Class on 2/21

Hari Om

Dear Parents,
 As we all know, the BBNJ Bal Vihar family went to Akshardham Temple on 2/7/16. I am sure that all of you will agree that the temple is exceptionally built. Did the children see the Ram Mandir on one side of the main hall? The idols looked so life-like and grand! We are very thankful to co-coordinators both from our BBNJ family and from the Akshardham facility for the wonderful event planned.

There was no class on 2/14/16 since it was a long weekend.

The following is the update for the class that happened on 2/21/16. We started with the opening prayers. We had quite a few kids missing from class (due to illness, they updated me yesterday :)
Verses 20 - 23 were discussed in class. We understood the meaning of each verse and heard some related stories. The verse itself teaches us the quality in Hanuman Ji that we can and should be emulated and the story shows us how some people might be having said quality.

Verse 20: Meaning discussed in previous class.
Story: We heard the story of Dave who wanted to become a wrestler. Grand ma supported him. Even when everyone around him was discouraging him, he did not give up hope. And his grand mother supported him completely ( even after passing away ).
We discussed about the 3 types of people.
Type 1. They fear obstacles- do not start any work- keep imagining the obstacles that may or may not rise

Type 2. They start the work- the minute an obstacle arises they quit easily.

Type 3. They are Fearless like Hanuman Ji- even when they face obstacles they keep going, gain enthusiasm and courage to complete the task. 

Hard Work and God's name will render all obstacles useless and grant us victory in whatever we do

We discussed some ideas of what the children thought to be a hard task and how they might approach it. i loved the answers the kids gave. This is such an intelligent bunch of kids!!!

Story 2: Man with a cart full of fruits. It gets stuck in mud. He was able to pull cart out by trying instead of blaming God and just sitting and crying. He was taught this by a little boy.

Moral : God helps those who help themselves.

Verse 21: Hanuman ji, the Sentinel

Meaning of verse 21: Hanuman Ji guards the door to Rama's palace, where none dare to enter (or go out) without his permission. He is not stopping bhaktas from entering. Rather, Hanuman Ji's devotion inspires other people to love Rama too  and come towards the Lord.

Verse 22: Hanuman Ji, the Protector
* We will enjoy happiness of every kind, when we seek refuge in Hanuman Ji.
* We should not complain about things going wrong in our lives, because God has a plan and eventually in God's plan everything works out for the best.

Meaning of verse 22: All those who seek refuge in Hanuman Ji, will enjoy happiness, Why should one be afraid of anything when Hanuman Ji is there to protect.
·         Think of Hanuman Ji- you get courage and power.
·         Surrender to Him- Gain good qualities and enjoy happiness.
·         Hanuman Ji will take us to Rama, which is the ultimate goal.
Story to emphasize the moral- We listened to the story of Saint Malidasa ( the little cow-grazer boy). When your heart is pure and you have immense faith, you can see God


Verse 23: Hanuman Ji, the Powerful
Hanuman Ji's roar causes good people to tremble in ecstasy and the bad people to tremble in fear!

Meaning of verse 23: Only Hanuman Ji is capable of controlling His power. All the 3 worlds tremble when Hanuman Ji roars.
Hanuman Ji's power is so great that no one can control it except Himself. When His mighty roar is heard, all 3 worlds tremble in fear. His power and strength knows no limits. Chanting the name of Hanuman Ji transfers the same power and courage to His devotees. After Hanuman Ji burned Lanka, the rakshasas, even on  hearing the word monkey got frightened.

At the end of the class I gave children a number and told them that it is the number for God. They have to look up what that number spells on the phone keypad. Please help them with this.

Please make sure to send in required supplies, a notebook and the prescribed books with your child every week. And do send in a healthy (nut-free) snack since most of us are hungry by the time we start our class ;)

Thanks and Regards,
Dhairyam Teachers.

p.s. pics will be sent separately in whatsapp, due to technical difficulties :D

Class on 1/31/16

Hari OM

Dear Parents and Children,

We had an expedited assembly today due to our snow day off on 1/24. The performances by the Tamil class and sixth graders was inspiring. 

In class we started with our usual routine of the Om chanting and Sahana Vavatu (our opening prayers). We then  chanted the Chalisa till verse number 17. Today we learnt the meanings of verses 17 through 20.

Verse 17: Hanuman, the Adviser

1. Hanuman Ji was the best adviser. He advised Vibhishana to surrender to Rama. 

2. Understand the Glory and power of Rama.

Chanting the Rama Nama can help us to accomplish even the most difficult of tasks with ease.

Meaning of verse 17: Hanuman Ji advised Vibhishana to surrender to Rama, which Vibhishana accepted. When Ravana banishes him from Lanka,  he happily goes and surrenders himself at Rama's feet. After the war, Rama made Vibhishana, the king of Lanka.

We heard how Hanuman Ji met Vibhishana (story) - Vibhishana was a soft tongue among the sharp teeth (Rakshas). He was able  to meet Hanuman Ji because of his faith in Rama  which he kept  even through difficult times. This teaches us to keep chanting Rama nama even in the most troubled times, it will lead us to Hanuman Ji and better times!!

Story- Narada Vs Hanuman Veena playing. (Narada's pride was removed)

Conclusion- Surrender at the Lord's feet.

Verse 18: Hanuman Ji, the Fearless.

1. Hanuman Ji teaches us to let our imaginations and aims run as high as the sun and try to achieve things fearlessly.

Meaning of verse 18- Hanuman Ji leaped quite easily at the Sun 1000 miles away, mistaking it to be a sweet fruit. He let His imagination run high thinking the Sun was a fruit  :) He was then fearless enough to jump and try to reach the "fruit".

We discussed about Good Fearless and Bad Fearless traits. For eg. when faced by a hungry tiger we will be fearless of what anybody would say and run away from there. But when facing a dreaded exam we will be fearless and do our best!

Story- Birbal (Mahesh Das) Fearless answer given by a boy to the mighty King Akbar. Which road leads to Agra?

Edmund Hillary- He was able to conquer the Everest only in the second time. After losing in the first attempt he did not give up. He was fearless enough to make a second attempt.

Activity- Asking children to write down/or say- what they want to achieve and accomplish? (I got some cool answers for this :) )

Verse 19: Hanuman Ji, the Missionary

1. Hanuman Ji succeeded in His mission by chanting Rama Nama

2. Placing complete faith in Rama, Hanuman Ji was able to cross the mighty ocean.

Meaning of verse 19: Holding the Lords' ring in His mouth he flew across the ocean, which is no wonder for Him ( since Hanuman Ji capable of any achievement)

*Crossing the Ocean by chanting Rama Nama

* Building stone bridge by chanting Rama nama.

Story- Tale of the monkey group who went south wards to find Sita mata.

Sampati telling how Ravana took a woman to a far far away land and  how he saw Sita Mata crying there in Lanka.  Jambavan identified Hanuman Ji's strength and power.

Story of the Cowdung fuel maker chanting Rama nama was heard.

Verse 20: Hanuman ji, the Victorious.

1. God's grace and Hard work are the 2 things we need to be victorious.

2. God Helps those who helps themselves.

Meaning of verse 20: Even the most difficult tasks in the world are rendered easy by Hanuman Ji's grace.

All obstacles we face in life can be overcome by the grace of Hanuman Ji.

We have to discuss the  stories for the last verse in next class

Homework for next week- Please practice verses 1-20 in Chalisa and  in Guru stotram.

Coloring- Verses 17, 18,  19 and 20. 

Also, I asked the children to "Call God" every night before  they sleep - I  just want  then to try this so as  to build a sort of one on one relationship with Him.

There is a prayer log in the Assembly handout (page 40) you may please initial and write in the date when the child does the homework and or chants the verses.

Please send in a notebook and other supplies every session along with the prescribed books and Guru stotram (my prayers book)

Kindly send in a nut free healthy snack. Thanks.

Please remember that next week there is no class at the Bridgewater High School, instead we have a mandatory field trip to Akshardham temple (Attendance will be taken). Please don't miss the opportunity to see the temple, it has exceptional sculptures!! It will be an eye opener for our kids to see the wonders created by Indian  sculptors. Hope to see you there

Thanks. Take care.

Dhairyam teachers

p.s. No pics this week since we wanted to cover the missed class of  24th too and time  was of the essence.