May 3, 2020 - Grade 5 (Sunday AM)

Hari Om!

Here is a summary of class activities for Weeks 24 and 25, April 26 and May 3, 2020.

1. Started with OM chanting and opening Prayers.

2. Reminded the students of online classroom etiquette

3. We had three students presenting on April 26th on Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Samartha Ramadas and Saint Tukaram. Following the presentations, there was a discussion on why they chose these Saints to present on.

4. Mahabharata: 

  - We continued with the story with the Pandavas in exile. Jayadratha, the husband of Dusshala and king of Sindhu, was traveling through the forest areas where the Pandavas were living, and came across Draupadi in the hermitage. Besotted with her, he went over to talk to her. She welcomed him as he was a member of the family. But he spoke ill of the Pandavas and insisted that she come away with him, leaving the Pandavas. Angered at his inappropriate speech, Draupadi asked him to leave immediately. He, however, dragged her and placed her on his chariot and drove away. The Pandavas came to know of this and immediately followed him and defeated his army. Jayadratha was at their mercy and Yudhishtra mercifully decided to leave him alive, as he was their cousin's husband. They shaved his head and let him go. He felt so insulted that he prayed to Lord Shiva for a boon to conquer the Pandavas in battle. Lord Shiva was pleased with penance. He said that he could not offer him his boon of choice, as Arjuna himself was not defeated in war by anybody. Instead, he gave him the boon to hold off the other four Pandavas in battle on a single occasion.

- One day a Brahmin came to the Pandavas for help. He told them that the sticks meant for kindling the fire for performing his daily Yajna got entangled in the horns of stag which fled from the scene and wanted the Pandavas to pursue the fleeing animal and recover the sticks so that he could perform his rituals. As the Pandavas felt that it is their duty to protect those who practice their daily obligatory dharmic karma they proceeded in pursuit of the stag. Their attempts to stop the animal failed. They felt very much exhausted, hungry, and thirsty on account of the long chase. Yudhishthira instructed Nakula to find out if any stream of water was flowing nearby.  Nakula located a crystal clear lake, surrounded by trees, flowers and birds. He was overjoyed and felt like enjoying a cool drink himself first. So he descended near the refreshing water. As he was about to take some water he heard a voice of warning:" Do not dare to touch that water, my dear child. You must first answer my questions". Nakula ignored the warning, drank the water and immediately fell dead. When Nakula did not return Yudhishthira suggested that Sahadeva should go and find out what was the cause for Nakula's delay. Sahadeva arrived on the scene and was shocked to see Nakula lying dead. He thought of quenching his thirst first and when he attempted he also heard the same warning. He ignored it and upon pursuing his attempt to drink he fell dead. Now it was Arjuna's turn to look into what had happened. Apprehending some danger, he proceeded with his Gandiva bow. When he arrived at the lake he was shocked to see his two brothers lying as though dead. Arjuna also tried to quench his thirst and heard the same warning. But Arjuna did not ignore the warning but challenged it. Asking the voice to come before him physically, he shot several arrows in the direction from which it was coming. In reply he received more threats. Arjuna challenged the voice again and proceeded to drink the water when he fell down dead. Later, Bhima arrived and met with the same fate.

-Yudhishthira was then very much upset. Getting himself prepared for the possible harm that might have befallen on his dear and powerful brothers, he decided to go in search of them. When he arrived at the lake, he was stunned to see all his four brothers lying dead on the ground. His hopes of recovering his lost kingdom with the assistance of his brothers were shattered. He grieved for a while and then began to look around to make out the cause of his brothers' death. He wondered "there are no signs of violence on their bodies, no foot-prints anywhere; the killer must be a supernatural being". Ruling out the possibility of Duryodhana's hand in the incidents, he convinced himself that this must have been the handiwork of a supernatural being. He went to fetch some water to begin the last rites for his brothers. He heard a sudden voice declaring: "I am the cause of your brothers' death; you shall be the fifth victim if you do not answer my questions before using the water".
- Yudhishtra questioned "Who are you?  You must be strong to be able to put to death these powerful brothers of mine. Your feat is remarkable because neither gods nor asuras could stand up to my brothers.The voice replied: "I am a Yaksha, Yudhishtra.  As he heard these words, Yudhishtra saw before his eyes a grotesque form. A voice thundered: "I warned your brothers. But they would not listen to me. So now they are dead. This pool belongs to me and unless you answer my questions you shall not even touch this water." Yudhishtra replied: "I have no desire to take what is yours. Ask me and I will reply as best as I can".

-  The yaksha asked Yudhishtra many questions about Dharma, the intricate nature of right living and motivations of human life, what humans hold most precious and the true nature of life itself. Yudhishtra answered everything and the yaksha was pleased. He offered to raise one of the Pandavas to life. Yudhishtra asked for Nakula to be brought back to life. The yaksha was surprised and asked why he did not pick Arjuna or Bheema on whom hopes of victory in battle rested. Yudhishtra said that by Dharma, he had to get Madri's eldest son brought back to life, as he, Kunti's eldest son was alive. Impressed with Yudhishtra's adherence to Dharma in even the most difficult circumstances, the yaksha revealed himself to be Lord Yama. He raised all the four Pandavas back to life and  blessed them with success in their thirteenth year of living incognito.

5. We ended the class  with Aarthi and Pledge.