Jan 31, 2021 - Shishu Vihar (Sunday AM)

Hari Om Parents,

Below is a recap of what we did during Sunday's class.

 

We began another delightful Sunday morning of Shishu Vihar, with our cute kids' faces popping up on our screens. Once we had most of our friends join our session, we began our class with 3 OMs.

Shlokas:

     1. "Om Saha Navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)

     2. "Vakrathunda Mahakaya" (page 27 in My Prayers book)

  3. "Saraswathi Namasthubhyam" (page 12 in My Prayers book)

  4. "Karagre Vasate" (page 11 in My Prayers book)

5. "Samudhra Vasane" (page 11 in My Prayers book)

6. "Shubam Karoti" (page 12 in My Prayers book)

     

Activities:

1. Please have the kids make it a habit to chant the above shlokas every morning, after their bath/shower. This will help them learn, memorize as well as develop a lifelong habit of morning prayer and daily prayer.

2. We rolled right in to some Yoga stretches. We began with the Tree pose with some swaying, then went into a Tiger pose and had everyone roar like a Tiger or a Lion (we had to prompt them to be louder!). Then we sat on the floor and turned into little butterflies, fluttering in the breeze. We then went into the Flower Pose, the kids are slowly getting a hang of this relatively new pose.

3. Bhajan time - we introduced the class to a new Lord Muruga bhajan

   Subrahmanyam Subrahmanyam Shanmukhanatha Subrahmanyam
   Shiva Shiva Shiva Shiva Subrahmanyam
   Hara Hara Hara Hara Subrahmanyam
   Shiva Shiva Hara Hara Subrahmanyam
   Hara Hara Shiva Shiva Subrahmanyam
   Shiva Sharavana Subrahmanyam
   Guru Sharavana Bhava Subrahmanyam
   Shiva Shiva Hara Hara Subrahmanyam
   Hara Hara Shiva Shiva Subrahmanyam

4. We played the Concentration Game. After the chanting of 3 Om's kids tried to keep their eyes closed. They counted the number of stones being dropped into a box during the quiet time. Later they give the count of the stones dropped. The game quiets the mind and improves concentration. We muted everyone so that the kids wouldn't have any potential distractions from each other. Several students got the count correct! Impressive how most of the kids are able to keep their eyes closed and concentrate. (We did have some technical difficulties with the audio, but were able to restart and got through our meditation part if our class).

5. After some meditation and calming down, we repeated numbers 1-10 in Sanskrit. We showed images of the numbers in Sanskrit and in English on the screen as well as a a visual of circles with the corresponding number. We had the kids put up their fingers as we counted together.
   

6. Geetha Chanting, we practiced shlokas 1 and 2 from chapter 2 of the Geetha. We repeated them once. We repeated the 3rd shloka twice. It was such a wonderful feeling to see and hear several kids chanting the 1st and 2nd shlokas:)yay!!

7. Story Time.

8. Craft Time, we made our own kaavadis and vels, for Thaipoosam and to celebrate Lord Karthikeya. The kids were asked to cut a long rectangular sheet and to reinforce it a few times to make it a bit stiff and sturdy. Once the long sheet was ready, the kids were asked to decorate the top. A hole was put close to each end. The a roll of thick newspaper or a wrapping paper inner tube was used as the stick to create the base of the kaavadi. Some kids made the top portion of the kaavadi to look like the mountain Idumban was carrying. It was amazing to watch how the kids along with their parents/grandparents figured out different ways to make the kaavadi hold up. Once the kaavadi was completed, we made a Vel out of colored paper/cardboard. Thank you parents and grandparents for enthusiastically helping our Shishu kids participate in our weekly craft projects. Below are few of our class kaavadis and vels.
   
   
   

Kaavadi Story

We began our story with a discussion about the different directions. We talked about North and South. The kids were asked if they knew which way was North, a few of them pointed upwards. They then pointed downwards when asked about South. We then discussed that most cars have digital signs showing letters that represent the direction they are travelling in. A few said that they knew that, others agreed to check that out when they are in their car.

Character intros:

Sage Agasthiya - A puppet of Sage Agasthiya was shown on the screen. He was introduced as a well known Vedic poet and composer primarily in Tamil and Sanskrit. He makes his presence felt in both the Ramyana and Mahabharatha. He is considered one of the Saptha rishis.

Idumban - A puppet of Idumban was shown on the screen and introduced as a follower of Sage Agasthiya and a devoted bhaktha of Lord Muruga.

Once upon a time there was a sage by the name Agasthiya. He was a sincere devotee and accumulated a lot of special powers. One day, he thought to himself, I have been worshipping Lord Shiva for so long, but have never seen Him. So he decided to go all the way from south of India to the Himalaya Mountains to meet Lord Shiva. The kids were asked which direction Sage Agathiya was going in, and they all pointed upwards.

Sage Agasthiya wanted a souvenir (something that we bring back to remember the lovely memories) after meeting Lord Shiva. We then discussed the different kind of souvenirs that we may have brought back with us from trips/vacations we took before everything shut down! A puppet of several fridge magnets was shown on the screen. Many kids nodded saying that they have those! A souvenir shop with t-shirts, ceramics, bags etc. was shown on the screen. A few said that they have picked up some of those things on a vacation. Then a puppet of a lot of different shells was shown on the screen and we discussed that we might collect them on the beach. Then Rohini immediately told us that she had plans to go to the beach that afternoon and would share her shells with us during our next class (She's in FL...not here in NJ where we have a blanket of snow not sand lol). We also discussed that we usually take a ton of photos...unfortunately, they didn't have cameras back then! Now, Sage Agasthiya was thinking about what he could take back with him as a souvenir...hmm!?! He sees two big mountains – Shivagiri and Shaktigiri. He then thinks that they would be the best way to remember Shiva and Shakti, so he decides to bring these two hills down south. 

Sage Agasthiya now had to figure out who would be able to help him with that monumental task. Then he remembered his big and strong disciple IDUMBAN. Sage Agastya called on Idumban, and asked him to carefully bring the two mountains back with them to the South where both of them came from. It was going to be a long journey. Idumban was not allowed to put the mountains down. Sage Agasthiya knew that Idumban not only had the strength but also had the self-control and Bhakti to take on this task. Idumban bowed down to his Guru, tied the two mountains to 2 sides of a huge stick and started walking southwards. 

Idumban continued his journey down South. As he walked, he sang bhajans like "Subramanyam Subramanyam...", as he was a devoted bhaktha of Lord Muruga. Lord Muruga is not just brave – but he is very loving too. He loves playing games with his Bhaktas, like the way Karthikeya played with Avvaiyar. 

Finally, Idumban came to a place called Pazhani in Tamil Nadu. The kids were asked if they remember the story about the mango. They said, "yes". Then they were asked if they remember who won the fruit. A few of them said, "Ganesha". Well, after Lord Muruga lost the challenge, He was upset, threw a tantrum, went south and settled down on a hilltop. Pazhani is where He went to. In Tamil, "pazham" means fruit and "ni" means you. Avvaiyar sang, "Pazham ni appa...gnana phaham ni appa...".

Lord Muruga has 6 hilltop homes and each one of them has a temple there. Though Muruga has so many grand and big homes, he stands with just a stick and wears a small cloth around his waist here in Pazhani. A puppet of Pazhani Murugan was shown on the screen. He had no jewels, no fancy clothes and no luxury vehicles. He is an example of simplicity here. Now Idumban has come to Pazhani with the huge hills. Muruga loves to play games with his friends. Idumban's favorite God was Muruga, so Muruga wanted to play a game with him. Suddenly Idumban felt soooo tired and thirsty and hungry. Eventhough Idumban was strong and mentally prepared to complete the task, Lord Muruga made him put the hills down. Sage Agasthiya had told him not to keep them down till they reached their final destination. Muruga played a trick to test Idumban. Idumban searched for water and finally found a river, he drank lots of water and came back to pick the hills up. He kept trying and trying and but the hills became so heavy! He was not able to lift them. He felt so bad for keeping them down. Now he searched for help. In the distance, he saw a young boy holding a stick and wearing just a small cloth around his waist.The little boy was Muruga but Idumban didn't know that. Idumban requested Kumara to help him lift the hills. He told the boy that he was bringing them all the way from the Himalayas. The boy said that Idumban was lying and He said that the two hills belonged to the boy! Idumban was surprised and said that the boy was the one that was lying as Idumban had brought them from Himalayas. The verbal misunderstanding/argument slowly turned into a physical duel. They both started fighting and finally the tired Idumban lost to the young Muruga. Muruga now showed his true form and Idumban became very happy to finally meet his favorite God. Idumban carrying the mountains became the tradition of carrying kaavadis to please Lord Muruga to receive His Darshan. A puppet of a bhaktha carrying a kaavadi was shown on the screen.

Idumban asked Muruga for two things and Muruga hugged and blessed him. 

1. He wanted anyone who carries a Kaavadi (just like Idumban) and prays to Muruga in Pazhani, should be blessed. A puppet of the Pazhani mountain along with bhakthas carrying kaavadis was shown on the screen. 

2. Idumban then asked that he should stand as a statue midway waiting for everyone carrying their Kavadis for Muruga. Lord Karthikeya agreed that the bhakthas should offer Idumabn a coconut prior to coming up to get Lord Muruga's blessings. A puppet of Idumabn's statue was shown on the screen.

The kids were asked who Lord Muruga's Mom is. They said, "Parvathi". We briefly discussed that Goddess Parvathi presented Lord Muruga with His Vel and bhakthas carry kaavadis on Thaipoosam. It is also a celebration of victory of good over evil.

We concluded class with Om Purnamadha (page 15 in My Prayers book)

Pranaam,

Keerthi and Pramila