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)
7. "Krishnayan Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)
8. "Karacharana Krtam" (page 12 in My Prayers book)
9. "Sri Rama Rama Ramethi" (page 129 in My Prayers book)
10. "Budhir Bala" (page 159 in My Prayers book) - new
Activities:
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.
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. We added the snake pose by popular demand! The kids are becoming experts!
Bhajan time
We introduced a new Hanuman ji Bhajan
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 had everyone on mute so that the kids wouldn't have any potential distractions from each other. A few of our students got the count correct! Most of them were really close. Impressive how most of the kids are able to keep their eyes closed and concentrate. 5. After some meditation and calming down, we repeated numbers 1-10 in Sanskrit. We had the kids put up their fingers as we counted together. 6.Geetha Chanting, we practiced shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 from chapter 2 of the Geetha. We chanted them together. We introduced the 6th shloka. It was such a wonderful feeling to see and hear several kids chanting shlokas 1, 2, 3 and 4:)yay!! 7. Story Time. 8. Craft Time, the list of items required for our craft projects are sent prior to class. After the story, the kids are usually asked if they can guess what we are going to make. It is quite impressive when they figure it out! Like several kids did during this class!! The battle between Sugriva and Vali during our story apparently gave it away for this week's craft:) The kids were asked to crumple up newspaper and make it into a ball the size of the top round portion of the mace. Then the kids had the option to tightly roll newspaper to server as the stick portion of the gadha. Some had a stick. Then the two parts were put together using tape and rubber bands. Then the kids covered their gadhas with foil/wrapping paper. Thank you again to the adults for your enthusiastic participation. Below are a few of our class kids with their handcrafted gadhas.Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora
Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora
Vaayu Kumara Vanara Veera
Vaayu Kumara Vanara Veera
Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora
Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora
Vaayu Kumara Vanara Veera
Vaayu Kumara Vanara Veera
Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jai Jai Ram
Seeta Ram Jai Hanuman (4X)
Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora(softly and slowly)
Story of Jatayu to Lanka in 30 minutes:)
We began our story with a brief quiz like recap of our story from the past two classes. The kids did a great job answering questions. Ram and Sita were living in the forest and they were so happy. They used to play with all the animals and they used to love to be with each other and spend so much lovely time with each other. And then Ravana got very jealous and he wanted to be with Sita, so he came and he took Sita away. We had left off at the point where Sita was kidnapped by Ravana. Hanuman was growing up and had been cursed to forget about all of His powers till He would be reminded about them in the future.
Our setting is in Panchvati, where Rama and Lakshmana return to find Sita missing. Rama became so sad because he wanted His Sita back. He didn't know where Ravana was hiding her, so he had to look everywhere for her. He was walking in the forest and wondering, "where could my Sita be? I can't find her anywhere! Where did that horrible Ravana take her?"
As Ravana was carrying Sita away on the Pushpaka Vimana, the flying chariot, Jatayu hears the screams and crying of Sita. Jatayu was a good friend of Dadharatha. They kids were asked if they remember who Dasharatha was, many said, "Rama's dad"! Then Jatayu was introduced as Garuda's nephew. The kids were asked who Garuda was and a few responded saying, "Vishnu's car". Though Jatayu was old, he used his talons and all his might to put up a tremendous fight against Ravana. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Sita was terrified and was sobbing and was more concerned about Jatayu than herself as Ravana defeated Jatayu and took Sita away. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Rama and Lakshmana in search of SIta came to where the injured Jatayu was holding on to make sure that he passed on the message that he tried his best, but couldn't help Sita. But told them the direction they were headed in. The grateful Rama and Lakshmana fondly held on to Jatayu and were very thankful for his effort and message. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen.
The brothers with their bows and arrows in hand, headed towards the Rishimuka mountain. As the duo were headed in their direction, Sugriva, the banished brother of Vaali the vanara king, thought that the king was sending two warriors to harm him. So Sugriva sent his minister, Hanuman to go find out what kind of danger was approaching. Hanuman, with his power to change appearances, took the form of a Brahmin, came over to the duo and spoke eloquently with an in depth knowledge of Vedanta and surprised the brothers. Both of them exchanged their life stories. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Hanuman then revealed his true form and asked for Rama's blessings. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Then Hanuman lifted the brothers onto His shoulders and carried them up the mountain to meet Sugriva and his few followers. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. The kids were asked to show off their muscles and to pretend to lift Rama and Lakshmana, like Hanuman.
The trio reached the top of the Rishimuka mountain, where Sugriva and a few of his followers were hiding from Vaali. There, Rama requested Sugriva's help to find Sita. Sugriva in turn asked for Rama's help to take down his brother Vaali and if He did so, he would help Rama. A puppet of this scene of Sugriva and Rama shaking hands and making a pact with each other was shown on the screen. Rama and Lakshmana went to Kishkindha to fulfill their end of the deal. They had told Sugriva to wear a garland to tell him and Vaali apart, and to demand for a duel between the brothers. Rama hid behind a tree and took down Vaali. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Sugriva became the King of the vanaras and Vaali's son Angadha became the army general.
After fulfilling Rama's side of the deal, He now requested Sugriva to gather his army. All the vanaras asked Rama, "Why do you look so sad?" So Ram replied, "because Ravana took away my Sita! And he has hidden her and I can't find her anywhere and I really want my Sita back because I love her so much. It is very sad that she is not with me." And all the monkeys were looking at Rama's sad face and then they also wanted to make him smile again and not be so sad. The kids were asked to show us a sad face and then a happy one. They wanted to see who this Sita was that Rama loves so much. And so they all immediately said, "We will help you find her."
Rama looked at Hanuman and thought "I think Hanuman is the perfect person to be My messenger." So Rama took out his ring and said "Hanuman, when you find Sita she won't know that you are my friend. You are going to have to give her something and tell her it is from me. Only then will she trust you and believe that you are my friend. So give her this ring, okay?" And Hanumanji looked at the ring and he thought "I have got Rama's ring! I'm so lucky! Wow! Rama gave me his message to give to Sitaji. That is so important! I'm so lucky! Rama trusts me! WOW! I'm so lucky! I have to make sure I do a very, very good job." The vanara army was sent in all four directions. We discussed the different directions with the kids and asked them to point up, down, left and right for each one of them.
Hanuman was part of the search team that headed South. They had reached the Southern most tip of Bharath and still had no clue where Sita was. As they looked beyond the ocean lost in thought, a vulture named Sampathi overheard the vanaras discussing their task at hand. Sampathi was Jatayu's brother. Though he was really old, weak and hungry, his eyesight was as sharp as a knife. He was able to see across the ocean and was able to see a feeble, beautiful and petite woman crying and chanting, "Rama, Rama, Rama..." A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. The vast ocean was in between the two land masses. How would they cross over to find out? A bridge would take a very long time to construct! It's too far, we can't jump that far! It's too far, we can't swim that far! It's too far, how are we going to get to Sita mata?" Then, the Bear, Jambavan, looked at Hanuman and said, "Hanuman, You can do it. You have so much power! You can jump further than any other monkey! You can jump higher than any other monkey! Hanumanji, you are the one that will have to cross the ocean". A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen.
So, Hanumanji thought, "This is Rama's work, we have to do Rama's work, so I will have to cross the ocean". So Hanumanji grew bigger, and stronger, and taller, so much that he was almost touching the sky. The kids were told to stand up, then on tippy toes, then to stretch as high as the sky and pump up their muscles like Hanuman. And then he put his leg on the Mahendra mountain, to give him a kick start, and he said "Jai Shree Ram!" and took a big jump. Just as he jumped, he was flying through the air. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. The kids were asked to leap up and put their arms out like Hanuman...a few said that they couldn't fly:)
As Hanuman was airborne, suddenly, from inside the ocean, Mainaka mountain appeared to rise up. The mountain asked, "Hanuman, it's such a long way to go, would you like to rest?" Hanumanji said, "No, No, No, I'm doing Lord Rama's work, I can't rest. But after, I finish my work, I can rest." Before we finish our work, we don't rest, but after we finish our work, we rest. We have to keep doing Rama's work. Before? No, no, no. After? Yes, yes yes. So the mountain, said "Okay," and he went back into the ocean. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen.
Hanuman continued to fly, and suddenly a hungry rakshasi name Surasa appeared from the ocean. She asked, "Where are you going? You would make a perfect, yummy dinner, I'm going to eat you up!" Hanuman replied, "No, No, No, I'm doing Lord Rama's work, you can't eat me up, I have to finish His work." Surasa replied, "But I'm hungry now, so I'm going to eat you up." Hanuman said, "No, No, No, we have to keep doing Rama's work, I have to finish my work, but when I finish my work, then you can eat me". Then she asked, "Are you trying to trick me? You won't come back after you finish your work. You will run away." Hanuman said, "I promise I will come back, but it's more important that I finish my work. I can't stop and I can't get distracted. After I finish my work, I can come back." Surasa said, "I think you're tricking me." And just then, she opened up her mouth to eat Hanuman, (the kids were asked to stretch out their hands, palms facing each other, and on top of each other with a small gap, to show Surasa opening up her mouth) but Hanumanji grew bigger and bigger - bigger than the Surasa's mouth, so she thought, "But I can open my mouth even bigger!" And so she opened up even wider, and when Hanuman saw the Surasa's mouth get even bigger, he grew bigger than her mouth. Surasa thought, "Hanuman is a trickster," and opened its mouth even more wider and bigger. Hanumanji thought, "I have to get even more bigger than the snake's mouth." But each time the she opened up her mouth bigger, Hanuman had to grow bigger, and finally, Hanuman said, "Your mouth is so BIG, that a building can fit inside! So he made himself small, smaller and even smaller, as tiny as a mosquito! And he flew inside the Surasa's mouth and quickly flew out, because it takes a really really long time to close a mouth so big. And just as the she closed her mouth, she thought, "Hanuman escaped, he's such a trickster! He escaped just before I could close my mouth and eat him up!". But, Hanumanji said, "I went into your mouth, and you didn't eat me up, so now you have to let me go." Surasa replied, "OK, you were smarter and quicker than me, so you are free to go." The kids were asked to show us the size of a fly and to think about the size of a skyscraper as a comparison. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Smart Hanuman, jumped over the ocean and he got to Lanka, because he had to finish Rama's work.
As Hanuman laid foot on land in Lanka, it was night time and He immediately changed into a normal size monkey so that He would not look suspicious. The guardian gatekeeper Lankini was doing her rounds. She sensed that there was an intruder on her land. She immediately spotted Hanuman and questioned the purpose of His visit. He responded by saying that He wanted to explore the forests of Lanka. Lankini didn't believe Him and began to attack Him. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Hanuman did not want to use His full power on her, so He just softly tapped her, but that was enough to knock her over! The stunned Lankini, stood up, asked for forgiveness, as she immediately realized that this was no ordinary monkey and that Brahma's prophecy had come true. Hanuman forgave her, Lankini was freed of her curse and Hanuman was free to continue His mission. We paused our story here. The kids were glued to the screen the entire time!!!
We concluded class with Om Purnamadham.
Pranaam,
Keerthi and Pramila
