Hari Om,
Here is a brief summary of class activities for Week 22, April 05, 2020.
This was an online Balavihar session and the students were allowed
into the ZOOM meeting with a password, and after their identities were
confirmed by the teachers. The meeting was locked around 09:30AM to
keep uninvited guests out of the ZOOM meeting.
1. Started with OM chanting and opening Prayers.
2. Reminded the students to:
- maintain classroom decorum - no eating, no drinking, limit bathroom breaks
- have daily prayers/ handbook handy
- limit online chatting to classroom topics discussed in class
- have their video on
3. Students were asked about what came first to their minds when they
heard the word "rituals"?
Most of them said, it was performing pooja, chanting mantras, doing
yagnas, and praying to God
- We discussed that simple things, and even mundane activity that we
do everyday such as: getting up in the morning, taking a shower,
brushing your teeth, maintaining personal hygiene, praying to God,
saying a simple prayer/ mantra, touching the feet of your parents,
being good to your siblings, helping someone who is in need, doing
chores, taking care of nature, being a responsible citizen, putting a
smile on your face, studying, waiting in a queue for the school bus,
are all rituals.
- We can improve our rituals by improving our attitude.
- We should do everything whole heartedly, with a good intention, and
regard every action that we do (big and/or small) as an offering to
Bhagawan -prasaad buddhi
- We will only appreciate rituals in the temples when we understand
OUR rituals in daily LIFE
Our students then verbalized their understanding
4. We then had three students take turn to present about the lives and
teachings of Saints of India. They researched on the Saints of their
choice and had some key talking points on the powerpoint slides.
Saints that were presented were:
- Andal
- Saint Gynaeshwar
- Ramana Maharishi
Students appreciated the efforts that went into preparing, and
presenting on these saints. And students talked about how young some
of these saints were when they decided to start the spiritual
journeys.
5. We then watched a video "Have Faith... WE can Change, WE MUST!" by
Pujya Swami Swaroopananda- Global Head - Chinmaya Mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
In this video Pujya Swamiji's pragmatic message tells us how the
current crisis in Mother Nature's way of ensuring we begin to lead
lives of greater substance and offers guidance on radiating goodwill
to the world through prayer, positivity, and inspired service.
The students enjoyed watching the video. To retain the key takeaways
from this video, we engaged our students with the following open-ended
questions and with multiple choices to pick:
-What can wonderful chants like Hanuman Chalisa do?
-During the current times like this, what can you do from a practical
view point?
-How can we continue to show Karuna in the times of Corona and serve?
-What is the meaning of the shloka:
Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
Sarve Santu Niraamayaah |
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |
6. As part of the Saints of India curriculum, three more students took
turn to talk and present on the Saints of their choice that they had
signed up for. The Saints that were presented were:
-Swami Vivekananda
-Tulasidas
-Swami Sivananda
At the end of each presentation, the students asked questions, and
shared what they liked about the Saint's life, and teachings.
7. We ended our class with the Aarthi, closing prayers and Pledge.
Our students joined.
Our next class will also be online on April 19, 2020 !
Reminders:
Please continue to recite the Gita verses, and send the recordings to
us via email shared in class WhatsApp group
Our Junior CHYKs (high schoolers) will be teaching the next online
class. Two students have been assigned and the class
topic(s)/assignments have been shared with them to prepare. They are
very excited with their assignment and are looking forward to this
experience.
Please sign-up to present about the Saints of India, if not done
already. The students/along with their parents are welcome to present
on any Saint of their choice - they can dress up and speak or present
with Google slides.
The zoom link has been shared with the parents in the WhatsApp group
and has been saved as the group's description.
Regards
Abhirami Shrinivas
Rekha Pai
Here is a brief summary of class activities for Week 22, April 05, 2020.
This was an online Balavihar session and the students were allowed
into the ZOOM meeting with a password, and after their identities were
confirmed by the teachers. The meeting was locked around 09:30AM to
keep uninvited guests out of the ZOOM meeting.
1. Started with OM chanting and opening Prayers.
2. Reminded the students to:
- maintain classroom decorum - no eating, no drinking, limit bathroom breaks
- have daily prayers/ handbook handy
- limit online chatting to classroom topics discussed in class
- have their video on
3. Students were asked about what came first to their minds when they
heard the word "rituals"?
Most of them said, it was performing pooja, chanting mantras, doing
yagnas, and praying to God
- We discussed that simple things, and even mundane activity that we
do everyday such as: getting up in the morning, taking a shower,
brushing your teeth, maintaining personal hygiene, praying to God,
saying a simple prayer/ mantra, touching the feet of your parents,
being good to your siblings, helping someone who is in need, doing
chores, taking care of nature, being a responsible citizen, putting a
smile on your face, studying, waiting in a queue for the school bus,
are all rituals.
- We can improve our rituals by improving our attitude.
- We should do everything whole heartedly, with a good intention, and
regard every action that we do (big and/or small) as an offering to
Bhagawan -prasaad buddhi
- We will only appreciate rituals in the temples when we understand
OUR rituals in daily LIFE
Our students then verbalized their understanding
4. We then had three students take turn to present about the lives and
teachings of Saints of India. They researched on the Saints of their
choice and had some key talking points on the powerpoint slides.
Saints that were presented were:
- Andal
- Saint Gynaeshwar
- Ramana Maharishi
Students appreciated the efforts that went into preparing, and
presenting on these saints. And students talked about how young some
of these saints were when they decided to start the spiritual
journeys.
5. We then watched a video "Have Faith... WE can Change, WE MUST!" by
Pujya Swami Swaroopananda- Global Head - Chinmaya Mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
In this video Pujya Swamiji's pragmatic message tells us how the
current crisis in Mother Nature's way of ensuring we begin to lead
lives of greater substance and offers guidance on radiating goodwill
to the world through prayer, positivity, and inspired service.
The students enjoyed watching the video. To retain the key takeaways
from this video, we engaged our students with the following open-ended
questions and with multiple choices to pick:
-What can wonderful chants like Hanuman Chalisa do?
-During the current times like this, what can you do from a practical
view point?
-How can we continue to show Karuna in the times of Corona and serve?
-What is the meaning of the shloka:
Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
Sarve Santu Niraamayaah |
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |
6. As part of the Saints of India curriculum, three more students took
turn to talk and present on the Saints of their choice that they had
signed up for. The Saints that were presented were:
-Swami Vivekananda
-Tulasidas
-Swami Sivananda
At the end of each presentation, the students asked questions, and
shared what they liked about the Saint's life, and teachings.
7. We ended our class with the Aarthi, closing prayers and Pledge.
Our students joined.
Our next class will also be online on April 19, 2020 !
Reminders:
Please continue to recite the Gita verses, and send the recordings to
us via email shared in class WhatsApp group
Our Junior CHYKs (high schoolers) will be teaching the next online
class. Two students have been assigned and the class
topic(s)/assignments have been shared with them to prepare. They are
very excited with their assignment and are looking forward to this
experience.
Please sign-up to present about the Saints of India, if not done
already. The students/along with their parents are welcome to present
on any Saint of their choice - they can dress up and speak or present
with Google slides.
The zoom link has been shared with the parents in the WhatsApp group
and has been saved as the group's description.
Regards
Abhirami Shrinivas
Rekha Pai
