Lakshmi and Nirmala's class

March 16th, 2014

Hari Om!

Today we started our class with controlled breathing and then our beginning prayers.
We then chanted the whole Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita as a class. Later some children came up front and chanted the same. Please register your children for the competition and our best wishes to them for the same.
After that we did the seva project for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. The children wrote a nice note and packed the lunch bags.We made around 225 bags.  Each child packed 4 lunch bags which consisted of mac and cheese, fruit cups, juice and a granola bar. The children wrote very encouraging notes.
Today we had 2 new friends in our class, which was very exciting. The children welcomed our new friends with a hearty welcome and Hari Om. The new children enjoyed the class.
Our next BV class is on April 6th. The bhagavad Gita prelims competition is on March 30th.

Pranams and Hari Om!

Class Review- 4 Grade Section B – 03/09/2014 - Sangeeta & Suma 's Class

Hari Om Readers! We started our class with breathing exercises and morning prayers. We completed learning Lingastakam.In the story time, continuing our 24 Guru's story we learnt about 4 more Guru's - Moon, Honey Gatherer, Pingala dancer and Osprey. Moon teaches to accept the change and not to be too happy or too sad. We listened to a funny story "This too shall Pass".We discussed about the value of time - "Now is the Time" and concluded that "now" is the only time to accomplish anything and we can't postpone our tasks. Honey Gatherer teaches us not to hoard and use things wisely. Pingala dancer teaches us not to have desire of wealth,material things and focus on God. Lastly we learnt about Osprey our 15th guru. Osprey teaches us "Hold on to be unhappy , give up and be happy". We heard several stories - Greedy Barber, Miser story, Tale of King Alexander, Story of Mirror and Rabbi, The Greatest treasure - Story of Chandu & Vivek. We practiced Geeta chanting 20 verses. We ended our session with Arti and pledge. On March 16th session, we are planning to do the seva project . See you all!

Lakshmi and Nirmala's class

March 9th, 2014


Hari OM,

We started with our breathing exercises. We added counts to our breathing today.
We then chanted our regular prayers, bhadram karne bhih. We also chanted trayambakam 3 times for one of the children whose grandfather is sick.
Today we started to learn a new prayer on Lord Shiva. It is called Siva Shadakhara Stotram. We learned 2 verses from the same. We learned it with the meaning and the 6 syllables Om Na mah Si va ya.
Then we revised our Bhagavad Gita for the competition. The children chanted by fours and then we chanted as a class. The children are chanting very well. Please make sure the children register for the competition.
We then went on to our book the 24 Preceptors. Today we learned values from the next 2 teachers. Our teachers for today were the pingala dancer and the honey gatherer. We did 5 stories teaching us great values like not hoard, sharing doing seva and the appreciation of the human birth.
It was a very good class. The children participated beautifully with a lot of their stories.
Next week is our seva project for TASK. We look forward to the children's participation.

Pranams!

March 2nd 2014

Lakshmi and Nirmala's class


Hari Om,

Today we started our breathing exercises and our beginning prayers.
We then chanted bhadram karne bhih and trayambakam yajamahe...
Later the children chanted the Bhagavad Gita, 14th chapter by threes. We learned the 20th verse today, and then chanted the whole chapter as a class. The registration for the Gita competition is open. Please register for the same online and also continue practice at home.
We then went on to our book 'The 24 preceptors'. We recapped the 2 teachers from the last class. They were pigeon and python. Today we did 6 teachers. They are the ocean, moth, deer, honey bee, elephant and fish. The ocean teaches us to be calm always whatever be the situation. We learned ways for us to be calm always. The children participated nicely.  The next 5 teachers teach us to control our 5 senses. We did a few stories teaching us great values. We talked  about the the sage Eknath from Maharashtra.
We are planning for our seva project on March 16th. Please make sure the children be present. It's going to be fun.

Pranams

Class Review- 4 Grade Section B – 02/23/2014 - Sangeeta & Suma 's Class

HARI OM READERS! We started our session with breathing exercise, chanting Om 3 times and morning prayers. After Gurustotram, as Siva ratri was approaching we learnt “Maha Mruthyunjaya Mantram”. Recited this mantra 13 times. We also learnt first 2 slokas of Lingastakam. Thank you to all parents for contributing 10$ for seva project - TASK to help disadvantaged people in our community. More updates to follow about the date on which we will make the lunch kits for needy. In the story time, continuing our 24 Guru's story we learnt about 3 more Guru's – Sun, Pigeon & Python. Sun teaches us to work our full capacity, earn the reward, save it and when the right time comes, give it back to society. We explored the meaning of Indian greeting “Namastae”. Next guru, Pigeon teaches us to not get overly attached to any worldly things and relations. We heard the story of Pigeon couple to lost control of their life as they were overly attached. Python teaches us to be satisfied and eat what comes to you according to our Prarabdha or destiny. We did brainstorming on how to take charge of our lives...Should we be satisfied with what we have? Is it good to be ambitious but not greedy! We practiced Geeta chanting 20 verses. Please encourage kids to enroll in Geeta chanting competition. See you all in our next Balavihar session on March 2 2014 . -Grade 4B teachers