Pujya Gurudev

Pujya Gurudev

November 16, 2014 Class

Next Class: November 23, 2014
10:00 a.m.
Crossroads Middle School

Please note that Friday's class has a new room assignment.

Friday @ 7:00 p.m. — Room C-105
Saturday @ 2:00 p.m. — Room C-108
Sunday @ 8:45 a.m. — Room C-106
Sunday @ 12:45 p.m. — Room C-107
Sunday @ 3:15 p.m. — Room C-108



Hari Om!

Even though we just returned from a mini break today, we certainly didn't miss a beat with our morning disciplines and activities. Everyone immediately settled in for our shlokas and Geeta Chanting.

Parents: By the end of this month the children will have succeeded in learning Shlokas 1 and 2 from the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 15. Our plan is to start Shloka 3 during the first class in December. It's apparent that many of the children are regularly practicing at home... and we couldn't thank you enough for including this activity in your child's daily homework agenda! Please continue supporting your child in this learning... each day will help her/him successfully reach our grade's goal by the end of the school year. Just so you know, your child will be responsible for 12 shlokas this year.

Our Alphabet Safari's letter of the day was "C is for Cleanliness." Of course everyone understood the necessity for keeping our bodies and environment clean... but when we asked how to clean our mind and heart, we all had to stop and think for a little bit. The children totally agreed that it was impossible for us to take our hearts out and wash them with soap and water. So how on earth are supposed to clean them?!!!

To help us grapple with this question, Aunty shared the story about how a Guru had many disciples who got along with each other. Except there was one who everyone didn't like. The Guru was very fond of this student, and He felt sad about how this student was treated. He then decided that he was going to give all the students the task of cleaning the ashram's dirty copper pots. Of course everyone worked very hard and scrubbed every single pot in the building... they wanted nothing more than to please their Teacher! However, when the Teacher came around to inspect all the pots, there was only one he approved of. And that was the pot from the student nobody liked. Why did he approve of this pot? Because this student was the only one who focused his energy on cleaning both the inside and the outside of the pot. Everyone else only focused on cleaning and shining the pot's exterior... because that's the part that would be seen with their eyes.

At this point, the aunties realized that we needed a visual aid to help illustrate this complicated concept... so we decided it was time for the children to perform a "hand's on" task. They were given a laminated card that was covered with "dirt" and a paper towel.  We then discussed the following while pointing to the dirty card: "When we don't share our toys.... listen to and obey our parents... or make fun of someone," this is what the dirt on our heart and mind looks like. BUT if we clean our mind and heart with prayer, likhita japa, and good thoughts and actions, then we will find the true treasure within. And the only way we can find that treasure is if we get to work and start cleaning up all that dirt!

After a few minutes of the children applying some "elbow grease," they found the most beautiful picture of Radha/Krishna. At that point, we all shrieked with joy... because everyone agreed that Lord Krishna is nothing but Pure Clean Love!!

So, on that happy note... please give your child a BIG warm hug from all of us! We really do think your children are Awesome Sauce!

Look forward to seeing everyone again next week.

p.s. Please note that Friday's 7:00 p.m. class will be held in Room C-105. Thank you.

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Shlokas


Concentration/Shell Game
The kids are getting so much better at sitting with their eyes closed while counting the shells. We were able to sit for two full minutes... one minute of silence and one minute of complete concentration. Way to go, everyone... the aunties think you rock!!! 

Yoga Stretches/Exercise
We spent a few minutes stretching our bodies and burning off some energy before settling into our Circle Time activities.

StoryTime: "The Guru Asks His Students to Clean the Pots"

Likhita Japa
The children practiced writing "Raama" in Sanskrit 21 times.

Craft/Activity: What we "see" when we clean our minds and hearts.




If you want to make one of the laminated cards used in this project you will need the following:

Materials:
• image of God/Goddess (we used some old outdated postcards that were being discarded)
• Self-adhesive lamination sheets
• Dry Erase Crayon/Marker

Directions
Cut the image down to size and then place in the lamination sheet. Trim away all the excess lamination until you have a nice border around your card. It's important to leave at least 1/4" lamination border around the image so that the edges don't separate. Take a black Dry Erase Crayon/Marker and coat the entire card. Everything should come off easily with a paper towel. And if you want it sparkling clean, then the child can finish the job with a hand wipe.