Where there is Vasudev….there is Victory!

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yatra yogesvarah krsno
yatra partho dhanur-dharah
tatra srir vijayo bhrutir
dhruva nitir matir mama|

“Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjun, the supreme archer with the willingness to fight, there will also certainly be magnificence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality.”

In this fast pacing 21st century world which is chiefly swayed by association of man and machine, the epic like Mahabharat and its teachings seem utopian… But for the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir the message of this historical epic comes more relevant and attainable. Recently Sundaram House celebrated Janmashtami week by elucidating the wisdom and teachings of Mahabharat to all the students. Sundaram House celebrated this week by putting forth the characters and happenings of Mahabharat through speeches, videos and various performances based on this great epic.

 

On Monday the students were introduced to this great Epic and explained about the early childhood and education of Pandavs and Kouravs by Guru Dronacharya. How the seed of war seeped in and how Krishna became the shanti doot ….answers of these questions were explained on Tuesday. It was followed by a simple explanation of Geeta Saar on Wednesday, it was well explicated that when Arjun denies for war saying if he wins the battle of Mahabharat, he would lose his loved ones, so with whom would he share the victory and if he loses then also the kingdom will go in wrong hands so he expresses his doubt, then Lord Krishna explains it is in our hands to perform Karma without worrying about the result as that is not in our hands, it is taken care of by God. We should simply perform our duties sincerely but not out of greed for the outcome.
Moreover, on Thursday and Friday, students were introduced to Bhishma and Karna. Students were also well informed about Krishna’s advice to keep a balance in all our activities and maintain emotional stability. In addition to this, there was a grand creative assembly on Saturday, in which the most relevant essence of Mahabharat was conveyed through a drama performance by students of Sundaram House: “मांगे तो क्या मांगे प्रभु से “.

The character portrayal of Krishna, Arjun, Duryodhan, Jaydrath, Shakuni and Dushasan in the drama brings home the message that intellect and knowledge are always outshined by faith and devotion to God. In today’s world, we are like Arjun in our daily war with our senses and mind, which try to pull us away from our goal and in order to emerge as a winner in this war with negative forces; we need to have Krishna by our side, the charioteer who guides us to the right path. The key message of this creative assembly was that we can ascertain our victory if we ask just for God Himself by our side, in all our endeavours. The best part of this creative assembly was a gentle reminder of the beautiful fact that we all AVM members (like Arjun) are fortunate enough to have Swamiji (who is our Krishna) in our life, His constant visits to the campus clear all clouds of doubt…. enlightening us to follow the right path.

The Immortal Characters of Ramayan

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Ramayan is the epic which has mingled with our conscience because of the ideas and values the characters have exhibited through their life. Ramayan pictures the whole gamut of life of an individual in various aspects. It was a privilege for the members of Shivam house to commemorate, understand and learn to apply the teachings of this wonderful epic in our life.
It is rightly said that, “Men may come and men may go, but the virtues they exhibit in their life remain with us forever.” For example,  Hanumanji is known for his immense faith in Lord Ram and humility in all his actions. Lakshmanji is known for his extreme love for Lord Ram and the service with devotion which he offered to Lord Ram. Kaushaliya and Sitaji are known for their selfless love and sacrifices they offered to Lord Ram. Shabriji is known for her faith in her Guru Matang and devotion for Lord Ram. Vibhishan is known for his unshakable faith in Lord Ram and unwavering positive attitude. Manthara and Kaikai are symbols of jealousy, greed and fickle mind. Ravan, as we know is a symbol of lust, anger, ego, greed and other negative qualities. Lord Ram through his life has set examples of highest degree in various roles as son, brother, student, husband, friend, master, teacher and so on… These virtues that they exhibited in their life have made them immortal. 
Throughout the week Shivam House explained the significance of each of the above characters through videos and thoughtful speeches. Characters of various personalities like devotion of Shabri, faith, service, devotion and humbleness of Hanumanji, unshakable faith and unwavering positive attitude of Vibhishanji, faith of Angad were explained. A comparison between Kaushaliya’s character and Kaikai’s charater was beautifully portrayed through videos and speech. 
The last day of the week, Saturday, was creative assembly. In this assembly, a Hindi Drama “Jaisa Sang Vaisa Rang”, was presented. Entire drama comprised of 40 students from standards 6 to standard 10. This assembly was graced by the presence of P. Kothari Swamiji. The assembly began by welcoming him and doing his Poojan. Thereafter the first part of the drama began with Tulsidasji singing hymns in praise of Lord Ram. Pleased with his devotion, Valmikiji himself from the divine abode of God descends on earth to do his Darshan. Upon request from Tulsidasji, Valmiki narrates an anecdote of Lord Ram’s life. When lord Ram was sent to exile, Bharat along with all his ministers and people of kingdom goes to bring Lord Ram home. This anecdote was mesmerizingly dramatized. Lord Ram’s adherence to follow their father’s commands and Bharat’s unselfish love was portrayed in this drama. Lord Ram’s duties as an ideal child and as an ideal brother were put forth.

In the second part of Drama, Lakshmanji’s focus, ardent service and devotion towards Lord Ram and Sitaji was portrayed. On the contrary, negative influence of the touch of Ravan’s throne on Lakshmanji was also portrayed. 

Through these anecdotes it was explained that Lakshmanji who was in company of Lord Ram for 14 years of exile, who served Lord Ram with utmost faith and devotion, who had conquered sleep, and who had conquered all the desires of senses was also affected by the negative vibrations of Ravan’s throne. Negative company whether in form of touch, words, friendship, sight or any other form can disrupt our focus, hinder us from performing our duties with dedication and leads to our moral demise. So, we must be very careful in choosing our company. 
There is a famous saying which goes like this
“Jitne Taare Gagan Main Utne Dushman Hoi, Krupa Ho Sri Ram Ki Baal Na Baka Hoi…” But, to achieve such a shield from all the negative influences and experience the grace of God in life, we must all have complete faith in God, follow his commands with devotion and perform all our duties with utmost sincerity.
By members of Shivam House.

Practice Double, Nahi to Trouble

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“To unravel ideas through stories is a human tradition.”

Hence, inspired by one such collection of 101 tales of Wisdom as told by P.P. Yogiji Maharaj, Suhradam House celebrated the value – “Practice Double, Nahi to Trouble” on 27th July 2013. Suhradam house was fortunate enough to begin the celebration with the splendid merriment of the auspicious day of Guru Purnima and as a tribute to our Great Guru P.P. Yogiji Maharaj, a small attempt was made to pick few pearls of wisdom from the ocean of valuable stories of wisdom narrated by him. The book comprises 101 stories beautifully painted by Yogiji Maharaj in a lucid and unadulterated language. Reading of this book makes it easy for people of all ages to understand deep messages of wisdom which can be applied to their daily life.

 

 
Suhradam House performed a wonderful drama titled “Practice Double, Nahi to Trouble” in the creative assembly on Saturday morning drawn from two selected stories which children can apply in their student life. The assembly began with prayer followed by Pujan of Thakorji by Pujya Saumya Ma’am as it was her birthday and she was honoured with a bouquet by the teachers of Suhradam House. The drama began thereafter with a story of a king who invited the pundits to perform a Bhagvat katha at his palace. When the katha was going on, the king played Chopat with his friends rather than listening to the katha. So the pundit requested him to listen to the katha or else it won’t get him any reward. The king replied taking the proud of arranging many such Kathas and said you carry on…‘tum bak bak, hum sun sun’. It means that, ‘you keep on talking and I keep on listening.’ The disheartened pundit felt very bad for the king and explained to him that performing many kathas would not get him anything. He should listen to the katha carefully and apply the values derived from it in his life. But the king did not listen to the pundit.

This story was actually being read from 101 Tales of Wisdom by a father at bedtime with his child – Anupam making him understand that if he would not learn in the class with concentration and would keep on listening to the teacher without understanding, it would be of no use. Anupam expressed his gratitude to his father for the advice and asked him to give the book. He said he would read the book regularly and would get the solutions for his problems. He even expressed his desire to become a great doctor like his father. Anupam then studied with concentration in class and worked very hard. He started getting good marks in exams. But he thought that something was missing. He knew the answers of questions and the solution of the problems but could not apply his knowledge. He then thought and picked the book – 101 Tales of Wisdom and came across a story – Taltumbadiya Shashtri and started reading.

There was a boy who was learning in an ashram of his guru. He was not able to remember what he learned. One day he approached the guru and asked for the solution to his problem. The guru gave him two bowls and told him to fill one with sesame seeds and empty one seed in the other one at a time by saying a verse he had to remember. He said to repeat this until he had the verse by heart. The solution was difficult but the boy obeyed his guru with dedication and learnt all the verses and thus he became a great scholar popularly known as Taltumbadiya Shashtri.

While Anupam was reading the story, his father arrived and he shared it with his father and told him that he got the solution to his problem and added that along with hard work and concentration, practice is equally important. He at last appeals to the audience to learn in class with Jordar concentration and always practice double to avoid the trouble.

The creative assembly of Suhradam house presented the core of the learning from 101 Tales of Wisdom into one saying which states –

“Don’t practice until you get it right, practice until you can’t get it wrong.”

Submitted by
Nirali Madam

Celebrating the Bliss bestowed by Guru

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When we are oblivious of the purpose of life and get more and more entangled in various attractions of physical world, we are limited with our senses and our mind cannot comprehend either our purpose or ways to achieve it, hence we live aimlessly until we meet our Guru. Finally the guru defines our path and our life’s purpose. Gratitude is the key to unlocking a more open and rewarding perspective on life. And Guru Purnima is the day to show our gratitude towards our Guru, acknowledge His blessings and reaffirm our loyalty towards him.

Reiterating the gratitude towards H.D.H P.P. Swamiji, students, teachers and all members of AVM family celebrated Gurupurnima on Sunday 21st July 2013. The Morning assembly in the prayer hall was held with the gracious presence of Saints from Haridham. The Head boy of the school, Sachin Verlekar hosted the ceremony of Gurupoojan. After the invocation of God’s blessings and prayer, Vice Head Boy Dhwanit Tamboli and Sports Captain Nirmal Patel offered garlands to the guests. 

Addressing the students, the School Principal Dr Vijay Patel then elucidated need of Guru in one’s life and that Guru is the medium to communicate with God and what should we pray on this auspicious day. It was followed by soul stirring devotional bhajans by school choir group. Then the students offered their prayers and devotion to the Guru marked by Gurupoojan. Thereafter students received blessings of P. Suhrad Swami who gave an insight on importance of this day.


Thus on this auspicious day students realised that ignorance of math, science, history or technology may make life slightly inconvenient but it does not shroud us in darkness. The ignorance which is really dark is always dispelled by Guru in order to make our life peaceful, purposeful, fulfilling and divinely-connected.

विद्या विनयेन शोभते

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अत्यंत द्रुत गति से बदलते हुए इस समाज मे , इस परिवेश मे
संवेदनाओं और भावनाओं का ह्रास होता स्पष्ट नज़र आ रहा है। ऐसे दुष्कालग्रस्त मानव
समाज मे, सामाजिक एवं मानवीय मूल्यों की पुनः स्थापना का ही एक प्रयास है , हम सभी
का अपना…  यह आत्मीय विद्या मंदिर !
      जी हाँ ,
मित्रों ! आत्मीय सम्राट , परम् पूज्य श्री हरिप्रसाद स्वामी जी द्वारा सन् 2004
में स्थापित, आत्मीय विद्या मंदिर  जो कि ,
पिछले दस वर्षों से निरंतर शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में , ज्ञान के साथ-साथ यहाँ के छात्रों
में नैतिकता एवं शुद्ध मानसिकता के बीजों का रोपण कर रहा है। इस बार भी अपनी इसी
अनोखी एवं अद्भूत परंपरा की श्रंखला में एक और कड़ी को शिक्षा-सत्र 2013 – 2014 के
लिए जोड़ चुका है।
      विद्यालय
के सत्यम् हाउस ने आठ जुलाई से प्रारंभ हुए सप्ताह को , विद्यार्थी के जीवन में
अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण “विनय” नामक मूल्य का वर्णन करते हुए संपन्न किया। सप्ताह भर
विद्यालय की प्रार्थना सभा में विस्तार पूर्वक ‘विनय’ का महत्व समझाया गया।
विद्यालय के व्यवस्था-तंत्र के अनुसार , सत्यम् हाउस को ‘विनय’ नामक मूल्य पर
आधारित एक लघु नाटिका “विद्या विनयेन शोभते”
प्रस्तुत करने का मौका मिला। सत्यम् हाउस के सभी सदस्यों ने आत्मीयता से विचारों
का आदान-प्रदान कर के विद्यालय के नृत्य-निर्देशक श्रीमान मृणाल नायक के
मार्गदर्शन अनुसार इस नाटक को प्रस्तुत करने का नम्र प्रयास किया।
      “प्रिय
राम ! जीवन पथ हर मानव को अनेक कठिनाईयों का सामना करना पड़ता है, इन कठिन
परिस्थितियों को केवल बल और बुद्धि के आधार पर जीत लेना असंभव है। संपूर्ण विजय
प्राप्त करने के लिए बल और बुद्धि के साथ विनय का होना परमावश्यक है”।
विश्वामित्र जी के द्वारा प्रभु श्री राम को शिव-धनुष
उठाने से पूर्व दिये गये उपर लिखित ये आशिर्वचन ही वास्तव में निचोड़ थे, पूरे
नाटक के।  
       मानवता का सर्वोत्तम आभूषण विनयशीलता को कहा गया
है। पुरुषोत्तम राम विनयशीलता के साक्षात् अवतार थें। उसी विनयशीलता के शस्त्र से
क्रोधित और आगबबुला हुए श्री परशुराम के क्रोध को भगवान श्री राम नियंत्रित कर
पाए।
       विनम्र व्यक्ति में सभी प्रकार की परिस्थितियों
को झेलने की शक्ति होती है , ऐसी शक्ति और अपने ज्ञान- गरिमा का रंज मात्र भी उन्हें
दंभ नहीं होता है और वे सदैव दूसरों के समक्ष झूकना , नम्र होना ही अपना कर्तव्य
मानते हैं। वास्तव में विनय कठिनाईयों का सामना करने में संबल बनता है और
प्रतिद्वन्द्वी को बल क्षीण करता है।
      आइए !
श्री राम में बसे इस अद्भूत विनम्रता के महान सदगुण को हम हमारे जीवन में ढालने का
प्रयास कर जीवन को समृद्ध बनाएं ।।

लेखक: श्री पुष्पक जोशी

Investiture Ceremony 2013-14

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“The price of greatness is responsibility.” Sir Winston Churchill

On the pleasant morning of 6 July 2013, admirable young talents of Atmiya Vidya Mandir were bestowed responsibility of serving school with their capability, efficiency and more over with devotion.

The Investiture Ceremony, thus marked the initiation of the student council for the academic session 2013-14. Designations were assigned with an official title to the Head Boy, the Vice Head Boy and the Sports Captain. the House Captains and the Vice-Captains of all the four houses were provided with the respective ranks and deserved rights.

The young and enlightened minds, Harsh Sarda and Tanmay Patel of class XI carried the program to an utmost excitement. And displayed the best of the qualities of Host.

“PRATHAM PRABHU, PACCHI PAGLU” as per this ritual of Atmiya Vidya Mandir, Investiture Ceremony commenced its first step of lightening the sacred lamp by Honourable Vice Principal – Ashish Sir, Respectable Administrator – Haresh Sir. Thakorji was offered with the devotional poojan by Pujya Arjun Mama. Following the Hindu tradition, Lord Ganesha was worshipped by presenting the Sloka – “Vakratunda Mahakaya Suryakoti Samaprabha” by our school choir group who added grandeur to the ambience.

On the tune of the school band, members of Student Council performed a grand March Past.

The formal assignment of title, is indeed a matter of pride for every members of Student Council. Vice Principal, House conveners and House Teachers assigned the Council members with their respective badges.

Turning the program with zest, Vice-Principal, Honourable Swayam Ma’am carried out the swearing-in-ceremony. Wherein entire Student Council took an oath and promised to discharge their duties sincerely to the best of their ability.

To add more splendour to this function, the centre of most attraction for our school youngistan was the dance, it was a traditional Gujarati dance which was performed by the students of class IX and X in a kathiyawadi attire.

The Head Boy, Sachin Verlekar, cognitively brilliant, socially smart and emotionally stable yet deeply humane delivered a short speech. Wherein he promised to behold the values of school and stand up to the expectations of elders.

Enlightening further, Vice Principal – Swayam Ma’am addressed the school on “Responsibility of a leader is to play multiple roles in his life”.

As a symbol of energy, the lamp was lighten by the Students Council. The ceremony was concluded with the school song.

Wishing the entire Student Council, success and victory in all their endeavours and leaving behind a legacy for all to cherish.

Written by: Rashmi Ma’am

Tint of festivity rolling down exam fervour at AVM

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As a refreshing spring cools the landscape, after a brief dwelling of examination across the thorough schedule, Atmiya Vidya Mandir cut loose for a day of curl and general hilarity. The cheer of festive elation lit up students’ faces as Holi was celebrated.

In Atmiya Vidya Mandir, splendid occasions of all Indian festivals are observed in a grand manner with the fervour of culture and performance of unique rituals. Holi celebration began with lighting up of the bonfire (Holika Dahan) on the Holi eve. Students acknowledged numerous legends and stories associated with this festival. As the traditional rituals were performed and the different items like coconut, dry fruits and flowers were offered to the sacred fire. The students, teachers and all elders of AVM family moved along the bonfire, their faces glowed in the orange-yellow light of ephemeral flames. The evening breeze scented with the aroma of sweet festive delicacies being prepared in the school kitchen to treat the taste buds with good food adding to the celebration.

The next day, the school declared holiday in the post lunch session which was greeted with cheer by all students after exams. It’s time to smear others with vibrant colours and get smeared, too, when everybody got drenched in a myriad of colours at the football ground of the school. The spirit of celebration included the splash of colours coupled with guffaws and giggles with sprinkles of water. As the Atmiyans dressed up in myriad hues of the festival of colours of Holi, all rejoiced in the festivities of the season. It was a day filled with colours, fun, frolic, enthusiasm and above all happiness. Promptly at noon, the craziness came to an end and the tiny tots were dragged by didis back to their rooms and to the showers and the seniors too headed towards the water trough, soon a contented silence befell over Atmiya Vidya Mandir as relaxed with the load of funnnn they just had!!!!!!!!!!

कक्षा 8, 9 एवं 10 में हिन्दी भाषान्तर्गत जनवरी मास में कविता-निर्माण का आयोजन

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आत्मीय विद्यामंदिर में होने
वाली विविध गतिविधियों के साथ-साथ जनवरी मास में कक्षा 8, 9 तथा कक्षा 10 में
हिन्दी भाषा के अंतर्गत हिन्दी भाषा-शिक्षक श्री मुकेश जोशी के मार्गदर्शन में
हिन्दी कविता-निर्माण का आयोजन किया गया। जिसके अंतर्गत कक्षा 8 में कविता निर्माण
का विषय था—“उड़ी पतंग”, कक्षा 9 में विषय था— ‘बचपन’ एवं कक्षा 10 में
कविता-निर्माण के 3 विषय दिए गए, जिसमें से छात्र अपना पसंद का विषय चुन कर अपने
विचारों को मुक्त रूप से अभिव्यक कर सकें। जो निम्नलिखित हैं—
  1.  मेरा स्वार्थ।
  2.  मेरे सपनो का भारत
    (दुनियाँ)।
  3. नया तरीका भक्ति का।
छात्रों ने कविता निर्माण कर
अपनी प्रतिभा का परिचय दे दिया।

પ્રજ્ઞા પ્રવૃત્તિ

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ઊંચે ઊંચે જાય મારો કેવો
રે પતંગ !
આખાયે
આકાશનો એ બદલે જાણે રંગ.
દોરી મૂકું છુટ્ટી તો જાતો એ આકાશ;
એના મનમાં જાણે પહોંચું પ્રભુજીની પાસ.
પતંગ પણ આપણને કંઈક સંદેશ આપીને
જાય છે. આકાશમાં ઉડતો પતંગ એ આનંદનુ પ્રતિક છે. પતંગો પાછળ સમજવા જેવુ જ્ઞાન છુપાયેલું છે. ઘણા પતંગો દિશા વગર ગમે ત્યાં ઉડીને ફાટી જાય છે. તેમ કોઈ દિશા
વગરનું જીવન પણ વેર-વિખેર થઈ જાય છે.  અઢ્ઢો જો અક્કડ હોય તો તે સારી રીતે ઉડી શકતો નથી, તેવી જ રીતે આપણે જો જીવનમાં ઉંચાઈઓ પર પહોંચવું હોય
તો નમ્ર બનવુ પડશે. જેમ પતંગને આકાશમાં ઉડાવીએ ત્યારે ઉડાવનારા હવા પ્રમાણે દોરાને ઢીલ આપીને પોતાનો પતંગ સાચવવો પડે છે, તેવી જ રીતે આ આકાશરૂપી દુનિયામાં આપણું મન પણ વિવિધ પરિસ્થિતિમાં ડોલમડોલ થતું રહે છે, જે એ પરિસ્થિતિમાં પોતાના મન પર કાબૂ મેળવીને આગળ વધી જાય છે એ જ મનુષ્યનું જીવન
યથાર્થ સાબિત થાય છે. 



         આ વર્ષે ઉત્તરાયણ પર્વ નિમિત્તે ધોરણ 5
ના નાના નાના ભૂલકાંઓએ વિવિધ આકારની પતંગોનું હર્ષોત્સાહ સાથે સર્જન કર્યું હતું.
તેમજ ઉત્તરાયણના પર્વનું માહાત્મ્ય સમજી સાચા અર્થમાં ઉત્તરાયણ પર્વની ઉજવણી કરી
હતી.
તો પછી તૈયાર રહો ઉત્તરાયણમાં પેચ
લડાવવા… પેચ કાપવા… હેપ્પી ઉત્તરાયણ.
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“પાંચ દાણા”

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‘પાંચ
દાણા’ આ બોધકથા ભાષાશિક્ષણ અને વ્યવહારબોધનો ઉત્તમ નમૂનો છે. જેમાં એક શેઠ પોતાના
ચાર દીકરાઓની વહુઓની આવડત અને વ્યવહારકુશળતા જાણવાની ઈચ્છા રાખે છે. આ માટે શેઠ
દીકરાઓની વહુઓને અનાજના પાંચ પાંચ દાણા આપી, દાણાને સાચવી રાખવાનું જણાવે છે. થોડા સમય પછી જ્યારે તેઓ પોતાના દીકરાઓની વહુઓ પાસે પેલા
પાંચ દાણા માંગે છે ત્યારે શેઠને તે વહુઓની સૂઝ, સમજ, આવડત, હોશિયારી અને વ્યવહારકુશળતાનો
ખ્યાલ આવે છે.

તેવી જ રીતે ધોરણ 7 ના વિદ્યાર્થીઓએ વિવિધ અનાજની વિશેષ
માહિતી મેળવી અને પોતાની સૂઝ, સમજ અને આવડતથી અનાજના દાણાને વિવિધ આકારમાં ગોઠવી
કલ્પનારૂપ સર્જન આપ્યું હતું.
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