BalaVihar

" In class we are talking about Balakandam, the first chapter of the Ramayana. There are seven chapters in the Ramayana story, in which one of the chapters is the Balakandam. In the olden times, there was a Kingdom named Kosala in which there was a city named Ayodhya. The King of Ayodhya was named Dasaratha and he had three wives but no children. King Dasaratha consulted a sage named Rsyasrnga and conducted a yagnya to attain sons. Meanwhile, the gods were being troubled by a demon named Ravana. Ravana couldn’t be killed by any God or demon,but there was a catch - he could be killed by a human. Vishnu helped by being born as Rama, one of the four sons of King Dasaratha. When the four sons were born, the king was very happy. One day a sage named Vishwamitra came to the Kingdom of Ayodhya to borrow Rama to help him defeat the demons Mareecha and Subahu. The King first said no but then understood and said yes. He also sent Lakshmana with him. When they reached Dandaka forest, Rama killed the demon Tataka and was gifted divine weapons by the sage. Then they continued their journey. This is the first part of the Balakandam. "

“ In class we are learning the Sri Suktam. The Sri Suktam is part of the Rig Veda. What is the Rig Veda? It is one of the Vedas held by Lord Brahma. The Sri Suktam is about Goddess Maha Lakshmi, the energy of Maha Vishnu. The benefits of chanting the Sri Suktam everyday is that you get knowledge, prosperity, health, wealth and it takes away bad luck and gives us happiness. When I say wealth, I mean wealth in anything, not just money. Sri Suktam means a non-deficient, non-exiguous, non-sparse want. ”

“ Have you ever had a bad habit? Like biting your nails, picking your nose or calling people names? Bad habits can lead to unhappy things making you feel like something is wrong. In Balavihar class, we are working on fixing bad habits and replacing them with good ones. We learnt about bad habits, what they mean and our teachers play a big role in helping us understand more through stories we learn in class. If you have bad habits, it is never too late to fix them. All you need is focus and determination. ”