During this Sunday's class we had bhajan singing, dancing, meditation, storytime and drawing. It was enjoyable and rewarding to everyone. We started on a fun note and wished one of our little friends happy birthday in Hindi.
Janam Din ki badhai! or Janam Din ki shubkamnaayein!
We then took a deep breath and said a loud and long Om when we exhaled. We did one minute of meditation and then said all the regular prayers. Karagare Vasate, Bhrama arpanam, Sarawathi namastubyam, Shubham karothi Kalyanam.
The last prayer of the day is a very important one. We reflect on all our actions for the day and ask Mahadev for forgiveness. Here is the prayer.
Kara charana kritam vaa kkaaya jam karma jam vaa .
Shravana nayana jam vaa maanasam vaa paraadham.
Vihitama vihitam vaa sarva metat kshama sva .
Jaya jaya karuna abdhe shrii mahaadeva shambho
Shravana nayana jam vaa maanasam vaa paraadham.
Vihitama vihitam vaa sarva metat kshama sva .
Jaya jaya karuna abdhe shrii mahaadeva shambho
(Whatever sins i have committed with my hands, feet, voice, body, actions, ears, eyes, or mind, whether prohibited by the scriptures or not, please forgive them all. Hail! Hail! O ocean of compassion! O great god! O benevolent lord!).
Please help the children get into the habit of praying everyday.
We then practiced our geeta verses. Please let us know if you don't have access to the audio file that we emailed. The children will need to memorise these verses and chant them without any aid during the competition in Spring.
Aunty continued with the Ramayanam story. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana vacate Chitrakoot after Bharatha leaves for Ayodhya as the place reminds them of too much of Bharatha and others. It is also too close to Ayodhya for Rama.
The trio go to sage Atri 's ashram where the sage's wife Anasuya is very attentive to them and gives Sita some divine clothes.The dense forest of Dandaka start from this edge of this ashram. The place is infected by the terror of rakshasas. Rama and Lakshmana help the sages and hermits by killing the rakshasas. They spend the next tens years moving from one place to another in the forest. Sita is concerned that they are killing the rakshasas wearing the clothes of monks. But Rama allays her fears and says it is their Dharma to use their powers to protect and help the rishis and sages
Since they were nearing the end of their term in the forest, the trio decide to visit Sage Agastya. Many stories demonstrate the power of this rishi. One legendary story involves the spiritual wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvathy devi on Mount Kailasa. All the Devas, Bhootas, Asuras, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Gandharvas etc, and other dignitaries including Brahma and Vishnu, came down from their respective extra-terrestrial realms to Earth, to Kailasa to witness the wedding. Due to the weight of the population in the North the Earth started to Tilt. Lord Shiva then requested Agasthya Muni to rush to the then South India and balance the Earth from further tilting. Agasthya muni came down sat in mediation and then negated the further tilt of the planet.
Demon brothers Ilvala and Vathapi, used to kill people who were passing by the forest. Ilvala knew the supernatural slogan using which he could bring back a dead person to life. He fed his brother Vathapi to Agasthya muni. Legend has it that Agasthya muni with his vedic powers foresaw the evil plan and outwitted them by digesting the dead brother with the words Vathapi JeerNo bhava.
We ended the class with coloring chapter 14. Please ensure that the stapled drawing book is in a binder. Many of our little friends are losing sheets of paper from the book.
Wish you all a happy new year. See you next year.
