May

May 15

It was great to meet the kids in person after a full year of online sessions. We did a dry run of the Annual day presentations and the kids got some final feedback on their presentations. They also got to know where in the sequence would their presentation be. Kids are encouraged to dress up as their characters and try not to read off the paper. We ended the year with the annual ice cream float celebration.

Also, as we look to the end of a fully virtual school year, wanted to take a moment to thank you all so much, for your support and dedication to the kids attending HATS every Sunday. It is your commitment that makes it so very enjoyable for all of us here. A special thanks to the teenage volunteers - Shaliny, Neev and Ashrita who helped run the classes smoothly. From fun Kahoots to attendances to weekly updates on the website to preparing questions for the tests, the three of them were solid pillars on which the class rested. Last but not the least, a shout out to Reshma ji who stepped in as a backup teacher and helped as I had to make an unplanned visit to India. She was a constant support throughout the school year.

This year the class was on Ramayana. Who doesn't know the Ramayana? We all know the story and that Ramayana is one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism. But in this class, with a little encouragement, the kids did a lot of "Independent Thinking". We focused on what the scriptures teach us and how what we learn can be applied to our everyday life. As part of the annual project, they were inspired to share what they liked about a character in Ramayana, why they chose the character, a story they liked about the character and if they had a chance, what would they like to see changed about the character.

May 8

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers of the special kids!!

We started the class with kids sharing their Mother's day plans for their moms. Then we moved to the final presentations. Some of the kids got a chance to go again for some additional feedback. Here are some important dates -

Kids who plan to use slides, please send in your slides by the end of the week - May 14th, 2022.

We will be meeting in person in the auditorium to do a dry run of our presentations - including the Hanuman Chalisa, next week - May 15th.

We will start at the usual time with the Assembly at 10:00 and go till 11:00. After which we will have ice cream floats to celebrate the end of a great school year!

Kids should wear Indian outfits and are encouraged to come dressed as their characters on the Annual Day - May 22nd

We are still awaiting the final schedule and will share the timing as soon as the line-up is finalized for the Annual Day.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to me, Reshma ji, and/or the TAs with any questions, in the interim.

May 1

Following the final test last week, we continued with the mock runs of the presentations, offering feedback and suggestions.

Most kids have had a couple of runs already. The few remaining kids will have next week to complete their mock runs. We will meet in person for Stage Rehearsals on May 15th. Kids will be required to come to the Temple Auditorium to know the sequence of entry and their places. Masks are recommended. We will start the class normally on May 15th with Assembly before moving to the rehearsals. We will end the class with Ice-cream floats (outdoors, weather permitting) to celebrate the end of another glorious and fun-filled year of learning Dharma.

April

April 24

We had our final test of the year today, after a quick revision through a couple of online quizzes.

• Ramayana quiz

• Ramayana quiz II

Kids did pretty well with a couple of them scoring all through the bonus and super bonus rounds too.

For the next two weeks, we will focus on the annual project with a stage rehearsal/in-person class on May 15th.

April 17

We started the class with the remaining kids completing the Hanuman Chalisa. Some still need practice, especially with pronunciations. Parents, please help your kids by encouraging them to listen to the audio - https://sites.google.com/site/hanumanchalisaenglish/

Some kids also went through the mock presentations for the annual day. Parents, please encourage the kids to get creative with their presentations - they can not only come dressed as their characters but have poster boards, posters, or PowerPoint presentations to augment their talking points.

Here is the scope of the annual presentation, once again -

´Introduce the character

´Tell us

´something that you like/admire about the character

´something that you would like to change about the character

´name a short story on the character

´Won’t have time to share the story

´why you picked the story

´Presentation

´Come dressed as your character

´Create posters/poster boards on your character

´be as creative as you can to bring your character to life.

PLEASE NOTE: The final test for the school year will be held next week - April 24th.

April 10

Today we started class with prayers and 2 other kids chanted the Hanuman Chalisa. Once again please practice the pronunciation! We then played review Kahoot games for our test!

We ended class here.

March

March 27

We started class with the remaining two kids chanting the Hanuman Chalisa. And then moved to the conclusion of the War and Ram, Lakshman, Sita, and Hanuman returning to Ayodhya. After the initial glorious days of Ram-Rajya came the unfortunate event of Sita being asked to leave the palace when she was expecting. We learned the important distinction between Duty and Responsibility. We compared it to the recent event wherein the initial days of the pandemic, when there were no vaccinations available and deaths were at their highest, how many parents who were doctors had to leave their duties as parents to fulfill their responsibility toward society - in order to save lives, just so people could get cured and return back to their duties and responsibilities.

We then talked about the birth of Luv and Kush and how they were trained under the expert guidance of the Rishis in Rishi Valmiki's Ashram. We discussed the Ashwadmedha yagna and how the twin boys fought against, Shatrughna, Lakshman and took Hanuman as a prisoner. After Ram met his sons and still refused to take Sita back to Ayodhya, Sita decided to conclude her earth life and return back to the earth - from where she was born. This concluded the Ramayana.

We ended the class with Neev running a Kahoot that offered a good revision of the chapters we covered since Winter break.

REMINDER: There will be NO class next week due to Spring break, but kids should take the opportunity to start working on their Annual project. Like the Hanuman Chalisa - we will start doing mock presentations with 2-3 kids each time we meet - to get some pointers and feedback on their material. This will help us prepare for the Annual day on May 22nd 2022.

March 20

Please make note of the Upcoming Schedule/Important Dates:

April 3rd: Spring break

April 10th: Revision & 1st mock presentations

April 17th: Final exam

May 15th: Rehearsals and ice cream floats

May 22nd: Annual day

Please continue having students work on the Hanuman Chalisa, specifically focusing on pronunciation. Our annual day is fast approaching! We spent about half of our time covering the Hanuman Chalisa.

In class, we talked about the grand battle that was going on as Rama and Ravana’s sides fought. Indra and Rishi Agustya help Rama. When Ravana is finally defeated, Vibhisana feels bad. He recognizes that Ravana was adharma but loved his brother and feels a big loss.

Rama says that Ravana was a brave warrior and very knowledgeable but unfortunately did bad (adharmic) things. He had just strayed on the wrong path but was a good man who deserved full respect. Vibhishyna was crowned King of Lanka.

One of the reasons Ravana lost was because he didn’t have Vibhishyna, teaching a lesson about the importance of family. Rama always had his family next to him - starting with Bharat who took care of the kingdom while he was on exile and Lakshmana who was by his side through the perilous 14 years.

When Rama sees Sita again, he first tells her that she’s not coming back with him. Everyone is shocked--didn’t he just fight this battle for his wife? Rama explains that he wasn’t fighting for his wife; he was fighting against adharm. He thinks that Sita betrayed him with Ravana. Sita is upset, and even Laxman tells Ram that he isn’t making sense.

Sita sets up a fire walk and walks across, saying that the fire will burn her if she has done something wrong. When Sita steps into the flames, they refuse to burn her. It is revealed that Rama is an avatar of Vishnu and Sita is an avatar of Lakshmi. The flames turn into flowers as she walks and Rama begs for forgiveness. They start heading back

In Ayodhya, everyone is worried that they are harmed, but soon get the news that they are heading back and start preparing to celebrate.

Sita gives Hanuman a pearl necklace as a gift. Hanuman tears it apart, saying that he doesn’t see Ram in any of the pearls in the necklace. Sita asks where Ram is, and Hanuman says that Ram is everywhere. He then opens his chest and reveals that Ram, Sita, and Lakshman are always in his heart.

March 13

Please continue having students work on the Hanuman Chalisa, specifically focusing on pronunciation. Our annual day is fast approaching! We spent most of our time covering the Hanuman Chalisa. Here is a good link, once again, to practice it - https://sites.google.com/site/hanumanchalisaenglish/

We also covered a little more of the final battle. When Ram and Lakshmana see Ravana for the first time, Lakshmana is in awe. He sees a huge Ravana with 10 arms while Rama looks weak in comparison. Rama assures him that strength is not what matters, following dharma is.

Vibhishana is panicked as Rama looks unprepared, but Rama assures him that the real battle is a mental one, not a physical ones. He teaches Vibhishana about the chariot of victory. The first wheel is bravery and the second wheel is fortitude (courage in pain/adversity). The four horses driving the chariot are strength, wisdom, the ability to separate food from bad, and the discipline to help others. The reins are forgiveness, compassion, and fairness. The driver is the focus on Bhagavan. The shield is disinterest in material pleasures that take away from your focus. The armor is respecting elders and teachers.

March 6

After assembly, we went on to the Hanuman Chalisa. We finished learning the whole Chalisa, so kids are going one by one saying the whole thing on their own. The three kids that went today did amazing!! All kids should keep practicing the Hanuman Chalisa.

We started by reviewing what we learned from last week-- Yuddha Kanda. We talked about Sugreeva's attack on Ravana, Ravana's tricks, Meghananda's tricks, and the story of how Kumbhakarna died.

Meghanada tricks Rama and says that Sita died. Meghanada hurts Rama and Lakshman with his "lightning bolt". Because Ram is an avatar of Vishnu, Ram is okay. However, Lakshman needs help. Hanuman jumps to the Himalayas to get a herb to help Lakshman. He has trouble finding the Sajeevni booti (herb to help Lakshman), so he decides to just pick up the WHOLE mountain. on the way back, as he is flying over Ayodhya, Bharat stops him but laters offers his prayers when Hanuman told him the whole story of Sita being kidnapped and Rama fighting with Ravana to rescue her. Hanuman brings the Sanjeevni booti to help save Lakshman. Lakshman then kills Meghanada with the Indrajit (a gift he got from Indra).

Ravana thinks about killing Sita. He is talked out of it. Rama shows Lakshamana the true path-- Dharma is not for getting a reward. He teaches Lakshaman that Dharma is about doing the right thing, not to get a prize or appreciation.

Homework:

1. Read what Rama's response is to what Vibishana tells him.

2. Keep practicing the Hanuman Chalisa!

3. Continue working on your annual day project as well! Reach out to any of us if you need help or have any questions

February

February 27

Class:

We started the call with students sharing the fun homework exercise - determine the distance Rama traveled from Ayodhya to Rameshwaram, using modern technology, on his way to Lanka, including all the stops like Chitrakoot, Panchavati, and Kishkinda. To bring it into context we then compared it to what it would mean if the travel was in the USA. Then we had two students chant the entire Hanuman Chalisa. Kudos for taking the initiative. We will start having two students chant the Hanuman Chalisa every week so please make sure to practice your Hanuman Chalisa!

We continued the story of Yuddha Kanda. Sugreeva starts a fight with Ravana and comes back all bruised and defeated. Rama asks Sugreeva if fighting a powerful King like Ravana was a smart thing to do. War is never good for any side so Rama then sends Angada as a peace messenger to give Ravana one last chance to give Sita up before they resort to war. While at Ravana's court Angada tells him that if he can move his feet, Angada will withdraw his entire army. After seeing that everyone failed Ravana gets up to move his feet himself. As he goes to touch his feet Angada moves his legs causing Ravana's crowns to fall down. Angad takes the 4 crowns and gives them to Rama telling him that Ravana was still not giving up Sita. Then Ravana starts to trick Sita by bringing an illusion of Rama's head on a plate and showing it to Sita saying that he died. Just as Sita begins to believing him someone interrupts Ravana saying that the monkeys are making a strategy and so Ravana left when he left the head disappeared and Trijata comforted Sita by telling her that it was all an illusion his tricks. Then Meghananda started doing tricks. Meghananda, Rama, and Lakshmana started to fight. Meghananda shot arrows which turned into poisonous snakes and Rama and Lakshmana and Angad became unconscious. Meghananda then showed Sita a picture of Rama and Lakshmana unconscious. But the good Rakshini's told Sita that it's again one of the tricks and not to fall for it. The moral of the story is don't trust everything you see, have faith in people you trust, and always act with a clear mind.

We ended class here.

Homework: Practice Hanuman Chalisa

Other Updates:

• Holi event is on Saturday, March 26th at 2 pm at Osseo Senior High. Tickets are available for purchase online.

• Maha Shivaratri is on March 1st

• Here is a Shiva Stotra to practice for Mahashivaratri

  • OM Namaste Astu Bhagavan Vishveshvaraaya Mahaadevaaya Trayambakaay Tripurantakaaya Trikaalaagni - Kaalaaya Kaalaagni - Rudraaya Nilakantaaya Mrityunjayaaya Sarveshvaraaya Sadaashivaaya Shriman Mahadevaaya Namah

February 20

We have now completed the Hanuman Chalisa. All that's left to do is to practice practice practice!! Remember, a full version of the hanuman chalisa can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/hanumanchalisaenglish/

Today, we began the Yuddha Kanda, the war between the armies of Rama and Ravana. When Rama gets Hanuman's report on sita, he sets off to the shore of the southern sea. Ravana's brother, Vibhishana, a huge Ram-Bhakt, deserts his brother and joins Rama at the shore. Rama declares that he is to be King of Lanka when they win the war.

Meanwhile, Rama needs to get to Lanka. He has his army construct a bridge, and they labor day and night to get it completed. While the monkeys carry huge stones to complete the task, Rama notices that there is a little squirrel who is carrying pebbles. While the monkeys ridicule the squirrel, Rama scolds the monkeys, telling them that they should not make fun of the weak and the small. Your strength or what you do is not important. What matters is that he's doing something for a good cause and doing it out of love.

We finished class there.

Homework: Find out how many miles Rama traveled from Ayodhya to Rameshwaram (including all the stops). Start preparing for the annual day following these guidelines. You don't have to get anything prepared for next week's class. Just start thinking about what you might do:

February 13

Please make sure that kids are reviewing the parts of the Hanuman Chalisa that we have already been over. A full version can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/hanumanchalisaenglish/

HOMEWORK: Please learn the next four verses of the Hanuman Chalisa, 33-36:

Tumhare bhajan Ram ko pavai

Janam-janam ke dukh bisraavai

Anth-kaal Raghuvir pur jayee

Jahan janam Hari-Bakht Kahayee

Aur Devta Chit na dharehi

Hanumanth se hi sarve sukh karehi

Sankat kate-mite sab peera

Jo sumirai Hanumat Balbeera

Today, we learned about Hanuman’s adventure in Lanka. When Hanuman meets Sita, she is suspicious that it is him. When he gives her the jewelry that Rama had given him, Sita believes him and trusts him. She gives him 2 stories to tell Rama that will prove that Hanuman talked to Sita.

Hanuman then goes to talk with Ravana. Ravana does not give him a chair, being disrespectful to his guest. Hanuman makes his own chair by growing out his tail and sitting on it. Ravana orders that Hanuman’s tail is to be set on fire, and Hanuman runs around with his tail on fire, setting Lanka on fire.

Hanuman goes back to Ram and tells him that he met Sita and that Sita is all by herself. He tells Ram the two stories to prove that he did meet Sita. Ram is happy that Sita is alive, and he starts preparing to invade Lanka.

February 6

After the Vasant Panchami celebrations, we had our second class on Meditation, where the kids learned the importance of staying focused. Ashwini ji did a few exercises, role plays, and videos showing how not staying focussed can impact well-being.

January

January 30

We started the class revising the Hanuman Chalisa. Kids need to learn verses 29-32(listed below). Please make sure that kids are reviewing the parts of the Hanuman Chalisa that we have already been over. A full version can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/hanumanchalisaenglish/

Charon Yug partap tumhara

Hai persidh jagat ujiyara

Sadhu Sant ke tum Rakhware

Asur nikandan Ram dulhare

Ashta-sidhi nav nidhi ke dhata

As-var deen Janki mata

Ram rasayan tumhare pasa

Sada raho Raghupati ke dasa

Next, we went into the project assignments. Here is the list of kids and their characters -

1. Dasharath - Chirag

2. Kaushalya - Nandini

3. Ravana - Samy

4. Vibhishana - Neerav

5. Mandodari - Vainavi

6. Rama - Meera

7. Lakshmana - Advaith

8. Sita - Akshika

9. Urmila - Aditri

10. Hanuman - Srihan

11. Jatayu - Shri

12. Ahilya - Arohee

13. Sugreeva - Vihaan

Please let us know if there are any questions and/or changes. As we will begin working on them from next week.

Today, we continued on the Sundara Kanda. Sampati reveals a little about why he is in such a state while he protected his brother Jatayu. He was saddened to learn of Jatayou's death and decided to tell the group that they must cross the ocean since Sita is in Lanka. Confused as to how they could do this, the group stated contemplating jumping over the ocean. Hanuman said that he could jump over.

Some context: When Hanuman was younger, he was very mischievous and tried to eat the sun. Indra, not happy with this, hurls his weapon: Vajra - the thunderbolt and sends him back down to the earth. This made Vayu - from whom Hanuman gains many of his strengths mad and he stopped blowing. When many Gods asked him to blow, he agreed. But Hanuman didn't learn from this. He continue to be naughty and got into more trouble. The Rishis then cursed him that he will forget his strengths but they will come back when he needs them the most. Jambuvan reminded Hanuman to have confidence in him take the leap of faith and jump towards Landa.

Hanuman meditated to get his strength back and decides that he was going to try and jump again. When he jumps, he runs into a lot of obstacles. First, he runs into the Mainaka Mountain, which he sends back into the ocean. He then runs into Surasa, who says that no one passes without being eaten. Hanuman says that he is on a mission and grows bigger and bigger, forcing Surasa to also become bigger and bigger to eat him. At the last second, he makes himself really small and passes through her before she can eat him. The third obstacle is Simhika. Similar to Surasa, Simhika said that she would eat him. Still very small, he goes inside Simhika and makes himself very big, and Simhika explodes. The final obstacle was Lankini, who says that no one may pass her. He swishes his tail and pushes her away.

He finally reaches Ravana’s luxurious palace, where he sees lots of riches. He walks into one room and sees Ravana praying fervently to Lord Shiva. He goes room to room looking for Sita, but isn’t able to find her. He finds a garden and sees Sita there, but Sita is suspicious that he is one of Ravana’s men. Hanuman gets a piece of jewelry from Sita to give to Rama. In turn, Sita gives Hanuman a piece of jewelry that was her mother's that she kept with her when she was sad, to show Rama.

Hanuman then meets Ravana, who doesn’t give him the respect that a guest deserves. He orders that Hanuman’s tail is to be set on fire, and Hanuman runs around with his burning tail, setting all of Lanka on fire.

We ended a class with a Kahoot revision of things learned to date.

Homework: Read and learn Verses 29-32 of the Hanuman Chalisa and research the lessons in the stories of Hanuman getting past the four obstacles. Each obstacle has a lesson.

January 23

We started the class with kids sharing which of the 9 paths of bhakti would they most likely follow and why. Last class, we learned about the Kishkindha Kanda, the search for Sita. This class, we dove into the Sundara Kanda (note: we did not finish it). Sugreev wasn’t sure how strong Rama was and expresses his doubt. Rama proves his strength by shooting an arrow through 7 trees. Sugreev is impressed, and says that Rama can fight Vali. Sugreev and Vali get’ into a fight. Sugreev is beaten, and runs to Rama.

Sugreev asks Rama why he didn’t help him, and Rama says it was because he couldn't tell who was Vali and who was Sugreev. Sugreev says that he would wear a garland when he fought the next day so Rama knows who is who. The next day, Sugreev draws out Vali again. This time, Rama, knowing who is who, shoots an arrow and kills Vali. Before dying, Vali asks Rama why he intervened on the side of his brother. Rama says that god is always watching, and that Vali had not done the right thing by blaming his brother and marrying his brother’s wife. Vali realizes that he is not right and renounces his actions. Sugreev becomes the king.

The search for Sita begins. Sugreev pays back Rama as promised and sends his army in all directions. Knowing that Sita was last seen going south, he sends his best group of 4 - Jambuvan, Neela, Angada, led by Hanuman to the South with an army. They reach the ocean and start looking around on the coast. They find a cave with birds in it, guarded by Yogini Svayamprabha. She invites them to mediate with her to help them, and they do.

After meditation, they run into Sampati, a huge vulture, who is planning to eat them. When talking to him, the group mention Jatayu. Sampati says that Jatayu is his little brother, and tells the group that he will help them find Sita.

HOMEWORK: Please learn the next two verses of the Hanuman Chalisa, 25-28:

Nase rog harae sab peera
Japat nirantar Hanumant beera

Sankat se Hanuman chudavae
Man Karam Vachan dyan jo lavai

Sab par Ram tapasvee raja
Tin ke kaj sakal Tum saja

Aur manorath jo koi lavai
Sohi amit jeevan phal pavai

Make sure that you have verses 1-24 learned too!

Some kids also picked out their characters for the Annual project. Kids have till next week - Jan 30th to pick their characters. The annual project would involve -

Tell us

• ´something that you like/admire about the character

• ´something that you would like to change about the character

• ´a short story on the character

• ´why you picked the story

• ´Presentation

• ´Come dressed as your character

• ´Create posters/poster boards on your character

• ´Slides – if we are still online

LIST OF CHARACTERS - Click Here

January 16

Thank you everyone for coming to parent-teacher conferences!

Make sure that you have learned verses 1-22 and learn the next two verses of the Hanuman Chalisa, 23-24:

Aapan tej samharo aapai
Teenhon lok hank te kanpai

Bhoot pisaach Nikat nahin aavai
Mahavir jab naam sunava

In class, we learned about the Kishkindha Kanda, the search for Sita. First, Rama met Shabari in Sage Matanga’s Ashram. Shabari is immediately honored and offers him half-eaten berries. Impressed by her devotion, Rama accepts the half-eaten berries and eats them. Lakshmana pointed out that Shabari had already tasted the berries and therefore it would be improper for Rama to eat them. Rama told him that "nothing could equal these berries, offered with such devotion. You taste them, then alone will you know. Whomsoever offers a fruit, leaf, flower, or some water with love, I partake in it with great joy."

Sugreeva and Vali story: When Mayavi came and started terrorizing them, Sugreeva and Vali started fighting them. They end up fighting into a cave. Vali goes inside the cave while Sugreeva stands guard outside. Sugreev hears a big sound and assumes that Vali was killed. He closes the cave and takes up the kingship. Vali is not dead and has killed the demon. When he comes back and sees Sugreev as king, he is enraged and thinks that his brother has betrayed him. Sugreeva ran off to Rishyamook Parvat as it is the only place where Vali couldn't come because of the curse of Rishi Matang according to which Vali set his foot on Rishyamook Hills, he would die.

Later, Rama meets Sugreeva, who tells him the story of how Vali became his enemy. In Sugreeva's version, he is entirely innocent and Rama believes him. The group meets Hanuman, Sugreeva’s minister, who remarks how godlike Rama is. Hanuman is incredibly well-spoken, which impresses Rama. Hanuman also wants Rama and Sugreeva to ally.

As soon as Sugreeva came to know about what happened with Sita, he asked his followers (monkeys) to submit the jewelry that they collected from the forest. The monkeys mentioned that they had found jewels that had fallen from the sky and hence. Sugreeva then asked Lord Rama to confirm if they were of Goddess Sita.

The jewelry seemed to be similar to that of Goddess Sita but Lord Rama was not sure if it actually belonged to Goddess Sita. Since Lord Rama couldn't ascertain the jewels, in utter disappointment, he turned towards Lakshmana and asked him if he could ascertain the jewels. Lakshmana recognized the anklets, though, and they were able to figure out where Sita had gone.

Homework: Page 68 of your book (Chapter 18). There are 9 paths of devotion. Read about all of them, pick one path that you think you would follow. Be prepared to talk about it in class next week!

We are starting to plan our annual day project. Please have all students pick a character from the list (click here) and inform the teachers before January 30th!

Please let us know if there are any questions.

January 9

In class, we finished learning about the Aranya Kanda:

Ravana plots to abduct Sita. He asks Maricha to transform into a magical golden deer (Maya mriga, an illusional deer) that entices Sita. While in exile in forest, Rama goes after the deer and slays it. When Rama finally catches the deer, the deer gives a call of help in Rama's voice. Sita hears the call for help and, thinking it is actually Rama, forces Lakshmana to go and help Rama. Before Lakshmana goes to help Rama, however, he draws a circle around the house that they were living in and tells Sita not to step foot outside the circle. At this point, Sita is alone.

Ravana disguises himself as an old Sadhu and asks for food and drink. Sita, feeling sorry for him, sets some food outside of the circle (but stays inside the circle). Ravana, still disguised as a Sadhu, is offended that Sita expects him to pick the food up. Sita, feeling sorry for him, steps out and gives him the food. The second she stepped out of the circle, Ravana took off his disguise and revealed himself. He forced Sita into a chariot and kidnapped her.

On the way back, Jatayu (the Vulture-Eagle) hears Sita yelling for help. Jatayu immediately goes to fight Ravana. Jatayu is not able to win, as Ravana cuts off his wings and he falls out of the air. Sita threw her shawl, necklace to the ground, in the hope that Rama would save her. Vanaras living on the Rishyamooka Mountain took shawl, necklace to their leader Sugreeva.

Rama and Lakshmana search far and wide for Sita, and they eventually find Jatayu on the ground. Jatayu tells them that Ravana kidnapped Sita, and tells them the general direction that he went. They go deeper in the forest, and run into the demon Kabandha, who blocks their path. He threatens to eat them, but Rama and Lakshmana are able to cut off his arms. Kabandha was still attacking Rama and Lakshama, so they cremated him and a Beautiful being came out of the fire and thanked Rama and Lakshamana for freeing him from the curse Indra gave him to live like a Demon. Kabandha suggested Rama and Lakshmana to travel towards Rishyamooka Mountain and get into friendship with Sugreeva and said he will help in finding Sita.

We first went over the next sections of the Hanuman Chalisa. A full version can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/hanumanchalisaenglish/.

This week, we re-read 17-20 and learnt 21-22. Please make sure that students know all the verses up to 22! That is the homework for this week.

17-20 (Learnt in previous classes):

Lankeshwar Bhaye Sab jag jaanaa

Yug sahasra yojan par Bhaanu

Leelyo taahi madhur phal janu

Prabhu mudrika meli mukh mahee

Jaladhi langhi gaye achraj nahee

Durgaam kaj jagath ke jete

Sugam anugraha tumhre tete

Ram dwaare tum rakhvare

21-22 (Homework):

Hoat na agya binu paisare

Sub sukh lahae tumhari sar na

Tum rakshak kahu ko dar naa

Aapan tej samhaaro aapai

December

December 12

Announcements:

• We do have class next Sunday (19th). We do not have classes for the following two weeks for winter break.

In class:

Good job on the test everyone! There were some technical difficulties but we were able to sort through them all with the help of parents and everybody there was able to finish their test. If your student was not in class this week, there is another opportunity to take the test next week.

Thanks to everyone for staying over the time as we made sure that everyone had finished their tests!

December 5

In class, we started learning about the Ayodhya Kanda:

As we learned last time, Sita and Lakshmana decide to go with Rama. He tries to convince them not to go with him, but they refuse and say that they will go with him. In the forest, Rama meets Rishi Bharadvaja. They ask him where he thinks they should settle, and the Rishi said that they should go to Chitrakoot (a village). They build a small hut there and settle down. As this is going on, King Dasharatha is heartbroken in Ayodhya that Rama has to leave (and that Lakshmana and Sita went with him). He realizes that the curse that Shravana Kumara's parents put on him was coming to fruition. He calls Rama's name six times and dies.

Bharat and Shatrughna return from Kekaya to find the city grieving. Upon entering the city, he goes to see his mom, where he learns that his father is dead. His mother explained the whole situation to him, and Bharat was angry. He asks his mother how she could ask for Ram's banishment, and his mother admits that she made a mistake. Bharat goes to apologize to Kaushalya. Although she is initially angry, his sincerity calms her down and she forgives him. Bharat tries to find out where Rama is, and hears that he may be in Chitrakoot. Bharat goes with a huge army to try and find him in Chitrakoot.

Lakshmana, upon seeing the army, alerts Rama and tells him that Bharat is here to kill him. Rama tells Lakshmana that that's not the kind of person Bharat is. He greets Bharat, who apologizes to Rama immediately. He asks Rama to come back, but Rama says that he cannot as he must keep his promise. Bharat goes back to oversee the kingdom as Rama's representative. He takes Rama's sandals and keeps them on the throne as a representation that Rama is the Jing.

Rama travels through the forest for the next 10 years. He vists many rishis and ashrams and protects them. Eventually, he settles down at Panchavati, where he meets Jatayu. Jatayu is a vulture-eagle. He also meets Shurpanaka, Ravana's sister. She asks him to marry her, but he says that he is married. Eventually, Lakshmana cuts her nose off because she won't stop bothering them. Shurpanaka complains to her step-brothers, who go and tell Ravana about two princes and a beautiful bride in the forest. Shurpanaka's step brothers convince Ravana that Sita should be his, and they plot to kidnap her. Ravana orders Mareecha to do it. Mareecha tries to convince Ravana not to do it, but he is not convinced. Mareecha realizes that either Ravana would kill him for not following orders or Rama would kill him when he was trying to get Sita.

He decides that he would rather die by Rama's arrow, and sets off to kidnap Sita.

Homework:

Please memorize the next 15-16 of the Hanuman Chalisa:

• "Yam Kuber Digpal Jahan te / Kavi kovid kahi sake kahan te

• Tum upkar Sugreevahin keenha / Ram milaye rajpad deenha

Prepare for your test next week! 1-16 of the Hanuman Chalisa are fair game & make sure you know the story of the Ramayana so far (Chapters 1-15)

November

November 21

Meditation Day:

Mrs. Ashwini Naik took over class today to teach the students about meditation!

Benefits of Meditation:

• You can relax and disconnect

• Makes you calmer

• Get some energy afterwards

• Gain focus on a task

• Become more positive in life

  • Positivity means looking at the “bright side”. It leads us to gratitude for the things we have instead of complaining about the things we don’t have

We heard the story of the two angels. One angel sets out to collect all the prayers from the world for more things from God, while the other sets out to collect all the prayers of thankfulness. The angel who went out to collect prayers for things from God quickly had a lot of prayers (for money, exam scores, good health), while the angel looking for prayers of thankfulness didn’t get anything. This shows that humans should take more time to be thankful for what we have instead of focusing on what we want all the time. We can thank God not only through prayer but also through our deeds (living ethical lives and helping other people).

Gratitude is an attitude, and the introspection we gain through meditation helps us develop gratitude and become better people. This is especially important as Thanksgiving comes closer, but don’t

When our mind and body are relaxed, we can look into the positive side and be thankful for the gifts we have in our lives.

To properly meditate, you have to be awake and aware. Meditation is not sleeping--you have to sit straight and be relaxed--no messing with things in your hands. Gently close your eyes: if you force your eyes to be closed, you’ll get a headache.

Choose a word or a name of God to focus on (anything that you like/find relaxing).

Everyone did a good job meditating in class! Good job everyone.

There is no homework! Enjoy the Thanksgiving break!

November 14

We reviewed the Bala Kanda (see notes from last week). We learned the sotry of Parashurama, who tried to curse whoever broke the bow (Rama). Rama stepped up and accepted responsibility, so Parashurama spared him.

We then moved onto Kaikeyi and her boons. Upon all four princes and their brides returning to Ayodhya, Rama is selected to be the next king. Initially, Kaikeyi is very happy--she sees Rama as her own son. But Manthara, her nurse, is able to slyly convince her that, since Rama is not her son, he wouldn't take good care of her. Manthara also made Kaikeyi jealous of Kausalya, who would become Queen Mother if Rama ascended to the throne. Kaikeyi technically still has the two boons granted to her years earlier by Dasharatha (the King). Manthara tells Kaikeyi to ask for two boons. The first boon to make her son (Bharat) the king, and the second to banish Rama to the forest for 14 years so Bharat could rule without interruption.

King Dasharata does not want to send Rama to the forest and begs Kaikeyi not to ask for this boon, but she is stubborn about it. In fact, a grief-stricken Dasharatha died of a broken heart six days after Rama was exiled from Ayodhya.

Rama prepares to leave, wanting to fulfill his father's boon. Sita has no qualms with Rama going, but insists on going with him to the forest. Lakshmana similarly says that he will go with his brother. The three head out together, but the citizens of Ayodhya are unable to bear the departure of their beloved prince and follow the chariot of Rama. After sleeping, Rama does not want the citizens to continue to follow him, so they wake up early and leave deep into the forest.

When Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana reached the river Ganga, they had to cross the river. Guha had heard about the banishment of Lord Rama and came running to help. He assigned one of his boatmen, Kevat, to take the three to the other side of the river. Kevat brought the boat near Lord Rama, got down and did namaskaar with intense devotion to Lord Rama. He did not accept payment after crossing, saying that the precense of Rama on his boat was payment enough.

Homework:

Learn lines 13/14 of the Hanuman Chalisa:

Sahas Badan Tumharo Jas Gaave. Asa Kahi Sripati Kanth Lagaave.

Sankaadik Brahmadi Munisa. Narad Sarad Sahit Aheesa.

November 7

Reminders:

1. Submit your Diwali project by next week!

2. Learn all the verses up to 12 of the Hanuman Chalisa:

Summary of class lesson:

We first talked once again about Dasharatha's lesson. Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, accidentally shot Shravana Kumara. Instead of worrying about his own pain, Shranava immediately started worrying about his blind parents, who were thirsty and made Dasharatha promise to take care of them. This teaches us two valuable lessons:

• You have to care about the people that care about you (your parents, your siblings, etc.).

• You have to take responsibility and face the consequences of your actions.

We then moved on to the Bala kanda:

One time, Rishi Vishwamitra asks King Dasharatha for help to ward off Rakshanas from ruining their poojas. He takes Rama and Lakshmana with him into the forest to get rid of the demons. In the forest, Ram twangs his bow to make a sound to draw out the demon Tadaka, who Rama kills. Rama also attacks Mareecha and Subahu and with the power of Ram's arrow Mareecha lands on a shore far away. Mareecha, who is so surprised by Rama's power that he starts meditating and does not come back to fight him, and was thus not killed. Subhau on the other hand tries to fight Rama and is killed.

We learned about the story of Ahilya, who was tricked into feeding someone other than her husband and then cursed to become a stone. Rama touches the stone with his feet, which releases her.

Vedavanti was meditating on Vishnu and Ravana went to marry her, but Vedavanti disappeared, saying she would be reborn and be the cause of his death. She was reborn in a lotus, and Ravana, not having any daughters, tried to take her back to his castle to be a princess. Realizing that the baby would be the cause of his death, he threw the baby into the river, where the baby landed in a pot. Many years later when King Janak was helping the farmers in his land who were facing a severe drought, plow the land, the plow hit a pot, and out of the pot came Sita. King Janak brought Sita up as his own daughter and eventually became Sita (the eventual cause of Ravana's death).

The way Sita was married was through a competition where the suitor who could string a massive/strong bow (Shiva's bow) could be her husband. All other men fail, but Ram succeeds, breaking the bow in an accident while trying to string it. King Janaka declares Ram the winner. Further, he has four daughters, and Ram has 3 brothers, so he proposes that each of the brothers marry one of his daughters. This is what happens, apart from Ram and Sita, there were also Laksmana and Urmila, Bharat and Mandavi, and Shatrughna and Shrutakirti.

HOMEWORK: Learn verses 11-12 of Hanuman Chalisa

Laaye Sanjeevan Lakhana Jiyaaye. Sri Raghuveer Harashi Urr Laaye.

Raghupati Keenhi Bahut Badai. Tum Mum Priya, Bhartahi Sum Bhai.

October

October 31

We started the class by talking about the Diwali quiz and projects they could do, similar to the Dashera project. Then the kids were very excited in sharing what they were going to be for Halloween.

We then moved to Hanuman Chalisa. Many of the kids are doing great. Parents, please make sure that the kids are reading/listening to the Hanuman Chalisa up to the part that is covered in the class, at least once a day. We have provided you with links to help with the rhythm and pronunciations. They are making a great effort, and just need a little push to get them moving. We have reached the 10th verse and homework for this week is to read verses 9 and 10. We will be picking up our pace of 2 verses every week, so it's very important that the kids are able to catch up.

9. Sookshma roop dhari Siyahi dikhaavaa

Bikat roop dhari lank jaraavaa

10. Bheem roop dhari asur sanhaare

Ramachandra ke kaaj sanvaare

We then covered Dasharatha and Shravana Kumara story and his queens - Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. We ended the class with the birth of Rama and his brothers - Bharat, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. In the next class we will be going deeper into Bala Kanda.

HOMEWORK: Read and learn verses of the Hanuman Chalisa up to verse 10 including the Doha.

October 24

As a quick refresher after the Diwali break, we did a rapid-fire revision of the topics covered to date.

We then went over Hanuman Chalisa covered to date. Kids are doing a great job in picking up the new verses. Ashrita helped us go through till versers 7 and 8. Review the link shared in an earlier week to learn the pronunciations and rhythym.

We then went into details of Ravana's family. How his mom send the 3 brothers to do penance and get to be as smart as his stepbrother Kubera. We learnt about Ravana's boon and why Kumbhakarna got his boon to sleep for 6 months in a year. We then moved on to Vibhushana and learned of the simple wish he had. We next learnt more about Ravana - how he became the King of Lanka, after defeating Kubera. How he tried to shake Mount Kailash and learned a hard lesson from Shiva. We closed off Ravana's character with stories of Vedavanti and Rambha and the implications the two stories have in the future in the Ramayana.

We ended the class with Kahoot - a skillful, competitive, and fun game created by Shaliny to help with the topis we have learnt so far.

Attached are some class pics that Neev took of the class last week to include with the update! And here is another one of the kids meditating.

Homework: memorize verses 7-8 of the Hanuman Chalisa:

Vidyavan guni ati chatur
Ram kaj karibe ko aatur

Prabu charitra sunibe ko rasiya
Ram Lakhan Sita man Basiya

October 10

We started with assembly and learned about Navaratri. We learned that 3 days are for Durga, 3 for Lakshmi, and 3 for Saraswati, with the last day being Vijaya Dashami(and learned what each goddess/day represents). We discussed ways that we can celebrate as well! Here are some pictures of the kids in the class practcing meditation and attending class.

We went into the Hanuman Chalisa and practiced our homework from last week. We learned the next two lines as well. To help kids with the pronounciations, here is a link to a website with the lyrics and a video to listen to and follow along with!

https://www.drikpanchang.com/lyrics/chalisa/lord-hanuman/shree-hanuman-chalisa.html

We finished off class with some revision on Rama's and Ravana's family and ended with a hangman game!

HOMEWORK:

- Practice the Hanuman Chalisa (Doha up til "Kaanan Kundal Kunchit Kesa"--4th line)

Shri Guru Charan Saroj Raj

Nij mane mukure sudhar

Varnao Raghuvar Vimal Jasu

Jo dayaku phal char

Budhi Hin Tanu Janike

Sumirau Pavan Kumar

Bal budhi Vidya dehu mohe

Harahu Kalesa Vikaar

1.Jai Hanuman gyan gun sagar

Jai Kapis tihun lok ujagar

2. Ram doot atulit bal dhaamaa

Anjani putra Pavan sut naamaa

3. Mahaabeer bikram bajrangii

Kumati nivar sumati ke sangi

4. Kanchan baran viraaj subesaa

Kaanan Kundal Kunchit Keshaa

- Review what we have learned about the Ramayana so far!

Optional: Make good use of no class on Oct 17th and celebrate Dussehra, by trying to make your own Raavan!

You can use anything you find in your home(boxes, toilet paper rolls, popsicle sticks, paper, etc). You can always find examples online!

* Send a picture of the student next to their Ravana with their name, age, and materials used to hatsadministrator@hsmn.org by October 20th!

October 3

We started class by going through the homework, which was to recite the Doha for the Hanuman Chalisa. Almost all the kids read the Doha really well, and a few more were brave enough to give reading the Chaupaaii's a try. We made it to half or 20 verses of the Chaupaaii.

We then did a quick revision of what was covered in class last week - Rama and Ravana's family and the Festivals related to Ramayana. After revising how Valimiki's Ramayana came to be, we spent some time learning about Tulisdas and how he wrote the Ramcharitramanasa in Awadhi for the common person to be able to know the story of Rama. We started to dig deeper into Ravana's family and will complete it in the next class.

HOMEWORK: Read the Doha and the first two verses of the Human Chalisa and come prepared to recite it in class.

Doha

Shri Guru Charan Saroj Raj

Nij mane mukure sudhar

Varnao Raghuvar Vimal Jasu

Jo dayaku phal char

Budhi Hin Tanu Janike

Sumirau Pavan Kumar

Bal budhi Vidya dehu mohe

Harahu Kalesa Vikaar

Chaupaaii

1.Jai Hanuman gyan gun sagar

Jai Kapis tihun lok ujagar

2. Ram doot atulit bal dhaamaa

Anjani putra Pavan sut naamaa

September

September 26

We started the class with a quick recap of everything we went over last week -

• • the 10 avatars of Vishnu - with Rama being the 7th avatar.

  • the 7 Kandas of Ramayana

  • Valmiki's Ramayana having 24,000 verses with each verse starting from a letter of the Gayatri mantra that has 24 letters.

We also answered the question on why are there avatars and why do we study and learn about them?

We then went on to introduce the main characters of Ramayana - Rama's family and Ravana's family.

We also learned about the various festivals associated with the 7th avatars of Rama.

We then moved on to how the Ramayana came about. Learnt more about Maharishi Valmiki who wrote the Ramayana. We learned the story of Ratnakara and the moral of the story: Don’t steal to get what you want/need. There is always a better way.

We ended class by introducing the Hanuman Chalisa and learning the intro- Doha

Shri guru charan saroj raj neej manu mukur sudhari ।

Baranu raghubar bimal jasu jo dayaku phal chari ॥

Buddhi heen tanu janike sumero pavan kumar ।

Bal buddhi bidya deu mohi harau kales bikar ॥

HOMEWORK: Practice the Doha of the Hanuman Chalisa

September 19

Welcome to the Dharma 4B - The Ramayana! This site will be updated weekly with what was covered in the class along with homework and class notes. Please visit this site regularly for updates and expectations for the next class.

Today’s class notes:

Hi everyone, we hope everyone is looking forward to a great year in HATS!

Some details about us:

• Teacher: Devasree Mukherjee (Debbie Auntie )

• Teenage Volunteers (TAs):

  • Ashrita Murali

  • Neev Mangal

  • Shaliny Jadhav

Books will be coming in a few weeks, most likely by the first week of October. You can however access the soft copy of the books on the website. We would also like to welcome the new families to HATS - Hindu American Temple School. Books from previous classes are also available on the HATS website for the kids to review as needed.

75% attendance is expected for the class. Please do let teachers/TAs know if you are going to be out for extended periods of time. The easiest way to reach us is the WhatsApp Group. Details about the group will be sent out to parents before the next class.

Today in class we covered the outline and some background information:

• This year we will -

  • Learn about Ramayana

  • Learn the Hanuman Chalisa

  • Have 2 tests (midterm: before the holidays and a final)

  • Do an annual project for the Annual day

  • Do revisions through quizzes and games

  • Have 2 Meditation classes

  • Celebrate virtual b'days

• Meaning of AUM - Brahma - Vishnu - Maheswara (Dharma 2)

• Panchatanra and Jataka tales (Dharma 3)

• Vishnu has 10 forms (Details in the Puranas - Dharma 5)

  • Matsya (Fish)

  • Kurma (Turtle)

  • Varaha (Boar)

  • Narasimha (Man-Lion)

  • Vamana (Dwarf-god)

  • Parashurama (Brahman warrior)

  • Rama <---

  • Krishna

  • Buddha

  • Kalki

• The Ramayana is the life story of Rama: the 7th avatar of Vishnu.

• Split into 7 Kandas

  • Bala

  • Ayodha

  • Aranya

  • Kishkinda

  • Sundara

  • Yuddha

  • Uttara

• Rishi Valmiki wrote the Ramayana in Sanskrit (an ancient Indian language)