May 5, 2024 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

Week 25 :
5th May 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)

Krishna Everywhere:

After a brief quiz-like recap of our story so far, we jumped into our Krishna story. With Kamsa gone and Vasudeva, Devaki and Ugrasena freed from the deepest darkest dungeon, Vasudeva decided that it was time for Krishna and Balarama to have their Upanayanam. They received their sacred thread, making them eligible to enroll in a Gurukula to learn the scriptures from a Guru. After the Upanayanam, the boys were sent to Rishi Sandipani to live with and learn from their Guru under strict discipline and service. The brothers were diligent and quick to learn. They mastered the Vedas and the Vedangas, phonetics, grammar, astronomy, logic, philosophy and economic sciences, ALL in 64 days!

The boys approached Guru Sandipani to ask him what they could offer as Guru-dakshina. The rishi knew of their divine nature and did not want anything. When they insisted, the Guru consulted with his wife and they requested that they bring back their son who drowned in the sea. Balarama and Krishna went to the seashore. The sea brought tons of precious gifts to welcome the duo. The sea denied swallowing the rishi's son. Then the brothers went to Yama and demanded a restoration of their Guru's son. Their Guru and Guru-ma were overjoyed! Everyone bade them farewell after receiving the most precious Gurudakshina. The brothers  were blessed, and were told that their glory would shine wherever they went. They were sent off to purify the whole world. Krishna and Balarama went back to their parents in Mathura. He remembered the fun He had in Vrindavana and knew that His avatara was to restore Dharma and He had a ton of work to do! Krishna appointed Uddhava to carry His message of love to Vrindavana. His visit is one of the most beautiful, mystical, and memorable episodes in Srimad Bhagavatam.

As part of the lesson we briefly discussed the topics of Gurukula, Upanayanam, Guru dakshina etc. We narrated the Ekalavya story as another important example of Guru dakshina.

Sudhama

Lord Krishna and Sudama were childhood friends. While Krishna thrived and prospered, Sudama didn't. He led the life of a poor Brahmin man, living in a small hut with his wife and kids. Most days, the kids wouldn't even get enough to eat from what Sudama got as alms. One day, his wife suggested that he go and ask his friend Krishna for help.

Sudama was reluctant to seek favors, but he also didn't want his kids to suffer. So his wife borrowed some rice from the neighbors to make some rice snacks that Krishna liked, and gave it to Sudama to take it to his friend. Sudama took it and set out to Dwaraka. He was amazed at the gold that was used to build the city. He reached the palace gates and was obstructed by the guards, who judged him by his torn dhoti and poor appearance.

Sudama requested the guards to at least inform Krishna that his friend Sudama has come to meet him. The guard, although reluctant, goes and informs the lord. On hearing that Sudama was here, Krishna stops doing whatever he was doing and runs barefoot to meet his childhood friend.

Krishna hugs Sudama, welcomes him to his abode and treats him with utmost love and respect. Sudama, ashamed of the poor man's rice snacks he got for Krishna, tries to hide it. But the all-knowing Krishna asks Sudama for his gift and eats his favorite rice snacks that his friend brought for him.

Krishna and his friend spend time laughing and talking about their childhood but Sudama, overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion shown by his friend, is unable to ask for help. When he returns home, Sudama finds that his hut has been replaced by a huge mansion and his wife and kids are dressed in fine clothes.

Sudama realized how lucky he was to have a true friend like Krishna. He didn't even ask, but Krishna knew what Sudama wanted and gave it to him.

End of Jarasandha

Jarasandha was the king of Magadha, whose two daughters were married to Kamsa. When Kamsa was killed, Jarasandha wanted to take revenge.

Lord Krishna says, "The reason for My birth is only to lighten the burden of earth by killing asuras and protecting good people." "From time to time, for the protection of Dharma and for stopping the rise in adharma, I take birth in different bodies." Bhagavan knew that if Jarasandha stays alive, he will collect more and more auras and will come back again to defeat Him. Lord allowed Jarasandha to return many times so He can fulfill His mission of ridding earth of asuras.

Discussion about our play - After we completed today's lesson, we had a discussion about out upcoming class performance on Jun 15th. We will be reaching out to you all with more information shortly.The kids are very excited about the play and we hope to have a good show.

Our next class is on Sunday,12th May 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 

Apr 28, 2024 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Week 24:
28th 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
After a brief recap of the Krishna story in our last class we continued…

End of Kamsa: Krishna and Balarama visited all the places of interest in Mathura and finally arrived at the hall where the huge and heavy bow, studded with precious gems, was being exhibited. The bow was heavily guarded by fierce armed men. But before they knew what was going on, Krishna seized the bow and drew its string until it snapped into two pieces. The thunderous breaking sound reverberated in the hall and shook the earth making everyone tremble from head to toe. Not only this, but the terrific thunderclap reached as far as Kamsa's interior compartments and shook him from head to toe with immense fear.

Kamsa had a very bad restless sleep. His head swirled with the day's shocking events : the destruction of the bow, the death of his stalwart guards and soldiers and his own servants and citizens. He was trembling with fear from head to toe and he was plagued by nightmares of death, torture and dishonor. Kamsas nerves were on the edge and he knew no rest or peace.

At last the sun rose and it was the day everyone was waiting for. The massive arena and amphitheatre was luxuriously decorated with flowers and garlands. Spectators had started lining up from early morning to make sure to get good seats. The galleries were filled with princes and chiefs and ministers and traders. The wrestlers Chanura, Mustika, Kutam Sala and Tosala, world renowned for their strength, prowess and skill, were itching for the matches to begin.

Krishna and Balarama as they came into the amphitheater there was an elephant and a mahout. Krishna asked the manhout to move the elephant from the gate instead the manhout set the elephant to trample the boys under its feet. Krishna however slipped between the legs of the elephant  and caught the elephant's trunk. It fell down with a mighty thud. Krishna ripped out the elephant's tusks and with one blow killed both the animal and its manhout.

Soaked in perspiration and armed with the bloody tusks, the warrior brothers looked like lions as they marched majestically. Everyone including the wrestlers and Kamsa were scared. At last the signal was given for the games to begin. To all the spectators' surprise all the wrestlers were killed by Krishna and Balarama. The trumpets sounded for the victors and the crowd stood on its feet cheering joyously. Kamsa's rage knew no bounds. He ordered the trumpets to be silenced and shouted...."Drive the boys out of Mathura..Take away the possessions of the gopas. Seize Nanda and put him in chains. Kill the wicked Vasudeva and my father Ugrasena, Kill them. Do it now"

Before Kamsa could finish giving his orders, Krishna started walking toward the throne and in long leaps and strides jumped onto the raised platform and immediately drew his sword. But Krishna was fearless and he caught hold of Kamsa by the hair, swung him around and threw him down into the arena dead. It was just that quick.

But in spite of his disgraceful end, Kamsa was rewarded in his last moment with a blissful vision of the Lord Himself in entire divine splendor. He obtained oneness with the Lord because he never spent a single moment without thinking about Krishna. Even though he thought of the Lord only with hate, anger, and fear, his focus on the Lord was single pointed and constant. Kamsas eight brothers immediately drew swords to kill Krishna and Balarama but soon were overpowered by Krishna and Balarama and killed.

Krishna and Balarama then hastened to join. They released Ugrasena, the family elder and the king now of Mathura. The brothers then bowed to the king and asked for the release of their parents. Then Krishna and Balarama met their parents Vasudeva and Devaki and all the years of pain melted away for that time as they joined in happiness.

Krishna kept his promise to Trivakra(once hunch backed girl now beautiful lady). Then with Balarama and Uddhava, he visited Akrura's home who received them all with great devotion.

Krishna and Balarama met Nanda and respectfully addressed him saying "Dear Father you and Mother Yasoda shall ever be our parents, because it was you who raised us. We request you now to go to Vrindavana to console all the gopas and gopis"

We saw two short videos depicting the story.

24 Teachers : 

We did a recap of all the teachers we learnt in the previous classes. We were happy to see that the kids were able to recollect the facts learnt and talk about them.  We learnt about the last teacher of the 24 teachers today. As usual, we started with a riddle.

 
I am woolly in the beginning, sheltered and wrapped inside a cocoon, Only to come out in flying colors.
Who am I ?
Most of the kids answered either caterpillar or butterfly. With a few more hints, they got the right answer. Its the Larva.
What does a Larva teach us ?

When one identifies oneself to something with love, hate or fear, one becomes that.
A larva stays in the cocoon for a long time thinking of a butterfly, so it becomes one later. If you think of God, you become God.

Once a caterpillar looks at another one hanging down, expresses its doubt...How can a fuzzy me, become a butterfly?
Then the hanging caterpillar replies - It is something you are born to be.
A  butterfly is beautiful, has colorful wings, drinks nectar from flowers, Goes from flower to flower, spreading their messages of love. Makes the whole world a more colorful  and beautiful place. You just have to believe that you can be one, and you will be one some day.
One may not physically transform into what they want to be, but can surely imbibe those qualities, or personality traits. If one aspires to be like God, he / she cannot physically  become God, but can surely attain the Godly qualities of love and kindness.
Similarly, if we have a goal to be great, and constantly keep thinking about it, we will surely work toward it and will achieve our goal and become what we want. Whether we want to be an astronaut or a doctor, or anything else if we put our heart to the goal and believe we can, we can surely achieve it.
There is a short story about a little girl in a small village, who believed that she could become Miss America someday. Although it seemed impossible at that time, she still believed she could. And after some years, she actually did win that crown.

Our next class is on Sunday,5th May 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 

Apr 21, 2024 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Week 23:
21th 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
After a brief recap of the Krishna story in our last class we continued…

Tale: Journey to Mathura
Akrura, Krishna & Balarama were set to depart for Mathura early the following morning. Nanda prepared carriages and presents for the trip to Mathura. Nanda, some elders and some Gopas joined them. Yashoda was inconsolable. Krishna said, "The world will always know that My Mother is, and always will be, My Yashoda maiya."
Akrura takes Krishna and Balarama with him in the chariot. They start their journey to Mathura. It becomes noon, and as it's very hot, they take a break on the banks of River Mandakini. Krishna and Balarama refresh themselves in the cool waters. Akrura goes into the river to offer his noon prayers. He takes a dip in the river, and lo! He sees Lord Vishnu with all his splendor lying down on the thousand headed Seshanaga, surrounded and worshipped by rishis, and sages, including the Sanat Kumaras, Prahlada, and Narada.

{Who are The Sanat Kumaras - They are four sages (rishis) from the Puranic texts of Hinduism who roam the universe as children, generally named Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara. They are described as the first mind-born creations and sons of the creator-God Brahma}

Tale: Miracles in Mathura
Akrura returns to the chariot reveling in the divine vision he had in the river. They start their journey again and reach Mathura by sunset. Akrura invites the brothers to his house, but Krishna gently refuses, saying that they will come after their mission is accomplished.

Mathura was a beautiful city with wide, clean roads. There were beautiful gardens, parks, and marketplaces. There were simple rest houses for travelers and majestic mansions. Krishna and Balarama were utterly delighted by what they saw.

As they continued to roam the streets, word quickly spread that Krishna and Balarama had arrived. Women and children rushed to the windows to get a glimpse of them. He showered flowers on them and worshipped them with incense, milk, curd, flowers and fruit. Krishna and Balarama entered the home of a garland maker named Sudama. Sudama worshipped them with betel leaves, garlands, and many kinds of flowers. Krishna blessed him in abundance. As they proceeded further, they met a hunchback woman, Trivakra. She was the royal maid at Kamsa's palace and made sandalwood paste and other perfumes for Kamsa. When she saw Krishna, with great devotion she offered all the sandalwood paste and watched them as they put it on their face and arms. Krishna thanked her. With a smile he put his feet on hers and placed two fingers under her chin. Her body straightened up magically then and there. She was transformed into a beautiful woman.

My Twenty-four Teachers
After a brief recap of the teachers and lessons that we had learnt from our previous classes we started with the riddle to find out today's teacher.

Who Am I?  
- I am not really ugly, but people get petrified by me.
- The earth is my home, but nobody wants to be near me.
- Some boys and girls like to keep me as a pet, but mommies still hate me.
Yes, it's the snake.
Saint Dattatreya tells king Yadu that he learnt from the snake to live alone and speak less.
Snake is quiet and lives alone.

Tale: The most beautiful cat:
Once there lived an old couple. The old woman was bored, so asked her husband to bring her a cat. The old man goes to the cat mountain and finds thousands of different kinds of cats. Not knowing which one to pick, he brings all of them home. His wife is surprised that he brought so many cats. They are unable to pick the cat they like, so the old man asks the cats to vote among themselves as to who is the most beautiful. Unable to bear the noise that the cats were making, they went inside the house and shut the door. After some time, they notice that it's completely quiet outside. The cats had all killed each other. Only one little cat was sitting there quietly. The old man asks the tiny cat how he managed to survive. The cat tells him "I am just a simple cat. When they all said they were beautiful, I just did not say a word. I was quiet, so no one bothered me." This story illustrates the importance of staying away from arguments and being silent.

Lesson Message:
- Snake teach us to say only what is necessary.
- Silence is golden.
- Keep your affairs to yourself.
- The man who is always telling what he is going to do, never does anything. This is called procrastination.
•DO NOT TALK; ACT!

One more teacher-
Who am I?
- I use my saliva to build my home anywhere.  
- I use my home to catch my prey.

Our next teacher today is the Spider.
A spider makes the web with its saliva, plays with it, lives in it and then swallows it. Just like the spider makes the cobweb from itself, and swallows it back, the world comes out of God and goes back into God and again it comes out again. That is the fun of it……it never gets destroyed really. It only changes shapes and comes back!

Our next Balavihar class is on Sunday on 4/28.

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

Thank you and Hari Om,
Neelima Turaga & Rekha Pai

 

Apr 14, 2024 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.
Week 22 :
14th 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)

Today's lesson : Narada and Kamsa

• Sage Narada delivers the news that Kamsa has been tricked! 

• He announces that Devaki's eighth son still lives in the house of Nanda in Vrindavana. 

• The female child that flew away was Yashoda's baby that was switched when Krishna was born.

• Krishna and Balarama are brothers.

• They have been destroying all the asuras sent by Kamsa.

The kids questioned why Narada had to come and reveal the truth about Krishna and Balarama! We then explained that Kamsa's story is nearing its end, so Narada was just being a messenger to give him sort of a heads up! Then we continued on. Kamsa is terribly irritated and angered by the news! Kamsa wanted to immediately kill Vasudeva.

• Narada stopped him and said that Vasudeva is innocent.

• Kamsa threw his sister Devaki and her husband into the darkest dungeon.

• Kamasa informed his ministers of what Narada said.

• He decided to invite the brothers to his court for a wrestling match.

• He places Kuvalayaapeeda at the entrance to try to finish them off before they even enter.

Kamsa thinks that his trusted and powerful elephant will be able to finish the job. But Kamsa also cunningly requests Akrura to go to Vrindavana and bring back Krishna and Balarama.

• Kamsa invites the brothers to the Dhanuryajna and to see the city's sights.

• He told Akrura to entice them and get them to Mathura in any way possible.

• He thinks his elephant will finish the job.

• If Kuvalayaapeeda is not successful, the wrestlers will finish the job.

• Then he will have Vasudeva, his dad Ugrasena, his brother Devaka and all the Yadavas killed.

• He will keep only asuras and will rule the world.

The wise Akrura softly replied, "Your plan is indeed detailed Kamsa. But one must keep a balanced mind in success and in failure. Many times lofty plans frustrate us because of unforeseen obstacles, causing us as much grief as their success would have caused us joy. Nevertheless, I will carry out your bidding"

Akrura goes to Vrindavana

Akrura is very pleased and overjoyed that he will finally be able to see the lotus-feet of the Lord. He fell at Krishna's feet with tears rolling down his cheeks. Nanda greeted Akrura and they all shared a meal together. Akrura revealed Kamsa's evil plan to the brothers and dad.

Krishna and Balarama laughed heartily.

We took a brief moment to make a comparison from the Ramayana. We talked about how Ravana had Maaricha do his bidding to entice Sita by posing as the golden deer, even though he did not want to. Both Akrura and Maaricha unwillingly obeyed their king's orders, but here, Akrura was unable to keep Kamsa's evil plan to himself.

Akrura, Krishna & Balarama were set to depart for Mathura early the following morning. Nanda prepared carriages and presents for the trip to Mathura. Nanda, some elders and some gopas joined them.The gopis weren't included but figured out what was going on. They were all beyond devastated to see their Lord depart. Yashoda was inconsolable. Krishna said, "The world will always know that My Mother is, and always will be, My Yashoda maiya."

Today's lesson - My 24 teachers The Arrow maker

Once there was an arrow-maker, who kept himself very busy in his work. One time a big party of the king and his retinue were passing by but he did not even notice them.

Saint Dattëtreya said, "I saw this and learned to have concentration of mind."  

Today's teacher was the "Arrowmaker".

We started by discussing what concentration is?  How often the kids heard this word and where, and why is this important. 

What is concentration of mind?
Concentration of mind is to make the mind think in one form, an object, a thought, or a concept steadily for a long time.
Everyone has this ability. 

One with high degree of concentration alone can turn out better and accomplish more work

Short story about Sir Isaac Newton - Once, someone invited Sir Isaac Newton for dinner. He went to his host's residence and was shown to the living room by the butler. The host gentleman had forgotten all about Sir Isaac Newton waiting. He ate his dinner and retired to bed.
 Newton sat musing on some important point of science. He did not move from his seat. He had forgotten all about dinner! That was how much he was engrossed in his thought and that was the level of his concentration.

Short story from the Mahabharata -

Dronacharya taught archery to the Pandava and Kaurava princes. One day he wanted to test their skills. There was a bird on the branch of a tree, and the test was to shoot the arrow at the bird's eye. One by one all the princes came, and Dronacharya asked them what they could see when they were aiming their arrow. All of them said they saw the bird, tree, branches, sky, etc. Finally it was Arjuna's turn. Dronacharya asked him what he could see. Arjuna replies that he could only see the eye of the bird.  

This story illustrates the concentration of Arjuna, which made him one of the greatest archers. 

A single pointed attention is needed  to attain perfection in any endeavor.

Our next class is on Sunday,21st 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 

Apr 7, 2024 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Week 21:
07^th 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 

 

Mar 24, 2024 - Grade 4 (Sunday AM)

 

Hari OM Dear Families,

Week 20: 24^th March 2024 / 9:15 AM
Opening prayers and Shlokas
Slokas: Class began with 3 OMs followed by

1. "Om Saha Navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)
2.  Om shrI Ganeśaya Namaha,  shrI Saraswatyai Namaha,  shrI Sat Gurubhyo Namaha.
3. "Vakratunda Mahakaya" (page 27 in My Prayers book)
4. Saraswathi Namasthubhyam
5. "Gurur Brahma" (page 60 in My Prayers book)
6. "Krishnaya Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)

Govinda Damodara Sthotram - The kids took turns chanting this entire sthotram.

Our lesson Krishna everywhere

Rasa Lila  

It was a full moon night in autumn. Krishna sat down alone on the banks of River Yamuna and started playing the flute. The air resounded with divine melody and the notes floated into Vrindavan, into the houses of the Gopis. Lost in Krishna's magic flute, the Gopis stopped what they were doing and ran out. They rushed to the banks of the holy Yamuna. Krishna tells them to go back home, but they pray to him "all wise people in the world constantly find bliss in you, who are the eternal self in all. Please don't send us away." Krishna and the Gopis danced together under the full moon. There has never been another Rasa Lila like this. On the blessed night of Rasa Lila, after much music, dancing and laughter, Krishna began to notice that each Gopi was starting to act a little haughty. Each Gopi was behaving as if Krishna belonged only to her. Krishna knew he had to teach them a lesson. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared! The Gopis searched for him everywhere. Not finding him, they started to sob. They even said they were sorry for what they had done. But there was no reply. There was no sign of Krishna. When the Gopis spoke with each other, they realized how selfish they were. They thought:" Krishna is mine and only mine! They were very sorry for their arrogance and begged for forgiveness. They now had only one thought-"RETURN TO US KRISHNA!" Krishna saw that the Gopis had learnt their lesson. He returned as fast as he had disappeared. The Gopis' love for Krishna was the most pure and unselfish. The Gopis started their rasa dance again. Even the Gods from the heavens came to watch this divine celebration of the Lord with his devotees. They played musical instruments and were delighted. The Gopis' love was pure and simple, and their minds were always fixed on the Lord.

 

We then discussed "Krishna's flute". A flute player walks into a bamboo grove, cuts a length of bamboo, and makes holes in it. Seven for the musical notes, and one which he blows through. Does the flute play music by itself? Music emerges only when the breath of the flute player flows through the flute and his fingers manipulate the holes. Whether the song makes people happy, or run away is not the fault of the flute. The flute is a mere instrument. The seven holes in the flute represent our mind, intellect and the five senses. The Divine flute player plays his song through our actions, emotions, and thoughts. But our ego makes us think that we are doing everything. 

We talked about the pure, selfless devotion of the Gopis. Just like the compass always points to the north, their minds are also thinking about Krishna. 

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 resemble an eagle and fly like an eagle. I am relatively=y smaller than an eagle

Ø  I perch and build nests on treetops.

Ø  I am usually found in the canyons and ravines.

Ø  I love to catch fish from ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Who Am I?

 

The riddle was tough for the children to arrive at the answer – the children guessed falcon, hawk. The right answer was "Osprey" (a Kurara).

 

We started our lesson today with the story of the Osprey and led the children into discussion. Once there was an osprey flying happily in the sky carrying a fish in its beak. It was attacked by several stronger birds. Osprey tried to do everything he could to get away…but all his effort only resulted in more attacks on him…till it finally let go of that fish.

 

What do we learn from this Guru……Osprey?

Let go and be happy!!

What was under the Osprey's count (to hunt, catch a fish, try different tactics to outsmart the birds following it), and what was not (behavior of other birds)?

 

Demonstration : Let Go

We took a couple of coins and held them in our hands very tightly. And then extended the arm with the palm facing the ground. Now when we let go or relaxed the grip, the coins fell out of our hand. The children took turns and did this and understood when they let go of the coins (i.e., things they liked) they felt relaxed.

 

The Greatest Treasure

Once there was a rich man, he spent all his time counting his money. He had five sons that always wanted to play with him, but as a dad he never had the time to do so. The mom told her boys, "With money you are a dragon, without it you are a worm".

They had a neighbor that was poor. He played the flute and his five daughters sang and danced and enjoyed spending time with their dad.

The rich man got annoyed with the sound of flute music and singing as it messed up his counting. He wanted to put an end to the disturbance. He took a large bag of coins and gave it to the poor man. That ended up being a temporary fix as the poor man was now busy counting the coins the rich man gave him to keep quiet. The poor man's wife said, "He who has heaven in his heart is never poor."

The poor man took all the coins and returned it to the rich man and began to play his flute again and his girls started to dance again and were happy. The poor man felt sorry for the rich man and decided to give him a gift. He gave him a flute saying, 'your treasure almost robbed me of my happiness!" The rich man started playing the flute, and his boys began to sing and dance and were happy!

Ramu In Luck

Once there was a hard-working employee named Ramu. He had never taken a day off for the past four years, so he went and asked his boss if he could go and visit his mom, take a few days off and get his wages. The boss was happy to grant him leave and instead of wages, he decided to present him with a bag of gold. Thrilled by that, Ramu headed off to see his mom. On the way, it got hot and hilly. He was finding it difficult to walk with the extra load of gold in the hot sun, just then he saw a horseback rider galloping. He traded his gold for the horse, then wasn't able to ride it properly, got kicked off and hurt. A passing guy with a cow felt bad for him and traded his cow for the horse. Ramu thought he could get his own milk in this hot sun, but wasn't capable of milking the cow and sat upset. A guy passed Ramu with a cute pig. They traded but the pig was very stubborn and wouldn't budge. A lady with a goose passed by and saw Ramu upset, she traded her goose for the pig. Ramu was excited about having fresh eggs.. That didn't last long, and he ran into a person sharpening his knife. He sat and told him about his day. The person traded a cobblestone from the street for the goose. Ramu took the stone and walked on. He saw a pond and was thirsty. He put the cobblestone down to take a drink when he saw his stone roll into the pond with a splash. The kids were asked if they thought Ramu would be upset. They all said, "yes"! But NOOO...

Ramu was happy and relieved! No more burden! He was able to run to his mom's place, hugged her and got to eat all the yummy food she had waiting for him. Attachment to objects brings misery. The moment the attachment is given up, there is peace and calm. 

Lesson Message:

When a man becomes fond of some objects in his possession, that very possession will cause unhappiness. The source of misery is indeed the acquisition of whatever we love the most- holding on to it leads us to be unhappy with worries, just give up and that allows us to be happy. You only need warmth and love to be happy and not possessions. Set one's mind on the Lord. Once he 'let's go' that, he gains happiness and peace of mind.

 

We are getting closer to the date of our class presentation. We brainstormed some ideas.

 

Gita Chanting:

The children chanted all 21 shlokas of Chapter 4 of Bhagavad Gītā today. 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. 

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. Participation is free and every participant will be presented with a medal recognizing their hard work and efforts to participate in this event. 

No class next Sunday on 3/31. Enjoy the spring break!! We look forward to seeing the children in our Balavihar class on Sunday, 07^th April.

 

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

Thank you and Hari Om,

Neelima Turaga & Rekha Pai