and children. To support his family, he would rob anyone who would pass through a forest, which was close by to his house. Once, sage Narada ji was passing through that forest. Ratnakara stopped him and asked him to hand over all his possessions. All that the sage carried was his instrument Veena. Narada smiled and said, "you can have my veena, but do you know you are committing sins when you trouble people and rob them? I know you are doing all this for your wife and children, but do you think they will share all your sins? You can go home and ask them, I can stay here". Ratnakara tied Narada ji to a tree and went home to check with his family. To his surprise, they all refused to partake in his sins. He realized what a fool he was! He returned to Narada ji and pleaded to give him a solution.

Narada ji asked him to sit and chant 'Rama'. 

Ratnakara started chanting 'Rama, Rama, Rama, ……'

Days, Months, Years passed. When Naradaji finally returned, he found that a giant ant hill had formed around Ratnakara. Ratnakara had never left the spot and never stopped chanting the name of Rama. Narada ji woke Ratnakara from his deep meditation and renamed him Valmiki, since he came out of an ant hill which is called Valmika in sanskrit.

Through prayer, Ratnakara had the courage to wash away his sins and he became a saint.

5. After Dhairyam, we discussed the next trait - Nirbhayatvam (fearlessness) .

Story - A rabbit was asleep under a palm tree. At that moment some monkeys dropped a coconut. It fell down on the ground very close to the rabbit. Hearing the noise, the rabbit said " The earth is breaking up" and he jumped up and ran as fast as he could, without even looking back to see what made the noise. Seeing the rabbit run, other rabbits started following. As they ran they got to know that the earth was falling. Seeing the rabbits run, the deers, the zebras, the giraffes, the elephants and all started following and in some time all the animals of the jungle were running.

Looking at this the lion asked why they were running so fast. To this the animals answered one after the other that the sky was falling. The lion then asked who saw the sky falling to this finally the rabbit said he did. The lion then asked where he saw the sky falling and demanded the rabbit to come with him there. After a lot of reluctance the rabbit finally agreed and as they reached the spot the rabbit pointed to the place where he was sleeping. The lion saw the coconut that had fallen to the ground nearby.  The lion turned to the rabbit and said it must have been the coconut. 

Are we going to be like the timid rabbit or brave like the lion? It is better to enquire understand than be scared without checking whether the fears are real. Always remember that God is our friend and when we pray to Hanumanji we get fearless just like him.

6.Meditation : With beads and string, we did meditation. We chanted "Sree Ram, Jaya Ram , Jay Jay Ram" for 2 minutes.

7.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

8.House Inauguration - We went to the main hall for 'House Inauguration', with our house flag and cheering for our House. All the houses sang their respective house Bhajans. Our House name is "Bajrangi Bolts" and the bhajan is Veera Hanumana -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uccazJjyYnw. There was a house challenge and this time the challenge was in preparing cutlery packets. Bajrangi bolts came in second. Congratulations!!. To know more about the Houses and how to earn points, please take a look at this link. https://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/balavihar/balavihar-houses Please encourage your kids to participate in as many events and competitions as possible. They earn points for every participation and will add towards Bajrangi bolts. Lets win the Trophy with our maximum participation. 

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 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

My prayers book 

Hanuman Chalisa book

Balavihar Handbook

Regards,

Divya Purushotham and Rajeswari Ummettala

Sept 24, 2024 - Grade 2 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Dear Families,

We had a productive Sunday afternoon with our kids. Please find below the summary of our class on Sunday, Sep 24 2023

1)  Opening Prayers

We chanted 3 OMs followed by opening Prayer:

Vakratunda mahaakaavya(for Lord Ganesha)

 2) Shloka

We learned and chanted Sahanavavatu. We also learned the meaning of each verse.

Om Sahanavavatu (May he protect us both)

Saha nau Bhunaktu (May he nourish us)

Sahaviryam karavavahai (May we get the capacity to study and understand our scriptures)

Tejasvinavadhitamastu mavidvisavahai (May we study and get along well)

Om Shantih Shantih Shantihi

Some of the kids were now explaining the meaning as well.

3. We then learned and chanted Dhyana Shloka of Sri Hanuman

Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam nirbhayatvam arogataa

ajaaDyam vaakpaTutvam cha hanumat smaraNaat bhavet

Buddhi (intelligence), Balam (strength),Yasas (fame),Dhairyam (courage),Nirbhayatvam (fearlessness), Arogata (free from diseases), Ajadyam (alertness) and Vakpatutvam (eloquence) - These are the eight virtues that make our invisible back bone strong.

Throughout the next few classes , we will continue to learn about virtues of Hanuman and what constitutes a strong backbone.

4. We then revised what we discussed in the last class and emphasized on Buddhi and Balam.

Buddhi is intellect in Sanskrit. Buddhi helps us to discriminate between what is right and wrong. Intellect is a gift from God, given only to Human beings. We recalled the stories covered for Buddhli in the last class i.e The empty pot story as well as the Akbar and Birbal story. We then proceeded to discuss Balam.

5. Balam is Strength in Sanskrit. Balam is both physical and mental strength.

Story: Hanuman and Bheema's incidence in Mahabharatha. (Bheema's Arrogance). We watched this video which the kids enjoyed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVtpsH5LV-Q

Once, Draupadi asked Bheema for a rare sweet-smelling flower. Bheema is known for his Strength. While searching for the flower, he came across an old monkey, blocking the path with his long tail. Monkey was none other than Hanumanji in disguise. Bheema in his arrogance, demanded the monkey to move his tail. Hanuman ji said, "I am an old monkey, I am tired, could you please move my tail aside and go on". Annoyed Bheema, tried to quickly move the tail, but to his surprise, it was quite heavy! He was exhausted with numerous efforts, and realized that it is none other than Hanumanji and prostrated to this old monkey.

Discussion: So after that story we had a brief discussion about Bhima & how he was physically very strong. Why, then, could he not move Hanuman ji's tail? Bhima was temporarily blinded by the arrogance of his own strength and, therefore, became mentally weak. The moral  is physical strength without mental strength is not effective.

6. Story : Mahatma Gandhi's mental strength

When Mahatma Gandhi was a student a dictation was given to the pupils to see how good they were in their spellings. As the test was going on, the teacher suddenly stopped near Gandhiji. He secretly signaled Gandhiji to look at the neighbor's notebook and copy it. Gandhiji understood what the teacher wanted him to do but he refused. 

Discussion: Why did he refuse to copy? Because Gandhiji knew copying from another is morally wrong. He was mentally very strong and did not resort to cheating to get good grades. 

7. Then we talked about the 3rd quality of Hanumanji which is "Yashas". All children came up with someone's name who they knew were famous - Children talked about many but actors and performers were predominant on the list - Rajnikant, Puneet Rajkumar, Taylor Swift, Vijay were some of the names. 

Discussion:  what kind of qualities led them to fame? Its because of their talent and Hardwork. We discussed if famous people could also be famous for something bad they did and how they would become famous but that is not what we should be.

8.Activity Japa mala : With beads and string, we did a japa mala. The kids picked out two of their favorite color beads and made short malas. Most of them wore it on the wrists after making it :).

9.Geeta Chanting - We chanted Verse # 1 from Chapter 4. Here is the video for the kids to practice - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZMnPAfumw4

10.We ended our class with aarti and shaanti mantra.

Things to note:

Next Balavihar class is on Sep 30th. 

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 12:45 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.

Few links for parents

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

My prayers book 

Hanuman Chalisa book

Balavihar Handbook

Regards,

Divya Purushotham and Rajeswari Ummettala

Sept 17, 2023 - Grade 2 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Dear Families,

We had a great second Sunday afternoon with energetic and curious kids. Please find below the summary of our class on Sunday, Sep 17 2023

1)  Opening Prayers:

We chanted 3 OMs followed by 4 opening Prayers:

Vakratunda mahaakaavya(for Lord Ganesha)

Saraswathi namastubhyam 

Guru Brahma 

2) Shloka

We learned and chanted Sahanavavatu. We also learned the meaning of each verse.

Om Sahanavavatu (May he protect us both)

Saha nau Bhunaktu (May he nourish us)

Sahaviryam karavavahai (May we get the capacity to study and understand our scriptures)

Tejasvinavadhitamastu mavidvisavahai (May we study and get along well)

Om Shantih Shantih Shantihi

3. Brainstorming

Vertebrates versus Invertebrates: we learned about visible backbone( our spine) and the invisible backbone( our mental strength). 

4. We then learned and chanted Dhyana Shloka of Sri Hanuman

Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam nirbhayatvam arogataa

ajaaDyam vaakpaTutvam cha hanumat smaraNaat bhavet

Buddhi (intelligence), Balam (strength),Yasas (fame),Dhairyam (courage),Nirbhayatvam (fearlessness), Arogata (free from diseases), Ajadyam (alertness) and Vakpatutvam (eloquence) - These are the eight virtues that make our invisible back bone strong.

Throughout the next few classes , we will continue to learn about virtues of Hanuman and what constitutes a strong backbone.

5. Story : The Empty Pot. 

    Once there was a king with no heir to the throne. One day, he devised a clever plan to select the right person as the successor to the throne. The king distributed flower seeds to eveyone in the kingdom and announced, "you have six months to grow the healthiest plants you can. I will choose the future king based on the growth of your plant." Six months passed. All the subjects with that healthy plants in their hands proceeded towards the palace. A young boy also rushed towards the palace but his pot was empty. Nothing had grown! All the people laughed at him. The young boy said nothing and only smiled in response. When the king looked at the boy's empty pot and asked what happened ? The boy replied, "your majesty, I watered.I fertilized. I took care of it, but nothing grew. I am sorry, but I have tried my best.". The king then shocked the crowd by proclaiming the boy as the future king. " You have all proven unworthy. I gave you roasted seats that would never sprout. Each of you lied, because of the greed to gain the kingdom, but only this young boy despite all your jeers and taunts spoke the truth. Thus, he is the only one among you who is fit to be the future king."

 Ask the kids why they think the boy became the king? The boy was sure of his efforts he knew he had worked hard and was very careful and yet his seeds just did not sprout.  He had a choice.  He could have cheated and replaced those seeds just as everyone else in town. Instead he was able to stand firm & he refused  to lie. Because he had a strong invisible back bone that allowed him to stand up for what is right and uphold his virtues and beliefs.

6. Activity: Difference between string and ruler. String moves when you blow at it but not the ruler. Don't sway and be influenced by external forces (like the string ) and stay firm and strong to your values.

7. Story: Akbar and Birbal

In India, there was a king named Akbar. He had a very intelligent advisor named Birbal. One day, the king decided to test the intelligence of his ministers. He ordered all the ministers to find out how many crows there were in his kingdom. None of the ministers, except Birbal, had an answer for the king. Birbal said, we have 27,042 crows in our kingdom. The king said, if the answer is incorrect, the punishment will be severe. Birbal said, "Sir, if the number of crows are less than my count, it means that some crows have gone outside the kingdom to visit their relatives. If there are more, then their relatives have come here to visit them. King admired the intelligence of Birbal.

Discussion: We have to use our intellect in making right and wise decisions.

8. Game time - We played Simon says.

9.Geeta Chanting - We chanted Verses # 1 & 2 from Chapter 4 

10.We ended our class with aarti and shaanti mantra.

 

Few Announcements:

• Next Balavihar class is on Sep 24th. 
• 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 12:45 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.

Few links for parents

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
• My prayers book 
• Hanuman Chalisa book
• Balavihar Handbook

 

Regards,

Divya Purushotham and Rajeswari Ummettala

Welcome to Gr 2 - Sunday PM Session

Please look out for regular updates from 

the teachers 

soon after the session starts.