Hari OM! Parents,
We stated our class with the beginning prayers.
We then went on to our curriculum, being a short class.
Recapped last week’s lesson on Ashramas and Ashrama Dharma.
This week we discussed 2 other Ashramas which is:
Vanaprastha Ashrama or retired life
Sanyasa Ashrama or life of renunciation.
Discussed Vanaprastha indicates a life that leans towards solitude. In moden days it means to reside independently and withdrawal from social activities.
Here,the person gets rooted in the conviction that we must move towards our spirtitual goals.
Discussed essence of Sanaysa Ashrama, which is total renunciation of desires.
Here the sadhaka renounces one little house and embraces the whole world.
This ashrama results in the sadhaka becoming fearless.
Talked about how some sadhakas move directly from Brahmacharya ashrama to Sanyasa ashrama as they are ready like our Pujya Gurudev and our Pujya Swamiji.
We also talked about the Navaratri festival or the festival of nine nights and its spiritual significance. On these days we worship Devi. Though the Goddess is one she is worshipped in 3 different aspects.
The first 3 days we worship Durga Devi. On the following 3 days we worship Lakshmi Devi and then last 3 days we worship Saraswati Devi. The following tenth day is called Vijayadasami. Vijaya means “victory”, the victory over our own minds that can come only when we have worshipped the 3 Devis.
Discussed by worshipping Durga Devi, we can get rid of the impurities of our mind or tamo guna and our negative tendencies.
Discussed worshipping Lakshmi Devi, we can achieve inner wealth represented by the 6 qualities of:
Calmness of mind
Self control
Self withdrawal
Forbearance or being patient and tolerant
Developing faith in the scriptures and teachers
Single pointedness of the mind
This leads to victory over our own minds or ‘Manojaya’
Discussed this mind is now ready for the gaining of knowledge.
Discussed Garba and the dandiya dance, or the dance which Lord Krishna and the gopis perfomed.
Discussed the different ways Navaratri is celebrated n different parts of India. Talked about Durga Pooja, Golu ( a celebration and showcase of Purusha and Prakriti), Ras Garba etc..
The children then performed Saraswati Pooja at the temple under the guidance of the priest.
Our next class is on October 11th. Please talk to the children about Cord Walkathon and participation. It’s on October 13th starting at 10 AM. We did talk in the class about Jim Gaines and the walkathon.
Pranams
Purnima and Nirmala
