Hari Om! Parents,
Grade 1 has adjusted very well to the online Zoom Balavihar. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. The class began with deep breathing and Om chanting, "Sahanaa Vavatu" and three Sri Rama shlokas. The children took turns to individually chant all the daily prayers (My Prayers Book pg.11). Keep practicing with them everyday. The class chanted the first three and last verse of the Guru Stotram (Balavihar Handbook), and practiced verses 1-16 of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1.
After a quick recap, we continued the Sundara Kanda of our Ramayana story with Vibishana leaving Lanka. He flew across the ocean with four of his faithful rakshasas. When the vaanara army saw the rakshasas they got out their weapons and prepared for battle. In a calm manner, Vibhishana introduced himself, told them his story and asked to meet Lord Rama. Sugriva took the message to Lord Rama and was very suspicious. He said the rakshasas always used tricks. He told Lord Rama to send the rakshasas away and avoid any risk. Lord Rama asked the vaanara leaders for advise and they all told him to turn Vibhishana away. Next Lord Rama turned to Hanuman. Hanuman spoke with reverence, saying Bhagawan is all knowing and who was he to give any advise. Hanuman said although Vibishana was a rakshasa, he was honest and openly came to seek Lord Rama. He did not approach stealthily and so could be trusted. Lord Rama agreed with Hanuman's wise council and agreed to meet Vibhishana. Sugriva was still doubtful and asked Lord Rama not to trust a man who has fought with his own brother. We discussed how Sugriva himself fought with Baali and yet Lord Rama accepted him as a friend. Lakshmana remembered Lord Rama and Bharata's brotherly love as a virtue. Lord Rama welcomed Vibhishana, who touched the Lord's feet. We discussed how Bhagawan will always grant protection to those who ask for it. Even though Vibhishana was the brother of his enemy, Lord Rama considered his Dharma to grant refuge because he asked for it. Vibhishana told them about the preparations for war in Lanka. Then Lord Rama looked to the ocean god for help in crossing to Lanka. After three days of praying, the ocean did not part to make way for the army to cross. Lord Rama lost his patience and asked for his bow and arrows. He aimed arrows at the waters and the sea creatures began to die. The ocean god rose up and begged Bhagawan to forgive him. He said that by parting the waters to make way for the army, he would be going against his nature to be filled with water. Instead, he offered a solution to reach Lanka. A vaanara named Nala, was the son of Vishwakarma the divine engineer. Nala could plan for a bridge across the ocean using trees and boulders. The ocean god promised to support this construction and hold it up. Lord Rama forgave the ocean god and made Nala the chief engineer. With shouts of "Jai Sri Ram!", the vaanara army immediately began uprooting trees, gathering boulders and throwing them into the water. Miraculously, everything floated and in just five days the bridge was completed. The class saw a photo taken by NASA that showed the Rama Sethu/bridge stretching from southern tip of India to Sri Lanka. Though mostly submerged it is still visible. The children then wrote Rama Nama on the boulders using Zoom Annotate. Here is a photo of the Grade 1 virtual Rama Sethu that took the vaanara army to Lanka.
We participated in aarthi and pledge using videos and wrapped up the class. Children can do Lesson 31 coloring in their Ramayana Coloring books. It is a picture of building the bridge.
Jai Sri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
