Hari Om Parents,
The sequence and summary of today's class are as follows:
-Opening prayers and Om chanting
-Dashavatara sthotram - We completed learning the Dasavatara sthotram today.
-Today's lesson
Story of Sage Rishabha.
Rishabha was a descendant of Priyavrata. He was a noble king, kind hearted and lovable. He was a Jivanmuktah, a person who saw God in everyone and was free to do anything, but always chose the right thing to do. He taught his sons not only how to be good kings, but also to be good and truthful human beings. He taught that having taken birth as humans, it's their duty to worship God, do tapas and be kind to others and not just enjoy the worldly pleasures. After teaching them the right way to live, he gave his kingdom to his son, Bharata and went to do tapas. After doing intense tapas, he became one with the Lord.
As part of the lesson, we discussed how we can learn to do the right thing all the time. We watched a short video about a King, who had three questions - What is the right thing to do ? When is it the right time? and Who is the most important person?
He learns that the right thing to do is the work that is in front of you, the right time is "now" and the most important person is the person you are with at the moment.
We talked about the value of discipline and training in a person's life. Leo Tolstoy gave an example of a piece of metal the value of which increases with the shape it takes. Just like a piece of metal that undergoes heat treatment in a furnace softens and can be molded into different shapes, which increase it's value, a person with discipline and training can increase his own value. It can be difficult in the beginning, but one can be successful with discipline and not giving up because of a failure.
Discussion about the presentation - We discussed the 3rd grade presentation with the kids and did some practice. We will reach out to you in the next few days regarding further practice and recordings.
Wordwall game - Kids played a wordwall game based on nine forms of devotion.
Arthi and Pledge
Our next Balavihar session is on April 11th. Have a great spring break!
Pranaam,
Vasudha & Neelima
