Hari Om parents,
We started our class with 3 Om chantings followed by our regular set of shlokas.
We had a fun filled recap of the Mahabhartha story we have covered so far. We showed them pictures of various scenes and asked the kids to identify the characters and talk about the scene. Kudos to the kids - they could identify each and every picture!
We started our class with 3 Om chantings followed by our regular set of shlokas.
We had a fun filled recap of the Mahabhartha story we have covered so far. We showed them pictures of various scenes and asked the kids to identify the characters and talk about the scene. Kudos to the kids - they could identify each and every picture!
We then continued to Saints and spoke about Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He was born on February 18, 1836 in Kamarpukar, Bengal, with the name Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya. He was spiritual from an early age, and would go into a trance at the mention of God's name. He was a big devotee of Kali and was a mentor of Swami Vivekananda. He taught the world about his direct spiritual experiences, which showed him that absolute knowledge and bliss could be realized through all religions. These are a few of his quotes: 1. "Never get into your head that your faith alone is true and every other is false. Know for certain that God without form is Real and that God with form is also Real. Then hold fast to whichever faith appeals to you." 2. "Many are the names of God and infinite the forms that lead us to know him. In whatsoever name or form you desire to call him, in that very form and name you will see him." 3. "Men are like pillow-cases. The color of one may be red, that of another blue, and that of the third black, but all contain the same cotton within. So it is with man; one is beautiful, another is ugly, a third holy, and a fourth wicked; but the Divine Being dwells in them all." 4. "You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God." We spoke of our understanding on these of these profound quotes. It was very enlightening to see the kids come up with their explanations.
We then continued with the Mahabharata - The Pandavas and Kunti, along with the Rishis from Satasringa, reach Hastinapur. Dhirtarashtra, Bheeshma, Satyavati, Ambaalika, Ambika , Gandhari and Vidura go to the gates. They are informed by the Rishis of the unfortunate deaths of Pandu and Madri. They introduce the princes and return to the forest. Vyaasa encourages his mother, Satyavati, to proceed to the forest for her last stage of life. She also asks Ambika and Ambaalika to join her. Satyavati summons Bheeshma and asks him to continue looking after the family.
The Kauravas and Pandavas start their education under the watchful eye of Bheeshma. There is lot of jealousy amongst them and Duryodhana especially resents Bheema. His uncle Shakuni and he waste no opportunity to put him into trouble. On one instance, they feed naive Bheema a hearty meal which is mixed with poison. This puts him to sleep and they throw him into the Ganga. He is bitten by snakes under water and this works as an antidote. Bheema wakes up and he starts hurling the snakes around. They rush to their king Vasuki, who learns of Bheema and is overjoyed to meet this young son of Kunti. He is offered a bowl of medicinal potion. Each bowl will give him the strength of a thousand elephants. He eats 8 such bowls. This puts Bheema into sleep for eight days, after which he reunites with his mother and brothers. He informs them of Duryodhana's mischief. Duryodhana is surprised and shocked to see Bheema alive after all. Bheeshma then appoints Kripa to undertake the education of all the princes. Later on, Drona, the husband of Kripa's sister Kripi, becomes their teacher.
Meanwhile, Radheya, the first born of Kunti , impersonating himself as a brahmin, manages to learn all the astras from Bhargava. Before Radheya's departure, his guru understands that he is not a brahmin and curses him to forget the astras when he desperately needs it. The unfortunate Radheya is also cursed by another brahmin that the wheel of his chariot will get stuck when he is in combat with his foremost enemy, and will be attacked when he is the most unprepared.
Drona thinks that the time has come for his pupils to show their prowess to the citizens of the city. All the royal households are in attendance and it is a moment of pride for Kunti to see her children excel in all fields. Vidura is next to Dhirtarashtra, giving him a detailed commentary on the feats performed. There is a mace fight between Duryodhana and Bheema, which eventually has to be averted to prevent unpleasantness that day. Suddenly, a young man arrives at the gate. This is Radheya, in his Kavacha and Kundala. He matches all the feats performed by Arjuna and challenges him to a combat, not knowing that this is his own brother. Kunti, on seeing this young man, faints as she recognizes him as her first born. As the two get ready for a combat, Kripa encourages Radheya to introduce himself because Arjuna, being a prince, cannot fight with one who is inferior. This is humiliating to Radheya and he puts his head down in defeat. Duryodhana jumps to his rescue and crowns him as the king of Anga. This puts both Radheya and Arjuna of equal rank - this gesture puts Radheya in Duryodhana's debt and he never leaves his side, even knowing that Duryodhana does not always play fair. Bheema, after knowing Radheya is the son of a charioteer, rebukes him by saying that he is not fit to hold a bow and that he should take the whip, which will suit him better. Duryodhana defends his new friend and speaks very highly of him. His words are applauded by one and all. Finally, the day ends in fiasco, as all the attention is now on Radheya . Yudhishtra is a little anxious, realizing that the pact between Duryodhana and Radheya tilts the balance in Duryodhana's favor, as he clearly sees the greatness in Radheya's archery.
As the education of the princes ends, Drona demands his Guru Dakshina. He wants them to go to the kingdom of the Panchalas, defeat Drupada, and bring him alive. The reason for this is that Drupada and Drona were childhood friends. As adults, however, Drona was a poor brahmin and to satisfy his son Aswatthama, he approached his friend- Drupada refused to recognize him, as he did not think they were equals. The thirst for revenge is finally be accomplished, and Drupada is captured and brought to Drona. He takes half of Drupada's kingdom and returns the other half, claiming that they are equal now. Drupada now burns with humiliation and hatred for Drona. He performs a yajna - a penance to get a son who is powerful to kill Drona.
As days go by, Yudhishthira is crowned the Yuvaraja as he is the oldest. Yudhishthira becomes extremely popular with the masses and they want him to rule them. This news is reported by Duryodhana's spies and he approaches his father. Dhritarashtra conveys his helplessness. Duryodhana considers it to be his right to rule the kingdom, he being the king's son. Duryodhana decides to hatch a plan, but without the knowledge of Bheeshma as he thinks he is partial to the Pandavas - he hopes to finalize a plot with the help of his evil mentors. Dhritarashtra's jealousy for the unfortunate sons of his dead brother is just as great and violent as his son's. Duryodhana asks his father to send the Pandavas and their mother to Varnavata for a year. During this time, Duryodhana hopes to win the love of his people. Dhritarashtra sends for a man named Kanika, who is a friend of his wife's brother, Shakuni. This man is extremely crooked, suggesting that the only way to get rid of the Pandavas is to kill them. He then goes away.
We continued with Geeta chanting verses 5 and 6. We also recorded the kids chanting verses 1 and 2. This has been forwarded to cnjbalaviharhouses@gmail.com, which will go towards our house points. We encourage parents to send recordings as well to the above email.
Additionally, for next class and onwards, we will be having one student present information about a saint (it can be 5-10 min). We have attached a sign up sheet - it has the name of the saint and the day we will be discussing that saint, so please have the children sign up for one of the slots. The sign-up sheet is attached below, and please let us know if you have trouble accessing the file. We do not have next class, as it is Diwali. Happy Diwali to everyone, and see you on the 22nd!
Regards,
Raji and Rekha
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bcsaHfQLKB7nBhpFHCaXPi7P2kZiMIZQ-z1KeDGo7hg/edit?usp=sharing
