Hari Om! Parents,
The class began with deep breathing and Om chanting, followed by opening prayers and three Sri Rama shlokas. The class chanted all of the daily prayers (My Prayers Book pg.11). We chanted the first three and last verse of the Guru Stotram from the Balavihar Handbook. We learnt two more verses from Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita from our Swamiji. Here is the link for your reference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVaQ1AsTFVEK4MvW4zOX3dd7ct-7nFwWC. Please remind your child to practice regularly.
The class looked at the India map in their coloring books and tracked Lord Rama's journey from Ayodhya to Kishkinda. After a quick recap, we continued with the Kishkinda Kanda of the Ramayana story. Sugreeva narrates the story of his brother, Baali, the king of the vaanaras. Baali was brave and immensely strong. Dundubhi, a rakshasa, challenged Baali to a fight. Baali killed him and flung his body many miles away. Few drops of blood fell on Rishi Matanga, who cursed that Baali would meet his death on Rishyamukha mountain. Dundubhi's brother Mayavi, to avenge his brother, challenged Baali to a fight. Midway during the fight Mayavi ran into a cave, followed by Baali, who asked Sugreeva to guard the entrance. After a while, Sugriva hears a scream and sees blood come out of the cave. Presuming that Baali was dead, Sugriva seals the cave with a large boulder to prevent Mayavi from coming out. Sugriva returns to Kishkinda with the sad news and is crowned the new king. A few days later, Baali turns up and is furious to see Sugriva on the throne. He banishes Sugriva and his followers from Kishkinda. Sugiva decides to reside in Rishyamukha mountain, knowing that Baali would never set foot there. We discussed the difference between Lord Rama and Bharata's brotherly love versus Baali and Sugiva's enemity. We spoke about how Lord Rama gave up the throne for Bharata and how Bharata out of respecct refused to become king of Ayodhya. In contrast, Baali's haste, his anger and Sugriva's desire for the throne caused the strife between them. Sugriva told Lord Rama that a few vaanaras saw a rakshasa carrying a lady flying across the sky. The lady was crying for help and threw a bundle down. Sugriva presented the bundle to Lord Rama, who recognized Sita's jewels in it. Sugriva promised to help find Sita and Lord Rama promised to help Sugriva get back his throne. The next day Sugriva challenged Baali to a duel, while Lord Rama hid behind a tree. As the brothers fought, Lord Rama could not tell them apart. Sugriva runs away to save his life and Lord Rama explains why he could not kill Baali. The following day, Sugriva wears a garland and challenges Baali to fight again. This time Lord Rama has no problem identifying Baali and kills him with a well aimed arrow. Victorious Sugriva returns to Kishkinda and is crowned king of the vaanaras. We spoke about how Lord Rama kept his word and helped his friend. The children did the coloring activity and got stickers for it. Class was dismissed for aarti and pledge.
Jai Sri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
