OM SRI SAI RAM

Group: I

Year: 1

Value: Love/Right Conduct

Sub-Value: Gratitude to Parents

Purpose of the Session: To stimulate thinking in children for the need for deep
gratitude to their parents. Also to teach the shloka “Vakra Tunda Mahaakaaya”.

1. 3 Oms, Prayers

2. Review of Life Application from Previous Lesson: Discuss the take-home

messages from the previous class, students’ practice of the sub-value during
the week, review homework, if any.

3. Prayer: Vakra Tunda Mahakaaya

Shloka Translation

Vakra tunda mahaakaaaya
Suryakoti sampaprabha
Nirvighnam Kurume deva
Sarvakaaryeshu sarvadaa
O Lord Ganesha, the Lord who has a curved trunk,
Who has a large body
Whose brilliance is that of a million suns
Lord I pray to thee to remove obstacles,
And to bless all my work

4. Story: The birth of Lord Ganesha

One day Goddess Parvati was at home on Mount Kailash preparing for her
bath. As she didn’t want to be disturbed, she told Nandi, her husband Shiva’s
bull, to guard the door and let no one enter. Nandi faithfully took his post,
intending to carry out Parvati’s wishes. But, when Shiva came home He
naturally wanted to enter, and Nandi had to let him pass as he was loyal to
Shiva. Parvati was angry at this slight, but even more than this at the fact that

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she had no one as loyal to herself as Nandi was to Shiva. So, taking the
turmeric paste that she was to use for her bath and breathing life into it, she
created Ganesha, declaring him to be her own loyal son. The next time Parvati
wished to bathe, she posted Ganesha on guard duty at the door. In due
course, Shiva came home, only to find this strange boy telling him he couldn’t
enter his own house! Furious, Shiva ordered his army to destroy the boy, but
they all failed! Such power did Ganesha possess, being the son of Devi Herself!
This surprised Shiva. Seeing that this was no ordinary boy, the usually peaceful
Shiva decided he would have to fight him, and in His divine fury severed
Ganesha’s head, killing him instantly. When Parvati learned of this, she was so
enraged and insulted that she decided to destroy the entire Creation!

Lord Brahma, being the Creator, naturally had issues with this, and pleaded
that she reconsider her drastic plan. She said she would, but only if two
conditions were met: one that Ganesha be brought back to life, and two, that
he should forever be worshipped before all the other gods. Shiva, having
cooled down by this time, and realizing his mistake, agreed to Parvati’s
conditions. He sent Brahma to bring back the head of the first creature he
crosses that is laying with its head facing north. Brahma soon returned with
the head of a strong and powerful elephant, which Shiva placed onto
Ganesha’s body. Breathing new life into him, he declared Ganesha to be his
own son as well, and gave him the status of being foremost among the gods,
and leader of all the Ganas (types of living beings), Ganapati.

 What is Ganesha the God of?

He is the remover of obstacles and the God of wisdom, arts and sciences.
He is worshipped at the start of every pooja or ritual, and the first bhajan is
always a Ganesha bhajan. The main gate of Prashanti Nilayam is called the
Ganesha Gate and there is a beautiful Ganesha just inside the gate. Swami’s
schools and colleges also have idols of Ganesha near the entrance.

 How is Lord Ganesha worshipped?

Lord Ganesha can be worshipped with simple grass, small flowers. We can
offer Him coconuts, bananas or any fruit. Wherever we are we can think of
Him and He will be there to bless us and answer our prayers.

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5. Quotation:

“Respect for parents who brought you into this world is the first lesson you
should learn” - Baba

“I am grateful to my parents for giving me life, love and everything else”

“Honor your mother and father” – The Bible

Affirmation: “I will always be grateful to my parents”

6. Group Singing: Human Values song and Bhajan

Human Values song: I will love and respect my mother

I will love and respect my mother

I will listen to my father’s words
For I know in this world there’s no other
Who will love me with a love so true.
I will always be kind to my mother
And live up to my father’s words
For I know in this world there’s no other
Who will love me with a love so true

Resource: http://media.radiosai.org/journals/vol_13/01JUN15/Sai-Stree-Shakti-
The-Journey-of-Mrs-Angela-Loraine-Burrows-audio.htm

Bhajan: Gowri Ganesh Uma Ganesh

Bhajan Translation

Gowri Ganesh Uma Ganesh Chant the name of Lord Ganesh,

Parvathi Nandana Sri Ganesh the beloved son of Mother Gowri.
Sharanam Ganesh Sharanam Ganesh I surrender to Thee, Lord of all Demigods,
Shiva Nandana Ganapathi Ganesh Beloved child of Lord Shiva and Goddess
Parvathi.

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7. Group Activity: Colouring a picture of Lord Ganesha (page 6).

8. Silent Sitting: Guided visualization

“Dear children, sit up straight, get comfortable and gently close your eyes.
Take a deep slow breath in, and breathe out gently. Breathe in, breathe out.

Now we are going to go on a wonderful journey. We see a bus waiting for us,
and we get into the bus. We are all excited and happy because we’re going on
a trip to a special place. It is a bright sunny day and we are passing through a
beautiful garden. The bus passes through a tunnel and stops at a golden door.

What does the sign on the door say? It says “Mount Kailash” and this makes us
very happy. We get down from the bus and start walking with folded hands.
The door opens and we see this gorgeous, big mountain covered in beautiful
white snow. The place has the wonderful smell of Vibhuti. We hear saints
chanting “Om Nama Shivaya”.

We walk further and whom do we see? Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. They
smile at us and bless us. It feels so wonderful.

We look around and see the wonderful sight of Muruga on his peacock flying
around Kailash. A little further away we see Lord Ganesh and near Him is his
little mouse. Lord Ganesha gives us a wink and a big smile, He asks us to go
closer to Him.

We go near and look at Him with deep love and respect. He has big curved
trunk, sharp eyes and large ears. We bow down and do Namaskar to Him. He
raises his hand to bless us all and says “Children, always respect your parents;
they gave you life!” We look up at Him and nod. Then He says “Use your
knowledge wisely. Be smart!” He blesses us again and we feel so wonderful.

We love our parents so much, and we decide to do just as Lord Ganesha

advised us. We will always be grateful to our parents.

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 We walk back to the bus, but we know that we can always visit Lord Ganesha
any time we want. We get into our bus, feeling great. The bus goes back
through the tunnel and brings us back here.

Keep sitting still, enjoy the warm feeling. Now gently open your eyes”

9. Life Application: We should always remember Lord Ganesha and have deep
gratitude for our parents. We should pray to Lord Ganesha every time we start
anything because He will remove all obstacles in our way,

10. Vedam: Ganesha Prarthana

11. Homework: Children should tell the Ganesha story to their parents and ask
their parents how we can show our gratitude to our parents. They should
connect the dots (page 7) and prepare a picture of Lord Ganesha.

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