Morning Prayers Recited:
• Om Saha naavatu (My Prayers, page 6)
• Karagre Vaasate (My Prayers, page 43)
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam (My Prayers, page 44)
• Guru Brahma (My Prayers, page 9, third shloka)
Vedic Chanting:
• Praarthanaa (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 3)
• Medha Sukhtam (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 35)
• Mantra Pushpam (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 170)
Bhajans:
Storytime: We saw a beautiful animation on Vamana and Bali (click here to view,) and another animation on Lord Shiva (click here to view.)
Art Projects: We practiced making hollow balls out of clay for our whistles.
Shaanti Circle Discussion: After our morning prayers we played our concentration game for 3 minutes followed with a pebble count. The kids were on the mark this morning -- they got the count correct, and they sat silently and still for three minutes. Tomorrow we will attempt 4 minutes of silence -- our goal being that we end the week with 6 whole minutes!
Because today is Gurdev's Samadhi, we began our early afternoon circle time chanting Guru Stotram and then sang the bhajan "Swami Chinmayananda" that Sheila Auntie has been teaching us. Some of the children asked what Samadhi meant, and we explained that it is the time when a person sheds their body and is released from this physical world.
During the early afternoon circle time we spoke a little about the Chipko Movement and its impact in protecting the environment (especially in the Himalayas) -- which then led us to a discussion on Amrita Devi, a Bishnoi from the 18th century (ca 1730), and 360 other neighboring villagers, who sacrified their lives to save trees from being cut down. We pondered and reflected about how deeply connected and harmonized to Mother Earth this community is -- and, sadly, how much we are not. We saw a video called "The Green Warriors of Thar" (click here to view this wonderful 10 minute film.)
We also watched three really cool art animations. You can click on the titles below to view the short animations. They are:
Alpana
Dhak by Rajesh Chakraborty
What a Clipjuiuyiu
During our late afternoon circle time we brought out the jelly beans and spent a few minutes playing our "Getting To Know You" game with our new campers.
End of Class Prayers: Poornamadah, Chinmaya Pledge
Photo Gallery: August 3 (click here to view)
Comments: We were very happy to see our Panditji this morning for our Vedic Chanting Class. He said that we were doing well with our chanting, but we needed to show a little more confidence -- so that the energy reverberated in the ashram :-) We're hoping that we were experiencing just a bit of Monday morning sluggishness, and will try to chant with a little more gusto and enthusiasm tomorrow morning.
After our discussion of Amrita Devi (and the 360+ other Bishnois) we brought out a bunch of "Trees In a Box" which we have been saving for a special occassion. Each child chose which type of tree they wanted to grow and planted the seeds in a little pot, which they will take home and nuture. We have all agreed to love, and take care of these trees -- and plant them into the earth when they are ready. Each tree kit had a special little booklet that explained in detail about the tree, and how to care for it.
