Hari Om Parents,
Here is a quick update for you on what was covered in the Nov.1st class.
We covered Ajadyam ( Alertness)and Vakpatuthvam( Eloquence) the seventh and eighth virtue described in the Hanuman Dhyana Sholka
- We started the class with opening prayers, Rama nama japa, the Dhyana shloka and Hanuman Chalisa - Doha and First 5 Caupais. We encourage everyone to memorize. We are running a memorization challenge in the class to encourage the kids learn and memorize as much as possible.
- We then reviewed the virtue discussed in previous session.
- We then started talking about Ajadyam ( Alertness):-
- Physical Alertness is being watchful and being aware of the surroundings.
- Mental Alertness is mentally being aware of our actions and feelings
- By asking few general questions, we explained how we are usually not very watchful of our surrounding
- We played 'Posture and Smile Check' game to learn how to be alert. The goal of this game is to learn to be alert , be aware of surroundings because in life only when we notice, we can act; only when we act rightly, we get the benefit.
- The Story of 'Lazy Misty' helped kids understand that lazy people cannot be alert. We learned together the moral of the story as ' Be lazy to lose. Be alert to win'
- Vakpatutvam (Eloquence ):- The ability to communicate effectively and pleasantly.
- We slowly got the kids involved in the topic of Eloquence by asking them 'How they would go about sharing the information regarding 'Balavihar' to their friends.
- We also discussed how Hanumanji mastered the art of eloquence several times in the Ramayana. To convey Hanumanji's skill, Valmikiji uses phrases like " Hanumanji thought and said...or Hanumanji always waited for the right time and said...."
- We also discussed how Shri Ram himself has praised Hanumanji's abilty to speak in the Ramayana.
- To be an effective speaker like Hanumanji one must know- 1) When to speak, 2)What to speak, 3) How to speak and 4) How much to speak
- We reviewed the story of 'Yes, The fees are Doubled' in which the great Greek Philosopher 'Socrates' works with a student and teaches him how to be quiet and listen first before learning to talk effectively. An effective speaker is the one who can deliver his message with maximum impact using minimum words.
- We wrapped up the class with closing prayers.
Hari Om and Warm Regards,
Madhuri and Mythili
