Hari Om! Parents,
Special Mother's Day wishes to all the moms!
We have a few reminders for you:
* Our Chinmaya Vrindavan Mela Day is June 8th. Check out all the exciting events and register soon for contests at chinmayavrindavanmela.weebly.com.
* Summer Camp registration is also now open. Check out the details at chinmayavrindavan.org.
Our class began with deep breathing to calm down, Om chanting and Sahanaa Vavatu shloka. We discussed why all classes began with this shloka. Next we chanted Sri Rama Rama Rameti, Nilambuja Shyamala Komalangam shlokas and Guru Stotram. We then reviewed all of the Daily Prayers. Please remind them to practice regularly. By popular demand, the class then sang the "Om Guru, Om Guru" bhajan with enthusiasm!
We continued with the Yuddha Kanda of our Ramayana story. Ravana has a large retinue of generals that he sends one after another to battle. Rama's vaanara army fights back bravely. Hanuman and Angada defeat Dhoomaraksha, Akampana and Vajradumshtra. Even Ravana's commander-in-chief, Prahasta, meets his end in the hands of Neela. Ravana's rage is fueled by this news, and he rides out into the battlefield himself. Lord Rama and Ravana face each other and began a fierce battle. After a long fight, Lord Rama's arrows break down Ravana's chariot and even topple his crown. Then Lord Rama does a noble and kind deed. He tells Ravana to go back, take rest and return to battle next day. We discussed how Lord Rama showed compassion even to his mortal enemy. On the other hand, evil Ravana only thought of revenge and the destruction of Lord Rama. Next Kumbhakarana, Ravana's giant brother who was under a curse to sleep for six months, is woken up. Ravana tells his brother all of the story and asks his help to defeat Lord Rama. Kumbhakarana is unhappy to hear of Ravana's shameful act and scolds him. However, he agrees to help Ravana since they are brothers and it is his duty to protect Ravana. As Kumbhakarana enters the battlefield the vaanaras are crushed under his large feet. He picks up and kills handfuls of the vaanara army. Angada, Sugreeva Hanuman, Lakshmana and Neela attack him, but are all knocked unconscious. Lord Rama strikes Kumbhakarana with several arrows, but they only injure the giant rakshasa. Finally, Lord Rama used his a powerful arrow that severed Kumbhakarana's head and he is killed. The news reaches Ravana, who seeks revenge for his brother's death and sends his sons to battle. They are all defeated, so finally Indrajit rides out to the battlefield. During the fight, Lakshmana is pierced with a poison dart, and he falls unconscious. Jambavan immediately calls for Hanuman, and sends him to the Himalayas to get special herbs. With a giant leap Hanuman lands in the Himalayas, but does not recognise the herbs. He assumes his mighty form, picks up the entire mountain and brings it to the battlefield. Lakshmana is revived and he resumes the fight with Indrajit. Lakshmana uses his "Indra-astra" to behead Indrajit. The vaanara army is overjoyed that Ravana had lost his biggest support. The sad news reaches Ravana, who is so angry that he rushes out to kill Sita. Ravana wants to avenge the loss of his near and dear ones. Few of Ravana's ministers stop him, reminding him that Sita is an unarmed and helpless woman. They remind him as a warrior his dignity lies in a valiant death. We paused the story and few kids had questions about why there is violence and fighting. We had to remind them that big, bad actions have big, bad consequences. Ravana's actions were so very evil that it lead to war and destruction of all that he held dear. The class concluded they must watch their actions going forward.
Your child can color next few pages in the Ramayana coloring book for homework, and bring them to class for stickers. Alternately, they can bring a drawing/painting of their favorite part of the Ramayana story for stickers. Please send washable markers with your child. They will be doing a craft project over the next two classes.
Jai Shri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
