We then continued with the Mahabharata: Shantanu and Satyawati get married and have 2 sons, Chitrangada and Vichetraveerya. Shantanu eventually passes away and the young Chitrangada becomes the king, under the watchful eye of his older brother Bhishma. There is a Gandharva, also by the name of Chitrangada, who is not happy that there is a mortal with his name. The 2 Chitrangadas engage in a fight in which Satyawati's son Chitrangada is killed. Hastinapur is again without a king and with Vichetraveerya being a minor, Bhishma rules the kingdom on his behalf. Vichetraveerya is finally of marriageable age. Bhishma hears of a swayamwara to be conducted by the king of Kashi to marry off his 3 daughters, Amba, Ambika and Ambaalika. Bhishma engages in a fight with the other kings, including the king of Salva, and defeats them all. He brings the 3 daughters to Hastinapura. Vichhetraveerya is extremely happy with latest developments. Amba, the eldest, then speaks of her love for the king of Salva. Vichhetraveerya refuses to marry her. Bhishma and Satyawati agree with him and arrangements are made to escort her back to Salva. But this king refuses to accept her as she was rightfully won by Bhishma. Amba again implores Bhishma to marry her, but Bhishma refuses her because of his vow of celibacy. Rejected by all, angry Amba proceeds to the forest, and the sages there are very disturbed by her presence. They approach her grandfather Hotravahana who agrees to speak to his good friend Bhargava ( better known as Parashurama ). Bhargava is the Guru of Bhishma and therefore he is very sure that Bhishma will not disappoint him and will marry Amba, as it is the command of a teacher to his student. Bhishma of course again refuses Bhargava. This enrages Bhargava and he is ready to either curse Bhishma or engage in a duel with him. Bhishma agrees to the latter and after a fierce battle, agrees to withdraw as it is not right to ask the Guru to surrender first. This wins over Bhargava and he accepts Bhishma's decision. Amba is infuriated and she decides to do severe penance. Lord Shanmukha is happy with her and presents her with a garland, and tells her that whoever wears it will kill Bhishma. Amba offers it to all the kings, who refuse it as they are wary of Bhishma. She asks Drupada, the king of the Panchalas, to accept it, but he refuses it as well. In anger, she throws the garland in the court and proceeds to the forest to do penance once again. This time Shiva is happy and promises her that she will take revenge in her next birth. To fulfill the revenge, she lights a huge fire and jumps into it. She is reborn as Shikhandini, Drupada's daughter. One day, she wears the garland which enrages her father. She tells him that she was reborn to take revenge on Bhishma. Drona is her Guru and she eventually becomes a man. He is called Shikhandi and is instrumental in Bhishma's death later on.
Hari Om Parents,
We started the class with our regular bhajans. Then, we began with our second topic for this grade: Saints of India. We discussed who is a Guru/ Saint and the kids named a few Saints they know and are familiar with.
We started the class with our regular bhajans. Then, we began with our second topic for this grade: Saints of India. We discussed who is a Guru/ Saint and the kids named a few Saints they know and are familiar with.
We picked Swami Vivekananada as our first Saint to be studied, and showed a few slides about his life. Swami Vivekananda was born on January 12th, 1863 to an opulent family in Calcutta. He was named Narendranath Datta, and was extremely brilliant with a very rational mind. He began to question God and this led him to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Narendranath started to accept Ramakrishna as his guru and after his demise, took the vow of Sanyasa and became Swami Vivekananda. He travelled extensively in India and also went to Chicago to take part in the World Parliament of Religions, where he gave an impromptu speech which held the audience spellbound.
We also spoke in length about a few of his famous quotes, "Whatever you think ,that you will be", "Talk to yourself at least once a day. Otherwise you may miss a meeting with an excellent person in this world". We have asked the kids to look for other new facts about Swami Vivekananda, and will continue this discussion next class.
We also spoke in length about a few of his famous quotes, "Whatever you think ,that you will be", "Talk to yourself at least once a day. Otherwise you may miss a meeting with an excellent person in this world". We have asked the kids to look for other new facts about Swami Vivekananda, and will continue this discussion next class.
We then continued with the Mahabharata: Shantanu and Satyawati get married and have 2 sons, Chitrangada and Vichetraveerya. Shantanu eventually passes away and the young Chitrangada becomes the king, under the watchful eye of his older brother Bhishma. There is a Gandharva, also by the name of Chitrangada, who is not happy that there is a mortal with his name. The 2 Chitrangadas engage in a fight in which Satyawati's son Chitrangada is killed. Hastinapur is again without a king and with Vichetraveerya being a minor, Bhishma rules the kingdom on his behalf. Vichetraveerya is finally of marriageable age. Bhishma hears of a swayamwara to be conducted by the king of Kashi to marry off his 3 daughters, Amba, Ambika and Ambaalika. Bhishma engages in a fight with the other kings, including the king of Salva, and defeats them all. He brings the 3 daughters to Hastinapura. Vichhetraveerya is extremely happy with latest developments. Amba, the eldest, then speaks of her love for the king of Salva. Vichhetraveerya refuses to marry her. Bhishma and Satyawati agree with him and arrangements are made to escort her back to Salva. But this king refuses to accept her as she was rightfully won by Bhishma. Amba again implores Bhishma to marry her, but Bhishma refuses her because of his vow of celibacy. Rejected by all, angry Amba proceeds to the forest, and the sages there are very disturbed by her presence. They approach her grandfather Hotravahana who agrees to speak to his good friend Bhargava ( better known as Parashurama ). Bhargava is the Guru of Bhishma and therefore he is very sure that Bhishma will not disappoint him and will marry Amba, as it is the command of a teacher to his student. Bhishma of course again refuses Bhargava. This enrages Bhargava and he is ready to either curse Bhishma or engage in a duel with him. Bhishma agrees to the latter and after a fierce battle, agrees to withdraw as it is not right to ask the Guru to surrender first. This wins over Bhargava and he accepts Bhishma's decision. Amba is infuriated and she decides to do severe penance. Lord Shanmukha is happy with her and presents her with a garland, and tells her that whoever wears it will kill Bhishma. Amba offers it to all the kings, who refuse it as they are wary of Bhishma. She asks Drupada, the king of the Panchalas, to accept it, but he refuses it as well. In anger, she throws the garland in the court and proceeds to the forest to do penance once again. This time Shiva is happy and promises her that she will take revenge in her next birth. To fulfill the revenge, she lights a huge fire and jumps into it. She is reborn as Shikhandini, Drupada's daughter. One day, she wears the garland which enrages her father. She tells him that she was reborn to take revenge on Bhishma. Drona is her Guru and she eventually becomes a man. He is called Shikhandi and is instrumental in Bhishma's death later on.
We continued with Likita Japa with most kids writing in different Indian languages. It is a matter of pride to them and we encourage them to do so.
We started Geeta chanting with Chapter 2 verses 1 and 2. Please use the below link to practice during the week.
We again ask the kids to maintain a few etiquettes while attending our Balvihar class, and request the kids not to sit on beds or lie down while attending the class. We hope to see the kids in class again next Sunday ie. 11th October.
Regards,
Raji and Rekha
