Contents1. Who am I ? 03

2. Your best frIend 14

3. joY of gIvIng 26

4. valuIng tIme 38

5. respeCtIng our mothers 50

6. staYIng healthY 61

7. festIvals of IndIa 74

8. learnIng to see good In others 86

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Ravana represents the bad qualities (lust, anger, greed) in our hearts. Watching

Ravana killed, intelligent persons pray for Sri Ram to appear within their hearts to

kill the demon (of bad qualities) within.

1. For most of the children, festivals means a day of –

a. eating a lot of sweets b. relaxation c. family outing d. playing games.

Is there any other higher purpose of celebrating any festival? Discuss

2. List the names of any seven festivals and discuss their significance.

Let’s About ItT H I N K

chapter

7 FESTIVALS OF INDIA

Dussehra festival is celebrated as the time for victory of good over evil.

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Let’s and LearnR E A D

Being a highly spiritual country, festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm

and joy in India. Even the foreigners who arrive in India get overwhelmed after

watching the Indian festivals. In India, many festivals are celebrated and they

offer us a unique way of seeing Indian culture at its best.

Some important festivals with their meaning and significance in our lives are

discussed in this chapter.

Janmashtami Festival

The day when Lord Krishna took birth is called as Janmashtami festival. The word

Janmashtami means “birth on the eighth day,” because Krishna appeared on the

eighth day of the lunar, or moon, month.

This day falls in the month of August or

September. Every year Janmashtami

festival is celebrated by millions of people

every year all over the world. On this day

people take bath early in the morning and

wear new clothes. In temples the deities of

Krishna are decorated with beautiful

clothes, jewels, garlands, and flowers.

People visit the temples to see Krishna and

sing songs glorifying His activities. They read the teachings of Lord Krishna written

in the Scripture called the Bhagavad-gita. They also distribute these holy books to

everyone.At homes lot of sweets, savories, and festivals meals are prepared with

love and then offered to Lord Krishna. These foods are then shared and relished by

one and all. People visit their friends’ and relatives’ homes and exchange sweets and

good wishes. On this glorious day all people chant the holy names of Krishna for

bringing peace and happiness to everyone.

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Christmas

Glorifying God by performing the congregational chanting of the Holy names.

The festival of Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December every year all over the

world. It is celebrated to honor the birth of Jesus Christ.

Two thousand years ago, there lived a Roman Emperor called

Caesar Augustus. One day, the Emperor announced that he

wanted to count everyone (all Jews) living under their rule.

Everyone was asked to present himself in his hometown,

Bethlehem.

In the town of Nazareth, lived a Jewish couple named Joseph

and Mary. Since they were Jews, Joseph and Mary left for

Bethlehem late in the evening. The town was crowded with

visitors who also had come to register their names. All the

hotels were full. Mary and Joseph had to take shelter in a stable. On that cold silent wintry

night one could hear the bleating of the sheep, neighing of

the horses, and mooing of the cows present in the stable.

The shinning clear sky shone with a galaxy of stars. That

night Mary gave birth to a baby boy who was named Jesus.

She wrapped him up in swaddling clothes and laid him in a

manger. The nearby shepherds and all the people saw baby

Jesus and offered their gifts and prayers.

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On Christmas Eve, church bells ring and Christmas carols are sung in praise of God

and his son, Jesus. The Christmas tree is decorated in homes. Presents are exchanged.

Christmas is celebrated as a festival of thanksgiving, peace, and universal brotherhood.

Jesus Christ said “Thou shall not kill,” so his birthday should

never be observed by killing innocent animals and birds.

Jesus was the son of God, who came to earth to

guide and show all human beings how to live

a life of truth and non-violence. His life and

teachings were recorded in the Holy Bible.

some oF his instruCtions (Commandments) are

To love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, thy whole mind, and thy whole soul

(Love God more than you love anything else)

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself

(Love all the living entities)

My Lord, hallowed be Thy name

(Glorify the Lord by chanting His names)

Thou shall not Steal

(Don’t encroach upon another’s property)

Thou shall not Kill

(Never hurt anyone)

Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

(Love and respect your mother and father)

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

(Don’t involve yourself in illicit relationships)

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The Story Of Ramayan

Diwali - Festival Of Joy And Happiness

Story time

Thousands of years ago, in the city of Ayodhya, there was a wise and good king named

Dasarath who had three queens, one of the them, Kaikeyi, served the king very nicely,

and he therefore wanted to give her a benediction. Kaikeyi, however, said that she

would ask for the benediction when it was necessary. At the time of the coronation of

Prince Ramcandra, Kaikeyi requested her husband to enthrone her son Bharata and send

Ramcandra in exile to the forest for fourteen years. Helpless king, Dasarath, being bound

by his promise, ordered Ramcandra to go to the forest. And the Lord, as an obedient son,

accepted the order immediately. He left everything without hesitation and set off on foot

accompanied by His loving wife Sita and loyal younger brother, Lakshman. The grief-

stricken King Dasaratha soon died in separation from his beloved son, Ram.

Ram, Laxman and Sita wandering in the forest

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Lord Ram constructing bridge over the ocean with the help of monkey soldiers

A few years into their exile, a demoness named Surpanakha saw Lord Ramchandra and fell

for his looks. She asked Lord Ramchandra to marry her. Lord Ramchandra refused and

asked her to go to Lakshman instead. But Lakshman also refused. Enraged, Surpanakha

showed her true form and Lakshman cut off her nose and ears.

The demoness went wailing to her brother who was none other than ten headed Ravan,

the demon King of Lanka. Ravan was furious and swore revenge. With the help of

another demon who took the form of a golden deer, he distracted Lord Ramchandra and

Lakshman and kidnapped Sita from their hut. When Lord Ramchandra and Lakshman

returned, Sita was missing! They realised that something wrong had happened while

they were gone and immediately rushed to find her.

After constructing a bridge over the ocean by throwing into the water the peaks of

mountains whose trees and other vegetation had been shaken by the hands of great

monkeys, Lord Ramcandra went to Lanka to release Sitadevi from the clutches of Ravana.

With the direction and help of Vibhishan, Ravana’s brother, the Lord, along with the

monkey soldiers, headed by Sugriva, Nila, and Hanuman, entered Ravana’s kingdom,

Lanka, which had previously been burnt by Hanuman.

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Thus, after rebuking Ravana, Lord Ramcandra fixed an arrow to His bow, aimed at

Ravana, and released the arrow, which pierced Ravana’s heart like a thunderbolt. Upon

seeing this, Ravana’s followers raised a tumultuous sound, crying, “Alas! Alas! What has

happened? What has happened?” as Ravana, vomiting blood from his ten mouths, fell

from his airplane.

Lord Ram and Mother Sita then returned back to Ayodhya. The entire kingdom celebrated

the return of victorious and virtuous Ram, Sita, and Laxman as a Deepavali festival.

More than lakhs of years later, still Lord Ram is remembered and worshipped in India.

On this festival occasion all people clean their homes and decorate them nicely. All over

the country lamps are lit, and homes, shops, offices, streets are decorated, and fireworks

set off in honor of Lord Ram.

Lord Ramchandra is not a mythological figure, an ordinary person, or even a

very great human being. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead—the source,

maintainer, and controller of uncountable universes. He assumed the form of a

human being and appeared as the son of King Dasaratha and queen Kausalaya

with a mission to destroy the demons and re-establish the principles of religion.

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On this festival day people happily

embrace each other by saying “Id

Mubarak” meaning “Happy Id”.

Festival has many special benefits. It helps one to learn self-control. It also

helps to develop compassion for the less fortunate people and to learn to be

thankful and appreciative of God’s gifts to us. Fasting is also good for health.

Ramzan Id is one of the holy festivals of Muslims. According to Islamic tradition Prophet

Mohammed used to perform deep meditation sitting on Mount Hira and one day the

Holy Koran was revealed to Him.

Since the message of the Holy Koran was revealed

to Prophet Mohammed in the month of Ramadan,

this month is considered very auspicious. As a

mark of devotion to God and to show gratitute to

The Almighty, Mohammed asked his followers to

pass this month of Ramadan in fasting, prayers,

and other austerities. During this month all his

followers fast throughout the day and eat only at

night. At the end of this month they celebarte the holy festival of Ramzan Id.

ramzan id

Eid Mubarak

ALwAys REmEmbER

PRAyER IS NOT AN ESCAPE

FROM REALITy. IT IS AN

ESCAPE TO REALITy.

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) taught the lessons of

compassion to all living beings, purification of the heart

by prayers, sharing the God given gifts with others, not

engaging in forbidden activities, respecting and visiting

holy places. The festival of Ramzan Id helps one to follow

his teachings of love and brotherhood for the entire world.

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Let’s A N s w E R

1. solve the crossword by searching all these listed festivals.

Dussehra

Holi

Christmas

Baisakhi

EidRaksha Bandhan

JanmashtamiDeepawali

Lohri

J A N m A s H T A m I K b

E R E A b U T O N O N H A

H D E E P A W A L I T O I

E U s I T E O N T H E L s

L s Z Z L O H R I U P I A

E s O T H A T y O U C N K

R E I D b L I C D C y G H

C H R I s T m A s A T E I

I R L E L Z U P H s E R F

R A K s H A b A N D H A N

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Mount Hira Prophet Mohammed

Happy Id Id Mubarak

5 years 1 year

b. On this festival day, people happily embrace each other by saying:

c. If Allah is to grant you 70 years of human life, and you prayed

(5 times, 25 minutes) everyday from the age of 10 years, then

how much time of your life, you will be giving to Allah?

2. Tick mark () the correct option (one or both may be correct).

a. The message of the Holy Koran was revealed to–

3. state whether the following statements are true or false.

a. Lord Ramchandra, who is an incarnation of Krishna, the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, was the king of the

whole world.

b. Deepawali festival is celebrated as the time of victory of

Lord Ramchandra over Ravan.

c. The festival of Christmas is celebrated to honor the birth

of Jesus Christ.

d. “Thou shall not kill,” means we should not kill or hurt

any human being, but we can kill animals to eat them.

e. Ramzan Id is one of the holy festivals of Muslims.

f. The day when Lord Krishna took birth is called as

Deepawali festival.

g. Festivals are meant to forget and forgive the ill feelings

towards others by sharing gifts and love with them.

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4. Read and answer the following

the Festival oF dusshera

Very large images or effigies of Ravana and his demoniac brothers are placed

in vast open space. Devotees dressed as Ram, Sita and Lakshman arrive and

shoot arrows of fire at these effigies, which are stuffed with explosives. The

result is a deafening blast, made even louder by the shouts of happiness and

triumph from the devotees watching.

Ravana represents the bad qualities in our hearts. Watching

Ravana’s form burn, devotees pray for Sri Ram to appear

within their hearts and kill the demons within.

It is a celebration of victory of good over evil and divine power over demonic

forces. Vijaya Dashami is also known as Dasara which is derived from two

Sanskrit words – Dasha (ten) and Hara (defeat). Thus, this day marks the

victory of Lord Ramchandra over the ten-headed Ravana who had kidnapped

Mother Sita and was later killed by Lord Ram in a fierce battle.

Choose the appropriate word from the brackets and fill in the blanks.

a. Ravana was very advanced materially and had sufficient Vedic knowledge.

He was the son of a brahmana (priest). His only fault was that he did not

care for __________ (Health/Ram).

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5. Following questions on bible are based on Ten Commandments.

Tick mark () the most appropriate option

1. Thou Shall not —

� Murder � Kill

� Name � Words

� Women & children � Father & Thy mother

� Perjury � Adultery

� Shout � Steal

2. My Lord, hallowed be Thy —

3. Honour Thy —

4. Thou shalt not commit —

5. Thou shall not —

b. Ravana wanted to enjoy Mother Sita without Lord Ram. Ravana repre-

sents the __________ (demoniac/divine) mentality of trying to sepa-

rately enjoy property of Lord Ram.

c. Fire is the symbol of purity, and so by burning the effigy of __________

(Ravana/Kamsa), we are burning the evil.

d. Just as Lord Ram could kill Ravana, similarly only Lord Ram can destroy

the __________ (good/bad) qualities in our hearts, which is our eternal

enemy.

e. The process of Bhakti is to always remember the Lord, to be His devotee,

to always worship Him, and to offer homage unto Him. Through this

process Lord Ram appears within our __________ (mind/heart) and with

His mighty arrows, He shoots right into the heart of Ravana and all his

heads and everything else falls and disappears from our life eternally.