Dear Parents,
Hari OM.
Our class size continues to grow! This makes for interesting, sometimes tangential discussions, but all in the cooperative spirit of wanting to learn.
We started our introduction to the Mahabharata.It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is the only epic work of this size,complexity,poetic beauty and depth of philosophical truth.One Homework assignment is for the class to find out how many verses the Mahabharata has.Also called Jaya,the Mahabharata composed by Veda Vyasa was dictated to Ganesha who as scribe, diligently wrote only after understanding what was spoken, without break, as was the condition set forth by both sides.
Shantanu's attraction to Ganga, his mariage to her, her drowning 7 babies and his questioning her just as she was going to drown the 8th child,Devavrata all made for interesting exchanges.Viewed only with logic,the questions that arose are how can Ganga , a river also be a woman?Why were the 7 Ashtavasus who were born to Ganga (as humans as punishment for stealing Sage Vashishta's cow in their previous birth)drowned right away considered as saved?Notwithstanding the strangeness of the story, the lessons learned were-
1.Desire makes one do strange things
2.Never commit to anything without knowing fully what it entails
Bhagavad Geeta chanting proceeded further with the help of Swamiji's video.
We dispersed a bit early for the Houses Inaugural Event in the Temple Hall. Go Krishna's Cowboys!
As we said at the 1st balavihar,Mahabharata and Ramayana are our Itihasa,History.Tonight Swami Ramakrishnananda's talk entitled "Did Ramayana rally happen?" will be so suitable for our class to listen to.It is a weeknight, but it will be time well spent-tonight at 6 pm.
Regards,
Uma and Sangita
