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.

February 22, 2015

Hari Om!!

The 3-5 graders joined us today & the students from both the grades enjoyed their class today. We started off with the daily prayers. The second graders took turns and recited the caupais from 1 to 7. The students learnt caupai 8 to 10 today. Lord Hanuman always takes delight in listening to the glories of Lord Rama and has Ram,Sita & Lakshman reside in his heart permanently. Hanuman assumed the smallest form to reveal himself to Sita and assumed the fierce form to burn Lanka. Hanuman assumed a dreadful form to destroy the demons to accomplish the mission of Lord Rama.

The students learnt about the dashamukh Raavan - 10 headed man, and have promised to remove all the Raavan qualities such as jealousy, greed, cheating etc from themselves. The children listened to the story of how Hanuman burnt Lanka & the tale - 'To please my lord' which explains why married women wear sindoor on forehead and what Hanuman did when he heard that fact from Sita.

The 3-5 graders took turns to tell a story about Kaliyuga & the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu to the younger ones.

Homework:

1. Memorize caupai from 8 to 10.

2. In one simple sentence, write down the meaning of the caupais - 8 to 10.

3. Color the pages of caupai - 8 to 10.

4. If there is any incomplete homework from the previous classes, please complete them.

February 8,2015

Hari Om!!

We started the class as usual with the daily prayers. We had a new student join us today. Welcome Ishika. The students recited 1 - 3 caupai and we moved on to 4 to 7 where the poet Tulasidas praises Lord Hanuman as attractive and handsome, respected for valor and intelligence. Lord Hanuman has a thunderbolt in one hand and a flag of Lord Rama in another hand. Lord Hanuman learnt so many qualities from his parents.

The children learnt the story of Hanuman's flight where Hanuman came across 3 obstacles - Mainaka mountain, Surasa rakshasi and Simhika rakshasi while he was flying to Lanka to meet Sita. Hanumanji removed all those obstacles very easily with the help of his qualities like valor and intelligence. The students read another short story called - "A Better World" where they learnt that we should serve the fellow humans. They also learnt that Smile doesn't cost anything but brings joy to others who in turn smile back. The students enjoyed working on an activity sheet with details from Ramayana before the closing prayers.

Homework:

1. Interview your Parents:
With reference to today's lessons (Lord Hanuman learnt so many qualities from his parents), write down 5 qualities of your mother, 5 of your father and 5 of your qualities that you had absorbed from them with an indication from whom you had learnt that quality (Mom or Dad)

2. Memorize Caupai 4 to 7.

3. Write down the meaning of caupai 4 to 7 in one simple sentence each.

4. Color the pages from Caupai 4 to 7.

January 2015

Hari Om!

The Second Graders have been practicing the Hanuman Chalisa and we had rehearsals on Jan 11th and Jan 18th. And on the annual day, they performed very well and pleased the audience. Amit recited the first few caupais after a brief introduction, followed by Athreya, Karan, Ayushi and finally Vedant completed the last few with the doha.

Homework: 1.Memorize the first 3 caupai - from Jai Hanuman until Sumati ke Sangi.
                    2. Write down the meanings for the above 3 caupai (each in one sentence in your own words).
                    3. Please finish coloring the Hanuman Chalisa Coloring book until third Caupai.

December 14, 2014

Hari Om!!

We had a new student - Ayushi in our class today. CJCBV welcomes Ayushi and her family. 

The students recited the daily prayers and then listened to the story of Rosa Parks to learn more about being courageous, one of the main qualities of Hanuman. Akbar-Birbal story was a good example to learn about wisdom. The children enjoyed playing copy cat commands game where the children are encouraged to think before they act. We then moved to 2nd Caupai from Tulsidas's Hanuman Chalisa where Hanuman is described as the messenger of Lord Rama. Students learnt that being a messenger is not an easy task. A messenger needs to have the capabilities to deliver the message to right person, at the right time and not be a lazy person. Lord Hanuman had all these qualities in him. The children then had a chance to play the messenger game in the class. 

         The tale - A curse or a boon describes how Pumjisthala was reborn as Anjana and gave birth to Hanuman. When Lord Vishnu was taking an avatar as Rama (a नर:) to help the devas from the evil grip of Ravana, all the Gods took form of monkeys (वानर:). The students were surprised to learn that a syllable "Va" when added to 'Narah'( man) becomes "Vanarah" - monkey. The children had another activity to introduce themselves as " I am...(mother's name)'s Putra and (Father's name) Putra" - similar to how the poet describes  Lord Hanuman as AnjaniPutra and Pavanaputra. The students also promised to be a Nandana/Nandini to their parents. They know that they can do this only by using good words and carrying good manners all times.

        The students will be reciting the first 5 caupai's from their individual portions (Hanuman Chalisa) in the next class.  

Homework:

Please color the first two caupai's pictures from the Hanuman Chalisa's coloring book (until RamaDoota...Caupai).

December 7, 2014

Hari Om!!

      We started the class with the daily prayers. The 2 dohe and the first Caupai of Hanuman Chalisa were covered today. In order to make it easily understandable, the sanskrit verses were broken into single words and the english meanings of those words were taught to the students. The students also learnt about the importance of Guru immediately after the first doha (where the poet purifies himself with the dust of the lotus feet of Guru) and recited the Guru Shloka.

     The poet Tulisdas seeks Lord Hanuman to bless him with strength, wisdom & knowledge and to banish all his afflictions in the second doha. To understand why all the 3 qualities (strength, wisdom & knowledge) must stay together and why each of them do not serve any purpose without the other two was illustrated with an example of how much a computer could be of help to a person without the existence of internet or Google. We then moved on to learn the importance of wind God and how Lord Hanuman has acquired the quality of his father, the wind God, who is invisible yet powerful.

    The first caupai praises the Lord with beautiful words of the poet and leading to Lord Indra's story that summarizes how Hanuman as a baby got all the powers from the Gods. Lord Hanuman was also the minister of Sugriva and was a Lord without even being crowned. Because he was not ruling a piece of land, but was ruling the hearts of people. The students had an activity to list down all the bad qualities and the good qualities residing in their hearts and they promised to remove all the bad ones and retain the good qualities. Homework is an important tool for learning and all the students are encouraged to complete the homework assigned.Vedant recited almost all the verses of Hanuman Chalisa in the class today. Please see below for this week's homework.

  Homework : We shall carry forward the homework from the last class. The first 5 verses of  Hanuman Chalisa from the individual portion listed in the earlier blog. 

November 23, 2014

Hari Om!!

It was good to see the students' write up on the qualities of the Hanuman(last week's homework). We started the class with the daily prayers - Om Sahana Vavatu, Karagre Vasate, Saraswathi Namstubyam, Brahmarpanam, Shubam Karothi, Guru Shloka, Bhudir Balam, Kara Charana and Kaayena Vacha.

The students had an overview of Hanuman Chaalisa where the poet Tulsidas praises Lord Hanuman. The poet describes Hanuman uniquely in every verse like the messenger of Rama, the son of the wind God, the son of Anjani, the warrior of incomparable valor, the remover of wicked thoughts, the incarnation of Lord Shiva and so on.

The students learnt about Vakpatuthvam - the ability to talk effectively. They took turns to tell a story of their choice. And learnt how to rephrase the sentences better. To include nice words & avoid any negative words that would hurt others while talking. The stories of Socrates was related to the same topic. And the story of Hanuman showing Rama & Sita in his chest proved Hanuman as the greatest devotee of Lord Rama. The students also listened to the story -  'Man's Greatness Lies in His Efforts' to understand how hardwork pays back and the parrot story - 'You become the company you keep' that teaches the children to always stay in good association and use your individual mind while taking decisions or implementing actions and avoid bad influences.

The students also learnt to write Hanuman in Sanskrit before reciting their closing prayer.

We will be on thanksgiving break and will meet again in December.

Homework: To prepare for the annual day celebrations, please memorize the first 5 verses of YOUR INDIVIDUAL PORTION of Hanuman Chalisa. Refer to last week's blog to know your individual portion. Students are expected to recite them when they come to the class in December.

November 16, 2014

Hari Om!!

We had a new student - Karan join us today. We welcome Karan & his family at JCBV.
The class started off with the students reciting all the daily prayers. The students learnt the importance of having a healthy body, free from all diseases & the advantages of being alert. They enjoyed listening to the story of Lazy Misty where Misty realizes her mistakes of being Lazy & the story of King Leo where the Lion King realizes how important it is to stay alert & also being helpful to others.

Prelude to Hanuman Chalisa, we read the tale of the Ox who won the bet. The students learnt that Pure Speech reflects Pure Mind & therefore, our speech must always be sweet & pure.

Homework:

In your own words, please write one or two sentences of what you think about each of the qualities of Hanuman & how you will follow them in your daily life.
Qualities of Hanuman - Intelligence, Strength (Physical & Mental), Fame, Courage, Fearlessness, Staying Physically & mentally healthy and Alertness.

Annual Day Preparations:

As you all know, we will be celebrating our Annual day sometime during the last week of January.
Our second graders will be reciting the Hanuman Chalisa - Dohas.

Amit - Doha 1 to 10
Athreya - 11 to 20
Karan - 21 to 30
Vedant - 31 to 40

November 9, 2014

Hari Om Parents!!

The first & second grade classes were combined today and the students narrated Ramayana taking turns post our daily prayers. Next, the students learnt about the qualities of Hanuman like being courageous and avoiding fear. The transformation of Ratnakara & The foolish/timid rabbit stories emphasized on the same qualities.

The students will learn about Arogata, Ajadyam & Vakpatutvam in our next class, with which the first section of this year's curriculum comes to an end. We will then move on to Hanuman Chalisa.

November 3rd Jersey City Balavihar Class Journal

Teachers: Vani Aunty; Anisha Aunty

Hari OM All,

Below is the class review until now for Hanuman section (2nd and 3rd graders). It is important reminder for parents that children should carry Balavihar Folders and their My Prayers books to each class. The teachers mark up the prayers that they have to learn and practice at home. Parental co-operation is much appreciated.

Who is Lord Hanuman?

Hanuman is son of King Kesari (king of monkeys) and Princess Anjani and incarnate of Lord Shiva.

Why was Lord Hanuman born?

The rakshasas were wrecking havoc on earth. The Rakhsasa king Ravana had obtained boon from Lord Shiva that he may not be killed by any other rakhshsa, deva or any other divine being. The only exceptions to this boon were human beings, monkeys and bears. The Devas (and King Indra who is the king of devas) approached Lord Vishnu to seek his help. Lord Vishnu decided to be born as Rama , son of Dasratha.

Lord Shiva, upon hearing this decides to be born as Hanuman, to serve and assit Lord Vishnu in his Rama Avatara (meaning to Avatara to be explained as incarnate, another form of, taking birth as….)

What is the story behind Lord Hanuman's birth?

Indra is threatened by a rishi performing penance. He sends a courtesan/dancer named Punji-Kasthala from his court to distract the rishi. PK succeeds but gets cursed by the rishi that she will be born as a monkey. She begs for forgiveness so curse gets changed. She will be born as monkey but can assume human form. She gets born as princess Anjani.

Princess Anjani gets married to King Kesari. She prays to Lord Shiva daily. One day wind God Pawan appears to her and informs her that she will give birth to a son and he will be a great man with many qualities. That son is Lord Hanuman.

What are the qualities of Lord Hanuman?

Children drew pictures of what qualities they remembered of Lord Hanuman. Some observations made by the children:

He has a Gada (given by indra- watch movie to know complete story)

He lifted a mountain

His tail can become really long and was on fire. (one of his boons from the fire god is that fire will never harm him)

He can become really big and really small

Why are we studying Lord Hanuman?

He was the ideal son, ideal friend, ideal devotee, and could accomplish any task that was given to him, but he was never arrogant and always remained humble. We want to know more about how and why he became that way so that we can be more like him (not monkey faced!) but by absorbing his qualities inside and becoming perfect!

Activities so far:

Children need to know the names of all persons in the narration above and how they link together. FLOWCHART/FAMILY TREE of how these persons link together.

Hanuman Mask

Hanuman Qualities Spine

Shlokas known so far (some need practice):

Om Sahanavavatu (Prayer for Peace)

Vakratunda Mahakaya (Invocation of Lord Ganesha)

Saraswati Namastubhyam (Invocation of Goddess Sarawati)

Buddhir Balam (Enunciation of Qualities of Lord Hanuman)

Class Review for 2nd and 3rd Grade: Lord Hanuman

Teachers: Vani Aunty & Anisha Aunty


Hari OM All,

Below is the class review until now for Hanuman section (2nd and 3rd graders). It is important reminder for parents that children should carry Balavihar Folders and their My Prayers books to each class. The teachers mark up the prayers that they have to learn and practice at home. Parental co-operation is much appreciated.

Who is Lord Hanuman?

Hanuman is son of King Kesari (king of monkeys) and Princess Anjani and incarnate of Lord Shiva.

Why was Lord Hanuman born?

The rakshasas were wrecking havoc on earth. The Rakhsasa king Ravana had obtained boon from Lord Shiva that he may not be killed by any other rakhshsa, deva or any other divine being. The only exceptions to this boon were human beings, monkeys and bears. The Devas (and King Indra who is the king of devas) approached Lord Vishnu to seek his help. Lord Vishnu decided to be born as Rama , son of Dasratha.

Lord Shiva, upon hearing this decides to be born as Hanuman, to serve and assit Lord Vishnu in his Rama Avatara (meaning to Avatara to be explained as incarnate, another form of, taking birth as….)

What is the story behind Lord Hanuman's birth?

Indra is threatened by a rishi performing penance. He sends a courtesan/dancer named Punji-Kasthala from his court to distract the rishi. PK succeeds but gets cursed by the rishi that she will be born as a monkey. She begs for forgiveness so curse gets changed. She will be born as monkey but can assume human form. She gets born as princess Anjani.

Princess Anjani gets married to King Kesari. She prays to Lord Shiva daily. One day wind God Pawan appears to her and informs her that she will give birth to a son and he will be a great man with many qualities. That son is Lord Hanuman.

What are the qualities of Lord Hanuman? 

Children drew pictures of what qualities they remembered of Lord Hanuman. Some observations made by the children:

He has a Gada (given by indra- watch movie to know complete story)

He lifted a mountain

His tail can become really long and was on fire. (one of his boons from the fire god is that fire will never harm him)

He can become really big and really small

Why are we studying Lord Hanuman?

He was the ideal son, ideal friend, ideal devotee, and could accomplish any task that was given to him, but he was never arrogant and always remained humble. We want to know more about how and why he became that way so that we can be more like him (not monkey faced!) but by absorbing his qualities inside and becoming perfect!

Activities so far:
Children need to know the names of all persons in the narration above and how they link together. FLOWCHART/FAMILY TREE of how these persons link together. 

Hanuman Mask

Hanuman Qualities Spine

Shlokas known so far (some need practice):

Om Sahanavavatu (Prayer for Peace)

Vakratunda Mahakaya (Invocation of Lord Ganesha)

Saraswati Namastubhyam (Invocation of Goddess Sarawati)

Buddhir Balam (Enunciation of Qualities of Lord Hanuman)

Oct 6th, 2013 Jersey City Balavihar Class Journal

We started the class with Lord Ganesha's prayer Vakratunda ( pg 37 my prayers book) and Godess Saraswathi's prayer Saraswathi namastubhyam ( pg 15 my prayers book). Following this we introduced ourselves as I was new to kids.
We revised the story behind Hanuman's birth. Who is Hanuman? Why was he born? What are the qualities of Hanuman and why are we studying Hanuman? After revision we continued Hanuman's story with his childhood anecdotes like the one where he tries to grabs the sun thinking it is a red fruit.We also learnt how Maruti got the name Hanuman and how he got various boons from the Devatas.I was impressed that the children knew most of the things and how they related some aspects of the story to their everyday life. For craft the kids colored a picture of Hanuman flying to get the Sanjeevani mountain.The kids also tried to draw Hanuman's family tree.We had some funny moments when the kids tried to discuss about their family tree.We ended the class with Dhyaana shloka Om Sahanvavatu (pg 9 my prayers book).