May

May 7

we practiced for our annual day presentation today.

April

April 30

Dharma-1 class practiced the Slokas &  the Skit they will be presenting on the Annual Day.

April 23

Dharma-1 class  practiced the Slokas & Skit  for their Annual Presentation in the last class.

March

March 5

- opening slokas (Vakratunda mahakaya, karagre vasate Lakshmi, Shuklam bharadaram, gurbramha guruvishnu, and Saraswati namastubyam)

- learnt the story of Narasimha avatara

- learnt the story of the disobedient daughter and the cow that made gold

- exercise break

- OM jai jagadisha hare

Hw: practice singing om jai jagadeesha hare u til paragraph 4.

February

February 26

The kids in dharma 1 did:

- Opening prayers (Saraswati namastubyam, guru Brahma, vakra tunda mahakaya)

- colored in a picture of lord Vishnu in the kurma avatar

- learnt the story of the kurma avatara of lord Vishnu

- chanted Om jai jagadeesha hare

February 19

Today the kids did:

- Opening namaste and slokas (karagre vasate, vakra tunda)

- Learnt about the Matsya avatara of Vishnu

- exercise break

- chanted Om jai jagadeesha hare

Hw: practice Om jai jagadeesha hare 3rd paragraph

February 5

The kids in dharma 1 did a meditation class from Ashwini Ji.

Story about focus with the lion and the mouse

Trying out meditation and learning the basics

Played the wiggle game

Played a chair tightrope game

Difference between smiling and frowning

December

December 18

Introduction to Vishnu Avatar

Slokas- vakratunda, karagre, om jai jagadeesh

Amar chitra katha story of the quail and the elephant

December 11

Today the kids in dharma 1 did:

Slokas- vakratunda mahakaya, karagre vasate Lakshmi

Kids learnt about Brahma and Laxmi

Amar chitra kata story about brave pigs standing up to tigers

Pooja thali- paper plates which were colored with colored pencils

Om jai jagadeesha hare chanting with kids while using Pooja thali

December 4

 Told the story  of Krishna's Birth in the class and also taught the Krishna Bhajan

वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम्

देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वंदे जगद्गुरुम् || १ ||

vasudevasutaḿ devaḿ kaḿsa-cāṇūra-mardanam

devakī-paramānandaḿ kṛṣṇaḿ vande jagadgurum

November

November 13

Today we went to mandir upstairs and saw all the gods.

Practice prayers at least once a day

Ganesha Shloka (Vakratunda Mahakaya)

Lakshmi Shloka (Karaagre Vasate Lakshmi)

If you do not remember check website for prayer book 

November 6

Reviewed the three devies

Durga - strength

Lakshmi - wealth

Saraswati - wisdom

Practice prayers at least once a day

Ganesha Shloka (Vakratunda Mahakaya)

Lakshmi Shloka (Karaagre Vasate Lakshmi)

If you do not remember check website for prayer book

October

October 30

Aswini ji did the Meditation class on Sunday's class.

Before Meditation, everyone has to follow the 3 Rules:- Keep Hands to Yourself, Listening Ears, Close Eyes gently by focusing on their Ishta Devata at a quiet place.

Ashwini ji told the story of the King with twin boys(Bheem & Hari). When the twins reached their youth, it was time to decide the descendant of his Kingdom. The King asked the sons to bring the brightest object(s) which don't lose it brightness over time. The King gave them a year to find the brightest thing(s).

The twins went in 2 directions, Bheem went to the green Meadows & Hari went to a Desert to look out for the brightest object(s). Bheem went on collecting the brightest things like shiny rocks, glowworms, etc as he walked through the green meadows. He collected sacks full of shiny objects in each month of the year, But, Hari didn't find any bright objects in the hot desert, and it's almost reaching the end of the year. He was so tired after walking under the scorching sun for almost a year. He sat on a rock and closed his eyes and started meditating on God, to help him find at-least one bright object. He kind of saw some bright light as he was meditating, but it faded away when he opened his eyes. Luckily a Sage passed by, Sage explained if he can meditate mindfully, he will be able to see the divine bright light more longer and he'll be stress-free and happy. Hari kept on meditating and saw the bright light and this time much longer and he was so peaceful and happy. 

A year passed by, both Bheem & Hari returned back to their kingdom to share the thing(s) they brought on their adventure. Bheem was surprised to see Hari  came empty-handed, but seemed to be very happy. Bheem was very tired from carrying so many bags of the brightest things he collected. Bheem was so excited to share the brightest objects, he opened the bags one by one, but all of those shiny objects he collected were all faded over time. He was so sad to see all the shinier objects, Glow Worms he collected faded over the time. King asked Hari to share the Shiniest object he brought. Hari sat on a rock and mindfully started meditating focussing on his Ishta Devata, soon he saw a bright light appear in front of his third eye. He asked the King & his Twin brother, and all the people gathered around whether they saw the bright light, he saw. They all nodded "No".  Hari asked everyone gathered around to sit down and close their eyes and meditate on their Ishta Devatha for 10 mts and leave their worries and problems aside and forget about the To-Do list for 10mts. Everyone listened to Hari as he's the wiser one. Slowly, most of them mindfully meditated  saw the brighter light in different hues coming from their 3rd eyes, and they all felt an internal peace & happiness in them. They shared the advantages of meditation to more and more people started meditating and saw the bright light from their 3rd eye and felt peace & inner happiness. The whole Kingdom agreed that is the Brightest Light they all saw which doesn't fade away, the more you meditate and you'll see the brightest light for more time. King declared  Hari to be the next King, but Hari humbly requested King, can both Twin Brothers rule the Kingdom together, as 2 brains is much better than One(Also, Sharing is Caring). The King agreed to Hari's idea, and the Twins are declared to be the next Kings of that Kingdom.  They happily ruled the Kingdom for years.

The whole class(Students, Teachers, TAs & a few parents present) really benefited from the Meditation class. 

Thank you, Ashwini ji🙏🏽

October 16

In the last class,  we started class with OM, Vakratunda mahakaya sloka, story of Lord Rama and Diwali, in brief. We did the Diya craft.

We talked about wearing Indian clothes, if possible for next class. 

Also we will be doing a small Diwali gift exchange, please send a small gift under 5 dollars with your child. We will pull names out of a hat and exchange gifts in class.

October 2

We started with sloka- Vakratunda mahakaya. We talked about Navaratri and different ways celebrated all over India. We did the story of Mahishasura, victory of Durga/ good over evil.

We did a project- "Thoran" that hangs on the front doors of Hindu homes.

September

September 25

We started the class by chanting Ohm for 3mts. Kids learned the 1st verse from the HATS Arathi song. Talked about Navarathri in the class, Kids colored the coloring pages of Goddess Durga, Saraswathi & Lakshmi in the class. 

"Navratri is one of the most prominent festivals celebrated across INDIA and every region in India has a special way to welcome Goddess Durga and celebrate the 9 days of festivities by observing fasts, performing rituals, singing bhajans and hymns and dancing to the tunes of garba. It is believed that worshiping 9 avatars of Goddess Durga brings prosperity and happiness in life. Each avatar represents a different form of shakti. As per the Hindu mythology each day holds a special puja such as Shailaputri puja is followed by puja of Brahmacharini avatar, then on the third day Maa Chandraghanta is worshiped followed by Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Sidhidatri respectively.

September 18

Sushma ji told the story how Ganesha got his name, "Ganesha". Kids chanted the Ganapati sloka , "Vakrathunda Mahakaya...." . They also colored their Ganesha and used the CD for back-support of their art(CD can also reflect light, if they can hang on a window) and ribbon to hang their Ganesha, as HATS missed the concluded Ganesha Chaturthi in end of August.

वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ ।

निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥

vakratuṇḍa mahākāya sūryakoṭi samaprabha

nirvighnaṃ kuru me deva sarvakāryeṣu sarvadā

O god with the twisted trunk, broad-bodied, brilliant as thousand suns, bless me with freedom from obstructions and hindrances in all my works and for all times.