Dec 7th - Lord Shiva - Dwadasa Jyothirlingas

One God, Many Forms

The 5th grade class enjoyed the Bhiksha and Satsang with Swamiji. After re-living the moments spent with Swamiji, we began our discussion about why we have so many 'Gods' in Hinduism. God is one but we worship him in various forms that are to our liking. Just as one is a daughter, sister, friend, niece etc to others in her family, but she is one and the same person assuming different roles. Though we worship God as Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Lakshmi etc , we are indeed worshiping the same supreme being, that is manifest to us in those forms.

Lord Shiva as JyothirLinga

One of the Manifested forms of Lord Shiva is as a Column of Fire or Jyothi. A Sadhaka who has reached the highest level of enlightenment is believed to see the Lord in this form.

Dwadasa (12) Jyotirlingas 

In India there are 12 powerful Jyotirlingas spread across the country, Northernmost being Kedarnath and Southernmost being Rameshwaram. The Puranas and the great teacher Sri Adishankaracharya have praised the greatness of these 12 jyothirlingas. They are:

Somnath - located in Prabhas Patann in Saurashtra, Gujarat

Sree Sailam - Mallikarjuna temple in Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh). Adi Shankara composed the famous Sivanandalahari here.

Ujjain - Mahakaleshwar Shrine in Ujjain , Madhya Pradesh

Omkareshwar - Madhya Pradesh

Vaidyanath - Deogarh , in the Santal Paraganas district in Bihar

Bhimashankar - Located in Sahyadri hills near Pune.

Rameshwaram - Ramalingaeshwar shrine in south Tamil Nadu

Nageshwar - Dwaraka in Gujarat

Varanasi - Kasi Vishwanath temple in Benaras, Uttar Pradesh. One of the most celebrated Pilgrimage site for all Hindus in India

Tryambakeshwar - Nasik in Maharashtra, origin of the River Godavari

Kedarnath - Northenmost Jyothirlinga shrine among the Himalayas. The shrine is open only 6 months in a year during the summer months.

Grishneshwar -Ellora Caves, Maharashtra

Adi Shankaracharya has composed the 'Dwadasa Linga Sthothra' which is known to remove sins of the Sadhaka, when recited regularly.
“Saurashtre Somanathamcha Srisaile Mallikarjunam|
Ujjayinya Mahakalam Omkaramamaleswaram ||
Paralyam Vaidyanathancha Dakinyam Bheema Shankaram |
Setu Bandhethu Ramesam, Nagesam Darukavane||
Varanasyantu Vishwesam Tryambakam Gautameethate|
Himalayetu Kedaaram, Ghrishnesamcha shivaalaye||
Etani jyotirlingani, Saayam Praatah Patennarah|
Sapta Janma Kritam pApam, Smaranena Vinashyati||”

Nov 24th - Swamiji's Bhiksha

Today is a special day for our class, we are hosting bhiksha for Swamiji. Sangita aunty & Asha aunty went to the ashram well ahead of the rest of the class to setup for the bhiksha.
In the balavihar class, after the opening prayers, we reviewed the symbolism of goddesses - Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati. To understand the virtue of "titksha" we discussed the story of saint Ekanath, how one day a young man spit on him every time he took bath in the river and went past his home, to make him angry. But Eaknath maharaj didn't get angered even once.
Then we chanted the first 4 slokas of  Srimad Bhagavad Gita, chapter 14, in preparation for the Gita chanting competition in March, 2014.      
The kids were given index cards to write any questions they would like to ask Swamiji during the satsang after bhiksha.
We concluded the class a little early so as to be at the ashram before Swamiji arrives.

Swamiji's Bhiksha 

All of us convened at the ashram for the bhiksha. Kids were all excited in welcoming Swamiji with "Hari OM", followed by poorna kumbha.  Kids took turns to serve Swamiji & Ericji.
After the Swamiji  completed his meal, kids started their lunch.
Then we had a very stimulating satsang with Swamiji. Kids asked a wide rang of questions, and Swamiji explained in detail satisfying the minds of both kids & parents. Here are a  few questions:

• Where is God?
• Is God real?
• If God is everywhere, Why do we need to go the temple?   
• Why does Swamiji always wear "saffron" colored clothes?

We concluded the bhiksha by doing Chinmaya aarti to Gurudev's portrait. Each family offered namaskarams & gurudakshina to Swamiji, and got his blessings.

Nov 17th - Goddess Lakshmi Symbolism (Contd)

After the Morning prayers and Meditation session, we continued about the positive qualities and Real wealth that Goddess Lakshmi bestows upon us. The 6 inner wealth according to Adi Shankarcharya are Shama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksha, Shraddha and Samadana. To illustrate each of these qualities clearly, the children heard a story about Self Control.

We also did a Recap of the 16 steps of Puja or Puja Vidhi.....

Geeta Chanting - We recited the first 3 verses of Chapter 14. The kids have copies of Chapter 14 now (1 sheet). They should try to recite this every day, this way it is easy to memorize.

Bhiksha with Swamiji - Nov 24th

Our 5th grade class has the opportunity to Serve Swamiji this Sunday. Emails have gone out to all parents regarding this. Please pickup your kids from the classroom at 11 am in order to assemble at the Ashram at 11:40 am.

Hari Om

Nov 10th - Diwali - Symbolism of Goddess Lakshmi

Symbolism of Goddess Lakshmi

November is the month of Deepavali and all hindus perform Lakshmi Puja and pray to the Goddess to bless us with wealth and prosperity. We always tend to think that Wealth means just Money and Dollars. Today the children learnt that Goddess Lakshmi symbolises INNER wealth and virtues and what those virtues are and how to cultivate them.

Six forms of inner wealth - Symbolised by "Suvarnahasta"

Adi Shankaracharya in his book "Vivekachudamani" has stated the six forms of inner wealth as follows:

• Sama ( Calm Mind)
• Dama (Self Control)
• Uparati (Self Withdrawl)
• Titiksha (Forbearance)
• Shraddha (Faith)
• Samadhana (Single - Pointedness)

The Golden hand or "Suvarnahasta" of Mother Lakshmi that is shown to shower gold, actually symbolises the above 6 forms of wealth. Only with a calm mind, self control, faith, forbearance and one pointedness can we achieve anything worthwhile in life.

Kanakadhara Stotram

We learnt the story behind Adi Shankaracharya 's Kanakadhara Sthotram, which he composed to Mother Lakshmi when he was young boy, to help a very poor lady. This poor lady did not have anything but one gooseberry to give to Shankaracharya as bhiksha. He was so moved by the poor lady's condition that he composed Kanakadhara sthotra to Mother Lakshmi and it is said that golden goose berries rained on the poor lady....

Lotus - "Sarasijanilaya" - seated on a lotus

The lotus on which Goddess Lakshmi is seated upon, is known to grow in marshy lands and unclean surroundings, but its beauty and purity are unaffected by its surroundings. We also should strive to remain pure in any situation or circumstance. 

Class Activity - Making and decorating Diyas

Since Deepavali is a festival of lights, the children made "Diyas" with white clay and decorated with sequins etc. 

October 13 & 20 - sarasvati pūja (सरस्वति पूज)

In the last two classes we tried to understand the procedure of pUja by doing worshipping goddess sarasvati in the class, being navaratri days, we felt it is the right time to seek the blessings of devi.

Puja Vidhi - 16 steps to performing a Puja

After our Morning Prayers and Meditation, the 5^th graders learnt an important aspect of our Hindu Culture - Puja Vidhi or 16 steps in doing Puja. Though kids must have witnessed Pujas being performed at home or at a temple, most often they are unaware of the “vidhi” or what the priests are doing to the idols. We hope that by explaining the various steps that are involved in a puja, they will better understand the procedure.

16 steps in a Puja (or “Shodasha Upachara”)

Today we performed puja to Goddess Saraswati - the Goddess of Learning. The kids were given some materials that are required for a simple Puja - such as picture of Goddess Saraswati, a seat, flowers etc. As our Swamiji says, performing a puja to the Goddess is similar to how we welcome and treat a guest at home. We start the puja after having a bath and wearing clean clothes. Then with a calm and focused mind we do the following:

1 - Avahanam - Welcoming the Goddess to our home

2-Asanam - Offering a Seat to the Goddess

3 - Padyam - Offering Water to wash the feet

4 - Arghyam - Offering Water to wash the hands

5 - Acamaniyam - Offering Water to drink

6 - Snanam - The Goddess is bathed in Water

7 - Panchamrutham - Offering a mixture of 5 “nectars” (in place of  5 yajnas )

8 - Vastram - Offering new clothes

9 - kumkumamam - Offering of  kumkumam

10 - Gandham - Offering of sandalwood paste

11 - Akshatah - Offering of rice grains

12 - Pushpam - Offering of flowers

13 - Dhoopam - Offering of incense

14 - Deepam - Showing a lighted lamp to the Gooddess

15 - Naivedyam - Offering food that has been specially cooked

16 - Arati - Conclude with the Arati

After the Puja is completed , we ask the Goddess to forgive us if we have missed out / or have mistaken in any of the above steps, by reciting the kshamaa prardhana.

October 6th,2013 - Goddess Durga

We started the class with meditiation & opening praryers. Then we tried to understanding the last stanzaa of guru stotram. That lead to discussion about pujya gurudev Swami Chinmayananda & guruji Swami Tejomayananda. Then we continued  our learning about Ganesha & bid farewell to the physical form of Ganesha by chanting

"Ganapati bappa morya, pudcha varsha loukariya"

Children were then asked to talk about the hindu festival happening currently - "navaratri".  We learnt that दुर्गा (durgā)  means  " दुर्गति हरिणि   (durgati hariṇi) - the remover of bad qualities within us. Kids looked at Goddess Durga picture and identified that she rides a tiger, holds various weapons. We learnt that the tiger stands for our ego, and when we tame the ego, our true power comes out.

 

Then we learnt about one of the forms of Durga, Mother Kaali, how the skull garland is a representation of all the bad values being killed. Each kid was given a paper skull, on the back of which they wrote the bad values they want to get rid of. Then we made a garland of it and decorated it to mother Kaali, and prayed with the following prayer to give us the strength to get rid of the bad values

सर्वमंगल मांगल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थ साधिके।
शरण्ये त्र्यंबके गौरि नारायणि नमोस्तु ते॥
sarvamaṁgala māṁgalye śive sarvārtha sādhike |
śaraṇye tryaṁbake gauri nārāyaṇi namostu te || 

September 29, 2013 - gaṇeśa

Hari Om,
We started with chanting OM three times, and continued with meditation, and the opening prayers.
All the kids finished their word search from last week, and took turns to read the twelve names in the word search. In the process the kids learnt the need for transliteration, while writing Sanskrit alphabets (49) in English, which has only 26 alphabets.

एकदन्त गजकर्ण गजानन गणपति गणेश लम्बोदर महेश्वरपुत्र मोदकहस्त पार्वतिपुत्र फालचन्द्र विघ्नराज विघ्नेश्वर

ekadanta gajakarṇa gajānana gaṇapati gaṇeśa lambodara maheśvaraputra modakahasta pārvatiputra phālacandra vighnarāja vighneśvara

We reviewed the symbolism of Ganesha from the last class. Couple of kids questioned how a broken tusk can represent "discard bad & retain good"? Will continue this aspect in next class.
Kids made a small origami booklet about the Ganesha symbolism, and filled in the blanks. After that they took turns to read out each page. The whole class chanted the Ganesha prayer in the booklet.

वक्रतुन्ड महाकाय  सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ।
निर्विघ्नम् कुरु मे देव  सर्व कार्येशु सर्वदा॥
vakratunḍa mahākāya  sūryakoṭi samaprabha |
nirvighnam kuru me deva  sarva kāryeśu sarvadā ||

We heard the "Ganesha pancharatnam" audio of Mrs. M.S. Subbalakshmi  one more time. Some of the musically inclined kids enjoyed the audio, and tried to identify the raga of the song. We learnt that Sri Adi Sankaracharya wrote the "Ganesha pancharatnam", and a lot of other beautiful mellifluous prayers.

Then we chanted "saṁkaṭanāśana gaṇeśa stotraṁ" on the last page in prayer booklet; most of the kids already knew this from the previous balavihar classes. We concluded the class with "पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं....pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ" followed by pledge.

September 22, 2013 - gaṇeśa

We started the class with setting up the altar, kids who come early get a chance to help setting up the altar. Kids picked their nametags, and the whole class chanted OM three times, followed by meditation. After meditation, we chanted sahanavavatu, saraswati namstubhyam, shuklam bardharam, guru stotram.

Today's class we discussed what a symbol is, kids gave a few examples of popular symbols : peace sign, swastik, etc. Then we discussed about flag of a country - how it is also kind of a symbol, representing the values of the country, and when we salute a flag, we are also remembering the great leaders who sacrificed their lives for that country.
Then we heard a story about how Swami Vivekananda has dispelled the doubts a king had as to why we should worship a god's picture. Swami Vivekananda asked the servant to bring down the portrait of the king's grandfather, and made the servant spit on it. seeing this, the king got mad - and Swami Vivekananda told the king that it's just a picture of his grandfather, and why he is getting angered by it. At that point the king realized as to why we should worship god's picture or idol (murti). Just like the king has emotional attachment to his grandfather's picture, Veda Vyasa gave us various gods so that we can get attached to the all pervading God.
Hearing this story, some of the kids who had a doubt  similar to the king got convinced and could get the connection between the picture in front of them & the quote of "God is everywhere".
Then we started to learn more about Lord Ganesha. Kids who knew the story of the birth of Gajanana, narrated it to the class. Then we learnt the symbolism in Ganesha, what Veda Vyasa wants us to understand when we see a picture / murti of Ganapati.

Then  we heard the audio of M.S Subbalakshmi's  rendition of Adi Sankaracharya's "Ganesha Pancharatnam". All the kids were given a folder of prayers we will be learning in 5th grade. As the audio was playing kids followed it in their prayer file. Those who missed can download the file here grade5-prayers.pdf 
Then we learnt the important names of Ganesha,

• ekadanta
• gajakarṇa
• gajānana
• gaṇapati
• gaṇeśa
• lambodara
• maheśvaraputra
• modakahasta
• pārvatiputra
• phālacandra
• vighnarāja
• vighneśvara

and there was a word search homework on finding all these names, the word search is available here. We chanted
वक्रतुन्ड महाकाय कोटिसूर्यसमप्रभ।
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येशु सर्वदा॥
vakratunḍa mahākāya koṭisūryasamaprabha |
nirvighnaṁ kuru me deva sarvakāryeśu sarvadā ||

to seek the blessings of Vinayaka.
Wow! we didn't realize that it was almost time to conclude, as the kids who knew lead, the rest of the class joined in chanting pledge & poornamadah.


    

Welcome Class 2014

The Auditorium was packed with kids & parents excited to be back for the 2013-14 balavihar year. As each one was looking for their friends, teachers walked kids in groups as each grade was announced.

All of the 5th grade assembled in room A-116, where they were allotted to each section. All the kids allotted to Section-1 followed Prasad uncle to room A-115. Kids in section-2 stayed back in room A-116. We started off with chanting OM three times, followed by meditation. We recited the opening prayers

1. sahana vavtu 
2. shuklam bharadaram 
3. sarswati mastubhyam 
4. guru stotram - akhanda mandalaakaaram 

We went over the class rules, that during meditation, lights will be turned off & if the kids are coming in late & see the lights are turned off, they should wait outside the door till the lights are turned on.

The class then got introductions of each one, with each one telling their name, which school they go to, their favorite subjects, and what they did during summer. There was an interesting mix of activities ranging from a visit to India, Six flags, Disney World, Niagara Falls, Toronto, London, Paris etc.,
After the introductions, we discussed what we will be studying this year. All the kids made their nametags. We went back to the auditorium for arathi & pledge.

Contact Teachers

Below are the email id.s of the volunteers of 5th grade class. Please feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions or concerns.

Prasad Bapatla -- prasadbcs [..at..] gmail [..dot..] com 

Sangita Patankar -- patankarp [..at..] hotmail [..dot..] com

Prabhu Vellore -- pvellore [..at..] gmail [..dot..] com

Note : The e-mail addresses above have been ciphered ;), to prevent automatic e-mail parsing software from deciphering for mass e-mailing purposes or spams. Please translate them accordingly.

June 2, 2013 - Final 5th grade Class

Hari OM.

We started the last class with the Likhita Japa of the mantra - Sri Ramajayam. After chanting OM, the class meditated. We chanted the opening prayers.

We then moved on to the topic of the day: Ramayanam and Lord Sri Rama. Starting from Rama's birth in Ayodhya, we reviewed events in Rama's childhood, his marriage with Sita in Mithila, unfortunate turn of events that led to Rama, Sita and Lakshmana's heart wrenching exit from the palace and stay in the forest, Sita's kidnapping, Rama's acquaintance with Sugriva and Hanuman and the victory of Rama over Ravana.

Now with our symbolism hat, we revisited the story of Rama and discussed the morals to be learned from the events in the story. Here is a summary of our discussions:

1. The kids related to Manthara's poisoning of Kaikeyi's mind, to peer pressure at school and how one has to think through the consequences of one's actions and evaluate carefully what they are tempted to do. Because at the end, each one of us are responsible for our actions, good and bad.

2. We discussed how Rama is a role model son, brother, disciple, husband, friend, etc. We should carefully analyze Rama's actions through out the story and learn from his life story. This lead to the summer assignment: Read or Re-Read the story of Ramayanam, follow the trail of Rama in the India map handed out in class today, and analyze the actions of Rama. You can hand the filled in map to Anjana Aunty or Prasad Uncle when you return to BV next year. You can email the teachers if you have any questions.

3. We then discussed how Ravana was a very talented, powerful, and a great devotee of Shiva. Later when  he was blinded by his desire for Sita, he did not heed to the advice and warnings of his ministers, brothers, sons and other well wishers. We need to listen to the advice of our close friends and family members, and decide carefully, when we are on a track that is contradictory to the socially acceptable norms laid out in our society.

Jay Ram! With that we concluded our topic of the day: Symbolism of Rama Avatar.

We took group pictures of the class. It was a pleasure to spend sunday mornings with this group of intelligent and well-behaved kids. Hope you all learned to appreciate the symbolism of our mUrtIs, and developed an inquisitive attitude to question and understand our practices and rituals.

We took a mini survey from the students to know their comments, and understand what they liked about the Balavihar classes and what they would change if given a chance. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

To conclude the class, we had a quiz round to review and recap what we learned all through this year in our sunday sessions. Krishna Iyer, Kasturi Uncle's son who is a BV graduate, attending college, helped to set up the projector to view the quiz presentation. The kids took turns answering the questions, and remembered most of the facts that they had learned.

With closing prayers we departed to the auditorium. Some of the kids had written and brought thank-you cards for the teachers. Thanks for the kind gesture. It made us feel special.

Let us cherish our memories and practice what we have learned. Have a great summer.

Love & Blessings,
Anjana Aunty & Prasad Uncle
"Every beginning has an end. And all endings lead to new beginnings."

May 12, 2013

Hari OM.
Classroom A115 was dark and quiet.  When the door was opened the kids sprung up from their chairs and screamed "Surprise! Happy Mother's Day". There were Mother's Day wishes written on the board, with a creative likhita japa "OM Mother's Day namaH" :) LOL. "That was awesome. Thank you kids! for the sweet surprise."

The class then discussed how each one of them had partnered with their siblings and Dad to treat their mom extra special on Mother's Day. All moms were lucky today receiving cards, poems, flowers, breakfast in bed, perfumes, candy, etc. We discussed how one can never repay a mom for all the love and kindness she showers on us through all her daily actions. We agreed that the goal was to make MOM happy and special and convey our gratitude. Prasad uncle mentioned that this attitude should not be restricted to Mother's day alone, but should continue on all days :) It is nice to devote a special day for all the MOMS, but every day and moment is to be cherished.

We discussed few sayings of Tamil Saints and Telugu Poets reinforcing that Mom & Dad are living GODs, giving us an opportunity to love and be loved. We had an interesting discussion on how at various time periods women were considered inferior and banned from going to school or learning vedas, and many learned scholars and social activists worked hard to remove this bias. We reminded ourselves that all of us are endowed with different skills, but none inferior or superior to another, and we shall be vigilant to ensure that we do not develop any bias based on gender, caste, wealth, nationality, skills, etc.

Like the Hardware and Software that come together and function as a technology device that empowers us; like the Siva and Parvati in the form - ardhanaareeshwar, like the Yin and Yang, we have to be in harmony and realize our collective potential and contribute to the community welfare.

We sang our opening prayers after the Mother's day special segment.

We reviewed what we had learnt about Durga and Lakshmi, and moved on to Saraswati. All the kids knew that Saraswati is revered as the "Mother of Knowledge". We discussed the significance of the name.

         "Swa" - means Self

          "saara" - means essence
Thus Saraswati, is the Goddess who bestows upon us the Knowledge of the Self. We related this to the words of Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Geeta Chapter 13, when Krishna answers Arjuna on what has to be known. Goddess Saraswati holds a Veena in two of her hands, a japa mala in one hand and the vedas in the other hand, thus representing she is the Goddess of Arts, Spiritual Knowledge and Technology. She is the consort of Lord Brahma, providing the knowledge required for creation. In this context, we discussed how Japa Mala is a great meditation tool: How our body serves as a feedback loop to train the mind to focus on one thought and then helps us move on to an interval with no thoughts. That lead to the kids standing in Tree Pose, Nataraja pose, aiming for stillness and perfect balance :)

The kids were curious about why the sari Goddess Saraswati is wearing is white and the lotus she is seated upon is also white. The color White indicates purity and knowledge, hence as the mother of knowledge she is represented adorning white clothes.

She is seated on a rock, and there is a river flowing in the surrounding symbolizing that in this life there are always different flow of events, some pleasant and easy and some painful and difficult, but we have to be seated firmly like Goddess Saraswati, acquiring the knowledge of the self, despite the flow of events.

We discussed about the Swan and Peacock accompanying Goddess Saraswati. Kids were surprised to know that Swans could separate milk from a mixture of milk and water. Swans thus symbolizes the power of discrimination between the REAL and the UNREAL. We had a good brain storming session on what is REAL, by the way.

We had an announcement: Fifth Grade Bala Vihar Team shall sponsor the Soup Kitchen Dinner, the coming saturday, May 18th. An email shall be sent to parents with the sign up sheet. Please sign up to indicate what you can contribute and drop off the items in the Vrindavan Ashram before 3PM.

We then wrote the likhita Japa - OM Sri Saraswatyai namaH in a leaf cut-out, decorated and offered our leaf to Mother Saraswati, requesting her to bless us with knowledge.

The class then dispersed to the auditorium for Aarti and pledge.

Happy Mother's Day to all moms,
Anjana Aunty & Prasad Uncle

May 5 - Annual Day - Fab. Five Game Show

Hari OM,

The Fifth grade team has been diligently working for the last couple of weeks in planning and practicing the Fab. Five Game Show. Today at 11AM, we had our stage rehearsal in Cross Roads middle school. We got all the props required for the game show: Game Board, Score Board, question and answer tiles, clip boards, markers & pencils, bell, etc. We rehearsed once on stage, and found out our Green Room for the evening event. The Tech. team spruced up the power point presentation with appropriate backgrounds for each round, info. about the Prizes, etc.

The class met again at 3:30PM, anxious for their turn to host the show. The hosts and announcers had dressed in black and white. Every one else was looking fabulous in their indian costumes. Publicity & Campaigning team reached out to the Players and confirmed that they are all reporting to the green room by 4:15PM. When the teams reported, they briefed the three teams about the rules of the game show and answered their questions.

At about 5:15PM we left the green room and quietly assembled back-stage. The Stage Setup and Props team arranged the stage for the game show and the emcees called out the fifth grade team to present the game show around 5:30PM.

The Announcers took over the mike and explained what the game was all about to the audience, introduced the playing teams and the presentation team for the first round. The Team Explosive Samosas got their first question: Husband of Uma. The props team maneuvered the game board with express speed and accuracy. No one in the audience saw them in action, but those of us in the back-stage were amazed with their focus and speed. Excitement slowly mounted as the various teams started competing with each other. At the end of Round #1, all the questions on the names of Shiva had been completed.

For Round #2, the music to time the players solving the word clue, finally kicked in to action, adding a wonderful audio effect. This was purely a fifth-grade students' idea that evolved with suggestions of popular music tunes, a fifth grader played and recorded a version of the Pink Panther music with custom effects for the last 5 seconds. None of the teams were able to solve the word puzzles in the category Vishnu.

The announcers kept the audience engaged while presentation teams switched for the third round. Category was Names of Devis. At the end of the three rounds, one team had not scored any points. Hence, only the other two teams moved on to the FIRE round.

The topic for FIRE round was daanam. (giving, generosity, charity). The teams waged the points they had earned. But unfortunately both the teams did not sove the clue to the answer "Sage dadhici".

After all the rounds, Team Explosive Samosas came first with 100 points, Team Supreme S.I.V.A came second with 50 points.

Then it was time for Prize distribution. The publicity & campaigning team gave away fabulous prizes with their hard-earned money - AMC Gold experience movie tickets for two with a voucher for pop-corn to the winning team , ITunes gift cards for $20 each to the runners-up. The third team, Team SEVAKS, got a consolation prize for participation, ITunes gift cards for $10 each.

The fifth grade team lined up on stage and the audience gave them a big round of applause for hosting a fabulous game show, indeed.

The teachers are extremely happy and pleased with the fifth grade kids' team work, co-operation and attention to details. Special thanks to the two girls who agreed to substitute for the kids who could not make it to the game-show due to health issues. That is the kind of team-work all these kids demonstrated through out this game-show.

Note to Parents: If any of you recorded the game-show, please share with the group.

CONGRATULATIONS,
Fifth Grade Teachers: Anjana Aunty, Prasad Uncle, Sangita Aunty & Kasturi Uncle

March 17, 2013

Hari OM.
Kids started with the Likhita Japa of the stuti - "OM durgaayai namaH". The class meditated for a few minutes, holding their hands in chinmudra. We sang our opening prayers.

** Section 1 **
We discussed the Devi names that the kids are familiar with. It was surprising to the kids that most of the girls/female relatives whom they knew had one of Devi's names as their name. We then moved on to the topic of the day - "Durga". We understood what the name Durga meant: the one who destroys evil tendencies, "Durgati hariNi" in sanskrit. Then we carefully examined the form of Durga, the various weapons she holds in her hands, the vehicle on which she is riding, the skull necklace that she is wearing, etc.

We then discussed the story of MahiShaasura, the boon he had acquired, and the trouble he was stirring up for the Devas. We recalled how Durga got her power and weapons from all the Devas, and after a fierce battle that raged for nine days, she vanquished all the demons. The day she slayed all the demons is also celebrated as the Vijaya Dasami day, the tenth day after NavaRaatri.

We then looked at the symbolism behind slaying MahiShaasura. MahiShaa, the bull, represents laziness, the evil tendency in all of us that prevents us from reaching our full potential. Praying to Durga, helps us overcome our laziness, procrastination, and other evil tendencies.

We did a small project to re-inforce this concept. We had a picture of Durga Maa traced in a big sheet of paper hung on the white-board. She was adorning a necklace. Each child got a paper cut-out of a skull. They carefully thought about the evil tendency that they would like to overcome and wrote it in their cut-out. Kids identified Over-eating, lethargy, procrastination, resentment, laziness, over-confidence, anger, etc. in themselves as the evil tendency they would like to overcome. Kids then chanted the mantra "hrIm" for a few minutes. They learned to chant the dhyana shloka "sarva managaLa maangalye ..". After the small prayer, each skull was attached to the necklace on Durga Maa. The skulls in Durga Maataa's necklace, are nothing but the evil tendencies of her devotees, slayed by Her.

** Section 2 **
....

** "Fab. Five" Game Show Planning by the Fifth Grade Team **
Now it was time for both the sections to get together and plan for the game show. Our friends from the other section joined us. Kids found their team-mates, based on the role assignments in the last class. Each Team shall be mentored by one of the four teachers. Few kids who were absent in the previous class, signed up in one of the four teams. We then brain-stormed the topics or categories for the questions. The final topics or categories are:

1. Names of Vishnu
2. Names of Shiva
3. Names of Devis
4. Characters renowned for daanam in Ramaayanam, Mahaabhaaratam and Bhaagavatam.

We ironed out some more details of the game show. We played two mock rounds of the game, with the clues and tiles prepared by one of the students, on the topic "Names of Vishnu" from Vishnu Sahasranaamam. Kids: Please send your questions to "5thgradecmtc@gmail.com". We request each student to research and send at least five fabulous words on the above mentioned topics. Here is a suggested format:

     Word #1:

• Topic: Names of Vishnu
• Clue: A Pure Soul 
• Answer: pu̅ta̅tma̅
• Author: {kid's name}

Each Team shall decide when, where and how often they would have to meet to get their tasks accomplished.  At the end of the class, we found out that the Hosts & Presentation Team, already decided the roles for all the current team-members :) Way to go!! Good Job, kids.

With closing prayers and pledge the class dispersed.

Parents: please stay tuned with the emails regarding game show preparatory meetings and help the kids work as a team. We need your help to host the fabulous game show, that the kids are enthusiastically planning out.

Blessings,
Fifth Grade Teachers
Anjana Aunty, Sangeeta Aunty, Prasad Uncle, and, Kasturi Uncle

March 10, 2013

Hari OM.

After Likhita Japa and meditation, the class sang opening prayers and bhajans.

We started the class with an interesting discussion on Day Light Savings, and why it is followed in certain parts of the world. We learned that in the Hindu calendar, based on sun's relative position to Earth, a year is divided in to dakShiNaayaNam and uttarAyaNam. uttarAyanam starts from Makara Sankranti, ~ Jan 14th and lasts for a period of six months. dakShinNaayaNam follows uttarAyanam for a period of six months. Sun has been worshipped as a deity in many parts of the world and is depicted to be riding on a chariot in the sky, pulled by seven horses. These seven horses symbolize the seven colors in white light: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

We then discussed about the Game Show that the fifth grade Team shall be hosting, and brain-stormed on the format of the game. Both the sections assembled together. We discussed the various tasks that the game-show would require and came up with 5 teams. The five teams are:

1. Campaigning, Publicity & Prizes
2. Stage set-up and Props
3. Computers & Technology
4. Hosting & Presentation
5. Topics, Questions & Tiles 

All the students then chose the Team that they would like to work on for the game-show. As coming up with questions for the game show is a learning experience, all kids shall contribute to the pool of questions. Please email your suggestions and questions to 5thgradecmtc@gmail.com.

Going forward, the two sections shall work together in the last half hour during balavihar sundays, to plan and organize the game-show.

Kasturi Uncle talked to the class about sponsoring a brick towards the construction of the new building at Vrindavan. Fifth grade Team 2012-2013, would raise money to support the construction, standing together as the Fifth grade family.

We then dispersed to the auditorium for Arti and pledge.

Blessings,

Fifth Grade Teachers

March 3, 2013

We started the much awaited class with Likhita Japa of OM namaH shivAya. Kids had already written the Japa on the board as soon as the language class was over :) We reminded the students about the Likhita Japa that each student has to write in loose leaf paper, to be used in the new Vrindavan Ashram.

After OM chanting, we meditated for a few minutes. We sang our opening prayers. Today, we completed Gita Chanting right after opening prayers. Kids can read and chant quite fluently. We discussed the meaning of Verses 13, 14 and learned to chant these two verses.

We reminded the kids again to register for the Geeta Chanting Yajna along with their parents. We discussed how Mahatma Gandhi would look for answers to his daily challenges in Bhagavad Gita, and how blessed the children are to have an opportunity to learn Bhagavad Gita. Parents, please encourage chanting at home everyday. With the excellent memory that these kids possess, chanting the verses few times everyday, gets it down in their memory faster than you would think. Check it out.

As there were no other suggestions for the name of the gameshow, sent to 5thgradecmtc@gmail.com, we finalized the name of the gameshow to be Fab Five!!

We then started the Shiva Lingam Craft Activity, that the children have been eagerly looking forward to. We divided the class in to three groups. Each table worked on their shiva lingam, chanting OM namaH shivAya. We used Black Crayola Model Magic Clay to sculpt our shiva lingams. We made the Rudra bhaaga, Vishnu bhaga and then the Brahma bhaaga. We attached the Vishnu bhaga on top of the Brahma bhaaga. We inserted a wood-stick to hold all three sections in place and carefully placed the Rudra bhaaga on top of the Vishnu bhaaga. Kids then took turns using a gray sharpie to draw the tripunDram mark in the rudra bhaaga. Vola, we had made our own shiva lingams, just in time for Mahaashivaraatri. Kids please handle the shivalingams with care and devotion; keep in in a safe, dry place until your lingam is fully dried.

Prasad uncle then led the class in chanting Shiva panchaakshara shlokam. Kids thus completed the activity by offering prayers to the shiva lingam that they had created in class.

Hope the kids enjoyed the craft activity and will cherish their Shiva Lingam.

This friday, March 8, 2013, Fifth graders are meeting in the Ashram, to watch a movie with Swami ShantanandaJi. Please remember to be there by 6PM.

Blessings,
Anjana Aunty & Prasad Uncle

Feb 24, 2013

We started the class with Likhita Japa of OM namaḥ śiva̅ya. After chanting OM three times, we closed our eyes, held our hands in chin mudra and meditated for a few minutes. We sang opening prayers, followed by shlokas and bhajans in praise of each deity we have learned so far.

We had a quiz on facts we have learned so far about Lord Shiva.

We started our discussion on "SivaLingam". We learned about the various parts of a siva lingam - brahma bhaaga, vishnu bhaaga and rudra bhaaga. The elliptical rudra bhaaga represents the formless Lord Siva and as Lord Siva loves "abhishekha", devotees offer holy water, milk, honey, bhasmam, bilva leaves etc.  on the top of the rudra bhaaga. We also discussed about TriPundra and reviewed the significance of wearing bhasma.

We discussed about "Nandi", Lord Shiva's vehicle. The class had an interesting discussion regarding ṛṣabha. We discussed the meaning of the word ṛṣabha, recalled how SriKrishna refers to Arjuna as bharatarṣabha in Bhagavad Gi̅ta̅. We discussed about the zodiac sign - ṛṣabham.

We then discussed about a practice followed when visiting shiva temples. Devotees first offer their salutations to Nandi; then place the index finger and thumb of the right hand on the two horns of Nandi, and look through the circle formed to get a darshan of Lord Shiva. We discussed the symbolism behind this practice. The index finger represents the individual ego, the thumb represents the self, the Lord within. They are far removed from each other, each facing a different direction. However to get a vision of the Lord, we need help from the two horns of nandi that represent viveka (discrimination) and vaira̅gya (dispassion). Nandi that is placed inside the temple represents a realized soul, and the Nandi that is placed outside the temple is an extroverted human. The two horns of the Nandi placed outside symbolize the two gunas or characteristics: tamas and rajas.

The class chanted Bhagavad Geeta verses that they have learned so far in Chapter 13. They learned to chant two new verses, Verse #11, Verse #12. We briefly discussed how SriKrishna explains the term Knowledge in verses 8-12.

After attendance, teachers and kids from the other section joined our class. We brainstormed ideas for the game-show that fifth grade shall be hosting on the Annual day. Fifth grade team finalized the game, brainstormed on the high level task list, and did a mock round of the game.
Note: Fifth graders are requested to think through the game show, decide what role they would like to play, and send their suggestions regarding the name of the game-show, ideas for prizes, game presentation. Please put your thoughts down in words, and share your thoughts by sending an email to 5thgradecmtc@gmail.com.

After Arti and closing prayers the class dispersed.

Blessings,
Fifth Grade Teachers

Feb 10, 2013

Hari OM.
The class warmed up by writing OM dakṣiṇāmūrtaye namaḥ, in the Likhita Japa notebook. We chanted OM three times and meditated for a few minutes. It was encouraging to see that even those kids who usually fidget their feet, made an effort to be still. We then sang our opening prayers. The teachers had brought more castanets for the class bhajan. Kids sang the bhajan - "Shiva Shambho Shambho ..." very melodiously. We recorded the kids singing the bhajan. Please play the audio clip and listen to the bhajan.



We started our discussion on Lord Dakshinamurthy. Dakshninamurthy is a personification of Lord Shiva as a youthful, spiritual Guru. Dakshinamurthy is revered as the spiritual Guru who leads his disciples from immortality to mortality. He instructs his disciples through silence. In this regard, we discussed how profound transformations always happen from within. An egg when broken from the outside gets destroyed, however when let to mature on its own and it breaks open from within, a new life springs out. Something to ponder upon ...

We discussed what are held in the four hands of Dakshinamurthy. We discussed that with the chin mudra or jnana mudra, the Lord is gesturing that our prime goal is to strive for one-ness with supreme consciousness. This can be achieved by detaching oneself from body, mind and intellect. All kids practiced this mudra.

We learned that the demon who is crushed under the Lord's feet is known as "apasmara", symbolizing our ego and ignorance.

As today was the fifth graders' turn to lead arti and Pledge at the auditorium, we then reviewed the arti songs  and shlokas. The kids showed such great enthusiasm in learning the Chinmaya Arti.

We reviewed shlokas 1-10 in Bhagavad Geeta, chapter 13. The kids can chant quite well reading from the hand-out. We have instructed them to chant every day with their parents, so that it would go down in memory. Parents please remember to register the kids for the Geeta Chanting Yajna. We request you to be a role model and inspire your kids by registering yourself as well, to read Chapter 13, if memorizing is too big a challenge :) Please refer to the announcements section for Geeta Chanting Yajna Home Page.

At 11:30, we dispersed to the auditorium. After announcements, the fifth grade kids from both sections lead Arti and pledge. With enthusiasm, confidence and devotion the fifth graders led the group. The kids did a fantastic job! We are blessed to have an opportunity to teach and interact with all of you.

See you all on Feb 24th. Blessings,
Anjana Aunty & Prasad Uncle

Feb 3, 2013 - Section 1

Hari OM.
We started the class with Likhita Japa of the mantra OM naṭara̅ja̅ya namaḥ. The class then meditated for about 3 minutes. We sang our opening prayers. Kids are learning a new Shiva bhajan: shiva shambho shambho, to add to our opening prayers. Kids took turns making beats with a castanet, similar to finger cymbals.

After revising all the facts about Shiva that we have learned in the last few classes, we moved on to the topic of the day "Nataraja", the Lord of Dance. Most kids were familiar with the idol of Lord Nataraja we had in our class altar.

We carefully examined the four hands of Lord Nataraja and what was held in each hand.

The rear two hands of Lord Nataraja, hold the Damaru and a bowl of fire. Damaru, a type of drum, symbolizes sound or creation. Damaru symbolizes that he is the lord of creation. Fire, represents destruction, reinforcing that He is the Lord of Dissolution. Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, is symbolically expressing that Creation and Destruction go hand in hand. One cannot function without the other.

The front left hand of Lord Nataraja is held in an abhaya mudra, the blessings gesture. The front right hand is held in a Gaja hasta, an Elephant's tusk. This hand is pointing to the raised right foot, signaling the way to get Lord Nataraja's blessings.

On examining the Lord's feet in the idol, we noticed that the Lord is standing on a Demon, known as Mulaayaka. This Demon represents the evil in all of us, like anger, pride, jealousy, greed, selfishness, laziness, etc. We discussed that we all have a mental picture of "Who we want to be" and an actual state of "Who we are". The difference between the two is caused by the evils mentioned above. Lord Nataraja is showing us that with our own effort, we have to raise above the evil tendencies in us. We seek Lord Nataraja's blessings to help us conquer the demons in us, and realize the state of perfection.

Kids in groups of four, standing one behind the other, demonstrated Lord Nataraja with his four hands and raised foot. Kids had fun, struggling to hold the pose until we could take a picture. However, Lord Nataraja though dancing, has a calm and serene face, teaching us that we have to be poised and calm even while we are working hard performing our duties.

With that we concluded the symbolism of Lord Nataraja.

Prasad uncle then narrated an interesting story that explained why Brahma is not worshipped on Earth and why Shiva is usually worshipped in a Linga Roopam and not human form. Kids were fascinated to find out that Sage bhṛgu had an extra eye in his toe, which was the source of his Ego, and how Lord Vishnu while washing his feet with water removed this eye. This story also explained why Lord Vishnu comes down as Balaji or Venkateshwara in Tirumala, and how Vakula Devi gets to perform the wedding of lord venkateshwara and goddess padmavati.

We discussed how Bhagavan Sri Krishna had explained the term kṣetram or prakṛti or Field in the verses we had learned to chant in the previous class. We discussed that in the next few verses that we were going to learn, Krishna explains the term jñanam or knowledge. The class chanted the first seven verses. We then learned to chant verse 8,9 and 10. Kids took the challenge of chanting janma-mṛtyu-jara̅-vya̅dhi-duḥkha-doṣa̅nudarśanam in one breath without a pause, and were successful in chanting it! It was almost 11:40 and we stopped with verse 10 of Bhagavad Gita.

After attendance and closing prayers the class dismissed. Parents, please encourage and inspire the kids to chant Gita every day at dusk.

Let us all strive to conquer the demons in us and raise ourselves to perfection,
Anjana Aunty and Prasad Uncle

Jan 27, 2013 - Section 1

Hari OM.

We started the class with Likhita Japa:  ॐ नमः शिवाय,  ஓம் நம சிவாய, OM namaḥ śiva̅ya. Some of the students in class chose to write their japa in devanagari and tamil :)

The class then meditated for a few minutes practising stillness in body and mind.

The students recapped what they have learned so far about Lord Shiva. They recalled that Lord Shiva has three eyes. We then discussed the significance of the three eyes. Shiva's thee eyes represent Sun, Moon and Fire: symbolizing that he is Just and disciplinary as a Father, loving and compassionate as a Mother, and knowledgeable and instructive as a Guru, destroying our ignorance.

Kids recalled names of shiva based on the facts they have gathered: trilochanaḥ, gangadharaḥ, neelakanThaḥ, chandrasekharaḥ.

We learned about bhasma or vibhooti that Lord Shiva smears all over his body. We had an interesting discussion on how bhasma or the holy ash is made. The word bhasma has two syllables: bha and sma; bha stands for bhartsnam, destruction of the sins of the devotess, and sma stands for smaranam, remembrance of the Lord at all times. So when devotees apply bhasma or the holy ash in their forehead, they are requesting the lord to destroy their sins and asking for the ability to remember the Lord at all times.

We recalled that Lord Vishnu's crown symbolized his sovereignity, authority or Lordship over the entire universe. In the case of Lord Shiva, his trident or trishul represents his Lordship. It is shiva's astra or weapon with which Lord Shiva destroys evil. The trident also represents that Lord shiva is the master of the three gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas, thus conquering Maya. It represents that he is the Lord of Time: past, present and future.

Research Assignment: What does the word bhagavaan mean? What are the divine qualities that makes humans worship God?

With that we completed the symbolism of Lord Shiva and chanted a shiva bhajan: shiva shambho shambho, shiva shambho mahaadevaa, hara hara hara hara mahaadevaa, shiva shambho mahaadevaa.

We then chanted verses 1-7 from Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13. We reviewed the name of the chapter, Arjuna's question, and how Shri Krishna explains the first term: kshetram.

Krishna analytically breaks down and lists the components with which this universe is made of:
Five Great Elements {space, air, fire, water and Earth}  = 5
Ahamkaaraḥ [Ego or a sense of doership] = 1
buddhiḥ [Intellect] = 1
avyaktam [unmanifest, Maya] = 1
sense organs
          organs of perception: skin, ears, eyes, tongue and nose = 5
          organs of action: hands, legs, mouth, excretory organs, reproductive organs = 5
Mind, THE ONE that brings all the 10 sense organs together and controls the sensory experience = 1
sense objects {touch, sound, form, taste and smell} = 5

These 24 constituents make up this universe, which is also known as matter or field.

There are 7 additional factors which contribute to this field or matter:
desire and hatred, pleasure and pain, grouping as one unit, consciousness (reflected), and firmness to make all the elements work together.

We did an activity to reinforce our understanding of kshetram. Each student took one or two puzzle pieces. They found other kids who had the rest of the pieces in their group. For instance, if one kid got space, they looked for air, fire, water and earth and fitted these pieces together. Once all the logical groups fit their pieces together, they came to the teachers' desk and fit their section to the central puzzle piece.

vola! We figured out what kshetram is for ourseleves !!

Parents, please chant Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 every day with your kids. Bala vihar learning is incomplete without learning a chapter from Gita every year. Please encourage and inspire the kids to chant the verses every day.

The class dispersed with closing prayers.

Blessings,
Anjana Aunty and Prasad Uncle

Jan 13, 2013 - Section 1

Hari OM.

Kasturi uncle led the meditation session. 

We started the class reviewing what we had learnt about Lord Siva in the previous class. 

We chanted Dwadasa jyotirlinga stotram from the hand out & learned where all the famous jyotirlinga shrines are located in India. One of the students recollected that his grandfather went to all these 12 temples. Click here for more details on Jyotirlinga shrines.

We started to understand the significance of ganga on Lord Siva's head. We covered the story of how King Bhagiratha brought the divine river Ganga to earth to liberate his ancestors, and the way Lord Siva helped in controlling the force of Ganga. We learnt how Lord Siva locked up Ganga in his matted hair, to teach her a lesson as she was too proud about herself. Then we learned how ganga was swallowed by sage Jahnu, and then on Bhagiratha's prayer, released her from his ear. From then on Ganga acquired a new name "Jahnavi".   

We then practiced the first 4 slokas of Bhagavad Gita, chapter 13.

We concluded the class with aarti & pledge.   

Blessings,

Prasad Uncle 

Jan 6, 2013 - Section 1

Hari OM.

We began our first Bala Vihar class in the new year writing ॐ नमः शिवाय | We chanted OM and meditated for a few minutes. We sang our opening prayers.

Many kids had completed the craft and quiz worksheeets handed out in the last class. It was exciting to see the coloring and decorations added by the kids. We then went around the class and recalled at least one name of Vishnu from the dhyana shloka and the first three verses of Vishnu Sahasranamam.

We reviewed and summarized the symbolism of Vishnu. We correlated the fact that the mouse in Ganesha symbolism and the serpent in Vishnu symbolism - both represent the human mind and how it has to be kept under one's control.
Moral: Mind can be our friend or foe; we have to train and discipline our mind to progress in our spiritual journey.

The kids were divided in to three sections and they chanted verses 1,2 and 3 of Vishnu Sahasranamam.
We then talked about the one shloka in SVS that is equivalent to chanting the entire SVS. One of the kids had researched and found the answer.  We all chanted this shloka three times. We discussed the power of chanting the name of Lord Sri Rama.

श्रीराम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे 

सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं राम नाम वरानने |

s̀ri̅ra̅ma ra̅ma ra̅meti rame ra̅me manorame

sahasrana̅ma tattulyam ra̅ma na̅ma vara̅nane

We were excited to know that one of our classmates had visited the Guruvayoorappan temple on Dec 31, prior to midnight, and attended the 1000 Laddu Vishnu sahasranama archana offered to the Lord to welcome the new year.

We then welcomed the new deity that we were going to learn about - Lord Siva. Kids shared what they know about shiva. They knew quite a lot of details about Lord Siva. He lives in kailash, he has snakes around his nek, he has a blue neck, he has three eyes, he has river ganga in his head, he has matted hair, he dances when he is angry, he married Vishnu when he took the form of Mohini, etc. etc.

We talked about how Lord Siva is considered to be the Lord of Dance, Lord of languages, Spiritual Teacher or Guru, and the Lord of dissolution. Lord shiva is worshipped in Linga form, as Lord nataraajaa, ardhanaariishvar, or as Dakshinaamurty.

We learned that Om namah shivaaya, our likhita japa for the day, is also known as the pancaakShara, or the five syllable prayer. We chanted the very first verse of the shiva-pancaakshara-shloka. Homework: Please listen to an audio of siva pancaakshara stotram before the next balavihar class. Secondly research about the temples that are known as jyotirlinga temples.

We then learned the next verse in Vishnu Sahasranamam.

                              sarvaḥ śarvaḥ śivaḥ sthāṇurbhūtādirnidhiravyayaḥ |

                              saṁbhavō bhāvanō bhartā prabhavaḥ prabhurīśvaraḥ || 4 ||

25. sarvaḥ: The omniscient source of all existence, He who is all.
26. śarvaḥ: The auspicious one, also the destroyer
27. śivaḥ: One who is pure, has no imperfections
28. sthāṇuḥ: One who is steady, immovable, permanent and changeless.
29. bhūtādiḥ: cause for all the five great elements: space, air, fire, water and Earth.
30. nidhir-avyayaḥ: The imperishable or inexhaustible treasure
31. sambhavaḥ: One born out of His own free-will as incarnation, one who incarnates
32. bhāvanaḥ: The giver, One who gives the fruits or Karmas of all Jivas for them to enjoy.
33. bhartā: One who supports or governs the entire world.
34. prabhavaḥ: One from whom all the five great elements were born, or, source of the five elements
35. prabhuḥ: the almighty Lord, One who is an adept in all rites.
36. Iśvaraḥ: One who has unlimited lordliness or power over all things.

After attendance and closing prayers the class dispersed.

Majority of the kids paid for their copy of the vishnu sahasranamam. Thank you parents for sending in the money. Hope this book stays with the kids as they grow.

Have a great week. See you all on Jan 13.

namaste,
Anjana Aunty & Prasad uncle.

Jan 6, 2013 - Section 2

At 10 AM sharp, we started the class with guided meditation followed by prayers.

We learned another verse of Gita Dhyanam followed by the meaning of the first verse - Bhagwad Gita which ‘illumined’ Pandava warrior Partha (Arjuna) was the advice from Lord Narayan Himself and was composed by Sage Vyasa during the Mahabharatha war.

This part of our effort to gently guide children to the importance of Bhagwad Gita in our life. Our hope is that children shall the Holy Gita starting in high school and continue lifelong.

We continue Gita Chapter 13 practice by teaching verse 5.

The class continued the study of Lord Vishnu by reciting the dhyana sloka on page 24 of the book that was distributed to class last week - “Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam Stotram and Namavali”-

INTERESTING HOME WORK – Children were asked to look through the book and/or Google the prayer and try to find names of their family and friends.  They may find that many of these names are derived from this book e.g. Suresh.

Adi Shankaracharya’s first test from his guru was to write a ‘bhashya’ ( commentary)  on the Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam.

In book Yudhishtira asks “By glorifying and worshipping whom can men reach auspiciousness (peace and prosperity)?” The answer from Grandsire Bhishma Pitamaha is – By meditating upon the Supreme Purusa (Vishnu) man can reach true auspiciousness.

We started studying the first 3 names from verse 1.

We concluded the class with closing prayers.

Blessings,

Kasturi Uncle and Sangita Aunty