Nov 24, 2019 - Grade 3 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om parents!

We started our class as usual with the opening prayers.

Kids learned to chant Bhagavat Gita Chapter 1, Slokas 3 & 4. We also practiced slokas 1 through 4. Please let the children listen to Swamiji's Gita chanting given in the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVaQ1AsTFVEK4MvW4zOX3dd7ct-7nFwWC

This week kids learned about Hiranyaksha and how every action has its own consequence through the story of Jaya & Vijaya.

Hiranyaksha hides earth under water. Lord Vishnu, incarnates as a boar (Lord Varaha), comes out of Lord Brahma's nostrils. Lord Varaha dives deep into the ocean, fights and kills Hiranyaksha and brings earth back out of water for a new beginning.

Jaya & Vijaya are the gate keepers (Dwara Paalakas) of Vaikunta. When the four SanatKumaras(Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, and Sanatkumara) visited Vaikunta to have darshan of Lord Vishnu, the dwarapaalakas insult the SanatKumaras by denying them entry. Jaya & Vijaya were cursed by the SanatKumaras to take birth on earth and be away from their beloved Lord Vishnu. Jaya & Vijaya realized their mistake but prayed to Lord Vishnu to undo the curse as they could not stay away from the Lord. Lord Vishnu didn't undo the curse as actions have consequences. However, Lord Vishnu provided solace and gave Jaya & Vijaya choice between 3 Janmas as Enemy of the Lord ( and be eventually be killed by the Lord himself) or 7 Janmas. Jaya & Vijaya chose 3 Janmas as they would constantly be thinking of Lord and be killed by Him reasoning that 3 janmas is a shorter wait than 7 janmas; so they go back to Vaikunta faster. We asked the kids what option would they haved pick. Some wanted merry life for 7 Janmas but eventually understood why Jaya & Vijaya picked 3 Janmas. "It is difficult to stay away from loved ones for too long" is what we concluded at the end.

In the 1st Janma, Jaya & Vijaya were born as Hiranyaksha & Hiranyakashipu. In the second janma - they were born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna and in the third janma they were born as Sishupala and Dantavakra.

We had a class activity and kids were given strings and Cheerios to make bracelets. The challenge was to make the bracelets with their eyes closed. We are very proud to say nobody cheated.  They found ways to help each other and make their individual bracelets better. Through this activity kids understood that any situation that is presented to us can be made to what we like. We can either make it Hell or make it Heaven.

We ended our class with Likita Japa & Swamiji's video.

Note: Next class is on 12/8/2019.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

śrī kṛṣṇārpaṇamastu

Venu Avva

Vasavi Mukkamala

Oct 27, 2019 - Grade 3 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om!

Wishing you all a very happy Diwali!

We started our class talking about Diwali and how we celebrate it. We talked about two stories of why we celebrate this festival of lights – The story of Lord Rama returning to Ayodhya after 14 years in exile which happened in Treta yuga and the story of Lord Krishna killing daemon Narakasura in Dwapara yuga. In this context we learnt about the 4 yugas and the relation between yugas in terms of years. Dwapara Yuga is twice as much as Kali Yuga(432,000 years), Treta is thrice  and Satya is four times. Kids calculated enthusiastically!!

Kids learnt a story about King Parikshit and Kali. Kali being cruel and mean was chopping the legs of a bull( personification of Dharma). Parikshit stops Kali and banishes him from the Kingdom. Kali asks for forgiveness and seeks places to reside. Parikshit allows kali to be where people drink( alcohol), smoke, gamble, are cruel & where people seek wealth that doesn't belong to them. The class learnt that the four legs of the bull are symbols of Austerity, Purity, Kindness & Truthfulness; the qualities of people. It would be great if you can discuss with you child about how qualities like Austerity, Purity, Kindness & Truthfulness changed from Satya Yuga to Kali yuga( in terms of %). After a strong discussion, the class opined that if we adhere 100% to Austerity, Purity, Kindness & Truthfulness both in action and thoughts we can bring Satya yuga in Kali yuga.

Kids enjoyed both naama Japa & Likhita Japa. This helps them concentrate &  develop good thoughts.

Kids re-learnt sloka 6 & 7 in Guru stotram and practiced chanting until 7^th sloka.

Swamiji's Geeta chanting video started this week. This video has 2 Slokas per week. Please check the link and help kids practice these slokas.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVaQ1AsTFVEK4MvW4zOX3dd7ct-7nFwWC

Nov 3rd is Picture day!! Please dress kids in Indian attire. The photos will be part of Surabhi magazine/handbook.

Surabhi, our annual fundraiser, is on November 15^th. Please find more details at http://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/surabhi/

Looking forward to seeing the kids in Indian attire next week!

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Thank you

śrī kṛṣṇārpaṇamastu

Venu Avva

Vasavi Mukkamala

Sep 22, 2019 - Grade 3 (Sunday PM)

Dear Parents,

Hari Om!

We started our class with opening prayers.

We discussed what an avatāra is, various avatāras of Lord viṣṇu, why God takes different avatāras, and  learned names of the 10 avatāras. As a class we brainstormed and concluded that God takes an avatāra to remove evil or save someone good or teach us a lesson.

Here is the list of the 10 avatāras (Note: no particular order)

मत्स्य, वराह, नृसिंह,  बुद्ध, राम, परशुराम, वामन,  कल्कि, कृष्ण, कूर्म

matsya, varāha,  nṛsiṃha, buddha,  rāma, paraśurāma, vāmana, kalki, kṛṣṇa, kūrma

We started to learn Guru Stotram and kids learned to chant the first 4 verses.

Kids were asked to do a few jumping jacks and then they sat down to medidate for 5 minutes by chanting "oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya" .  We then tried chanting "oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya" in a tree a pose (balance on one leg and chant the mantra). 

We breifly started the story of why and who wrote Bala Bhagavatam and we will continue this in the next class. Kids did likhita japa of "oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya". 

Announcements:

Next class is on 09/29/2019 and will start as usual at 12:45PM. However, after 30 min of class, kids will be taken to the auditorium for Saraswati puja. It will be great if kids can come in traditional Indian attire.

Please make sure that your child has a notebook, pencils, and Balavihar handbook. We use these in every class.

Note: If you have not already joined our class parents Whatsapp group, please do . Please mention your child's name so that I know whose parent you are.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/J67kANZBCbuC7XIKZkTBku

Parents BV SUN1245 3rd Gr WhatsApp Group Invite chat.whatsapp.com

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Unto him our best

Venu Avva

Sep 15, 2019 - Grade 3 (Sunday PM)

Hari Om Parents!

Welcome to 2019-2020 Balavihar

We started our class with opening prayers. We began with introductions and talked about summer break.

As a class, we discussed about festivals, and more importantly about the recent festival, Ganesha Chaturthi. Kids learnt about the significance of this festival and how it is celebrated among families. Few kids chanted the Ganesha slokas that they were familiar with. We narrated a story of Ganesha going to Kubera's party. This story is about how Ganesha eats everything at Kudera's party to teach a lesson to Kubera. Kids summarized  that being humble and treating one another with love & respect  is very important. Also Ganesha accepts whatever food we give with love and devotion - quantity doesnt matter.

Next week we will start Bala Bhagavatam stories, Gita Chanting and Guru Stotram. Time permitting we may do likhita japa.

Balavihar handbooks were handed out in class. Please make sure that your child brings it to every class along with  a pencil/pen, notebook(for Likita Japa) & Bala Bhagavatam book( available in the book store).

Looking forward to seeing the kids next week.

Sri Krishnarpanamastu

Pranaam

Venu Avva

Vasavi Mukkamala

Welcome to Gr 3 - Sunday PM Session

Please look out for regular updates from the teachers soon after the session starts on Sept 15th