Dear Parents,
It has been a really long time since we met. Hope everyone is safe and following the recommendations of safety and social distancing. We had our first eBalavihar session over Zoom and it went quite well! We are very proud of the children for maintaining decorum and participating well!
Please find below the summary of our class on Friday, Mar 20, 2020.
Opening prayers:
Om Sahana Vavatu
Om Sri Ganeshaya NamaH
Om Sri Saraswatyai NamaH
Om Sri Sadgurubhyo NamaH
Neelambuja Shyamala Komalaangam (Rama Shloka)
Quote of the day:To be patient means to suffer something that hinders or hurts us, and still retain our self-composure. How many difficulties, with their consequent unpleasantness and discord, could be smoothed over and almost entirely eliminated by patience. Patience always elevates and strengthens our character. We need it not only with others but also with ourselves.
Lesson: Life is a boomerang; Vibheeshana Gita (intro)
Bhagavat Gita: Ch. 1, Verses 29, 30
Next eBalavihar class: 3/27/20
Announcements: 2020 CNJ Regionals of CMTC Geeta Chanting Yajna that was scheduled to be held in Chinmaya Vrindavan on March 28, 2020 has been postponed. The schedule of the registered participants, and the format of the event will be announced in April. Please visit http://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/geeta-chanting/ for event updates.
Summary: Our very first virtual class was quite good! The children logged in on time! They were dressed appropriately and managed to find a quite place without distractions! They remained muted and raised their hands when they wanted to speak/share their thoughts. Thank you dear parents for facilitating this for the children! We started with opening prayers and discussed the quote of the day. It was a bit lengthy but we thought it is the need of the hour! To patiently endure the current situation without feeling negative or complaining is very important for us to get through this. They understood the quote and agreed. Some of them shared personal anecdotes where being patient helped them and not being caused them trouble. We then moved on to the lessons of the day. Life is a boomerang. We get results according to our actions. When we sow an apple seed, we do not get oranges. As the saying goes, as we sow, so shall we reap. So we should always be mindful of our actions and our thoughts. A boomerang returns to the person who threw it. Our actions can be compared to the boomerang. We made some paper boomerangs and the children tested them out. A couple of them were successful in getting their boomerangs back! They enjoyed the craft. We then started our discussions on Vibheeshana Gita. When Vibheeshana was worried that Rama and his humble army would not be a match for the powerful army of the mighty Ravana, he expressed it to Lord Rama. Lord Rama did not get angry or insulted by the genuine worry of Vibheeshana! Endless ocean of compassion that he is, he understood that Vibheeshana's concerns came from his utmost devotion and love for Rama. He then went to explain to Vibheeshana about his Dharma chariot with all its different parts (values) which is much greater than Ravana's material gains. In the upcoming classes we will be learning each part in greater detail. For this class, we did an overview of what each part of the Dharma chariot represents. We finished the class with the ending shlokas. We will meet virtually again next Friday at 7:00 pm. It will be through the same link we used this time. We will send you the details again. Let us pray to Bhagavan to get us through these trying times soon! Please stay safe everyone.
Pranam,
Anandhi and Shanthi
