HariOm Parents,
We had a great Friday yesterday with all your children. As we had children coming in we got the children start the day with Likhita Japa. We are writing "Sri Krishna Sharanam Mama" for Likhita Japa this year. Most of the children had pencils and notebooks. Thank you.
We then proceeded to our routine. We said Om 3 times and then starting class with our Opening Prayers(Om Sahanavavatu).
1. Chanting My Prayers: Since all the kids who attended 3rd grade were already taught the My Daily Prayers we chanted it. For the benefit of the newcomers, the Daily prayers are in My prayers book Pg,11. Of green book. The following are the shlokas
a. Karagrevasathe Lakshmi (We taught this shloka so that children who are new can learn and follow the book)
b. Gangecha yamunechaiva
c. Saraswati namstubyam
d. Brahmarpanam
e. Subhamkaroti kalyanam
f. Karacharana kratamvaak
g. Kayenavacha manasaindriyeyva
2. Shlokas: Krishnashtakam second and third verses. Pg.109 of My Prayers(Green book)
3. Bhajan: Radhe Radhe Radhe Radhe bhajan Pg.119 of My Prayers(Green book). We finished the bhajan and all of us had fun as we did it faster.
4. Story The Prophecy : Devaki the daughter of Devak was a princess in the kingdom of Mathura. The king of Mathura Ugrasena had a powerful and wicked son Kamsa. Devaki was given in marriage to Vasudeva a nobleman. Kamsa, who loved Devaki(his first cousin) drove the chariot of the couple filled with gifts to Vasudeva's house. The procession started with all pomp and splendor with drums and music and it was a very happy occasion and everyone around was very happy.
Suddenly from the heavens came a sound " Kamsa you fool! You are so happily moving forward toward your death. The eighth son of Devaki will be the reason for your death". As Kamsa heard this he went through a sudden change. He dragged Devaki by her hair and was ready to behead her. Then Vasudeva tried to plead with Kamsa for Devaki's life saying why he would like to kill the woman he loved as his sister. As that did not have any impact on Kamsa he tried to reason saying he would bring to Kamsa every child soon after the birth. This reason calmed Kamsa and he spared Devakis life.
As promised soon after the first child was born Vasudeva carried the baby to Kamsa. Kamsa saw how Vasudeva was true to his word and so asked Vasudeva to take the child away as it was only the eighth baby who he needed to kill. Soon Narada appeared in front of Kamsa and planted a thought. He informed Kamsa the children of Devaki are nothing but rays of Lord Narayana. Lord Narayana himself was to incarnate so he asked him to be careful. Not to take risks.
Kamsa got scared and he decided to imprison both Devaki and Vasudeva and kill every baby as soon as it is born. Although he had it all carefully he could not think of anyone else for a moment but Narayana. Every time a child was born Kamsa would visit the dungeon and take the baby and smash him on the rock.
When Devaki was carrying the eighth child Devaki was glowing and Kamsa himself noticed that. However, he told himself he had nothing to fear as the parents were imprisoned with guards and he would kill the baby as soon as it is born. It was midnight all dark in Kamsas palace and both Devaki and Vasudeva wherein the cell waking when all of a sudden the room was brightened with brilliant light and the Lord Narayana himself appeared in front of them. He was bearing his conch, chakra, the gada , and the lotus flower. He was dressed in yellow silk and adorned with the most beautiful gems.
Vasudeva and Devaki bowed before the Lord, and at that moment al the grief and suffering of the past few years vanished. Sri Vishnu blessed the couple and said Father and Mother your days of sorrow are now over. Too long Mother Earth has been burdened by sinners and the wicked dead. I have manifested to destroy adharma and protect the righteous. Father take me now to Gokula to the house of your good friend Nanda. His wife has given birth to a baby girl. Bring the little girl here into the prison. Nothing shall bar your way. You and mother Devaki will both attain my being by meditating on Me as your son and supreme lord.
And then there was more light and by Devaki's side there lie a beautiful dark baby whose complexion was like rain-bearing cloud. Vasudeva following Lord's instructions carried the baby and then the found his chains that bound him dropped. The prison doors swung open and the guards on duty were fast asleep. Vasudeva carried the baby with him and started walking the streets of Mathura.
Points we discussed
Why do you think Narada gave this thought to Kamsa :
1. Narada confused Kamsa about the birth of Lord. He wanted Kamsa to fill his bowl of sins so he could be punished.
2. He also implanted fear so Kamsa would start making mistakes.
5. Bhagawat Gita chanting :
We started the first chapter this year. Each year we do 1 chapter so next, we would be doing chapter 2 and so on. So, this is the best time to start for the children who are new or a little reluctant. The Gita chanting videos is just one click and helps you with the text so you can learn perfect pronunciation as you repeat after Swamiji.
For better Sanskrit pronunciation follow this
6. Mother Earth :
We discussed what we thought were characteristics of Mother Earth. Mother Earth is patient, generous, tolerant and generous how we must learn the same from her.
We told the story of the giving tree . This shows the relation between a boy and a tree and how due to the generosity of the tree and as a friend, it made the boy happy. As a boy, he climbed the tree ate the fruits and played and was happy. As a young man, he sat on the shade with his friends and ate fruits and sold fruits to get money and be happy. Later when the man wanted to build a house the branches helped in building his house. As an old man, it gave the trunk to be cut so he could make a canoe and sail in the river and be happy. As a very old man gave the stump to sit down and rest. This shows how we need to learn to be generous and giving like a tree.
Home work:
Write a small paragraph on why mother earth is sad and how you can make them happy.
Please do the following at home regularly
1. Say Daily Prayers
2. Do Likhita Japa for 5 mins (this helps all of us to focus)
3. Chant Gita regularly.
We then proceeded to the Prayer hall for Closing Prayers Aarti and Pledge.
Our Next class is on October 18th but we meet next tomorrow for CORD Walkathon.
Important events to remember
1. CORD Walkathon : October 13th at 10 AM in Mercer County Park East Picnic Area. For those who have not registered please register using the following link and register.
2. Next week October 18th is House Day : We the 4th graders are Krishnas cowboys. We all need to be dressed in blue as it is the blue house. This is fun day in Balavihar as we have games and activities.
We are excited to have your children in our class and can't wait to meet you all tomorrow.
Pranaam,
Meena and Vijilakshmi
