Hari Om! Here is the class update for the week ended March 9th.
We started the class with 3 OMs followed by opening prayers, then we chanted the Gita Dhyanam and practised all the verses learnt so far in Chapter 5.
Symbolism in Hinduism:
We discussed the various symbols in our religion. The murtis of the various deities are symbolic of the true divinity. We brainstormed on the need for symbols and murtis of the deities and decided that we need these forms to keep our focus. While we traditionally associate certain deities with providing us with certain needs- like education, wealth, courage etc., the true reason for these murtis is to keep our mind from wandering. The more we can develop our focus with the help of these forms, the easier it is for us to keep our mind calm. A calm, clear mind is the best tool to achieving everything.
We have multiple forms of the same divinity to appeal to our different instincts. Even in our class, we all have our different favorite deities, whom we pray to, think of in times of difficulties. So these diverse forms and symbols exist to tether us, to keep us feeling protected and safe. The more we focus on them, they also lead us to the realization of our True Nature.
We also had some discussion on the nature of "polytheism" and a little bit of the beginning verses of the nAsadIya sUkta - which talks about existence before the beginning of creation.
The children are amazingly intuitive and it is really exciting to share our philosophy with these receptive young minds. We request parents to please have these deep discussions at home too, the kids are ready for it!
Play Discussion: We spent 15 minutes of class time working in groups to flesh out the stories, and give more detail to props, settings etc.
Bhagavad Gita: We have learnt upto verse 27 in Chapter 5.
There is no balavihar on March 16th. Field Day is on March 22nd (Saturday) and we will resume our class on March 23rd.
Regards
Abhirami Shrinivas
Selvi Deepak
We started the class with 3 OMs followed by opening prayers, then we chanted the Gita Dhyanam and practised all the verses learnt so far in Chapter 5.
Symbolism in Hinduism:
We discussed the various symbols in our religion. The murtis of the various deities are symbolic of the true divinity. We brainstormed on the need for symbols and murtis of the deities and decided that we need these forms to keep our focus. While we traditionally associate certain deities with providing us with certain needs- like education, wealth, courage etc., the true reason for these murtis is to keep our mind from wandering. The more we can develop our focus with the help of these forms, the easier it is for us to keep our mind calm. A calm, clear mind is the best tool to achieving everything.
We have multiple forms of the same divinity to appeal to our different instincts. Even in our class, we all have our different favorite deities, whom we pray to, think of in times of difficulties. So these diverse forms and symbols exist to tether us, to keep us feeling protected and safe. The more we focus on them, they also lead us to the realization of our True Nature.
We also had some discussion on the nature of "polytheism" and a little bit of the beginning verses of the nAsadIya sUkta - which talks about existence before the beginning of creation.
The children are amazingly intuitive and it is really exciting to share our philosophy with these receptive young minds. We request parents to please have these deep discussions at home too, the kids are ready for it!
Play Discussion: We spent 15 minutes of class time working in groups to flesh out the stories, and give more detail to props, settings etc.
Bhagavad Gita: We have learnt upto verse 27 in Chapter 5.
There is no balavihar on March 16th. Field Day is on March 22nd (Saturday) and we will resume our class on March 23rd.
Regards
Abhirami Shrinivas
Selvi Deepak
