Hari Om!
Dear Parents,
Please find below the summary of our class on Friday, Mar 8, 2019.
Opening prayers:
Om Sahana Vavatu
Vakratunda Mahakaaya
Saraswathi Namastubhyam
Guru Brahma Gurur VishnuH
Neelambuja Shyamala Komalaangam (Rama Shloka)
Bhagavad Gita: Chapeter 18 verses 67 - 69 (available in the handbook)
Discussion: Dharma Chariot: Charioteer
Charioteer: Devotion to God
Project: Odyssey of the mind
Aarati and Pledge : Temple - Lead by Grade 5
Next Balavihar class: 3/15/19
Announcement: Our class presentation will be on April 12th
Summary: Thank you dear Parents for being on time for our class meeting! The children are very excited about the upcoming class play! In today's class we discussed the importance of having devotion/faith in God. In the Dharma chariot, the charioteer symbolizes Devotion to God. God always protects us irrespective of whether we have devotion or not but when we realize the infinite grace of Bhagavan in everything we do, we become intelligent Bhaktas. It is very important to appreciate God's love for us in everything we do. All our actions should be done with an attitude of offering to God (IshvarArpana Buddhi). In every action, be it daily routine or keeping our space organized or even talking to friends, we should appreciate God's presence and perform the actions with the same sincerity that we prepare for a Pooja. If we do this, we will definitely be successful in all that we do. Of course, the result that we get should be taken with PrasAda budhhi - as a blessing from the Lord. Bhagavan is the invisible shield that protects us every minute of the day. Even a small insect like the ant is protected by God. This is the unwavering faith that we should always have. Such a devotion to God will leads us on the right path like a charioteer/driver.
We started with our class project this week. We will work on it every class. Each student has been given a printout of the Dharma Chariot. The children have been asked to pick a quality that they have learnt so far and try to apply it in their everyday lives. We will revisit this every week and see how far they are able to be successful in following the value they chose. The point of the project is also to show how these various qualities are interrelated and following one will eventually lead us to follow all of them. The grading for this project can be done only by each student themselves. For example, if they choose the value of truthfulness, they can be the only ones that will know how successful they have been in following it. So on their honor, they will evaluate themselves every week.
We then had a brief discussion about our class presentation which will be on April 12th. We will communicate with you regularly regarding this via WA.
Shanthi and Anandhi
