Hari Om Parents,
We started our class with 3 OM's followed by Sahana Vavatu, Vakratunda, Saraswathi namasthubyam, Bhudhir balam and Gurur Brahma. This will be our opening shlokas for the rest of the year. Hopefully the kids will memorize them as we continue practicing them . These shlokas are in our My Prayers book.
We caught up on a part of our curriculum we hadn't started yet: the Saints of India, which we're covering alongside the Mahabharata this year.
We began by talking about who a saint really is. "Sant" in Sanskrit means "one who knows the Truth" — and that's exactly what a saint is: someone who lives by Truth every day.
We then spent time on each of the four gurus in our own Guru Parampara:
Adi Shankaracharya was born in the small village of Kaladi, in Kerala. Even as a child he was extraordinary — he had written his very first book by age eight! He walked all the way across India on foot just to find his own Guru, Govindapada, and went on to write famous commentaries explaining the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. By just 32 years old, he had already changed how people across the country understood their own philosophy. His values: be pious, be a missionary, be a preserver, be courageous.
Swami Tapovan Maharaj was born in 1889, and as a boy was known as Chippu Kutty. He lived an extremely simple life in a tiny mud hut high in the Himalayas. When his father once made him stop going to school, he said, "I never stopped learning" — and kept teaching himself anyway. He later became the guru of a young man named Balakrishna Menon, who would go on to become Swami Chinmayananda. His values: be pious, be truthful, keep your vows.
Swami Sivananda was born in 1887; his birth name was Kuppuswamy. He trained and worked as a doctor, treating poor patients in Malaysia for free. A book he happened to read changed the course of his life and drew him toward becoming a monk. He founded the Divine Life Society in 1936, starting from just one tiny hut caring for the sick — it grew into a worldwide organization that still exists today. He is the one who gave sannyasa to the young seeker who became our own Pujya Gurudev. His values: serve all, be devoted, meditate, love all and be compassionate.
Pujya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda worked as a journalist and was even arrested during India's freedom struggle. He went to meet Swami Sivananda planning to prove that saints were all frauds — and instead was convinced otherwise, becoming a monk himself. Over the years that followed, he started more than 600 centers around the world and personally wrote over 100,000 letters to people who needed his guidance. His values: be relentless, be loving, be disciplined, be punctual.
We then continued with Mahabharata - Adi Parva continues
Rejected by all, angry Amba proceeds to the forest, and the sages there are very disturbed by her presence. They approach her grandfather Hotravahana who agrees to speak to his good friend Bhargava (better known as Parashurama). Bhargava is Bhishma's Guru and is very sure that Bhishma will follow his command and marry Amba. But, Bhishma angers Bhargava by refusing, and Bhargava is ready to curse Bhishma or engage in a duel with him. Bhishma agrees to the latter and after a fierce battle, agrees to withdraw as it is not right to ask the Guru to surrender first. This wins over Bhargava and he accepts Bhishma's decision. Amba is infuriated and she decides to do severe penance. Lord Shanmukha is happy with her, presents her with a garland, and tells her that whoever wears it will kill Bhishma. Amba offers it to all the kings, who refuse it as they are wary of Bhishma. She asks Drupada, the king of the Panchalas, to accept it, but he refuses it as well. In anger, she throws the garland in the court and proceeds to the forest to do penance once again. This time Shiva is happy and promises her that she will take revenge in her next birth. To fulfill the revenge, she lights a huge fire and jumps into it. She is reborn as Shikhandini, Drupada's daughter. One day, she wears the garland which enrages her father. She tells him that she was reborn to take revenge on Bhishma. Drona is her Guru and she eventually becomes a man. He is called Shikhandi and is instrumental in Bhishma's death later on.
The marriage of Vicheetraveerya with the two princesses is duly performed. They are extremely happy but fate strikes them and young Vicheetraveerya is found to suffer from a dreadful disease that no one can save him from, leading to his death. Satyawati is saddened by the calamity that has befallen her and the fact that the Kuru clan does not have an heir. She finally summons Bhishma and beseeches him to continue the Kuru clan with the wives of Vicheetraveerya. Bhishma is unruffled by the preposterous suggestion and refuses to break his vow. Satyawati doesn't give up and implores him to break the oath as otherwise, it will be the end of the race. Bhishma, finally taking pity on her, asks her to think of a worthy Brahmin who can give them an heir. Satyawati tells Bhishma about how she had borne a son to Parashara before her marriage with Shantanu. This son is Vyaasa. Satyawati thinks of her son and Vyaasa appears before her. Satyawati tells him everything.
Vyaasa agrees to grant her heart's desire. He lays a condition wherein he says it is up to the wives to make him feel welcome and that they should not be scared of his dark complexion. Satyawati agrees to talk to the two princesses. It is a dark night and Ambika is in her room waiting for Vyaasa. His appearance is so terrible that she closes her eyes. In the morning, Vyaasa tells his mother that a strong and powerful son will be born to Ambika. But because she closed her eyes, the son will be born blind. Next, he goes to Ambaalika whose blood runs cold at the sight of Vyaasa. In the morning, he again tells his mother that a handsome and gentle natured son will be born, but he will be white and pale. Satyawati begs for forgiveness and asks him to visit Ambika once more. Vyaasa agrees and leaves Hastinapura. In due course, the two boys are born and are named as Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Vyaasa again comes to the capital. But Ambika is filled with horror and decides to send her maid instead of herself meeting Vyaasa. The maid is very attentive to every wish of Vyaasa. In the morning, he tells his mother that a son will be born and that he will be the incarnation of Dharma. But he tells his mother that the maid will bear the best of his children. Satyawati is shocked but Vyaasa refuses to grant her any more favors and goes away to the Himalayas. This child is named Vidura.
Again, Bhishma has to take up the task of raising the children and ruling the kingdom until Dhritarashtra and Pandu come of age. He teaches them everything considered essential for Kshatriya princes. Dhritarashtra is endowed with unusual strength. Pandu proves to be highly skilled in archery. Vidura is the wisest of them all. As Dhritarashtra is blind, he cannot rule the kingdom. Pandu rules in his name, with Vidura assisting him. Once again, Bhishma has to look for brides for the young men. He selects Gandhari, the daughter of king Subala, as the bride for Dhritarashtra. In the beginning the king is a little apprehensive as the groom is blind but Gandhari assures her father that she has no objection in marrying the Kuru prince. Her next action is a great deed of selflessness. She is convinced that she should not be better than her lord in anything. She therefore gets a piece of silk and covers her eyes, refusing to see the world which her husband cannot see. The marriage is celebrated in Hastinapura, in the presence of her brother Shakuni. Following this marriage, Kunti, the adopted daughter of the king of Kuntibhoja, selects Pandu as a husband in a swayamvara. Maadri, the princess of the Madra Kingdom, also chooses Pandu as her husband in a swayamvara.
Kunti is the adopted daughter of Kuntibhoja. She is Vasudeva's (Krishna's father) sister. When she is a little girl, she impresses Sage Durvasa and he in turn teaches her a mantra by which she can invoke any God. The playful girl decides to test the mantra, invokes the Sun God and to her dismay and shock, is blessed with a baby boy born with kavacha (armor) and kundala (earrings). In desperation, she wraps the baby in a silk cloth and lets the baby float in the river with the hope that someone accepts the baby as their own.
After the three marriages, years go by as the Kuru dynasty conquers several kingdoms. Pandu and his wives decide to spend some time in the forest. Pandu, by mistake shoots a male deer, who is actually a sage who has taken the form of a deer. The sage was embracing his wife and because Pandu committed a sin, the deer, in his human voice, curses Pandu that he shall die as well when he looks lovingly at his wife. This jolts Pandu and he renounces his material possessions and decides to live in the forest.
We have our House Inaugural Assembly this Sunday. Our grade belongs to Arjuna's Arrows and our house color is Green. Please have the kids wear Indian clothes with some green in it to show our house spirit. We need parent volunteers to help us with the activities. Please do join us at 9:45.
Thank you and excited to see you all on Sunday, September 27th at our House Inaugural Assembly!!
Regards,
Raji and Sai.
