Hari Om! Parents,
Our class began with Om chanting to calm our minds down. Followed by "sahana vavatu', "sri rama,rama,rameti", "nilambuja syamala" and all of the daily prayers. We request that you keep up with regular shloka practice, so that your child cultivates this good habit. The My Prayers book is an easy reference to all the shlokas. We have also been reviewing Bhagavad Geeta chanting one verse per class. The registration for Geeta Chanting Yagna is now open. You can use this link to practice with Swamji's guidance: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVaQ1AsTFVEI9cHOqjnFcAsR9gi42Yu-6
Next we had a quick recap of the Bala Ramayana story. Rama and Lakshmana have returned to Panchavati and Sita is missing. They start searching for her in the forest. They find clues of Sita's struggle and conclude she was kidnapped by a rakshasa. Next they find the old Jatayu, who is very close to death. He narrates the fight with Ravana. He then tells Rama that Ravana flew south with Sita. This information was very important to Rama and Lakshmana and they now know which direction to search for Sita. Travelling South through the forest they are suddenly grabbed by the one eyed monster, Kabandha. After a struggle, Rama and Lakshmana chop off his arms with their swords. Kabandha assumes his actual form, that of a divine being. He tells Rama to find Sugreeva, king of the vanaras(monkeys), at Rishyamukha hill near the river Pampa. When Rama and Lakshmana arrive at Pampa river they see an ashram. It belongs to Sage Matanga's disciple Shabari. She is an old tapasvini and was asked by her guru to wait for Rama's visit. Everyday she would collect fruits and berries from the forest, taste them to make sure they were sweet, and keep the food ready for Rama. After several years of waiting, she is so happy to see Rama. She then offers her half eaten "sweet" fruits to Rama and he gladly eats them. We spoke about the intention behind the act. How with true devotion Bhagwan accepts even little things we offer. Nourished from the food offered by Shabari, Rama and Lakshmana set off towards Rishyamukha hill to find Sugreeva. This concludes the Aranya Kanda, we will be starting Kishkindha Kanda in the next class.
The class learnt "Atma Nivasi Rama" bhajan ( pg 149, My Prayers Book), and colored next two pages from the Ramayana coloring book. We got to see some very colorful Kabandhas after coloring activity! We spoke about why there were people cursed in the story, and how their bad actions led to bad consequences. We also spoke about how they asked forgiveness from Bhagwan and He gladly gave it. We learnt Baghavad Geeta Verse 59 and 60 from our Swamiji and wrapped up class.
Please check your child's belongings before leaving classroom/Ashram. The lost and found is in the lobby and it is easier to find items that are labelled with your child's name.
Jai Sri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
