Hari Om Parents,
We started our regular class by chanting "OM" 3 times with eyes closed.
Shlokas:
"Om saha navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)
"Karagre vasate Lakshmi" (page 11 in My Prayers book)
"Samudra vasane devi" (page 11 in My Prayers book)
We chanted shlokas and tried to say correctly with proper pronunciation .
Bhajan:
We learned the third verse of " khate bhi rama kaho" (Page 145 in My Prayers book). Kids looked so adorable singing and doing actions! Practiced two verses with action.
Topic of the day:
This week we discussed how Lord Rama, Lakshmana, and Sage Vishwamitra journeyed to the Kingdom of Mithila, whcih was ruled by King Janaka, and the students learned about Sita Devi .
After crossing kingdom of Visala, they reached the outskirts of Mithila. They saw a forest with a very old Ashram, outgrown bushes and creepers, but nobody was there. Sage Vishwamitra explained that this was the ashram of Gautama Rishi and he once had a very beautiful wife named Ahalya. While the rishi was away (he was completing his evening Prayers), Lord Indra came to the rishi's house in a disguise and talked to the Rishi's wife, Ahalya. Seeing this, Gautama rishi was angry and cursed both Lord Indra and Ahalya, turning Ahalya into a rock. Thus, Ahalya began her penance within the rock because she felt a grave sense of regret. Meanwhile, Gautama Rishi went to the Himalayas, bur told her that she will only be released by the purifying touch of Sri Rama's feet.
So, Lord Rama stepped on the rock and Ahalya arose from tapas. When the two princes and Sage Vishwamitra entered the Ashram, all the flowers bloomed and the birds began to sing. Then, Lord Rama and Lakshmana touched the feet of Ahalya. At this time, Gautama Rishi also returned from the Himalayas to join his wife. Taking leave from Lord Rama, they proceeded to Mithila.
King Janaka was the ruler of the kingdom of Mithila. The king decided to perform a yagna, so, as per customs, he ploughed the soil. Duribg this time, he found a beautiful baby girl in a box. King Janaka accepted the girl as a gift from Mother Earth and took her home. She was even more beautiful than Goddess Earth and was named "Sita". Therefore, when Sita reached the age of marriage, her father was worried about finding a suitable prince. Long ago, the Rudra bow was presented to Janaka's ancestors by Varuna and it was eventually passed down to King Janaka. When Sita was a child, she had played with Rudra bow by pretending that it was a horse and riding on it. Seeing this, Janaka decided that whoever could lift, string, and break the bow would receive Sita's hand in marriage.
On the day of the challenge, the city of Mithila was decorated beautifully with the people dressed up in silks and celebrating the festivities. King Janaka, with his minister and priests, welcomed Sage Vishwamitra. The king bowed his head and conveyed his fortune that Sage Vishwamitra had come to grace the yagna in person. Then, King Janaka saw the two princes and asked who they were. Sage Vishwamitra introduced Lord Rama and Lakshmana as the sons of his old friend, King Dasharatha. Lastly, Sage Vishwamitra recounted the tales of Lord Rama and Lakshmana to King Janaka .
Geeta Chanting:
We did chanting of 3 - 4th verse from chapter 2 as a part of Geeta Chanting. We played a Geeta Chanting video that kids listen to and follow along.
Activities:
We did marble mediation. We sat with closed eyes, sat with a straight back, made a chin mudra and chanted Om three times and kids counted the marbles as I dropped it in a container.
We ended with Aarti and Pledge. We played the recording of Aarti and we all sang with it. Kids led the pledge .
Class Zoom Link:
See you all next Friday. Class starts promptly at 7:00 pm.
Regards,
Sangita Patankar & Uma Bhashetty
