Hari Om Parents,
The sequence and summary of today's class are as follows
-Opening prayers and Om chanting
-Dashavatara sthotram
-Quick recap of previous lesson
-Today's lesson
Gajendra Moksha - Gajendra is a King of elephants, living in a beautiful forest on Mount Trikuta. One hot day, Gajendra and his family enter a lake to quench their thirst. Suddenly a powerful crocodile catches hold of Gajendra's foot. Despite trying very hard, Gajendra is unable to free himself from the crocodile nor is anyone able to help him. He struggles very hard for a long time and is exhausted and thinks he will die soon. That's when he turns his attention to the Lord Vishnu and prays earnestly. The Lord immediately mounts his Garuda and comes to the rescue of Gajendra. With his discus, he kills the crocodile and frees Gajendra from all his suffering. Gajendra offers the Lord a lotus and bows down to him with devotion.
The crocodile was actually a Gandharva in his previous life. He had tried to play tricks on Rishi Devala and hence was cursed to be born as a crocodile. Gajendra was King Indradyumna in his previous life and was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Due to a curse given by Sage Agastya, he was born as Gajendra.
We discussed how wrong actions bring bad results and right actions give good results, "As we sow, so shall we reap".
We concluded the chapter by talking about the significance of Lotus. It is a perfect symbol of perfection and purity, just like our mind and heart should be. It is also the National flower of India.
Origami - Making a Lotus. We watched a youtube video to make a lotus. If not completed in the class, they can watch it in the following link and try again.
It was then time to join the main zoom meeting to watch the play performed by the seventh graders.
We look forward to seeing the kids in the class next sunday!
Pranaam,
Vasudha & Neelima
