Hari Om! Parents,
Grade 1 class began with relaxation deep breathing, chanting Om and "Sahana vavatu", followed by chanting "Srirama, rama, rameti", "Nilambuja Shyamala" and "Dainika Prarthana" shlokas. Going forward the children will earn 'five stars' for each shloka chanted correctly and pronounced clearly. We will plan for a treat if the class earns a "perfect score'. The goal is to motivate them to memorise the shlokas and be enthusiastic about chanting. Chanting has positive vibrations that purify the mind, develops good 'samskaras' and help their little brains focus better. Please remind your child to practice everyday. For your reference, the My Prayers book pg 128-150 is the Lord Rama section. We have been revising one verse from the Bhagavad Geeta ( Balavihar Handbook pg 21) in every class, and notice that few children are chanting very well. Keep up the good work! Registration for Geeta Chanting Yagna is open, please register soon.
Next was story time, and we began the Kishkinda Kanda of the Ramayana story. After refreshing themselves at Shabari's ashram, Rama and Lakshmana are at the Pampa river and heading towards Rishyamukha Hill. Sugreeva's vanaras see them approaching and alert the king. King Sugreeva is very suspicious of the strangers. He is afraid of them as they are carrying weapons and seem like warriors. His wise minister, Hanuman, volunteers to go and find out who they were. At this point we stopped the story and showed the class a small video about the birth of Hanuman and how he became Sugreeva's minister. Here is the YouTube link for the children who were absent: https://youtu.be/w7PkJUGUkjM
Continuing our story, Hanuman, disguised as an old brahmin approaches Rama and Lakshmana. After they introduce themselves Hanuman recognises Lord Rama and changes back to his original form. Offering his pranaam, Hanuman tells them that he is King Sugreeva's minister. He then hears Rama's story and that they need Sugreeva's help to find Sita. Carrying each of them on his shoulders, Hanuman takes them to Sugreeva who welcomes them. Next the class heard the story of Sugreeva and his brother Vali. King Vali ruled Kishkinda and was famous for his strength. The rishi Matanga cursed Vali that he would meet his death on Rishyamukha Hill and Vali stayed away from that day. Sugreeva decided to hide from his brother at Rishyamukha Hill because of another incident that took place. The demon Mayavi challenged Vali to a fight. He then ran away to a cave and both brothers pursued him. Vali leaves Sugreeva to guard the entrance and goes into the cave to fight. After sometime, Sugreeva hears a terrible cry and sees blood coming out of the cave. Assuming that Vali is killed he blocks the entrance with a huge rock and returns to Kishkinda. Sugreeva is crowned king, but after a few days Vali returns. He is furious to see Sugreeva has become king and attacks him. Sugreeva tries to explain what happened, but Vali does not listen. Fearing for his life, Sugreeva flees to Rishyamukha Hill along with Hanuman and a few loyal vanaras. The brothers Vali and Sugreeva broke all their ties and became enemies. We discussed how anger led to all the misunderstanding between the brothers. If only Vali would have stayed calm and listened to Sugreeva. Story time ended with Lord Rama and King Sugreeva forming a friendship and pledging to help one another.
The coloring activity was followed by learning Bhagavad Geeta chanting Verses 61 and 62 from our Swamiji. You can refer to the class Whats App group weekly posting for audio and Google Drive links. Please practice along with these resources to ensure proper pronunciation.
Jai Sri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
