Every year as the dog days of summer wind down to August, parents and kids are gearing up for the next school year, classes and Back to School Shopping. We at BalaVihar are also feverishly getting ready to welcome our kids and parents back. This year was going to be an even more exciting year because we are adding Friday classes to our schedule. Due to the growing demand for BalaVihar, we have started a fourth session on Fridays from7:00 pm to 8:30 pm which has seen growing numbers.
All of this starts with Registration team which diligently starts sorting through the numbers and assigning classes based on availability. The BV Admin has the task of making sure we have enough teachers to cover all classes. In addition to that all the other seva groups come together to ensure the Ashram is cleaned, class rooms look spic and span, art supplies are ready, teachers have all the resources they need and many other tasks big and small. Whatsapp groups were formed to inform parents, so they would know where they should go, what times they should come etc. This is especially helpful to new parents. The altar was beautifully decorated with garlands on all the deities.
The first BV session for Friday (in keeping with Forsyth County Calendar) was scheduled for 8th Aug and the first Sunday sessions, all 3 of them were scheduled to start on 10th August. New Family Orientation was scheduled for 9th August. Everyone was ready and our Sundar Krishna was eagerly looking forward to seeing all the kids back . Volunteers were gathered, ready to direct parents. Smiling teachers greeted their new students. Hugs were exchanged and there was a feeling of festivity in the air.
Assembly is unique to BalaVihar where we get to pray as a group, so a great deal of emphasis is laid on the format of the assembly. The idea is to divinize the mind and then send the kids to their classes. With this, we had a very special assembly planned for the first day, all sessions. In addition to welcoming the parents and opening prayers, a beautiful video was shown on ‘Why we pray ‘? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr7NulwMTSs. It gets the kids and parents thinking about the purpose of Balavihar. A quick question and answer session followed to engage the kids. After this were Bhajans to Ganesha to get his blessings, after which we closed with Aarti and dismissal. Parents stayed back for a Board presentation.
As the kids streamed into classes, teachers were ready to engage them in various activities. One of the highlights was for older kids , they had a Goal Board where they could decide on what bad value they would like to get rid of and what good value they would like to inculcate. A lot of kids wanted to practice patience, reduce anger, pray more , Be good and it was heart warming to see the level of their thinking. Little kids were not forgotten. Teachers had planned different ice breaker games that we knew they would thoroughly enjoy. At the end, every class performed a small puja at their class altar to get Bhagwan’s blessings for not just a wonderful BalaVihar year, but also to achieve their academic and social goals for this year. All the kids offered prayers and teachers had thoughtfully brought prasad which parents and kids enjoyed. Parents got to spend a few minutes with the teachers ,so teachers could introduce themselves and address any concerns they may have . As the classes emptied out, volunteers were busy picking up trash, closing classrooms and making sure we are ready for our next class.
Chinmaya Gurukul has come a long way , from its humble beginnings in basements with a few kids, to an organization that supports the spiritual growth of thousands of kids and adults alike. We are eternally grateful to every volunteer who shows up and inspires us to keep going. We are thankful to every parent who after a long week at work, cheerfully brings their kids to Balavihar and inspires them with seva. We are grateful for every smile , every hug , every laugh that inspires us to show up and be present . With Gurudev’s blessings and Sundar Krishna’s love, we will continue this journey.
