Hari Om Parents,
Please find the summary of the last class
Because of Spring break we had very low attendance.
After opening prayers and Rama Nama Japa The class chanted whole Hanuman Chalisa.
Children shared what Activity they did over the spring break and what they like or enjoyed most.
We played fun game using words from Ramayana and Hanuman Chalisa.
After game we got into topic of the day "Shri Hanuman, The Beacon of Light" under this topic we discussed the meaning of 26th Caupai
Samkata te Hanuman chudavai
Mana krama bacana Dhyana jo lavai
Meaning:
Shri Hanumanji helps those who worship him with sincerity and faith (i.e. by thought, action, speech, and prayers) in overcoming difficulties.
If we worship Shri Hanumanji in thought, words and deed, he will release us from all difficulties
Mana- mind
Krama - deed
Bacana - words
Meaning- all our thoughts, words, and actions should be a worship of the Lord.
Then no action of ours will cause us any sorrow.
We discussed how we can worship lord with Mana , Karma and Bacana
Going to the temple and performing a puja are the example of worshipping the lord by our actions, deeds.
Singing a Bhajan is the example of our worship through our words.
Doing Japa is the example of offering our worship through our mind, words and deed.
In following story children learned what are the other ways can we offer our worship to the Lord.
Take: God Dwells in all beings.
One day a group of devotees set out on foot for a pilgrimage to Banaras. Shri Ekanatha Maharaja was leading the group and each one of the pilgrims was carrying water pots filled with the Ganges Water to offer Shri Rameshvar.
It was very hot summer. The roads were bare with out any trees to provide shade.
Ekanathaji saw a donkey dying of thirst , he immediately poured the water from the pots that he was carrying for abhisekam of Shri Rameshvar and gave it to the dying donkey.
The donkey lapped up the water and after getting his fill, left happily, braying.
Disciples saw this and were puzzled. One devotee asked Ekanatha Maharaja "sir have you not wasted all the Ganges Water on a donkey? You have nothing to offer to Shri Rameshvar; your pilgrimage will be incomplete!"
Ekanathaji replied " God resides in all beings, including animals. Now that I have quenched the thirst of the donkey, my offering has already reached Bhagavan. I have now satisfied Lord Rameshvar."
In this story children learned God Dwells in all beings, even animals, so by being kind to all living beings is also an offering of worship to the Lord.
We concluded our class with The Bhajans Vira maruti gambhira maruti...& Vira Hanuman...
and closing Prayer.
Kind regards,
Madhuri& Mythili
Sent from my iPad
Hari Om Parents,
Please find the summary of the April 5th class below.Topic of the day: "Shri Hanuman, The Victorious and Shri Hanuman , The Sentinel"After reciting the Opening prayer, Hanuman Dhyana Shlokas and Rama Nama Japa we chanted the first 21 Caupais of the Shri Hanuman Chalisa.We then went over the meaning and the supporting commentary for 20th and 21st Caupais20th Caupais:- Durgam Kaja jagatke jeteSugama anugraha tumhare Tate.Meaning- by your grace, even the most difficult tasks of the world become easy to accomplish.Whatever difficulties or obstacles we encounter in life, are overcome by the grace of Shri Hanumanji .Then we explain children's There are three kinds of people in this world.1. Those , who do not start any project for fear of obstacles; hence they never get started2. Those, who start many projects but the moment they encounter difficultly they at once quit and move to another project.3. Those, who are fearless like Hanumanji and when they encounter more obstacles they gain more enthusiasm and courage to complete the project.Children learned that Shri Hanumanji blesses such a people and make their job easier.The following story was shared with the children explaining that with hard work and prayers they can overcome the obstacles or difficulties and be victorious.Everything is possible-Dave a nine grader was a smallest and skinniest kid in his class . He wanted to be a star wrestler and win a athlete letter awarded to exceptional athletes. All his friends made fun of him telling him that he was not meant to be a wrestler only his grandmother told him, "you can accomplish anything by hard work and prayers.Everyday after school Dave would lift weights to build his strength, he would practice wrestling to improve his technique; he would run miles to improve his stamina.Midway through the season Dave's coach expressed how pleased he was with Dave's progress and awarded him the athletes letter.Caupai -21 Rama duare tuma rakhavareHota na ajna binu paisareMeaning-You guard the door to Lord Rama's palace where none dare to enter or go out without your permission.Shri Hanuman is the ever-vigilant guard at the door of Shri Rama. Shri Hanumanji pulls people towards the Lord. That is his job. For this reason, Hanuman is dearer to Lord Rama then even Lakshmana. Shri Rama said, "By His devotion Hanuman inspires other people to love Me and come towards me."Then we discussed In Ramayana who received the Lord Rama's grace because of Hanumanji.Hanumaji brought Lord Rama to Sugriva. Lord Rama helped Sugriva fight Bali and crowned Sugriva as the king.Hanumanji assured Vibhishana of Lord Rama's love and compassion. Hanumaji told Vibhishana that despite the fact that he was Ravana's brother, Lord Rama would accept and embrace him as a brother. Vibhishana went to Rama, who after defeating Ravana, crowned Vibhishana as the king of Lanka .After discussion we did Activity : May I Enter?In this Activity children learned Hanumanji is the guard at the door of Lord Rama's palace where none dare to enter without Hanumanji 's permission.One child becomes Rama he/ she sits on one side of the room in a meditative posture.Two children will be as gatekeepers.One child will be Hanumaji who is at the door.Each child asks Hanumaji "May I see Lord Rama?Hanumaji: if you love Rama you can enter.The child: Yes I do love the Lord Rama.Hanumanji: I need the proof.Children will have to come up with some creative way to show that they love Rama. They can sing a Bhajan or chant stotra, sing a caupai from Hanuman Chalisa or they can just say "Jaya Siyarama"We concluded our class with Bhajan Vira Hanumana ati balavana ....and closing Prayer.Kind regards,Madhuri & Mythili
Sent from my iPadHari Om Parents!Please find the summary of the last class ( 04/12) below.Topics of the day: 'Sri Hanuman, The Protector and ' Sri Hanuman, The Powerful'After reciting the 'opening prayers', Hanuman Dhyana Shlokas and 'Rama nama japa', we chanted the first 25 Caupais of the Chalisa. Please help the kids memorize the shlokas at home.We then went over the meanings and the supporting commentary for 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th Caupais.22nd Chaupai : Saba Susha lahaitumhari sarana …Meaning: All those who seek refuge in you enjoy every kind of happiness,. Why should one be afraid of anything when you are there to protect.· Chanting Hanumanji's name makes one brave, powerful and fearless. They can accomplish anything.· By Surrendering oneself to Sri Hanumanji , one can gain all his qualities and enjoy happiness. He will even take us to Lord Rama which is the greatest benefit.· We then brainstormed what Saran ( Surrender) mean. Surrendering oneself to God means doing everything that pleases him . To show our surrender, we bow down. This is why we bow down after Puja and Aarthi - To show that we surrender to the Lord and live a life that pleases him.· To demonstrate what true sarana means , we went a story of an innocent boy Malidasa, who used to take his cows to graze in the forest. For the entire day, he would stay in the forest by himself in spite of having the fear of all the wild animals. One day he saw an Brahmin performing his daily rituals and questioned him on the same. The Brahmin replied that he was praying the god and it is difficult for the boy to learn and understand the scriptures. On further questioning about pranayamam, the Brahmin reluctantly answered that one can concentrate and pray better by controlling the breathing. Malidasa accepted the Brahmin as his guru and followed exactly what he said. He closed his nose and stopped breathing to see the God. Although he was about to die due to lack of air, the boy didn't give up. God revealed himself but Malidasa was not convinced. When his guru was unable to see but he was able to see the God clearly, he was convinced and was very happy to see the god come and be with him whenever he desired. When the boy surrendered himself believing that the God will come if he stops breathing, he got God as his protector.· We also went over another tale where an old grandma taught her grandson "Although Life seems to be unfair and we complain about difficulties, we need to understand that God knows the reasons and that when he puts these things all in his order, they always work out to be something great. We should have trust in him that eventually he will create something wonderful. She demonstrates this by asking the boy to taste all the ingredients of a cake separately - Flour, baking soda etc. While they all taste bad individually, when put in right order in right amounts, they make a delicious cake.23rd Caupai: Apana teja samharo apai…Meaning: You alone are capable of controlling your power. All the three worlds tremble when you roar.· When Hanuman's mighty roar is heard, the three worlds ( Earth, heaven and the lower worlds tremble in fear. His power and strength knows no limits.· Chanting Hanuman's name transfers the same power and courage to his devotes.· After burning Lanka, the rakshasas were so terrified that hearing the mere word 'Monkey' frightened them.24th Caupai: Bhuta pisacha nikata nahim avai…Meaning: Evil Spirits dare not to go near a person who chants the great warrior's (i.e.) Hanumanji's nama· Chanting Sri Hanuman's name keeps the ghost sand spirits away· Children who fear ghosts and who get nightmares should chant Hanumanji's name and recite Hanuman Chalisa25th Caupai: Nasairoga harai saba pira..Meaning: All the ailments, diseases and affliction disappear when your name is repeated continuously.· One who constantly chants Hanumanji's name will be free of all diseases, pains and completely cured.· The ailments can be Physical or mental ( Vyadhi ad Adhih)· Vyadhi ( physical disease) can be cured with medicines prescribed by doctors. But when we suffer from germs of anger, jealousy, hatred etc., there are no medicines we can buy from drug stores. Listening to our gurus is the best medicine. For e.g. Asking for forgiveness is the medicine that makes us free from an act of anger.We wrapped up the class with Closing prayers and headed to the main prayer hall . We watched the 7st grader's perform on the stage a play on Dharma Charriot and significance of each wheel with scenes from Ramayana.Regards,Mythili and Madhuri
