Hari Om! Parents,
Our Balavihar class had a special visitor, Harini, a JCHYK from Grade 10. We were very happy to spend time with her. She shared the story of the powerful Sage Agatsya with the class. Several examples of how great he is were described, including the story of Vaatapi and Ilvala. Moving on to Aranya Kanda in the Ramayana story, Rama, Sita and Lakhmana meet Sage Agatsya. He was the one who advised them to spend the remaining period of exile in Panchavati. The sage also gifted Viswakarma's bow, two quivers of arrows and two swords to Rama. On the way to Panchavati, they meet Jatayu, and old vulture and relative of Garuda, the vehicle of Bhagwan Vishnu. We heard the description of beautiful Panchavati and Ramashrama. Next story was Rama's encounter with the demon princess Soorpanaka, who is Ravana's sister. Storytime ended with Lakshmana cutting off Soorpanaka's nose and ears.
Grade 1 is learning small single verse Daily Prayers which they can chant throughout their day. This class we learnt "Shubham Karoti" (pg 12, My Prayers Book) and the "Nilambuja syamala komalangam" shlokas (pg 129, My Prayers Book). We spoke about the good habit of chanting everyday and how the shlokas help us. The class ended with us learning verses 51-53 from the Baghavad Gita from our Swamiji. Please use this link to practice with your child : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVaQ1AsTFVEI9cHOqjnFcAsR9gi42Yu-6.
Jai Sri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
