Hari Om Parents !
We started our class by chanting OM 3 times followed by shlokas
"Om Sahana Vavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)
"Vakratunda Mahakaya" (page 27 in My Prayers book)
"Sarawathi namasthubhyam" (page 12 in My Prayers book)
"Guru Brahma" (page 61 in My Prayers book)
Story Time :
We did a quick recap of last class about Ramayana and Ayodhya .Then ,
We spoke about how we do a Fire ritual(fire Pooja). Please ask kids on what all we require to perform a Fire Ritual .
we learned about the Fire ritual , how we do it , what happened when the king performed "Putrakameshti Yagam " and so-on.
The Queens receive Payasam (Kheer or Milk Porridge) from the Yagna purusha (Fire God ), which they consume.
The three queens give Birth to 4 Beautiful Sons.
The Beautiful children are named Rama, Lakshmana, Shatrughna and Bharata.
Ayodhya people were very happy.
As the princes grew up they displayed remarkable qualities. Rama showed steady devotion to duty & truth. Laksmana was strict & impulsive. Shatrugna was kind & gentle. Bharata was noble & dutiful.
All 4 children were trained in the arts of warfare, archery, Vedas and Upanisads . They all were brilliant but Rama was the favorite of everyone. King was proud of them. We talked parents will be very happy if kids concentrate and study well . Every parent wants their child to be behave and be like lord Rama .
One day, Sage Visvamitra, the most powerful rishi, visits King Dasharatha. Sage explains the purpose of his visit. He is performing a sacrifice with his disciples and raksasas are greatly troubling them. Two of the demons, Subahu and Maricha, in particular, are very powerful. When Rishis want peace and quiet, they howl like wild animals, throw some bad stuff in the yagna fire. Rishes did not want to waste their tapas by cursing these demons. Instead they preferred the King to send his brave son, Rama. King could not agree to send his beloved son to face the heartless and ferocious raksasas. He politely offered himself and his army. But the sage said the King has gone back on his word and he will go back alone. Sage Vasistha intervened and convinced him to send Rama and lakshmana with Sage Visvamitra. King and queens watched with teary eyes these two princes going with the Sage .
We paused the story here and kids get to color their coloring books . Then , "Bhagavad Geeta " was telecasted and we made them chant and after that we went to Aarthi .
Thank you and regards ,
Uma and Vasudha
