Hari Om,
We started our class with 3 Om chantings, followed by our regular shlokas.
In our previous blog, the name Siddhartha was auto corrected to Siddhata. Apologies for the mishap.
Here are a few more details on Surdasji, who was discussed last week. As mentioned in the blog, Surdasji was abandoned by a group of singers. He then stayed under a tree and started singing the Lord's praise. People passing by would give him food. Days passed by and the villagers started calling him Surdasji, the miracle boy, as he could tell people where to find their lost animal, when to travel, when to start a business etc. He continued with his singing and was very admired for his bhajans. One day, the blind Surdasji was resting on the edge of a well and fell in. He stayed there for a few days and kept on praying. Then, he felt the hand of a little boy, who called and asked him to come out by holding his hand. Surdasji did exactly as he was told, but when he came out of the well, he could not find the boy. Surdasji knew that the boy was none other than Krishna. He then wrote his experience in a bhajan.
Our presentation this week was on Auvaiyar, a Tamil poet. Auvaiyar's birth date and birthplace is unknown. Auvaiyar grew up to be an ardent devotee of Lord Ganesha, as well as a beautiful and intelligent woman. Naturally, a lot of marriage proposals followed. She figured her youth was the factor for this attraction, but she had no intention of getting married. Auvaiyar prayed intensely to Lord Ganesha to change her into an old lady and her prayers were answered. As a poet, she wrote all her texts in Tamil. Some texts she wrote were Vinayagar Agaval (72 lines), Aathi Chudi (109 lines), and Kondral Vendham (91 lines). Aathi Chudi is her most famous text. Each verse is one or two lines long, and each line corresponds to each alphabet in Tamil. The meanings of some of the verses are to "intend to do right things,""be virtuous," and more. A popular legend in Tamil is the story of when Auvaiyar was pondering her retirement from Tamil literary work, while resting under a Jamun tree. She believed she had achieved everything that is to be achieved. Lord Muruga, disguised as a young boy, then appeared and jousted with her wittily. He later revealed himself and made her realize that there was still a lot more to be done and learned. Following this awakening, Auvaiyar is believed to have undertaken a fresh set of literary works targeted at children. These works, even after a millennium, are often among the first works of literature that children are exposed to in Tamil Nadu schools. Her last public service was the prevention of the war between King Adiyaman and King Thondiaman, who were two Tamil kings.
We then had 3 JCHYKs come and teach the class. They continued with Festivals of India, namely Diwali, Vasant Panchami, and Makar Sankranti.
Diwali- it is also called Festival of Lights. In Sanskrit it is called Deepavali, with Deepa meaning light and vali meaning row. Diwali symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. In some regions of India, it is a celebration of the day Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana, after defeating Ravana in Lanka and spending 14 years in exile. Meanwhile in some other regions, Diwali is the day Lord Krishna defeated the evil demon King Narakasura. People often celebrate the festival by bursting fireworks and to welcome the Lord, people decorate their home with oil lamps and rangoli.
Vasanta Panchami- it is also called Saraswati Puja, in honor of the Goddess Saraswati. It is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. Vasanta Panchami also marks the start of preparation for Holika and Holi, which are forty days later. The festival is celebrated by people in the Indian subcontinent in various ways, depending on the region. The people wear yellow clothes, as the yellow color is a sign of auspiciousness and spirituality. It also represents the ripening of the spring crops - even the food is colored yellow by using saffron. As per the story, ordered by Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma created the world. When he looked at the world, it looked dull and lifeless, as there were no words, no language, and no sound. He sprinkled some water; from the trees a power - Goddess Saraswati - came with a veena in two hands. She played the veena, making the world full of life, and she gave the power of speech and intellect to all. The goddess is hence worshipped on this day.
Makara Sankranti- Sankranti means the entry of the sun from one zodiac sign to the other. On 14th January, the sun moves from to the zodiac sign Capricorn, Makara. It marks the beginning of the Sun's northward journey. The people wear colorful clothing and visiting family and friends. They also exchange pieces of sugarcane, a mixture of fried til, molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts, and fried gram. The significance of this exchange is that sweetness should prevail in all dealings. It is celebrated differently in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat. In Tamil Nadu, it is known as Pongal, the harvest festival. It is one of the major festivals and celebrated for 3 days.
We then had a small discussion wherein we character analyzed Karna and Kunti. Two students had previously picked these figures to research. In class today, we discussed the impacts of Karna's and Kunti's decisions, as well as what may have happened if they made different choices. We'll continue with a few more figures next class.
We do not have class next weekend, as it is Memorial Day Weekend. Enjoy your break and see you on June 6th, which will be our last class for this year!
Regards,
Rekha and Raji
