Hari Om! Parents,
Class began with deep breathing and Om chanting, followed by opening prayers. Next we chanted all the Sri Rama shlokas and the five daily prayers. The children learnt "Shubham karoti" shloka (My Prayers Book pg.11), which is chanted when lighting the lamp in the evening. We discussed the different situations where negative thoughts come into our minds. Similar to a light that dispels darkness, we are asking Bhagawan to take away those bad thoughts. Next the class chanted the first three and the last verse of Guru Stotram (Balavihar Handbook pg. 24). Please remind your child to practice all the shlokas regularly. We have been learning two verses from Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita in every class from our Swamiji. This is the link for your child to practice: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVaQ1AsTFVEK4MvW4zOX3dd7ct-7nFwWC
We continued on to the Aranya Kanda of the Ramayana story. Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana spent ten years visiting sages and seeking their blessings in the Dandaka forest. Moving from ashrama to ashrama, Lord Rama and Lakshmana restore peace by destroying rakshasas who troubled the rishis. However, Sita does not like them carrying weapons and requests Lord Rama to give up the violence. Lord Rama explains to her that the foremost dharma or duty of a Kshatriya is to protect . He reminds her that by defeating evil rakshasas he is protecting the good rishis. Soon they arrive at Sage Agastya's ashrama. Sage Agastya was an authority on Vedic scriptures and a master of military tactics. He is said to have lowered the Vindhya mountain which separated northern and southern parts of India. There is another story depicting how great Sage Agastya was. Two rakshasa brothers, Vataapi and Ilvala, aimed to destroy all the rishis. Vataapi had a boon from Lord Brahmaji that no matter how may pieces his body was cut up, it could be joined back together again. Ilvala would invite a rishi for a meal, cut up Vaatapi to prepare the meal, and serve it to the rishi. After the meal Ilvala would cry out, "Vaatapi come out." and Vaatapi would step out tearing open the rishi. Many unsuspecting rishis were cruelly killed in this manner. One day it was Sage Agastya who got Ilvala's invitation for a meal. When the meal was over, Sage Agastya digested Vaatapi and Ilvala could not call him out. The enraged Ilvala attacked Sage Agastya but was reduced to ashes by the rishi's powerful gaze. When Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana arrive at his ashrama, Sage Agastya gives them a warm welcome. He then advises them to spend the rest of the exile in nearby Panchavati. The sage gives Lord Rama the Vishnu bow, quivers of arrows and two swords. Arriving at the beautiful Panchavati, they are chose a place with abundant fruits and roots. They see a huge vulture on a nearby tree. The bird is, Jatayu, a relative of Garuda who is Lord Vishnu's vehicle. Jatayu is a friend of King Dasharata and promises to protect Sita. Soon Lakshmana builds a little cottage on the banks of the river Godavari. One day they were approached by a heavily built, ugly woman, who was dressed in royal garments. She was Soorpanakha, and introduced herself as Ravana's sister and daughter of the famous Sage Vishrava. Lord Rama introduced himself, Sita and Lakshmana. Soorpanakha was immediately smitten by him and asked him to marry her. Lord Rama explained that he was already married and that maybe Lakshmana would be a better match for her. Soorpanakha approaches Lakshmana who immediately rejects her. When the amused Sita laughs at Soorpanakha, the angry rakshasi lunges at her. But Lakshmana, in a split second, draws his sword and cuts off Soorpanakha's nose and ears. Howling with pain and terror, Soorpanakha runs away into the forest. We paused the story here and class did the Ramayana coloring activity (Lesson 15,16). They sang the "Atma Rama, Ananda Ramana" bhajan and were dismissed for aarthi and pledge.
Jai Shri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
