Hari OM All,
We are pleased to welcome Vijay Narayan, our new teacher. Vijay joined our class this week and guided the group discussion on Karna vs Krishna (see below). We thank Nivedita ji for her tremendous support by teaching both the Fri and Sun PM class from the beginning of Bala Vihar this year. From the next class, Vijay will continue teaching Mahabharata for Grade 6 Sun PM Bala Vihar.
This week we started our class with prayers followed by Sri Maha Lakshmi Ashtakam. We have completed all the 8 verses and the Phala Shruti. We plan to record the class chanting of Sri MahaLakshmi Ashtakam in one of the classes in Dec and submit it for House Points.
We also reviewed the Diwali homework assigned to the class to compose a Poem on Diwali (min 4 lines, max 16 lines) and recite it in the class. All the students (except 2) shared their Poem in the class and recited it. It was so heartening to see their enthusiasm and talent in composing poetry. We hope this encourages them to pursue their passion in life.
This was followed by the continuation of Mahabharata - Virata Parva:
- With their disguises in place and a low key profile maintained, the Pandavas and their wife led quiet yet interesting lives. They got comfortable with their new responsibilities, showing great loyalty towards King Virāta. A few months in, a wrestler from a foreign land visited the Matsya kingdom, boasting to be the strongest and challenging the citizens of Matsya to a duel. While the King pondered and worried, Kanka (Yudhisthira) reminded him of the strong wrestler who was also the chief cook in his palace. Vallala (Bheema) was happy to be of service, crushing his opponent very quickly. This victory gave him an even better standing in the eyes of the King.
- On the other side of the palace, Sairendhri(Draupadi) was spotted in the garden by the Queen's brother and commander of the Virāta army, Keechaka. Completely smitten, Keechaka refused to listen to the pleas of the Queen or Draupadi's warning that her Gandharva husbands would bring him terrible harm. The Queen in her bid to help her brother, ended up having her flower girl run to the King's court for help. While pleading her case and asking for justice, she realized that even Kanka, who was present, did nothing to alleviate her pain. That night she went to Vallala, telling him to mete out the appropriate punishment to Keechaka. Luring Keechaka to the dance hall, Sairendhri hid while she watched Vallala take Keechaka by surprise, and kill him in one fell swoop. While Vallala returned to his apartments, Sairendhri called the guards and showed them the dead commander. Angry at her, Keechaka's brothers demand that Sairendhri should also be consumed in Keechaka's funeral pyre. With great skill and prowess, Vallala managed to retrieve the shackled Sairendhri, without revealing his identity.
- Meanwhile Radheya had a dream - Agni, dressed as a Brahmin, informed Radheya that he will be visited by Indra (dressed as a Brahmin) to trick him into donating his kavacha and kundalas. While explaining how those were his main protections and that parting with it would drastically reduce his lifespan, Agni asked him to think of his promise to Duryodhana that he would kill Arjuna in the war, and also to consider the plight of his wife Vrushali and his sons Vrushasena and Sushena. Radheya, being known for his generosity, stated that life had never been appealing to him. Even though he now lived a grand life, his beginnings started with abandonment and life thereafter was one disappointment after another. He stated that he will give the 'Brahmin' what he asks for, as that is the vow that he made.
- Indra makes the visit the next day, asked for the kavacha and kundalas, and Radheya tore them off his body. This earned him the name Karna (for scarring his ears while tearing off the kundalas). Indra blessed him with his Śakthi weapon, which would kill the person it was aimed at, but return to Indra after just one use. He also removed Karna's scars from having torn the kavacha and kundalas. With this one move, Indra removed the threat of Karna from his son Arjuna's life.
This was followed by a group discussion on Karna vs Krishna. We did a brief on the circumstances of their birth, their childhood, and how each suffered or benefitted from the situations around them. The discussion was on how each of them fared with what life dealt them. Karna, using self pity and the 'gross unfairness in his life', sided with Duryodhana, who stood for Adharma. But Krishna, who had also faced many problems since birth, always stood by Dharma. A brief video on this topic can be found at: https://youtu.be/Rxdi3Iaoq68. During this discussion we discussed the two paths of Shreyas vs Preyas. The path followed by Karna was of Preyas - pleasant but not righteous, whereas the path followed by Krishna was Shreyas - the path of virtue, courage and wisdom (included in our Chinmaya Pledge!).
This was followed by chanting verses 7-8 from Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 2. We will send the video of this to the Parents via WhatsApp. We concluded the class with Shanti Mantras and Pledge.
Reminder: Our next class is on Dec 06 (no class next Sunday because of Thanksgiving).
!!!!HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL !!!!
Pranaams!
Krishna, Nivedita and Vijay
