Hari Om Parents,
The sequence and summary of today's class are as follows:
-Opening prayers and Om chanting
-Gurusthotram practice
-Recap of previous class.
-Story - Rishi Chyavana
King Saryati has a daughter called Sukanya. One day Sukanya along with her friends is playing near Rishi Chyavana's ashrama. She sees two streaks of light coming from an anthill. Out of playful curiosity, she pricks the two shiny spots. Blood starts oozing from them. She realizes that she did something terrible and tells her father all about it. The Kind finds out that it was Rishi CHyavana inside the anthill, whose eyes were poked by Sukanya. As a compensation for the wrong act, the King gives Sukanya in marriage to the old, blind Rishi. Sukanya serves the Rishi with utmost obedience without ever grumbling. Ashwini Kumars, the celestial physicians offer to give youth and strength in return for their share of sacrificial offerings that were always denied to them. With their blessing, Chyavana becomes a healthy young man.
We talked about the rewards of truthfulness. Sukanya committed a wrong act, but innocently. She was afraid, but told her father the truth. She accepted the consequences whole heartedly. King Saryati, although loved his daughter very much, he punished her for the wrong act. But in the end everything turned out to be good and everyone was happy. It is important to always be truthful and choose the right actions.
Story - King Ambarisha
King Ambarisha is a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. His devotion is so great that the Lord gave his Sudarshan chakra to him for protection. Once Ambarisha undertakes the Dvadasa vrata with strict discipline for a year and fasting for three days at the end. Just as he is about to break his fast, Sage Durvasa visits him. Durvasa tells the King that he will go to the river and complete his daily rituals, and after he returns the king may break his fast. The Sage goes and gets immersed in meditation. Meanwhile Ambarisha is anxious that the auspicious time to break his fast is fast approaching, and the Sage has not yet returned. On the advice of elders he breaks his fast with a sip of water. Just then Sage Durvasa returns and he is furious that the King broke his fast before he returned. He creates a demon with a tuft of his hair, to kill Ambarisha. Just then the Sudarshana chakra comes from its place, destroys the demon and starts chasing the Sage. Durvasa panics and runs to Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva for protection. But they tell him that they cannot protect a person who offended a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Even Lord Vishnu tells him that he cannot withdraw the chakra and advises him to go to Ambarisha and ask for forgiveness. Ambarisha forgives him and the Chakra goes back to its place.
We discussed how God is always there to help and protect his devotees. One can be a great devotee by directing all his senses towards the Lord and using the senses wisely.
We then watched a video about Ambarisha's story.
Likhita japa
Word search activity on Wordwall
Aarthi and Pledge
We look forward to seeing the kids next Sunday!
Pranaam,
Vasudha & Neelima
