Jun 5, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! dear Parents, 

 

We started our class with the beginning prayers followed by the vedic chanting of, 

Om namo aste....

Chanted trayambakam three times followed by observing a 20 second silence 

Chanted bhadram karne bhih... 3 times  (script attached)

 

This week we focused on learning about the Mission pledge. Pujya Gurudev had written this pledge in 1964 at Chennai. Being a Brahma Jnani he could write this in 15 mins. Gurudev lived the pledge in his daily life so the writing came so easily to him.

Saanch Shahdadpuri did a super slide show on the pledge. She had listened to Swani Mitrananda's lectures on the pledge. She did an awesome job and we are attaching her slides here (file : Chinmaya Pledge presentation.pdf).

 

After the presentation we had a discussion and concluded the following, 

When I say the pledge, I make  a commitment to myself to live by it. It is like living like the divine. The pledge contains the message as told in the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita.

It's a perfect manual for spiritual growth which enhances our leadership qualities. This will help our team building activities in school, college and the work place. The pledge stands for a universal vision equal to that of a leader. 

Attaching a few more slides presented by the students in the earlier classes. We made a few changes to them in the class after discussions. However some changes have not been incorporated here.

The children did an amazing job and we are proud of them.

We then watched the performances by Grade 1 and 4 and sang the arathi and recited the pledge. They did a fantastic job!

This was our last BV class for this calendar year. Thank you Parents for sharing your children with us. They were wonderful and showed a lot of enthusiasm in class. We will miss them dearly.

Our best wishes to them in all their endeavors. We will see them around at the ashram soon. Have a great summer! Stay safe.

 

With love and Om,

Nirmala and Purnima 

 

More attachments from children's presentations below

 

 Vedaswini Kabra - Gunas / Chinmaya Presentation

 

Vedh Mungara - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1i2OQygFuJBNQQZYDw2FAOL_eeeKEBJSfEStkaVj-Ymo/edit?usp=sharing

 

Sruthi Potluri:

 

 Ahimsa Diagram

 

 Ahimsa Story

 

 

Mahit Korada: What is Dharma and Karma?

 

May 29, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

 

Hari Om! dear Parents, 

 

We started our class with the beginning prayers followed by the vedic chanting of, 

Om namaste astu bhagavan..

Trayambakam yajamahe, chanted 3 times followed by observing a 20 second silence 

Om bhadram karne bhih...chanted 3 times 

 

We then went on to our curriculum:

Recapped the 16 samskaras we have learned through the year 

Shared a slide showing the classification of all the 16 samskaras to be followed in the 4 ashramas. 

Discussed that samskaras were taught by the rishis and a very good tool for the purification of our mind.

Discussed the inner samskaras taught by Gautama Muni. Listed  8 noble qualities to be developed in oneself. These are:

Compassion to all beings, forgiveness and patience, being free from jealousy, purity in thoughts words and deeds, being free of mental stress, cheerfulness, giving danam and being free ftom binding desires and greed

Concluded that planting noble values in ourselves is the way to reap peace and happiness in our mind

Our next part in our curriculum was discussion on the last samskara of a person’s life or Antyeshti

Discussed like we have s birth date we have an expiration date

Discussed, the body dies, but the individual jiva living in the body travels to get another body to exhaust residual Vasanas

Molding the Vasanas is a lifelong project. This can be done by leading an alert and vigilant life.

Told the story of the saint Bhartrahari.

He was the brother of the king of Ujjain named Vikramaditya. Bhartrahari chose to be a sanyasi and lived a pious life. He wrote great books for the upliftment of mankind

On his death bed he invoked the five elements and thanked them for giving him a healthy body to pursue his spiritual life. He knew his body was going back to the five elements. Since he led an alert life he could leave the world in an attitude of gratitude at the time of his death

Discussed the final samskara Antyeshthi and how it is different for the saints when they attain Mahasamadhi.

 

Three children from the class did wonderful presentations with slide share on

The Gunas

Dharma

Dharma and karma based on events form the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.  

We had a good discussion on these topics.

 

The children took turns in doing the arathi and recited the pledge.

 

Pranams 

Nirmala and Purnima 

 

Announcement for parents:

 

Please avail of the fantastic e-summer camp  being conducted by Chinmaya Mission West. Please register at the following link

 

https://tinyurl.com/CMWSummerCamp

 

May 15, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari OM! dear Parents,

 

We started our online class with the beginning prayers followed by the Vedic chant,

Om Namaste astu…

Chanted trayambakm 3 times followed by observing a 20 second silence thinking about the people sick with the virus around the world.

This Friday our class watched a movie followed by having a discussion on the movie.

The movie we saw together was a 2006 movie named ‘Pursuit Of Happyness’. The synopsis of the movie is  based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a man who loses everything, but eventually gets everything with his efforts. In the movie, he is a hard-working, caring and loving father, who struggles financially to provide for his wife and son. His wife left him and fate took him to a lifestyle he had never thought of. He became homeless, and while he had to take care of his little son, he worked as a salesman (he sold medical devices). Then, he finds an unpaid 6-month-internship position at a brokerage firm. He struggles to get contracts for the firm, while trying to make an honest living for his son. He has to pick up his son at the day care center and he also has to be on time to get a room in one of the local homeless shelters. His life was the one that you think you could never handle. His talents and skills, along with his charisma and personality, earned the trust of several people who signed contracts with the brokerage firm. At the end we see that he got the one paid position and his life changed dramatically from that moment.

The children enjoyed the movie and we had a small discussion about we could learn from the movie.

1. Have a Positive attitude: The movie shows how a person can achieve greatness by keeping a positive attitude toward life. Don’t be disheartened by the fall backs and move towards your goal.

2. Persistence, Perseverance and hard work will always pay off in life.

3. Never give up on chasing your goals however hard they may be.

4. The purpose of our life is to be happy. We need to strive for that and that is our primary goal in life.

 

Our next BV online class is on Friday, May 29th. We will have two children making a presentation. Looking forward to it

 

Pranams

 

Nirmala and Purnima

 

Announcements:

Please see announcement from CMW West

 

Chinmaya Mission West

Summer 2020 BALAVIHAR/YOUTH National Online Camp

 

These are or fabulous faculty for the Online Camp for this year 2020. Assisting them are or own CHYKS and YUVAVEERS.

We would want to offer this as a collective effort which spans across the countries of Chinmaya Mission West - Canada, Trinidad, United Kingdom and the US - and includes the Swamins and Brahmacharins of CMW as faculty for the program.

 

Registration opens on May 8th and the link is: tinyurl.com/CMWSummerCamp

Registration open to all.

 

 

May 8, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

 

Hari Om! dear Parents, 

 

We started the class with the beginning prayers followed by the vedic chanting of,

Namaste astu bhagavan...

Chanted trayambakam 3 times followed by observing a 20 sec silence praying for the recovery of people sick with the virus.

This week our curriculum was based on childhood and educational samskaras.

Talked about Chudakarma, or first head shaving of the child between the age of one to three years. This ceremony is for the removal of bad thoughts of the child from previous births.

Talked about Karnaveda, performed between the age of three and five years of the child. This ceremony involves the piercing of the ears and the chanting of prayer, bhadram karne bhih.. in the child's ears. This is performed so that the child will always have auspicious thoughts. We had learned this prayer at the beginning of the year.

Talked about educational samskaras, or Vidyarambha performed at the child's fifth year. This ceremony is for the beginning of the primary education of the child. 

Also talked about the 16 steps of the Saraswathi pooja. Reminded the children about this Pooja at the ashram during Navaratri.

 

Last Friday was a very special day. It was our Pujya Gurudev's 104th birthday. 

Talked about the life and vision of our Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda.

Talked about Gurudev ashotara namavalli and its significance. Discussed about how we can imbibe Gurudev's glory and can make it our glory too by chanting and meditating on the names of Pujya Gurudev. Learning to live by the values which Gurudev lived we can change our lives for the better. Told them that Pujya Guruji and our Pujya Swamiji had written the namavalli.

The children together watched the pooja performed at the ashram. We then watched many Chinmaya families chant the ashtotara with its meaning. Finally we sang the Gurudev arathi and recited the pledge.

Next week our class will be watching a movie together on Zoom.

 

Pranams 

Nirmala and Purnima 

 

May 1, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

 

Hari Om! Parents, 

 

We started our online class with the beginning prayers followed by the vedic chant,

Om namaste astu...

Chanted trayambakam 3 times followed by observing 20 secs silence praying for people sick with the virus.

This time our curriculum was on childhood samskaras which was namakarana and annaprasna. 

Talked about the deep connection between name and the named. Also talked about olden times, where children were given names of the Lord. Calling the child by the Lord's name has a cleansing effect on everyone.

Talked about Lord Krishna's naming ceremony by Garga rishi..

Talked about the significance of kalasha and its pooja during the naming ceremony. Talked about the child's first temple visit and its significance  

Talked about Annaprasna or the first morsel of the food given to an infant.

Rice cooked with ghee and honey is fed to the child.

Talked about food being an essential element of our life. Living beings are born out of food and nourished by food. Food is first offered to the Lord and taken as prasadam.

Talked about how words have an effect on food and water. 

Talked in detail about an experiment conducted by a Japanse research scientist  named Dr. Masaru Emoto.

Dr. Emoto froze two sets of water droplets and observed them under a microscope, saying a prayer to one set. This set had a beautiful  crystal formation. Another crystal to which a prayer was not said had no crystal formation. Similarly he took two sets of cooked rice and put in 2 jars. He said sweet words to one jar and abusive words to another. The jar which had the rice to which he said sweet words was fresh after 30 days and the other one went rotten. Concluded when I pray over my meal, a material transformation takes place to the food. The lord blesses the food over which I say a prayer.

Did a short meditation observing our breath and saying beautiful words to oneself like, I am the Lord's child, I am blessed etc.

The children said they felt calm after the meditation. 

The children did a short PowerPoint presentation on 3 topics which we had learned over the year 

Karma and Karma phala

Mahavakyas 

Ashramas

They did a nice job.

We have 3 more children talking on 3 topics next week. We look forward to listening to them

Thank you children!

The children then took turns to sing the Gurudev arthi, shanti mantras and pledge

Announcements 

We will celebrate Gurudev's Jayanthi next Friday after our class.  Will send details on WA.

 

Pranams 

Nirmala and Purnima 

 

 

Apr 24, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents, 

We completed another productive online class.  Thank you coordinators  parents and children.

We started our class with the beginning prayers followed by the vedic chanting of:

Om name aste bhagavan... 

Chanted trayambakam 3 times followed by observing a 20 second silence, praying for all the people sick with the virus around the world. 

We recapped our previous class on the Purusharthas and continued our discussions on the same topic. 

Discussed desire or kaama should be directed towards dharmic actions. 

The pathway to moksha or freedom of birth and death is kaama to dharma to artha to moksha

Discussed wealth gained should bless us to lead to liberation

Discussed at an early age we should start thinking about our exit plan from this world. 

Compared this to the exit policy we have before taking possession of a house.

Discussed need based and want based desires (sreyas and preyas). The attached PPT was shown to the children

Our next chapter for discussion was on the pre natal samskara or simantonnayana

Talked about this ceremony in a woman's life.

Told a story from the Mahabharata about how Abhimanyu learned the techniques of chakravyuha from his mother's womb. He overheard his father explaining to his mother about war strategies and how to enter a chakravyuha. His mom fell asleep at that point and did not listen to the part of how to come out of the vyuha. Since Little Abhimanyu could not hear the latter part, brave Abhimanyu was killed as he could not come out of the chakravyuha. 

Talked about parents and children's responsibilities in a household.

Talked about some of the things we can do to be part of a spiritual, healthy and happy family.

Assignments:

The children have volunteered to talk on 3 topics which we have been learning through the year. We are excited to hear from them in our next class.

The children took turns in singing the arathi and recited the pledge. 

Pranams

Nirmala and Purnima 

Apr 17, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents,

We started our class with our beginning prayers followed by the Vedic chant..

Om Namaste astu bhagavan…

We chanted trayambakam 3 times followed by maintaining a 20 second silence, remembering all the people across the world who are sick with the virus.

This week our curriculum was on Purusharthas, or the fundamental pursuits in life as depicted in our scriptures.

This special class was led by Namitha, a JCHYK form 12^th grade.

We welcomed her to our class and she talked on the above subject.

She firstly asked the children about what their goals were during the period of being quarantine. in the past weeks.

The children had varied answers like, catching up on their sleep, playing video games exercising etc..

Namitha then talked on Purushartha, which means our goals in life.

Vedas classify the human goals as,

Dharma or ethics

Artha or wealth

Kaama or desires for enjoyment

Moksha or iberation

Discussed dharma in the life of a student towards family, school, country and the world. Also talked about our dharma in the present situation which was to stay at home and maintain social distance.

Discussed Artha in both its aspects, outer and inner. Wealth when earned by dharma is a blessing. It helps to build society. To enrich our outer life we need money, but to enrich our inner wealth we need to cultivate noble values.

Discussed Kama, or enjoyments should be in line with dharma. Namitha talked to us about the ladder of fall which starts with desire.

Talked how an unfulfilled desire leads to anger and finally results in the destruction of a person.

Discussed Moksha or liberation is the way to become one with the lord. Explained this with a story, which was;

A saint was taking a bath in the river. A seeker approaches him and asks how to find God and the way to realize him. The saint did a demonstration. He pulled the seeker close to him and pushed his head under the water for some time and pulled him out. The saint then asked the seeker what he was thinking when he was under water. The seeker said he was only thinking of how to get some air. He also said he could not think of anything else. The saint then said that if his desire to see God was as strong like his desire for air he can realize God easily.

Concluded that a burning desire is the starting point of all our accomplishments and goals.

Also, leading a dharmic life is a secret to success. 

Some children had questions regarding procuring wealth and desire versus need. We will take it up in our next class.

The children then took turns to sing the arathi and recited the pledge.

Our next online Bal Vihar class is on April 24^th.

Pranams

Nirmala and Purnima

Apr 3, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! dear Parents,

Happy Ramanavami and Hanuman Jayanthi to all!

We had another good session on Zoom. Thank you Swamiji, Coordinators, parents and children.

We started our class with the beginning prayers followed the Vedic chant;

Om namo aste bhagavan..

We then chanted trayambakam 11 times for the benefit of people suffering from the pandemic.

The children took turns and chanted 10 verses from Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita.

This week our curriculum was on ‘the attitude of gratitude’ based on our scriptures,

Discussed the pancha maha yagnas: Yagnas represent an attitude of gratitude.

Deva yagna—offerings to the Gods. This yagna serves 2 purposes. It helps to clean the environment and also to express our gratitude to all the natural forces like air, water etc.

Pitr yagna—offering oblations to our ancestors. This tradition helps to create an environment of mutual love and respect among people and ensures harmony in the family and society.

Bhuta yajna—Feeding animals and birds, pets or any being that has life.

Manushya yagna—Worship of guests and the needy or Athithi devo bhava! This includes our attitude towards our fellow human beings, which is being polite and not insult anyone.

Brahma yagna—Study of scriptures, lighting a lamp and saying a prayer. This helps us to grow spiritually

Discussed that these yagnas performed with the right attitude and spirit can save us from the sins we may have committed during our daily chores.

Our next discussion was based on prenatal samskaras.

Discussed all living beings come from HIM, the Lord.

Discussed we are what we eat. Parents to be, are responsible for the life coming through them, or our future generation.

Told Bhakta Prahalad’s story.

Prahalada was the son of the demon king Hiranyakasipu. His wife, Kayadhu was a pious lady. Once Hiranyakashipu went to Mandarachala mountain to meditate. The devas grabbed this opportunity and kidnapped Kayadu who was pregnant at that time. Narada, a devotee of the Lord told the devas to release her and he kept her in his ashram and imparted Brahma Vidya to her. The baby born, later known as Prahlada received the knowledge in his mother’s womb. This knowledge had a great impact on him and he is revered and respected even today.

Discussed the foods we eat can be  classified them as satvic, rajasic and tamasic.

Discussed its effects on our body and mind. Lord Krishna talks about them in the Bhagavad Gita chapter 17.

Discussed foods which provides us with strength, good health and joy are termed as satvik.

Food that is bitter, sour, hot, pungent etc. which may produce pain and discomfort to us are classified as rajasic.

Food that is stale, putrid etc are classified a tamasic.

Discussed that we should cultivate the taste for satvika food as it will help us to think clearly and reach our goals.

The children took turns to sing the arathi and the recited the pledge.

Pranams

Nirmala and Purnima

Mar 27, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents,

We continued our 2nd online Bala Vihar class successfully with the blessings of Pujya Gurudev and our Swamiji. Thanks to our coordinators for all your help and to parents and children for your enthusiasm.

We started our class with our beginning prayers followed by the Vedic chant,

Om namo aste bhagavan..

We then chanted Trayambakam, 11 times for everyone’s good health during these difficult times.

We continued learning to chant verses 31 and 32 form chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita along with Pujya Swamiji.

We recapped last week’s discussion on Mahavakyas.

We watched and discussed a beautiful video by Pujya Gurudev about the Mahavakyas. Video link is attached below

https://youtu.be/X427M99TrAE

This week or curriculum was based on,

1. Samavartana or returning home after completing our studies at the end of the Brahmachaya ashram or student life.

Discussed, about life of a student in the Vedic and Pauranic ages at the gurukula. Also talked about the convocation address given to the students by the teacher when they leave the gurukula.

Discussed this address based on the Taitriya Upanshad about how the children should conduct their lives after they leave the gurukula.

Discussed as part of this convocation address the teacher reminds the student to:

- Speak the truth always

- Do all your duties or nitya karmas

- Devote time everyday to study the scriptures

- Gurudakshina and support of their gurukula

- Take care of your own welfare

- See mother, father and guru as the Lord

- Revere all your teachers

- Give danam or charity

- When in doubt during a difficult situation in life, try  to emulate a man of knowledge

Discussed all these topics in detail. We told a story about gurudakshina and support of the ashrama. This story was about Lord Krishna, Balarama, and their cousin Uddhav when they were leaving their gurukula. The Lord, his friends and cousin took their studies very seriously at the ashram. While leaving the ashrama they helped to find their Guru’s son who was lost at sea. The Lord made his Guru very happy. He also paid his Gurudakshina in this way.

Talked about how children can support our Chinmaya ashrama when they complete their education. This will help our future generation to participate in this wonderful program our Gurudev started.

The teacher concluded that this is the commandment of the Vedas and we all should abide in it at all times.

2. Our next topic was on the Vivaha ceremony.

Discussed as a brahmachari an individual is a receiver in society. After gaining the knowledge and being ready for responsibilities he can move into the grihasta ashrama.

Discussed this is the most important ashrama as it supports all the other 3 ashramas. We had discussed this in detail during the writing and enactment of our annual play.

Discussed briefly about all the traditions of a Hindu wedding.

--Talked about the vivaha ceremony which takes place in a mandapa which represents a universe.

--The pots in the 4 corners of the mandapa represent the 4 directions

--The 4 pillars of the mandpa represents the 2 sets of parents of the bride and groom

--The decorations and the flowers represent joy

--The grains used represent prosperity

--The fire represents the Fire God who is the divine witness to the wedding

Briefly discussed the main ceremonies during a wedding viz. the Ganesha Pooja, Jaymala, Kanya daan, pheras and saptapadi.

Discussed that the pheras are a very important ritual where the bride and groom take vows to live by viz,

--Dharma-  values as given in the scriptures

--Artha- Earn livelihood keeping dharma in mind

--Kama- desires keeping dharma in mind

--Moksha- Liberation from the cycle of births and death

Discussed the ritual of saptapadi whereby both the bride and groom take 7 steps and make a promise

--To provide proper nourishment to the household

--To provide emotional and physical strength to everyone in the household

--Acquire wealth and success by righteous means

--Dedicate their lives to mutual happiness

--For healthy and strong children to continue lineage

--Enjoy all ups and downs in life

--Loyalty to the marriage with love and friendship to one another.

Discussed Pujya Guruji’s song Vivaha Dinamidam and its meaning

Concluded that life in the grihasta ashrama is based on service to people and society and worship of the Lord.

The children took turns in singing the Arathi and recited the pledge.

Pranams

Nirmala and Purnima

Mar 20, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents,

This was our first online Balvihar class. With HIS grace, Gurudev’s blessings, Swami Shantanadajis beessings, the hard work put in by the Coordinators, with your cooperation and the children’s interest we could conduct our class very smoothly.

We started our class with the beginning prayers followed by the Vedic chant,

Om Namaste astu bhagavan…

We then chanted Trayambakam 11 times for the good health of every one.

Chanted verses 29, 30 from the chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita along with Pujya Swamiji.

We then went on to our curriculum on the Mahavakyas.

The children enumerated the 4 mahavakyas form the 4 Vedas. Briefly we recapped our last week’s discussion which was on the first 2 mahavakyas viz,

“Prajnanam Brahma” or “Consciousness is Brahman” from the Rig Veda.

“Tat Tvam Asi’ or “You Are That” from the Samaveda.

This week our discussion was based on the vows we take every day, based on our daily prayers. Molding our sharp corners or our negative tendencies can be improved by doing this.

We enumerated some of the daily prayers we have been learning in BV all these years.

After waking up: Karagre Vasate..

Before studies: Saraswati namastubhyam…

Before taking food… Aham vaishvanaro…

Before turning on the evening lights: Shubham karoti

Before going to bed… Karacharana krtam va….

Chanting these prayers makes us think of the Lord throughout the day. This is the best way to purify our mind which is our goal.

We told a story about the Mind, The Genie:

Shri Narayanadas was a poor but pious man living in a village. One year there was a famine in the village. So Narayanadas went to his teacher in the forest for help. The teacher taught a special mantra which will produce a genie, which will fulfill all his wishes. So Narayanadas took the genie to the village, feeling very happy. He returned home took a bath, said his prayers and requested the genie for food for everyone in the village. It was done! Then he asked the genie to fix all the broken huts in the village and then to clean up the village. This was done too. Everyone in the village was happy. Narayanadas didn’t know what to do next. So he asked the genie to rest. The genie said he could not do that. Narayanadas rushed to his teacher and asked for help. The teacher said to erect a pole and make the genie go up and down till there is work.  It worked.

Inferred that our mind is also like a genie. When invoked properly it can work wonders. But when it is idle it can destroy us. The pole is like the Lord’s name. Chanting the lords name makes our mind calm and pure.

Our next discussion was based on the last 2 Mahavakyas:

Discussed the way to understand this is by deep meditation. We taught this with a story

Lord Brahma was teaching Brahma vidya to the devas and asuras. The devas sent their representative Indra, and the asuras sent Virochana. He asked them to bring a pail of water and told them to look inside and observe what they saw. Both the devas and asuras said they saw their body, face etc.. Prajapati or Brahmaji  said what you see is Brahman. The asuras were so happy to hear this and it was very easy to follow. They concluded that their body and their senses etc is Brahman. They Indulged in sense pleasures. Indra went back and contemplated about how can the body and the senses be Brahman. He had heard that Brahman is immortal and he observed that his body is mortal subject to birth, growth, death etc. He then went back to Prajapati. Prajapati was impressed and taught him that Brahman is a happy mind. Indra went back and contemplated that his mind too is subject to happiness and sadness, so that cannot be Brahman. He came back to his teacher. Prajapati was very impressed about Indra’s way of thinking. Prajapati said one who sleeps is Brahman. Again Indra contemplated and felt that one who is sleeping is not aware of anything. He returned to his teacher an asked for more. Prajapati was now satisfied and felt that Indra was ready for the ultimate teaching of Brahma Vidya. He taught him all about the atma and Indra came back and taught the other devas.

Discussed the Mahavakya: “Ayamatma Brahma” or the “Self is Brahman”.

Discussed that only when our mind is purified can we understand the teacher’s instructions The student sits quietly and meditates on the teaching and he understands that the atma in all is Brahman

Discussed finally after long years of more contemplation the student finally declares:

Aham Brahma asmi or I am Brahman

This is the 4th Mahavakya from the Yajur Veda

Discussed detachment from the body, mind, senses etc helps us to get closer to the lord. It helps us to curb our sense pleasures and makes our mind pure.

Discussed our body and mind are instruments to be used wisely to absorb the message our scriptures teach. This is the way to get closer to the Lord.

The children sang the arathi  and recited the pledge by taking turns.

Pranams

Nirmala and Purnima

Mar 6, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents,

We started our class with the beginning prayers followed by the Vedic Chant,

Om Namaste Astu Bhagavan..

Tryambakam Yajamahe..

We then learned a new shlokam  on Lord Vishnu,

Shantakaram Bhujagashayanam…

Chanted and learned verses 29, 30 from Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita along with Pujya Swamji.

Revised and recorded verses 15 to 25 from the same chapter.

This week our curriculum was the detailed study of 2 mahavakyas which we had enumerated in the last class

1. “Prajanam Brahman”, or “Consciousness is Brahaman” from the Rig Veda

Discussed, anything I see is an object and is not possible without the presence of the seer. The seer is always separate from the seen. I see my body, and I recognizer my thoughts and emotions and they are different from the seer.

The seer in me is the Awareness. The Awareness in me is the same Awareness in everyone. We have to recognize this oneness. This can be made possible only through love and compassion.

Discussed His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s quote,” Love and Compassion are necessities not luxuries, without them humanity cannot survive”.

Discussed this idea with stories:

The thief at the Sabramati ashram:

Once a thief was caught in the Sabarmati ashram and brought before Gandhiji . Gandhiji  looked at the thief lovingly and asked if he had breakfast. The thief was touched by Gandhiji’s gesture and fell at his feet. He later transformed himself and became Gandhiji’s disciple for life. Compassion is the key to transformation.

Discussed the story of the Pandava prince, Yudhishtira.

Yudhishtira was a follower of dharma. When he was about to leave the world, all his good and bad deeds were computed. He had lied once in his life during the Mahabharata war. When the elephant died, he had said Aswathama is dead, and this brought about the death of his guru, Dronacharya. Yudhishtira had to spend a day in hell. All the people in hell were very happy in his presence. The next day, when he was about to leave hell, the people started crying. Yudhishtira thought for a moment and asked the attendants if he could live here permanently. They told him it was possible, if he could exchange his merits with their demerits.. Yudhishtira agreed . All the people from hell were transferred to heaven and Yudhishtira was left behind. He created heaven in hell with his mere presence.

2. “Tat Tvam Asi”, or “You are That” from the Sama Veda. Here we stressed on shastra vakyam and guru vakyam.

Brahman or The Awareness, which is the Lord present in every being, that Awareness, we are. “ The Lord within us is not far away somewhere but right here within us” says the guru. We are not able to realize this because of our limitations and ignorance.

We can make it happen by studying the scriptures with the help of a Guru. Surrendering at the feet of the Guru with humility we can realize our true nature which is Brahman.

We told 2 stories  to reinforce this.

Discussed the story of Sage Udhalaka and his son Svetaketu.

Sage Udhalaka sent his son to the gurukula to study the Vedas. When the son came back Sage Udhalaka asked his son if he had learnt about a branch of knowledge, whereby knowing one thing you can know all. Swetaketu arrogantly replies that he didn’t know, since his guru did not teach him. Sage Udhalaka patiently taught his son Brahma Vidya and Svetaketu could realize his true potential.

Dicussed the story of Udhalaka, who was known as Aaruni earlier.

When he was a small boy his guru had asked him to take care of a small farm. The farm was on the top of a hill and the water in the farm would always flow down. His guru told him that if he built a dam he could stop the loss of water. Aaruni, had deep faith in his guru’s words. One day during heavy rains when he decided  to lie down and become the dam to stop the flow of water. His guru was very impressed with his  and faith and commitment and gave him the  name Udhalaka.

Discussed service to the teacher changes our attitude and we become humble.

Discussed the life of our Pujya Gurudev and his reverence to his guru Tapovan ji Maharaj. Gurudev brought about the transformation of so many lives around the world.

Discussed how the children can implement the attitude of service and humility towards their parents and teachers and bring transformation in their lives.

The children sang the arathi and recited the pledge in the classroom.

Announcements:

Gita chanting competition at the ashram on March 28th. We would like the children to participate. We have been practicing  in the class. The children can participate in the reading or memorization category.

Slokathon competition on Aril 4th at the ashram.

Ram Navami celebrations on April 4th and 5th at the ashram.

Pranams,

Nirmala and Purnima

Feb 14, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents,

We started the class with the beginning prayers followed by the Vedic chant on Lord Shiva,

Om Namaste astu…

Trayambakam yajamahe…

Chanted verses 26, 27, 28 from the first chapter of the  Bhagavad Gita along with Pujya Swamiji.

The children then chanted an revised verses 15 to 25 from the same chapter.

We then went on to our curriculum which was,

!. Completed our discussion on Upasana.

Defined upasana as worship of the lord. Like we become exactly as the company we keep, so also if we live in the company of deities and worship our chosen deity we slowly imbibe those same qualities.

Discussed about japa and upasana.

Manasa japa is superior to loud chanting, and manasa upasana is very powerful as indicated by Acharya Shankara is his Shiva manasa Pooja. We also talked about this prayer.

Told a story about one of the 63 Nayanars who were Shiva bhaktas.

There was a Nayanar who built a Shiva temple mentally. At the same time the local king built an expensive Shiva temple in the city. The king fixed the kumbhabhishekham on a particular day. Lord Shiva appeared in the king’s dream and told him that his appointment on that day was already fixed. The king’s ego was hurt and he asked him about the other temple. The lord gave him the address. The net day the king went to the bhakta’s house and found nothing. When the king asked him about the temple, he told him that he had built his temple in his heart and fixed the kumbhabhishekham. The king then realized that manasa upasana is superior to all other kinds of upasana.

We also talked about the greatness and power of prayer with a story of how the lord fulfilled a poor lady’s wish for food after her sincere prayer.

Briefly discussed the 16 step or Shodasa Pooja. We reminded them of the Saraswathi Pooja we had performed during Navaratri.

Taught the phalam of upasana, which are,

Developing compassion, patience, purity in thoughts words and deeds, developing self esteem, being cheerful and getting rid of jealousy and greed.

Finally asked the children to practice upasana  daily on their ishta devata.

Our next topic was on the the Great Declarations or the Mahavakyas from the four Vedas.

For our understanding, we taught this topic with a story from the handbook.

1. The student goes to his teacher for learning Brahma Vidya with an attitude of surrender. The teacher gives an objective definition of Brahman with the statement,

“Prajnanam Brahma” from the Rig Veda.

The teacher asks the student to contemplate on this. He understands it as, all the objects in the universes are expressions of the ONE LORD.

He then comes back to the teacher who tells him,

2. “Tat Tvam Asi’ or ‘That thou art’ from the Sama Vadea

The teacher teaches that the lord is not somewhere in Vaikunta or Kailasa but right here in you. The student understands this only intellectually, but his experience does not support this. So he returns to solitude and meditates and comes to understand,

3. “Ayamatma Brahma” or “this self is Brahman” form the Atharva Veda. Having gained this knowledge he come back to the teacher and finally declares:

4. “Aham Brahma Asmi” or “I am Brahman”(Yajur Veda)

We will be discussing more on this in our future classes.

Discussed that focusing on objects of the world makes us a materialist. Our goal in life is to focus on the spiritual aspects so that we can move closer to the lord and become his devotee.

Discussed how to change our focus in life with example such as,

Appreciating the paper on which words and letters are written in a book

Focusing on the canvas rather than the painting

Focusing on the water rather than the waves

Focusing on the screen rather the movie etc…

Concluded focusing on the not obvious things in nature helps us on focusing on our spirtual culture

Announcements:

Shivaratri celebrations in the ashram on February 21st.

Our net class is on February 28th. We will celebrate spirit day, an evening filed with fun activities.

Pranams

Nirmala and Purnima

Feb 7, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents, 

We started our class with the beginning prayers followed by the vedic chanting of,

Om namaste astu bhagavan....

Trayambakam yajamahe....

We then learned and chanted verses 24,25 from chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita along with Pujya Swamiji. 

We recorded verses 1to 15 from the same chapter with the children leading the class.

We then proceeded to our curriculum which was on Upasana followed by Satsang with Pujya Swamiji. 

Defined Upasana as "worship"or literally “sitting near”."Upa" means "near" and "asana" means "sitting".

Discussed that our thinking is always in the form of objects, we need an object or a symbol, that represents the Lord who is omnipresent and beyond all qualities. Teachers like Veda Vyasa made it easier for us by providing a host of deities in his Puranas.

We will continue our discussion on this in our next class with some stories and the benefits of Upasana.

Our Satsang with Pujya Swamiji was a discussion based on questions posed by the children. 

Posting some of the questions and Swamiji’s answers below:

1. What is the purpose and goal of life?

Our purpose of life is Moksha or liberation from life and death. One important way is to get rid of our Raaga and Dwesha or our likes and dislikes. By having equanimity of the mind in all situations is the key to achieve this. 

2. How can we graduate from the Brachmacharya ashrama to the Grihasta ashrama?

Swamiji jokingly answered “By getting married” implying that Grihasta is the stage of taking up the responsibility of family life

3. Questions regarding the righteousness of euthanasia

Euthanasia is a wrong a action. We have to endure the pain and suffering in life which has been caused by our previous wrong actions. Our situations in life is totally governed by the law of Karma. Our present body is the product of our past actions. Running away from a bad situations is not the solution. So the solution is to endure the pain while in this body.

4. Why do people suffer?

Again it is due to the Law of Karma.  The infallible law of action and reaction - Every action, as the ancient rishis and later, Newton, too discovered, has an equal and opposite reaction. All our sukha/dukha experiences are all dependent on our past actions. We have to go through it and try to be mindful of our actions.

5. Is it good to have ego?

Ego is neither good or bad but it is a necessity. We have to use the ego in a positive way to perform good actions.

6. Why does the lord take an avatara?

The lord takes an avatara to rid the earth of evil. Lord Rama was the 7th and Lord Krishna was the 8th avatara.

7. How do sadhus live an austere life?

Sadhus live a simple lifestyle, they mostly survive by food donated by devotees. They consume bare minimum in order to just survive. They spend most of the time in  meditation on God.

These were some of the questions from the children.

We had a very enlightening session with Pujya Swamiji. Thank you Swamiji!

Announcements:

Our next class is on February 14th.

Mahasivatatri celebrations at the ashram on February 21st.We have been talking about the glory of Lord Shiva in class and would like the children to attend the Pooja.

Thank you!

Pranams 

Nirmala and Purnima 

Jan 31, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents, 

We started the class with our beginning prayers followed by the vedic chants,

Om namaste astu..

Trayambakam yajamahe....

We then chanted verses 22,23 from chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita along with Pujya Swamiji. 

Some of the children led us to chant the previous verses from this chapter. They did a good job.

This week's our curriculum was based on 2 values viz,

1. Don't cover other's wealth,

Discussed the Ishavasya mantra,

Om Ishavasya idagum sarvam….  which states that the whole universe is pervaded by the lord and how we can and should become one with very aspect of the universe.

We then talked about why we seek to covet someone’s wealth.

The children came up with the bad qualities namely, desire, greed and jealousy which makes us commit these wrong actions. 

We then told 2 stories to reinforce these values, 

One was about a greedy fisherwoman who lost everything she had achieved gained due to greed.

The second one was the famous story of the little boy Satyakama, the disciple who went to Rishi Gautama for Brahma Vidya.

Satyakama followed his guru's instructions and finally became a great Brahmajnani imparting and spreading knowledge.

He also followed the teachings he learnt from his mother that the whole world is one great family.

Finally we concluded that seeing the world as one family is the key not to covet anyone's wealth 

Our second value was based  on a commandment from the Kathopanishad. 

"Arise Awake"….

These lines were made famous by Swami Vivekananda which goes, 

“Arise Awake and stop not till you reach your goal."

Discussed that by thinking independently and surrendering to the guru with faith we can achieve both short term and long term goals. Also discussed about both long term and short term goals in a student’s life.

The children watched last year's presentation of this value, based on 2 stories which were, 

King Bruce the Scottish king, who retrieved his lost kingdom by watching a spider who built a beautiful after repeatedly failing 6 times

The second story was the story of Shri Hanumanji who could cross the mighty ocean to find Sitaji, in Lanka, only because of his surrender and faith to Shri Rama.

Pranams 

Nirmala and Purnima 

Announcements 

Please look out for WA messages regarding our satsang with Swamiji 

Our next class is on February 7th

Jan 24, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents,

We started our class with the beginning prayers followed by 2 Vedic chants on Lord Shiva,

Om namo bhagavate astu…

Trayambakam yajamahe…

We also did a 5 minute meditation on Lord Shiva.

Chanted and learned verses 19, 20, 21 from Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita.

This week our curriculum was on learning about 2 important values;

1. Charity or Danam

Discussed, danam should be given with faith, modesty and empathy.

Discussed how charity can bring vanity in us and how we can avoid this by having love and compassion for the person or the organization.

Discussed to give we must acquire wealth first. Work hard  to accomplish our talents and capabilities and contribute to the society at large.

Discussed can be in the form of money and time.

Discussed why Annadanam is considered Para Danam.

Told two stories from the book to reinforce the value.

One story was about a saint who was very pious and humble. So the Gods decided to honor him . They wanted to give him the power to cure people. The saint refused to accept it as that was the Lord’s work. The saint wanted a boon whereby without his knowledge he could perform good deeds.  His reward was, that his pesence brought joy and wealth to the world.

2. Shraddha or Faith was the 2^nd value we discussed,

Defined faith as told by Sri Shankara as confidence in the words of the Guru and scriptures. Having faith in Guruvakyam and Shastra Vakyam and abiding by it is the key to success.

Discussed a quote by the Nobel Laureate Shri Rabindranath Tagore,

“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”

Told and discussed two great stories.

One was about the children who were part of a junior football team. The 12 children survived the 3 day ordeal having faith in the words of their coach. The coach inspired them to meditate and all the children were rescued.

The other story was about a small boy who helped his friends survive an 8.2 earthquake in Armenia. The little boy had faith that his father would rescue him. After more than 36 hours he and his friends were

rescued.

Discussed faith in the words of the guru and parents can lead us closer to the lord and succeed in life.

Finally, the children lead and performed Arathi at the temple. They did a great job.

Announcements:

Swamji will be visiting our class in February to answer the children’s questions. We would like for all the children to be present and get the blessings of Swamiji. We will confirm the date next week.

Our next BV class is on January 31^st.

Pranams!

Nirmala and Purnima

Jan 10, 2019 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents,

We started the class with the beginning prayers followed by the Vedic chant ‘Om Namaste Astu Bhagavan Visveshvaraya…’ on Lord Shiva.

Chanted verses 19,20,21 of Chapter 1, of the Bhagavad Gita with Purjya Swamiji.

We then moved on to our curriculum which was as below:

1. Ahimsa or non-injury, the greatest duty

Learned about why is ahimsa is paramo dharmah or our greatest dharma.

Learned and discussed about how and why we commit ahimsa with our body, mind and speech.

Ahimsa committed by mind can be,

To think of taking someone else’s wealth due to jealousy, greed etc..

To have ill feeling for someone

To not have faith in the law of karma

Ahimsa commited by speech are for eg.

Using bad language

To lie

To spread rumors about others etc…

Concluded that, one can live by ahimsa by leading an alert life, having compassion for all, and show and respect life.

Sowing the seed of ahimsa in us helps us to lead a peaceful life and spread joy in the world

Told stories,

Prince Siddhartha and King Sibi to reinforce what we learned.

The children had many questions regarding the medical profession. We answered as best as we could.

We will request Pujya Swamji to come to our class and help us answer more of the children’s questions.

Our next topic was showing respect and reverence to our parents, teachers and guests.

Talked about the commandments from the Taitriya Upanishad, Matradevo bhava, Pitrdevo bhava, Acharyadevo bhava, Aththidevo bhava. Honor thy mother, father, guru and guest as God.

Announcements:

Our next class is on January 24^th.

Pongal/Sankaranthi program at the ashram on January 25^th

Pranams

Nirmala and Purnima

Jan 3, 2020 - Grade 9 (Friday)

Hari Om! Parents, 

We started our class with the beginning prayers. Then chanted verses 17,18 of chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita with our Pujya Swamiji. 

We then went on to our curriculum, 

This week we discussed 2 commandments from our vedic scriptures.

The first was 'Satyam Vada'

On this subject we discussed India's national emblem paying attention to all it's aspects and focussing on the slogan Satyam Vada.

Concluded, that to be successful and happy in the world we need to abide by this commandment, Truth alone wins!

Told the story of Samrat Ashoka. 

Discussed about his transformation from a cruel king to a kind leader. Also how he led his people to follow in the path of satyam, tyaga and tapas.

Discussed the symbol of his kingdom which was a dharmachakra on 4 lions (representing the 4 directions and fearlessness) which has become the emblem of India. 

Discussed the story of Gandhiji and how he practiced satyam in his life.

Discussed why we make the mistake of not speaking the truth and hiding behind the mask of the wrong action. It was an interesting discussion with the children.

We then went on to our 2nd commandment, 

Dharmam chara, or do your duty.

Discussed,  why we should do our duties and who benefits by it.

Discussed, about our duties in various places like,

At school, at the ashram, towards mother nature, towards animal kingdom, towards environment and finally most important duties towards ourselves

It was an interesting discussion and the children came up with ways how to abide by dharma with regards to the above depending in which title you play in the world. For e.g. As a student, as a son or daughter, as a brother or sister or as a citizen etc. 

Concluded that follower of dharma is always protected by Dharma.

Our CHYK Neha Rajan conducted a quiz on the topic of Hindu culture. Class was divided into two groups for the quiz.

Our next class is on Friday, January 10th

Pranams

Nirmala and Purnima