Sanskar Gurukul Weekly Update Class Name: Kanwa Week# 10: Nov23, 2014 General Assembly We started the GA with three Omkars followed by the Shanti Mantra. Sridhar Uncle talked about the significance of Thanksgiving. It was first celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in 1621. So it is in a sense the Harvest Festival. It is a day when we give thanks to God for everything we have - food, shelter, family. In India, the Harvest Festival is celebrated as Lohri in the North, Pongal in the South. Two students from Valmiki class helped the rest of the students with the 3rd shloka of the Gita Dhyanam Prapannapaarijaataaya totravetraikapaanaye; Jnaanamudraaya krishnaaya geetaamritaduhe namah. Salutations to Lord Krishna, the Parijata or the Kalpataru or the bestower of all desires for those who take refuge in Him, the holder of the whip in one hand, the holder of the symbol of divine knowledge and the milker of the divine nectar of the Bhagavad Gita! Tradition has that if you sit under the Parijata tree and pray for something, your wishes will be fulfilled. To summarize, the first verse of the Gita Dhyanam is about the Gita itself, the second verse is about Sage Vyasa and the third offers prayers to Lord Krishna. Class We started class with three OMs and Prayer Before Studies. We continued the story where King Nahusha came back to his original form and Bheema was released. In Hastinapura, Dhritarastra regularly received news about Pandavas. One day, Dhuryodhana in his arrogance decided to display is riches and wealth before Pandavas to aggravate their anger and suffering. He planned ghosayatra, a royal procession of cattle-stations, in Dvaityavana for inspection of the cows. He asked his men to put up camp near where Pandavas lived. Citrasena, the Lord of Gandharvas, had also planned to camp at the same location. A fight started between the Gandharvas and Kauravas. The Kauravas were defeated and captured by the Gandharvas. Duryodhana’s people reported the matter to Yudhisthira. Bheema was elated to hear what had happened. However, Yudhisthira asked Bheema and Arjuna to go and rescue the Kauravas. Since Citrasena was Arjuna’s dance teacher in heaven gandharvas did not fight Arjuna and handed over Duryodhana to Yudhisthira. He set Dhuryodhana free. Sanskar Academy 1 Sanskar Gurukul Weekly Update Duryodhana could not bear the disgrace that he had suffered during the ghosayatra. He decided to end his life by fasting unto death. Karna and Sakuni persuade him to give up but their attempts were unsuccessful. The next day Karna again visited him and assured him of defeating the Pandavas in a war. Duryodhana yielded and they returned to Hasitnapura. Duryodhana wanted to perform Rajasuya yagna, however the priests told him that he could not perform Rajasuya as his father and Yudhisthira were alive. They suggested that he perform Vaisnava yagna which was equivalent to Rajasuya. The yagna was completed on a grand scale. We discussed about "Attitude Towards Food" value. Food is physiological as well as emotional necessity. We should respect food and pray before we start to eat. The Taittiriya Upnishad says "osadhibhyah annam, annat purusah". Adi Sankara teaches “Food is the medicine to treat the disease of hunger” It should be taken in optimum quantity. We discussed some stories from Ramayana and Mahabaharata to better understand the “Attitude Towards Food” value. We ended the class with ending prayers. Homework Pg # 98,99 & 100 from Values book. Announcements - No class next weekend - 11/30 on account of Thanksgiving - Special class the weekend after - 12/7 - Class is at 10.00 am (Session 3 parents particularly note!). Please plan on reporting 10-15 min early - as both sessions will be arriving at the same time. No bags required. Indian attire not required - since this is not a pooja but a presentation. There will be no book club on that day. Sanskar Academy 2.