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
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
