May 3, 2015

Hari Om!!

As decided earlier, today's class was dedicated towards fun activities. The students recited Hanuman Chalisa individually - as many caupais as they had memorized. We then read a tale that emphasized hard work. The students were given two word search activities. The first one had all the words describing the qualities that made Rama dear to Hanumanji. The second one had all the adhih & vyadhih words that a person should avoid from his body & mind. And then we moved on to the activity of making Ganesha's mask.

With paper plates, Ganesha's face & ears were first made. Then a trunk & two tusks and a crown were all made & attached to complete the mask. The students then decorated the mask before reciting the closing prayers.

Homework:

Please complete writing the meaning of the caupais - until 40th.

April 26, 2015

Hari Om!!

The students learnt more about Lord Hanuman in the words of the poet Tulsidas. Sita bestowed Hanuman 8 supernatural powers & 9 kinds of wealth. The elixir of devotion to Lord Rama is with Hanuman, who always at the feet of Lord Rama as His servant. Singing Lord Hanuman's praise makes Lord Rama bless and relives one of all miseries of previous births. At the end of one's life when one goes to the abode of Rama, such a person will live as a devotee of Rama. Even though, a devotee does not think of any other deity but Sri Hanuman, he will surely enjoy all happiness. All miseries and torments vanish when one remembers the brave Sri Hanuman. Lord Hanuman has control over His senses.One who recites Hanuman Chalisa one hundred times is released from the bondage and enjoys absolute bliss.
One who reads the Hanuman Chalisa regularly will attain perfection to which Lord Shiva is the witness. Tulisidas himself was a servant of the Lord Hari. Hari means of who removes all sufferings. He says - "O Lord, please camp in my heart and reside there always". The son of Wind God & the destroyer of all miseries, Lord Hanuman is a symbol of auspiciousness.  The students were able to understand that we stay so peaceful when we think only about good things & when we act like a Haribhaktha with the help of a tale - The magic carpet. With this, we complete the Hanuman Chalisa.


The students enjoyed so much making thorans - paper made leaves hanged in a string,every paper leaf representing a caupai from Hanuman Chalisa .And each paper leaf  carrying an apt word that describes each caupai. We then had a simple fun quiz for the students on Hanuman Chalisa.

Homework:

Please complete writing in a simple sentence, the meaning of the caupais (until 40th) by May 3rd.

April 19,2015

Hari Om!!

Lord Hanuman's power is so great that no one can control it except himself. Evil spirit dare not go near a person on hearing the name of the great warrior being repeated.  All ailments, diseases and affliction vanish when Lord Hanuman's name is repeated continuously. Lord Hanuman helps those who worship Him with faith and sincerity. Hanuman carried all missions of Lord Rama, who is supreme yogi ruling over everyone. He blesses everyone who seeks His grace and giant in large measure all that one wants and also grant one the full fruit of life. His glory radiates through all the four yugas and His fame shines everywhere in the universe. He is the protector of the righteous and destroyer of the wicked.

The students learnt about having faith in God and having trust in parents. They enjoyed listening to stories - Have faith and Heal Yourself, God dwells in all beings, God is Everywhere, It is Lord's wish, Take vows for greater gains, You get what you want, Man - The glory of Creation and The nature of Saints.

March 22, 2015

Hari Om!!

The most difficult tasks can be accomplished by the grace of Lord Hanuman. Out of the 3 categories of people, the third category who encounter all the obstacles and complete the projects are the ones whom Hanuman blesses. Dave's (the 9th grader) story and story of the man with a bullock cart were good examples for the children to understand this. Lord Hanuman stands always in front of Lord Rama's palace and inspires others to love Rama. All those who seek refuge in Hanuman enjoy every kind of happiness. The story of Malidasa, a young boy in Bihar and the tale of Grandma and the cake were not just enjoyable for the children to listen to, but were very easy to learn that a pure heart alone is enough to reach God.

Homework:

1. Memorize caupais - 20th to 22nd while coloring the pages pertaining to these caupais.
2. In a sentence, write down the meaning of the caupais for 20th, 21st and 22nd.
3. Complete the homework from the previous classes, if any.

March 15, 2015

Hari Om!!

                 We had the 3-6 graders join us today & we started the class with our daily prayers. Then, we moved on Caupai 17.  Vibishana, the brother of Ravana was a devotee of Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman went to meet Sita Mathaa in Lanka & thats where he met Vibishana & found out that he was a great devotee of Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman advised Vibishana to surrender himself to Lord Rama & assured him that Lord Rama will accept him. Lord Hanuman, tried to catch the sun assuming it to be a fruit. Even as a baby, he was fearless. Lord Hanuman flew over & crossed the ocean with Lord Rama's ring in his mouth. Be it chanting Lord Rama's name or thinking about Him, will help us succeed in everything in life. The story how Birbal was appointed at King Akbar's court well explained about being fearless.


               As a class activity, we again had 2 teams lead by Varun & Rahul (3-6 graders) who had a few 2nd graders in each of their teams. The teams enacted one scene from Ramayana where Lord Hanuman had an important role to play (under chapters covered today). Varun & his team enacted the scene where Hanuman flies to Lanka to meet Sita and notices Vibishana in a decorated house, chanting Lord Rama's name. Varun being the narrator, Karan acted as Hanuman, Vedant as Vibishana & Ayushi as Sita.


             The other team led by Rahul enacted the scene where Hanuman helps Rama to build a bridge to cross the ocean. Rama threw a stone on the water and it sank. Understanding the depth of the water, Rama instructed his team to build the bridge. Hanuman wrote Rama's name on a rock & dropped it in the water & the rock floated. Rahul being the narrator, Amit acted as Hanuman & Athreya as Rama. Both the teams exhibited good team work. We all wished Rahul as he turns 11 now before dispersing.

Homework:

1. Memorize caupai 17 to 19 while coloring the pages pertaining to respective caupais.

2. In a sentence, write down the meaning of the caupai from 17 to 19.


Pic from the previous class activity :

March 8, 2015

Hari Om!!

         We had 3-6 graders join us today. And we had a new student - Kaya join us as well. The students recited the daily prayers. Then we moved on to Hanuman Chalisa. The poet Tulsidas says that the great sages like Sanaka, and the Gods like Brahma, seshanaha, Narada, Yama, Kubera and the eight regents, all the poets and scholars on earth have not been able to praise Lord Hanuman adequately. There is no limit to Hanumanji's glory. It was Lord Hanuman who encouraged Sugriva to not assume things and understand it better by looking at things with the right attitude. Sugriva assumed Lord Rama and Lakshmana to be Bali's men but it was Lord Hanuman who made Sugriva meet Lord Rama.

             The students learnt that hardwork is the reason for all success, listening to the tales with those morals. As a class activity, the senior kids took leads and formed two teams. They spent a few minutes with their team and came up with their own story with a good moral. Both the teams did a good team work. They narrated the stories to the other team and shared their good thoughts.

            The second graders recited the Hanuman Chalisa that they had learnt so far to their senior friends.

Homework:

1. Memorize Hanuman Chalisa from 14-16 while coloring the pictures pertaining to those caupais.

2. In a simple sentence, in your own words, write down the meaning of the caupais - 14-16.

March 1, 2015

Hari Om!!

               The students learnt the next three caupais this week. Lakshmana fainted on the battlefield when he fought against Indrajeet. And the only medicine that could revive him was the Sanjeevani herb. Lord Hanuman flew to the Himalayas & brought back the mountain to Lanka as he dint want to waste time finding the sanjeevani herb. Lord Rama could not express his love & gratitude and gave himself in return to Lord Hanuman.


              We all think of Lord Rama but its believed that Lord Rama always thought of his dear brother Bharatha. Lord Rama treated Lord Hanuman like how he treated his own brother Bharatha. When someone does something special for you, you end up loving him or her just as you love your sibling.Seshanaga, the 1000 headed serpant sings the glories of Lord Hanuman & even 1000 mouths are not enough to praise Lord Hanuman.

   
             As a class activity, the students wrote letters emphasizing on "gratitude". We then moved on to read about a tale - "Find a fault,Please", where the students learnt that finding a fault is very easy and praising someone is an art. As an another activity, the students tried to find one fault & say something nice that they felt about the other students in the class.


Homework:

1. Memorize the Caupais while you color the respective caupai pages from 11 to 13.

2. In one simple sentence, write down the meaning of caupais - 11 to 13.

3.Activity : Do something nice for a classmate ( BV classmate) that a sibling would do.