January 27th Class

Beginning Prayers:

• 'om' chanting - 3 times
• meditation
• shuklaambaradharam, saraswati namastubhyam, gururbrahma

gitaa chanting:

• 13th adhyaaya 1- 11 shlokas

hanumaan shlokas/bhajans:

• buddhirbalam
• hanumaan chaalIsa 1- 18 chaupas

Brain Storming:

• why is hanumaan the lifesaver of lakShmaNa
•  why raama loved hanumaan like a brother
• how does one become glorious
• why is raama indebted to hanumaan

Story time:

• lakShmaNa's revival - sanjeevinI mountain
• hanumaan is like bharata to raama 
• Finding faults is easier than praising others :(
• 1000 mouths of aadishesha not enough to sing hanumaan's praises
• Man's greatness lies in his efforts

Activity:

• Ready, set, go - Game
• Practice praising - Saying one nice thing to the person sitting closest!
• PS check

Ending Prayers:

• sarvebhavantu sukhinaH
• pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam
• aarati and pledge

Comments:

Rashmi Aunty and Prajna didi:

The gItaa chanting and hanumaan chaalIsa are coming along nicely.  For those of you interested in extra help with the gItaa chanting, there are gItaa chanting classes happening at the ashram on Thursdays between 8 pm and 9 pm (Rashmi Aunty).  Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

In our stories segment today, we saw how hanumaan was very alert and his timely thinking saved lakShmaNa's life.  This made raama very happy and indebted to hanumaan forever.  He even said to hanumaan that He was like a brother to Him, as dear as bharata too.  To be like hanumaan, ever ready to go on a mission for raama, we played a fun game - Ready, set, go.  We tried to trick the children giving complicated directions, but then... we could not succeed even once :).

To sing the glories of hanumaan, even aadishesha's 1000 mouths fall short!  Such are His qualities.  We heard a story about how people find it very easy to speak of others' faults whereas, look for words if they have to praise others!  But then, it is good things one is identified for that makes people happier and the world a better place to live!  We then practiced saying nice things to the children sitting next to each other.  

We then listened to the story regarding the importance of one's own efforts.  When a magic genie appeared, the boys wanted the genie to do their homework, clean their rooms for them, do their chores, etc.  But one smart boy wished that the genie should disappear before granting anyone's wishes!  He explained that he wanted so, because - 'A man's greatness lies in HIS OWN EFFORTS'.  He said that there would be nothing great or fun in their own lives, without putting in their own efforts.  Then all the boys agreed and were happy about his wish!

We have spoken to the children about the likhita japa.  We all have a unique opportunity this year!  Since our ashram and temple are being built, we call can contribute our share.  We can write likhita japa in composition notebooks, exclusively, on regular basis.  At the end of the year, the children can bring in their books.  The books shall be kept under the respective deity idols before they are installed.  The naama smaraNam shall remain there forever!  Please encourage your children to do this regularly.  Do ask them for more details about this sacred work.

See you all soon.

________________________________________________

Madhuri Aunty and Shilpa Aunty:

Hari Om

January 13th Class

Beginning Prayers:

• 'om' chanting - 3 times
• meditation
• shuklaambaradharam, saraswati namastubhyam, gururbrahma

gitaa chanting:

• 13th adhyaaya 1- 10 shlokas

hanumaan shlokas/bhajans:

• buddhirbalam
• hanumaan chaalIsa 1-20 chaupas

Brain Storming:

• What is devotion
• What is resourcefulness

Story time:

• sItaa gives hanumaan a pearl necklace
• hanumaan's ability to be small as an atom or as giant as a mountain
• good wolf vs. bad wolf 
• raavaNa's penance for aatmalingam

Activity:

• None

Ending Prayers:

• sarvebhavantu sukhinaH
• pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam
• aarati and pledge

Comments:

Rashmi Aunty and Prajna didi:

In today's class, we discussed about hanumaan's devotion.  We spoke about the story of how mother sItaa presented him with a pearl necklace, but hanumaan broke each bead!  He said he was looking for raama's name in the beads, but could not find it.  Hence the necklace was of no use to him!  Such was his devotion to Lord raama.  He constantly thought of Him and every atom of his body sang His praises.    We spoke about dedication and heard a few other stories about dedication.  We had nice discussions and brainstorming session on a lot of topics.  We ended up listening to a couple other extra stories, as we were establishing our view point :).  Do talk to your children about all the stories that they have learnt today.

Please make sure the kids practice their gItaa chanting regularly.  We can see that some practice is making a nice difference in their pronunciations!

We wish you all a very happy sankraanti/pongal/lohri/new year.  May the harvest season bring health and cheers to one and all.

See you all in two weeks.

________________________________________________

Madhuri Aunty and Shilpa Aunty:

Opening Prayers
Meditation with Japa mala
Dhyana shloka
Bhajans:
Learned new bhajan: Duniya chale no shri ram ke bina
Hanuman Chalisa
Story:Indra's Vajra
The concept of Kumati and sumati
Discussion: Am I beautiful?
Different parts of our body and what makes them beautiful?
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13th
Ending Prayers.

January 6th Class

Beginning Prayers:

• 'om' chanting - 3 times
• meditation
• shuklaambaradharam, saraswati namastubhyam, gururbrahma

gitaa chanting:

• 13th adhyaaya 1- 8 shlokas

hanumaan shlokas/bhajans:

• buddhirbalam
• hanumaan chaalIsa 1-16 chaupas

Brain Storming:

• What is makes one beautiful
• What is brilliance
• Why was hanumaan brilliant

Story time:

• Ramu and Kanu, two good friends
• hanumaan's flight

Activity:

• None

Ending Prayers:

• sarvebhavantu sukhinaH
• pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam
• aarati and pledge

Comments:

Rashmi Aunty and Prajna didi:

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope you all enjoyed a nice winter break.  Our first session of the year was very interesting!  We had a great brainstorming session of what makes us beautiful.  We spoke about how we can beautify our hands, lips, eyes, ears, etc.  We discussed how lipstick, makeup, ornaments that we think, beautify us, are temporary.  They wash off, fade off or lose their luster.  But what keeps them permanently beautiful are – good speech, charity, seeing good things, listening to good things, etc.   We discussed how hanumaan had barely any accessories, but He always looked attractive!  What gave him that luster was, his every readiness to serve the Lord.  His brilliance came from Him being constantly engaged in the Lord.  We discussed about how hanumaan was completely focused on his assignment, even during his flight to lankaa.  He did not let any of the hurdles deter his determination.

We are progressing well in all arenas!  The gItaa chanting, hanumaan chaalIsa, etc are coming well.  Please remember to keep up the practice.  We will see you all next Sunday. 

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Madhuri Aunty and Shilpa Aunty:

This week in class

We welcomed each other with new year greeting for 2013.

Began with the starting prayers.
Did meditation with Japa mala
Students who came on time got stickers!.

We chanted Dhyana sloka, Hanuman chalisa and Bhagavad Gita verses 1-10

We also are learning meaning of each chaupai in hanuman chalisa.

We have completed learning meanings with stories on Doha and first and second chaupais.

It was very good to see everyone comeback with lots of energy!.

Our humble thanks to all kids and parents who contributed towards the breakfast bags. The children at TASK we much appreciated it.

Will see you all in the next class.

Hari om