Our Second Class - Sep 23, 2012

Hari OM.
We started our second Balavihar class with meditation and opening prayers.

We reviewed the significance and need for Symbols and how symbols make communication effective, easy and help us cross-over barriers of language, geography, etc. Couple of kids had researched about the Yin-Yang symbol and explained to their class-mates! We then discussed how the ancient Chinese had arrived at this symbol; with the help of a 8' long pole, the length of the shadow cast by the pole at a certain time of the day was recorded and plotted in six concentric circles divided into 24 sectors! Isn't that scientific? For more details please refer to http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/yinyang.htm

We talked about the unique discriminative ability gifted to Humans, the intellect; the significance of Religion to Humans and how all the religions, in essence, prescribe a set of practices to live life to the fullest potential. We talked about instruments required to perceive various objects starting from microbes to gallaxies. To succeed in our quest to realize God the instrument that we have to fine-tune is our MIND. We discussed why in Bala Vihar we meditate, and work on purifying our thoughts: to succeed in OUR JOURNEY TO SELF/GOD REALIZATION!

We all closed our eyes for a couple of minutes and tried to think of God. Some of the kids pictured Rama, Krishna, OM Symbol, Devis etc. We then discussed the role of IDOLS known as mUrtis, and how our great Rishis used Idols to symbolize various ideals they wanted the human race to strive for. In the beginning of our spiritual journey, we need the help or assistance of these Idols or forms to keep us devoted to our End Goal.

Well with that, we switched gears to current events and discussed about Ganesh Chaturti. The class shared what each one knew about Ganesha, the different names of Ganesha, and reviewed the meaning of our opening prayer - "shuklAmbaradharam ..", and how this festival was celebrated in their home. Research Assignment: Why do we Fast? What is the significance of number 21?

Kids then listened to the story of how Ganesha came into being! Wow, many of us never knew the story of Gajaasura and how his head found its place in Ganesha's body, crafted by Parvati Ma with her bath powder. We also discussed few other variations of the story.

We then reviewed the story of how Ganesha won the mango in a competition with Muruga, depicting the importance of parents to a child. We reviewed Ganesha's names, how he was designated to be remover of all obstacles and hence earned the name Vighneshvara, Vighnaraja, etc.

With that we concluded our second exciting class. After attendance, we sang Arti and two kids volunteered to lead the class in reciting CM Pledge.

Looking forward to the next sunday class on Oct 7th. Have a good time until then!
Anjana Aunty & Prasad Uncle

Our Very First BV Class - Sep 16, 2012 - Section I

Hari OM.
The enthusiastic and energetic fifth graders all assembled in A115, and once they were divided into two groups, Section I moved on to room A116. We set up our classroom and the Altar. The class chanted OM three times and meditated for a few minutes. Those few minutes of silence took all the kids and teachers to a state of ease and peace, and when the lights were switched back on, we were all-set for our exciting new class.

The kids were given a folder with prayers they would be learning this year, blog card, and a flyer with information to be shared with parents. We request the parents to review this information with the children before their next BV class. Kids were handed labels to personalize their folder. Each kid then made a Name Tag with a sheet of white paper.

We tossed a ball across the class and the kid holding the ball introduced themselves. Each one of them shared their interesting summer experiences: experiences with grand-parents, chilling days at the beach, fun at water theme-parks, elephant-rides, camel-rides, watching U.S Open live, watching Olympics events, cruise journey to Alaska, visiting monuments like Taj-Mahal, participating in maha-samadhi camp, and other exciting camps. Wow! What a great summer vacation each one of us have had!

We then discussed about what we are going to learn in fifth grade BV. The children took turns guessing, and mentioned various Gods: Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Rama, and when the answer was yes to all of them, they rightly guessed that they were going to learn about all the Gods :) Yes! In fifth grade we are going to learn about the symbolism in Hinduism: what AUM symbolises, why Lord Ganesha has an Elephant Head, Why Lord Nataraja holds fire and damaru in his hands, and Why Vishnu is lying on a thousand-headed serpent-Adisesha, and so many more thought-provoking facts like these. We also want the kids to be inquisitive and start understanding Why we do certain things in a specific way in our Hindu culture.

We then discussed the significance of Symbols, and why Humans have always designed symbols. The class recalled symbols they have seen so far. First one was the Flag.  When asked what they were paying respect to by saluting a country's Flag, the answer was "The country that values Liberty and Justice for all". The kids answers made us, teachers, understand the level of comprehension at this age they all had. We then discussed about OM-AUM and its significance.

Next we had a Quiz-Round in identifying symbols. The class correctly identified all the symbols including Bio-Hazard symbols, Deer Crossing Traffic Sign, Slytherin House Emblem/Logo, etc. When showed the Deathly Hallows symbol, a kid stood up and answered "Invisibility Cloak, Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone". Well we were not a bit surprised to see Hary Potter Fans :) We stopped our activity with the Yin-Yang symbol. Kids were asked to find out more about how this symbol was designed, before they come to their next class. In short, it was solid confirmation for us that a SYMBOL always reminds us the thing or fact or ideal it represents.

We then concluded our first wonderful class by chanting our closing prayers. Kids returned their Name Tag Sheet to be re-used for the next class and put their chairs back in their place. We lined up and dispersed to the auditorium for Arti and Pledge.

Eagerly looking forward to our next class on Sep 23rd.
Anjana Aunty & Prasad Uncle

Hari Om!

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