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
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
