વિવિધતામાં એકતા

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વિવિધતામાં એકતા એ ભારતીય સંસ્કૃતિનું વિશિષ્ટ લક્ષણ છે. દેશમાં વિવિધ પ્રદેશો છે, એ પ્રદેશોમાં વસતા લોકોનાં પહેરવેશ, ધર્મ, ભાષા, રીતરિવાજમાં ભાતીગળ ભિન્નતા જોવા મળે છે. ‘સમગ્ર ભારત એક છે અને આપણે બધાં ભારતીય છીએ’ એ ભાવના પ્રાચીન કાળથી પોષાતી આવી છે. ભારતની આ સામાજિક, સાંસ્કૃતિક અને ભાવાત્મક એકતા ઝનૂની પરદેશીઓનાં આક્રમણો સામે પણ અખંડિત જ રહી છે. રાષ્ટ્રભાવનાની કેળવણી દ્વારા, આપણે રાષ્ટ્રીય એકતાનો પાયો વધુ મજબૂત રાખી શકીશું. સાહિત્યકારો, શિક્ષણકારો, સમાજસેવકો તેમજ નેતાઓ રાષ્ટ્રભક્તિનો વિકાસ સધાય એવું વાતાવરણ સર્જી શકે છે. રેડિયો, દૂરદર્શન તેમજ ફિલ્મનિર્માતાઓ પણ નોંધપાત્ર ફાળો આપી શકે છે.


આ જ હેતુને ધ્યાનમાં રાખીને આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરના ધોરણ-6 ના ભૂલકાઓએ ભારતમાં વસતા દરેક ધર્મના ધર્મપ્રતિકો બનાવી વિવિધતામાં એકતાની ભાવના વ્યક્ત કરી હતી.
પ્રેરણા: ગૌતમ સર

“Venice of the East”: There and back again

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An electrifying tour to Udaipur was organised to rejuvenate the students and to ease off from the recently concluded exams. It was held from October 5th to October 8th for the students of grades 9 and 10. The first day started with refreshment in the awesome hotel: “Valley View” in Udaipur after which we strolled out in this beautiful city of lakes.

We went for boating in the Pichola Lake, a beautiful, picturesque lake that is enveloped by some of the key structures of Udaipur. After the highly informative and full-of-fun ride, we visited the Maharana Pratap Memorial where we learnt more about the very inspiring life of Maharana Pratap. The stories of Chetak, his loyal horse, who lived and died for the Rana gave us goosebumps. As the evening proceeded and it got dark, we went forth to explore the city centre and trekked for about 2 km going through narrow streets and subways, eventually arriving at an eye-catching sight of the city of Udaipur with buildings and structures decorated with candles and lights. It seemed like a city of GOLD! Finally, upon returning back to our hotel, we had a delicious dinner and our day ended with already lots of memories of the city.

The next day, our curiosity was exploited in Chittaurgarh – the land of Bhakti and Shakti (the land of devotion and strength), about 100 km from Udaipur. After a “heavy” breakfast, we travelled and reached there by noon. We then explored through the ruins of places where some of the most inspiring events took place. In this historically significant Mewar part of Rajasthan, we saw for ourselves the place where Queen Padmini and the Rajput women performed “jauhar” symbolising the extent of their dedication towards their faith. We relived the sacrifice made by Panna Dai in order to save the infant Prince Udaisinh and we were touched by the life and devotion of Meerabai. We got to see the ruins of the Royal Palace, the Vijay Stambh (Tower of Victory), Meerabai Temple, Rana Pratap fort and the breathtaking views of the modern city which lay at the foothills. After lunch in the city, whilst our buses took us back to Udaipur, we continued marvelling in the glory of the city we had just witnessed. Upon returning to the hotel, we freshened up and got replenished with some tasty snacks and games. Swimming was great fun. And then again, came another very delicious dinner serving some awesome food. Everyone was charged up and looking forward to the Navratri celebration arranged in the hall within the hotel itself. After some time after dinner, we enjoyed garba in which all students and teachers danced with a lot of passion.

The final day of our trip began with our visit to the mesmerising, grand City Palace. It was built by 22 kings, one after the other and is an excellent masterpiece of architecture infused with strategy. We saw the well preserved rooms, gardens, clothes, jewellery and weapons used by the generations of the royal family. We witnessed first-hand the life style of the royal family. Everyone left the palace in awe and reached the hotel for lunch.

It was time then to bid farewell to this beautiful city of palaces and lakes and we started our return journey to school. One of the most remarkable things about this tour was the extent of meticulous planning and execution of our tour manager Mr Himanshu Goyal from Booking Station. Himanshu Sir was personally involved in every event and situation taking such care so as to provide us with the best possible experience.

This trip was indeed very adventurous and enthralling and surely one of the best trips we’ve ever been to. The experiences of this tour have left indelible footprints on the sands of time for us.

Re-Lived by: Yaksh Badhiwala and Utkarsh Patel (Std 10)

जल-झुलनी एकादशी 2013

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तिथि, वार, नक्षत्र, योग और करण इन पाँच प्रमुख अंगो से बने हिंदू पंचांग के अनुसार नवसंवतसर (नववर्ष) का शुभारंभ चित्रा नक्षत्र से युक्त चैत्र मास (मार्च-अप्रैल) की प्रतिपदा (एकम्) को मनाया जाता है। तत्पश्चात् द्वितीय माह ‘वैशाख’ और तृतीय माह ‘ज्येष्ठ’ को छोड़ कर के चतुर्थ मास ‘आषाढ़’ के शुक्ल पक्ष की एकादशी; ‘देवशयनी-एकादशी’ से प्रारंभ होकर कार्तिक मास के शुक्लपक्ष की ‘प्रबोधिनी एकादशी’ पर्यंत, समय के इस प्रवाह को – चतुर्मास कहते हैं । 

 
धरातल पर ‘जेठ’ महीने की भीषण और प्रचण्ड धूप के बाद, आषाढ़ माह के शुरू होते ही काले बदरवा की गर्जन और दामिनी की आतिशबाजी से गगन थर्रा उठता है तथा मेघ समारोह के नजारे दृष्टिगोचर होने लगते हैं। पावस की बूंदें धरती पर पड़ते ही लोगों के तन-मन फुहारों से सिंचित हो खिल उठते हैं, ताप भाग खड़ा होता है। झुलसे उपवन में बहार आ जाती है। घनघोर घटाओं से अंबर घिर जाता है। चहुंओर हरीतिमा ही हरीतिमा। नदी, तालाब, सरोवर आदि लबालब हो जाते हैं, कृषक प्रफुल्लित हो उठते हैं, ठंडी बयारें, वर्षा का जल नया संदेशा, नई चेतना लेकर आता है। धरती की गोद से जब नव अंकुर फूटते हैं तो भूलोक पर कोपलों की हरियाली से चूनर लहरा उठती है।

और फिर प्रारंभ हो जाता है दौर त्योहारों का। हरियाली का उत्सव हरियाली अमावस्या से लगाकर नाग पंचमी, रक्षाबंधन, कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी, गणेश चतुर्थी, नवरात्री, दशहरा, दीपावली आदि–अदि… क्या ये सभी उत्सव पृथ्वी को हरा-भरा रखने और सरिसृप(सांप) सहित संपूर्ण प्राणी जगत की सुरक्षा का संदेश देते हुए हमें ये नहीं बताते हैं कि वनस्पति और प्राणी जगत एक-दूसरे के बिना अधूरे हैं ?

त्यौहारों की शृंखला के में एक और कड़ी जुड़ जाती है जो जल-झुलनी एकादशी के रूप में ख्याति प्राप्त है। यह अद्भुत और विशेष त्योहार आर्यावर्त (भारत) में कई नामों से जाना जाता है जैसे- परिवर्तिनी एकादशी, पार्श्व एकादशी, वामन एकादशी, डोल ग्यारस आदि ।

वर्षा काल के दौरान चिरकाल तक भ्रमण के अवसर की सुलभता न होने के कारण अल्प-विहार का संदेश देता यह खास पर्व आत्मीय विद्या मंदिर में भी प्रतिवर्ष की भांति इस वर्ष भी मनाया गया। चिरप्रतिक्षित जल-झुलनी एकादशी का उत्साह विद्यालय में पौ फटने के साथ ही नज़र आने लगा। सूर्योदय के साथ ही नन्हें-नन्हें बालको का भगवान सहजानंद के प्रति धर्मानुराग आज विशेष रूप में देखा गया। प्रभात वेला की ईशवंदना के बाद क्या किशोर और क्या वयस्क, आबालवृद्ध समूह प्रातःकालिन अल्पाहार में केवल राजगिरा और मालकांगनी के पकोड़े खाकर दैनिक कार्यों में प्रवृत्त हुआ। विद्यालय में रविवार का अवकाश होने के कारण विद्यार्थीयों इस उत्सव को लेकर खासा उत्साह देखने मिला। छात्रों ने भी मध्याह्न के भोजन में भी छाछ भाजी और फलाहारी पूरियों का सेवन किया। इस प्रकार आराधनपूर्ण इस दिवस की कब सांझ हो गई, ज्ञात ही नहीं हो पाया।

और अब ! आखिर आ ही गया समय का वो प्रतिक्षारत खंड, जिसका पिछले सप्ताहभर से भक्तों को बेसब्री से इंतज़ार था। करीब चार बजे पूरे उत्साह और उमंग के साथ औत्सुक्यपूर्ण वातावरण में भगवान स्वामिनारायण और उनके साथ शास्त्रीजी महाराज, योगीजी महाराज और प्रगटगुरूहरि हरिप्रसाद स्वामी महाराज की प्रतिमाओं को देवालय से आदरपुर्वक बाहर लाकर श्रद्धा एवं सावधानी के साथ पालकी में बैठाई गई। भगवान की जय-जयकार से विद्यालय प्रांगण गूंजायमान हो उठा। इस शोभायात्रा की शोभा तो बस देखते ही बनती थी। छात्रों एक जत्था पूर्ण जोर-शोर से जोश के साथ वाद्ययंत्रों का वादन कर रहा था तो दूसरी ओर अन्य छात्र भजनों के गायन से माहौल को भक्ति से ओत-प्रोत कर रहे थें।

और इस तरह से यह यात्रा विद्यालय के तरणताल तक जा पहुँची जहाँ पर सर्वप्रथम भगवान का शुद्ध जल से अभिषेक किया गया तत्पश्चात् विद्यालय परिवार के पूज्य बालुकाका, पूज्य वल्लभमामा एवं प्रधानाचार्य डा. विजय पटेल ने पूजन और आरती की। शाम का वातावरण अत्यंत सुहावना था। विद्यालय के सभी छात्र शिक्षक एवं अन्य कर्मचारीगण को संबोधित करते हुए डा.पटेल ने इस पर्व के महात्म्य पर प्रकाश डाला और कहा कि ‘जिस प्रकार किसी नदी या सागर को सुगमता व सरलता पूर्वक पार करने में एक तरणी(नौका) कितनी सहायक होती है, ठिक वैसे ही ये जीवन भी एक सागर जैसा है जिसमे विषमता की समय-समय पर अनेक लहरे आती रहती है जिनका सामना कर सफलतापूर्वक इस भवसागर को पार करने में संत हमारे लिए नाव की भांति सहायता करते हैं और हम जीवन का सुगमता और सरलता से निरवहन कर सकते हैं’। प्रधानाचार्यजी के इस उद्बोधन ने गागर में सागर भरने का काम किया।

फिर कनिष्ठ छात्रों से लगा कर वरिष्ठ छात्रों तक सभी ने भक्ति के साथ अत्यधिक उमंग द्वारा बारी-बारी से श्री हरि को जल में विहार करवाया। कार्यक्रम के अंत में ऋतुफल खीरा(ककड़ी) का प्रसाद वितरण किया गया तथा इस तरह से जल-झुलनी एकादशी के इस उत्सव को आत्मीय विद्या मंदिर में सरसता के साथ मनाया गया। खुब भक्तिपरक और प्रचुर रोचक ऐसे अग्रीम जल-झुलनी एकादशी के उत्सव की प्रतिक्षा मे…

लेखक: पुष्पक सर

Ganesh Chaturthi: Celebrating the control over senses

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Ganesh Chaturthi, the great Ganesh festival starts on 4th day of Hindu month of Bhadrapada and ends on 14th day of Bhadrapada.


At AVM, we welcomed Gajj Mukhi Shri Gajanana (the elephant headed God Ganpati) with the chanting of slogans on the beat of drums and khanjari, Ganpati Bapa Morya, Mangal Murti Morya, Ghee na Laddu Choriya, Aale re Aale Ganpati Aale… and students dancing ahead followed by Lord Ganesh on the chariot drawn by our housemasters and sports teachers till the steps of Atmiya Prayer Hall where the Idol was welcomed by the ladies staff performing Tilak vidhi and sprinkling Akshat and Flowers inviting Lord Ganesha with the slogan “RIddhi Siddhi sahit padharo Shri Gaurinandan Ganesh”.

 

 
The Idol was placed in the prayer hall with rituals performed by our Sanskrit teacher Shri Pushpak Joshi. Aarti was performed with the participation of all AVM staff and students.

For the next five days, Aarti and Poojan was performed as per rituals and the students made the most of this auspicious opportunity of praying to the Lord of Wisdom and Prosperity. During the five days festive period, they observed the idol of Lord Ganesha as: Big Head being referred to thinking big; Small Eyes to concentrating well; Large Ears to be a good listener; Large Stomach to peacefully digest (accept) the good and the bad in life; His vahana (vehicle He rides), mouse, (whose desires are endless), that should be controlled and driven by us rather than the desires driving us. The students learned the significance of being an Ideal son.

On the fifth day, with mixed feelings of joy and some sadness, the students and staff celebrated the farewell of Lord Ganesha to His heavenly abode with the students loudly chanting slogans. The procession started from the footsteps of the Prayer Hall, going around the Pavitra hostel, then taking a round from the dining hall to the senior school building and finally to the front of the Admin building where everyone danced around the Idol and prayed to Lord Ganesha to be with them and help fight any obstacles coming in their way. Everyone waved a final goodbye to Lord Ganesha and from there on, some teachers and housemasters accompanied the chariot towards the banks of the holy river Tapi, where the Idol was immersed in the river chanting prayers to the son of the Aadi Dev.

गणपती बाप्पा मोरया ! पुढच्या वर्षी लवकर या !
[Oh Lord Ganesh, please come back early next year]

Written by: Pranav Sir

SAMARPAN 2013 – For all those who light the way for others

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5th September is celebrated as Teachers’ Day all over India and it was specially so at Atmiya Vidya Mandir. The students of Class 11 with the guidance of the Student Council Convener, Tarun Sir, poured out their hearts to convey their love and respect for their teachers by arranging a celebration on the day. The students believe their teachers to be the torch bearers in their path of ignorance; mast of their life boats and their compass in the dense forest of life.
The function began with the poojan of all the teachers by the students of class 2 and 3. It was followed by invoking the presence of God through Thakorji’s poojan. The stage was set and the hosts: Sonakbhai and Parikshitbhai took their places. First the students were told about the significance of the day. Then, to give a musical tribute, Ronakbhai was called upon, who played a masterpiece on the keyboard. This was followed by a skit by Parthbhai, Mananbhai, Niramaybhai and a group of Class 11 students. The skit showed how the teachers at AVM were different than elsewhere and how they played an important role in deciding the child’s future.

Then was the time for the much awaited dance tribute by some amazingly talented students. The dance was mind blowing and left an imprint in the hearts of every teacher and student. The first part of glimpses of moments spent by teachers with students was shown on the big screen and was followed by card distribution to the female teachers. This part of the function was concluded by a melodious song which was a fusion of “Jab koi baat bigad jaye” and “Tum ho to”.
The second part began with the glimpses of male teachers and was followed by card presentation to them. Howsoever much we praise the teachers, it is always incomplete! Lalitbhai conveyed that fact when he came forward on the stage to talk about the contribution of teachers in his and every students’ life at AVM. His speech was simply heart touching. After the speech, there was a group song performance of “In your hands” by the AVM choir group.
Furthermore, everyone was showed the glimpses of our greatest teacher, Param Pujya Swamiji, how He constantly takes care of us, how He prays for our welfare and how much He loves us. To conclude the function, our beloved and respected Principal, Vijay Sir was called upon on behalf of the teachers to share his feelings as a teacher and his experience having us as his students.
The day then continued with the student teachers performing the teaching duties in the classes right from grade 1 to 12! The senior building staffroom renovation work just finished in time to be inaugurated on this auspicious day by our dearest Haresh Sir. After cutting the ribbon, he asked the student teachers to first enter the staffroom and then followed them into the staffroom with the teachers.
And thus the celebration and the day carved a yet another special place in the hearts of the teachers and the students for each other!
Harshit Aggarwal & Love Patel (11 Commerce)

Little things you do for us

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It is rightly said that teachers play a very important role in a student’s life. They are the ones who strengthen student’s confidence and courage, and sustain their dignity to develop a personality to be loved and accepted in society. Their role in a student’s life is very crucial. We feel very fortunate to study in a school where teachers simply don’t teach, but they also empower our overall growth.
We all, personally, had a really exciting and inspiring journey with the teachers of the primary grades. We all know that in primary grades we learn the basics of every subject which help us in the higher grades. 
Once, when we were in grade 4, there was a student named Henilbhai. He was a person who had some problems in studies. Our English teacher, Renuka ma’am used to be very tolerant with his problem and used to help him overcome it. She used to take him to the sand piles outside and make him draw the alphabet “b” and “d”. Henilbhai could not understand the difference between those two alphabets. This way, she used to help him overcome his problem.
At another time, when we were to give our final maths exam of grade 7, respected Swayam ma’am, who remains extremely busy at all times as the vice principal of our school, helped us tremendously to understand the difficult concepts of maths. She sat with us for approximately 2 hours! Due to this we were able to perform our best in the exam. We are very thankful to her.
The previous year, one of our classmates was very poor in studies and also had an unruly behaviour. Our respected Saumya ma’am used to call him in his free time and inspired him to change. In this way she helped him to edify himself to become a mannered and composed individual. 
These are just three examples, but all the students of our grade have had such numerous experiences with all the teachers.
Although all our teachers are extremely knowledgeable, they came down to our level for our convenience. This is what touches us all more than anything else. We were all immensely moved by this humility of theirs. They not only taught us the subjects, but also taught us how to be bold and face the challenges of life. They made it seem as if our problems were their problems. They are always there for us. Their positive encouragement helped us to gain confidence. The knowledge they gave us not only taught us how to solve an equation, identify verbs or understanding history, but they helped us to follow the commands of Swamiji and become a true bhoolku of Swamiji. Hence make our parents proud. There are no words to express our gratitude or describe your efforts in words. All we can say is that we love you for all you have done. 
Little things you do for us
Like nobody else make us feel so good
Little things you do for us
Make us smile like no one else could
And that’s why we love you.
You heard our mad stories
With a secret or two
And all our worries
You knew they were not true
But you liked that we shared.
Little things you do for us
Like nobody else make us feel so good
Little things you do for us
Make us smile like no one else could
And that’s why we love you.
With an aim to unlock
You sat and discussed
The mind which is flocked
Developing an immense trust
Answering our curiosity and doubts
Little things you do for us
Like nobody else make us feel so good
Little things you do for us
Make us smile like no one else could
And that’s why we love you.
You showed concern for our needs
In all your deeds
Went with us on a stroll
To discuss our goal
You appreciated our every little effort
Little things you do for us
Like nobody else make us feel so good
Little things you do for us
Make us smile like no one else could
And that’s why we love you.
J Happy Teacher’s Day!!!   J
Smit K Patel, Vinamra Patel, Yathansh Joshi (Std 8)

Leading us from darkness towards light…

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Teaching is a unique profession in which the teachers work not for themselves but they selflessly devote themselves for the betterment of their students. Teachers create the future of mankind by imparting knowledge to the next generation. They nurture students, care for them and help them to live a happy life and create a bright future for themselves. Teachers are only concerned with the improvement of their students and do not work for monetary benefits.

Though there are many teachers around the world who impart high quality education, but, all of us are impossibly fortunate to have a very different calibre of teachers who not only impart education but instigate a fire of doing good for the society and making a contribution for everyone’s betterment. This is the wonderful concept of “Atmiyata” that we are being exposed to in this school. All the morals and values that we learn in this school are the things that actually matter more in our lives. There are many people who are much smarter than we are but the advantage that we have over all of them is that we have such a great environment and such great teachers around us.

All the actions that we perform in this school, all the activities that we do, all of them have two aspects. One is the learning aspect of discovering new things and improving our knowledge. But more importantly, the other part of all the activities is the spiritual aspect. Teachers here teach us to see only positive in all the things and imbibe all positive values from others in our lives which helps us to strengthen our character. These are the kind of things that we learn in the course of all the activities we do. This is the “divine touch” which is the hallmark of our school. But, all of this is only possible due to the grace of our guru, Param Pujya Swamiji. Swamiji is our ultimate teacher. With Swamiji’s divine grace and our teachers’ help, we can very well progress further in our most important journey:

असतो मा सद्गमय।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय।

The journey from ignorance towards truth, from darkness towards light and from mortality towards liberation.

If only we observe His life and His actions, it has the power to completely transform our lives!

All of the teachers of our school are there for us at any time of the day and are ever ready to help us in every situation of life. They don’t merely teach us, “they inspire”. They are not just our academic guides, they are our “portraits of inspiration”. They not only teach all the students but they see god in all the students and never fail to help any of them.

Although on the occasion of Teachers’ Day there is a lot of pomp and show but without understanding the actual meaning of Teachers’ Day, all of this celebration will go in vain. There are some situations when we hesitate in following our teachers. Though we may physically accept what they say, somewhere in the corner of our mind, we are uncertain about their decision. So the real celebration of Teachers’ Day will be to surrender to our teachers and accept their decisions completely and follow all their instructions to the dot. We must never distrust their decisions because they are wise, experienced as well as decisive. Thus they will always make a decision for our advantage. This day of Teachers’ Day will come each year but what is important is that we take the message.

Because the message is much more important than the celebration.

 
Sachin Verlekar (11 Science)
Head Boy

એક મંગલ અવસર: જન્માષ્ટમી

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નંદ ઘેર આનંદ ભયો, જય કનૈયા લાલકી;
હાથી ઘોડા પાલખી, જય કનૈયા લાલકી.

જન્માષ્ટમી આપણો ધાર્મિક તહેવાર છે.

જન્માષ્ટમી એટલે ભગવાન શ્રીકૃષ્ણનો જન્મદિવસ. તેમનો જન્મ શ્રાવણ વદ આઠમની રાત્રે મથુરાની જેલમાં થયો હતો. તેમના પિતાનું નામ વસુદેવ અને માતાનું નામ દેવકી. ‘દેવકીનું આઠમું સંતાન કંસનો નાશ કરશે’ એ ભવિષ્યવાણીથી ગભરાઈને કંસે વસુદેવ અને દેવકીને જેલમાં પૂર્યાં હતાં. મધરાતે શ્રીકૃષ્ણનો જન્મ થયો, પછી વસુદેવ શ્રીકૃષ્ણને કંસના અત્યાચારથી બચાવવા માટે ગોકુળમાં નંદરાજાને ઘેર મૂકી આવ્યા તથા જશોદાની દીકરીને પોતાની સાથે લઈ આવ્યા અને શ્રીકૃષ્ણ ભગવાનનો જન્મ ગોકુળમાં જાહેર થયો. તેથી શ્રીકૃષ્ણના જન્મદિવસને ‘ગોકુળઅષ્ટમી’ પણ કહે છે.

આ વર્ષે આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરમાં જન્માષ્ટમીનો તહેવાર ખૂબ ધામધૂમથી ઊજવવામાં આવ્યો. કૃષ્ણ ભગવાનના અત્યંત પવિત્ર જન્મદિન નિમિત્તે તેમના અગણિત ગુણોને યાદ કરીને, પર્વને આનંદથી ઊજવવા માટે રાત્રે 8:30 થી 10:00 વાગ્યા સુધી ભજન સંધ્યાનું આયોજન કરવામાં આવ્યું. તેમાં નાના નાના ભૂલકાંઓએ ઉલ્લાસમય સ્વરે ભગવાન શ્રીકૃષ્ણની બાળલીલા ગાઈ હતી. ત્યારબાદ પંજરીનો પ્રસાદ વહેંચવામાં આવ્યો હતો.

બીજા દિવસે સાંજના 4:00 થી 6:30 વાગ્યા સુધી ફૂટબોલ ગ્રાઉન્ડ ઉપર મટકીફોડના કાર્યક્રમનું આયોજન કરવામાં આવ્યું. કાર્યક્રમની શરૂઆત મુખ્ય મહેમાન હરેશ સર, વિજયસર, આશિષ સર તથા અર્જુનમામા દ્નારા ઠાકોરજીના પૂજનવિધિથી થઈ. ત્યારબાદ દહીં , માખણ , મધ તથા ચોકલેટથી ભરેલી મટકી ફોડવાનો કાર્યક્રમ જય રણછોડ માખણ ચોર, નંદ ઘેર આનંદ ભયો, જય કનૈયા લાલકી ના નારાથી શરૂ થયો. જેમાં પ્રથમ મટકી ધોરણ – 1st, 2nd, 3rd ; બીજી મટકી ધોરણ – 4th, 5th, 6th ; ત્રીજી મટકી ધોરણ – 7th, 8th, 9th તથા ચોથી મટકી ધોરણ – 10th, 11th, 12th ના વિદ્યાર્થીઓ દ્નારા ફોડવામાં આવી. આમ, કૃષ્ણ જન્મોત્સવ તથા મટકીફોડના કાર્યક્રમની ઉજવણી ખૂબ જ શ્રધ્ધા અને ભક્તિભાવ પૂર્વક કરવામાં આવી.

જન્માષ્ટમીનો ઉત્સવ ફક્ત વિદ્યાર્થીઓના આનંદ માટે જ નહિ, પણ તેમને ભારતીય સંસ્કૃતિનું ધાર્મિક મહત્વ બતાવવા માટે રહ્યો.

ગૌતમ સર (ગુજરાતી શિક્ષક)

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.