i.
BALA VIHAR
VISION OF OUR GURUS
Our children are our joy. No amount of efforts put in or time given to
them can be considered enough. Our efforts, however, ought to be in the right
direction and the time given must be quality time.
It is found that children
reluctantly respond to formal schooling and traditional methods of learning,
whereas they are ever ready for games and sports. SO
we must see that they imbibe the values in a very loving and joyous atmosphere.
Recognizing this very need, Pujya Gurudev initiated the Bala Vihar classes. Its
objectives can be summed up in the following statement:
To help children learn values with fun
To delight like the moon and shine like the sun!
“Shine like the sun” means “shine
in one’s own success,” and delight like the moon” means to include others in
the joys of life.”
Chinmaya Mission has been
conducting the Bala vihar
classes around the world for ages between 3 and 18. There was a long- felt need
for systematic syllabus to conduct classes efficiently and professionally.
A committee of dedicated Bala Vihar teachers has worked on this project under the
commendable leadership of Srimati Darshana Nanavaty,
Acharya, Chinmaya Mission, Houston, USA. The systematic syllabus helps a child
develop a healthy EQ (emotional quotient) for success in material as well as
spiritual life. We have several layers in our personality, physical, emotional,
intellectual, spiritual to name a few. The spiritual personality is one that
nourishes all other personality layers, yet in this modern day, we pay very
little attention to this vital layer. Our Bala Vihar curriculum concentrates on this and completes the
education that a child is getting elsewhere.
Sishu Vihar
Curriculum designed by Swamini Supriyananda, a psychologist trained in Australia and
London.
Promotes age appropriate gross and fine motor skills as well as helps parents bond spiritually with their children.
The goal is to teach children:
-
Simple values and discipline through the English
alphabet
-
The fun of living by these values and discipline
-
The Chinmaya Mission Pledge, its meaning , message and the value
-
Some of the following prayers and their meaning:
▪
Sri Ganesha
▪
Sri Krishna
▪
Sri Rama
▪
Sri Hanuman
▪ Sri Vishnu
The goal of teaching Bala Ramayana to the
children is to:
-
Narrate the story of Rama, through fun arts
& crafts
-
Inspire children to be like Rama, through fun
activities
-
Chant & learn relevant slokas:
Grade 2
The goal of teaching about Sri Hanuman in Grade 2 is to:
-
Impart and instill the faith that Sri Hanuman
will protect them and dispel their fears
-
Inspire them to adopt the virtuous qualities
that made Hanumanji great
-
Teach them to chant the Dhyana shloka and
Hanuman Chalisa
-
Explain the meaning of the Dhyana Shloka and
Hanuman Chalisa
Grade 3
The goal of the curriculum is to:
-
Develop devotion in children
-
Create faith and a sense of security within : “if I am good, God will protect me.”
-
Teach morals of Bhagwatam
stories and relevant stotrams:
Grade 4
The goal of teaching Krsna Krsna
Everywhere in Grade 4 is to:
-
Inspire children to be virtuous and happy
through Krsna stories
-
Teach children through projects about values
that bring them closer to Krsna
-
Inspire children to introspect
-
Children will learn to chant some relevant stotrams
The goal of My Twenty- four Teachers in Grade 4
is to teach the children that:
-
Who we are and what we know is because our
teachers and we are indebted to them
-
We learn only when our attitude is proper.
Proper attitude makes us a good disciple
-
Anyone or anything can be a good teacher, if we
have the humility and proper attitude to recognize
them
-
Nature is one of our greatest teachers and we
should learn to respect nature
Grade 5
The curriculum for fifth grade, “India, the
Sacred Land”, imparts:
-
The knowledge of why India is a Sacred Land and
what India stands for
-
Reverence for Mother India and her glorious
heritage
-
An understanding of the goal of life revealed in
scriptures and lived by our saints
-
Clarity that “Walking the Footsteps of the
Saints”, the goal of life can be achieved
The goal of the curriculum, P.O. Box Mr. God is
to teach:
-
God is Omnipresent, and He is within and without
us
-
We all can become an address of God, if we
assimilate the values described in the chaupais of
Sri Ramacaritamanasa
-
The meaning and chanting of the relevant chaupais
The goal of “Key to Success” is to teach that:
-
Self Knowledge is the
Key to Success
-
Knowledge we gain depends upon the caliber of
our instrument- mind and intellect
-
The importance of quietening our mind and
intellect to sharpen our instrument
-
The way to quieten our mind and intellect, and
live by the noble values
-
The way to ride the Dharma Chariot, to success
and be happy in life
-
The meaning and chanting of the relevant chaupais
Grade 7
The goal of teaching Symbolism in Hinduism to
children is to:
-
Explain the ideal that idols represent
-
Explain symbolism of the Hindu deities: Ganesa,
Siva, Lord Vishnu, Goddesses, Sri Krsna, and Sri Rama
-
Explain the significance of traditional
religious festivals attributed to the above deities and celebrate them
-
Expose children prayers for each of the Hindu
deities
The goal of the curriculum is to teach:
-
What is Karma
-
Sins to be given up by the body, mind, and
speech
-
The story of the Mahabharata and characteristics
of the main characters
-
Morals through thought provoking
questions/answers of Yaksha prsana
-
What is Dharma?
-
How to live by Dharma and succeed in world
-
Sanatana Dharma
values as given by Manu Bhagwan
-
The facts of life and roadmap to success
-
How to be the darling of Krsna
by living the values given in Chapter XII of the Srimad
Bhagawad Gita
-
The bhajan and meaning of Vaisnavajana
Through all the above, we explain to children
the roadmap to a life of success
Grade 9
The goal of the curriculum is twofold. First, to
teach children in 9th grade about Hindu culture and second, to
provide a deeper insight into how to live by it to lead a happy life.
Pujya Gurudeva Swami Chinmayananda
proclaimed, “Man’s control of nature external is civilization. His control of
nature internal is culture.”
Using the
prescription (Sanskaras) given in the Vedas, which
form the foundation of Hindu Culture, we will learn to modify our inner
behavior and prevent our nature (prakriti) becoming perverted (vikrti). We will learn to focus our attention on the
spiritual culture rather than material culture to accomplish the goal of life.
Our Vedas
have three sections:
o
Karmakanda: Deals
with rituals which purify the mind
o
Upasanakanda:
Describes upasana, practices which cure restlessness
of the mind
o
Jnanakanda:
Described the knowledge of the Self
The goal of life as presented in the Hindu
Culture is to gain Self Knowledge, which is the only way to happy forever.
Since we all want to be happy, the goal of life for us is Self
Knowledge. The way to be happy is to live by the prescription of life as
given by Hindu Culture.
Grade
10/11
The goal of the curriculum is to bring out the
salient points of each chapter of the Gita to enable children to the learn the key messages and
apply in their life. This is a curriculum that teaches them how to be
independent and successful in their journey forward in college and life beyond.
Self Unfoldment : A mudra
from India’s Bharata Natyam dance depicts the opening of a blossom. As a
blossom unfolds to reveal the beauty hidden within its petals, so also we can experience spiritual unfoldment to reveal the
pure, divine Self within.
o
The goal of this curriculum is to explore the
following questions and more:
o
Who am I?
o
Where did I come from? Where was I before I was
born? Where will I be after I die?
o
Why am I sometimes happy, sometimes sad?
o
Am I OK as I am, or should I be something else?
o
Why does the world sometimes scream at me,
sometimes smile at me?
o
Does it really make a difference whether I tell
a lie or not?
o
Why do I always seem to want just a little more
than I have?
In exploring the above, the hope is that the students will learn the art of right contact with the world outside as a poet rightly said : “Life is a tragedy to those who feel; life is a comedy to those who think!”