II I

Teacher's Guide-to

The Mercyof

Lord Chaitanya

(Damodara Class)

Hare Krishna Sunday SchoolInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness

Founder-acarya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Lesson

Introduction

Lesson One

Lesson Two

Lesson Three

Lesson Four

Lesson Five

Lesson Six

Session Quiz

Table of Contents

Page

1

2

4

5

6

7

8

9

Introduction

Many stories from Srila Prabhupada's Caitanya-caritamrta are told in

this session. If possible, have available in the classroom as many volumes of

the Caitanya-caritamrta as you are able so the children can familiarize

themselves with this great literature. At this age, they can be encouraged to

look at the beautiful paintings contained in these books and to read the

descriptions that accompanies them. (If they are eager, perhaps you can start

a "lending library" so a student can borrow one volume at a time, take it

home to read, and then return it to the Sunday School classroom.)

You may want to supplement the material in this session with

additional stories about Lord Chaitanya's pastimes. Use cassette tapes to

enhance understanding, as well as videos (especially lTV's puppet shows)

that depict Chaitanya-lila.

Also, within this session is subject matter which is geared to help this

age group think about their dealings with people who are disabled, elderly,

poor, or of other faiths. One lesson addresses how we should treat animals.

The point should be stressed that a devotee is always kind to everyone. Many

practical ideas, as well as spiritual application, are given within each lesson.

Your local library or the internet may be helpful in finding additional

resources. Many times, a representative from social organizations who help

the disabled, elderly, etc. are more than happy to speak in a classroom.

Consult your local phone directory (or internet) for agencies nearest you.

1

Lesson One

1. Read aloud the introduction in the student workbook. If you were able toobtain a set (or some volumes) of Caitanya-caritamrta, show the studentsthese books at this time. Explain that this session contains many stories fromthese great books translated by Srila Prabhupada. If you are starting a"lending library" so the students can borrow one volume at a time, explainthe rules of the "library." Some suggestions are:(1) Only one book at a time can be borrowed.(2) Borrowing time is two weeks. If a student would like to keep a book for alonger amount of time, he or she must "renew" the book.(3) All books must be signed out on a list made by the teacher before taking itfrom the classroom.(4) All books must be returned in the condition in which they were borrowed.

2. Read and explain page 3, following the arrows down the page. This formatis meant to increase understanding of the introduction.

3. Before class, have the session verse (Sanskrit and translation) written on aposter board and mounted to the wall or board. Recite each Sanskrit wordand have the students repeat them. Then recite each sentence with thestudents repeating after you. Then read the translation, pausing often, andhave the class repeat it. The session verse will be taught this way each week.Encourage students to come up to the board and lead the verse as you did. Asmall reward, such as a sticker, transcendental picture, or maha-prasadam,can be given for leading the verse. Encourage them to practice the verse athome during the week.

4. Begin reading aloud Lesson One. If any of the students are willing, havethem take turns reading aloud a paragraph or an entire page. Pause often toreinforce understanding by emphasizing a point or asking questions.

5. Allow time to color and cut the small picture at the bottom of page 7.Encourage the students to tape this to their school notebook to remind themto speak about Krishna to others during the week.

2

6. Complete the Check for Understanding page. The students can completethe two questions at the bottom of the page either in small groups or in pairs.

7. Continue reading aloud the text beginning with page 9. Explain that lowerspecies of life are absorbed in four things: eating, sleeping, mating, anddefending. If we do not use our human birth to cultivate spiritual life, we tooare absorbed in thinking these things just like the animals.

8. Beginning on page I 1, the material is designed to allow the students tothink about how they can treat others who are disabled. This is not meant tobe a mundane discussion, but is very needed for this age group. (If it is nottaught, children, as well as adults, can sometimes be very insensitive topeople with special needs.) Remind them that as devotees, they are alwaysrepresenting Srila Prabhupada and his movement. Their behavior should beexemplary! A devotee is always kind to everyone!

9. A good exercise for this lesson is as follows:Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the classroom. Blindfold thatstudent with a soft cloth. Show the other students a picture depicting apastime of Lord Krishna. (The blindfolded student should not see the pictureahead of time.) Ask the other students to take turns describing the picture tothe blindfolded student. Then remove the blindfold and show the picture tothe student. Does the picture look like the description? What if that studentwas born blind and never saw colors, objects, etc. How could that picture bedescribed? Allow other volunteers to be blindfolded and repeat the exercisewith different pictures.

10. How can a blind person "hear" Srila Prabhupada's books? Perhaps thestudents can read one of Srila Prabhupada's books while recording it on acassette tape. If anyone they know is visually-impaired, the tape can be givenas a gift. Included in this teacher's guide is a paper describing the Braillesystem. Copies can be made so each student can receive one. Also included isa paper showing basic sign language for communicating with those who arehearing-impaired. How would they teach someone the maha-mantra usingsign language? (Another nice project!)

3

General Braille Information

The six dots of the Braille cell are arranged like n. The dots are numbered 1 through 6, starting in the upperleft comer, going down.

To indicate that a letter is capital ~; is placed before it. For example, A is ~~ ~~: and B is :;;~ and Cis :; ~~.and so on.

~::. ~..~ ~.. :~;

A number in braille is simply;: placed before the letters a to j. For example, 1 is ;;: Z~ and 2 is ::~;; and 3 is~:...:: t~; and so on.

In addition to the braille symbols in the Interactive Braille guide, the braille systemcontains equivalents for allthe other punctuation marks and special symbols, such as the italic sign and the general accent sign. There are atotal of 189 contractions and short-form words.

One type of contraction consists of a single letter, which, when standing alone, represents a common word, suchas "b" for "but", "h" for "have".

Commonly recurring letter combinations such as "gh" "ou" are represented by other dot combinations..(~ .:::; ..Short-form words are abbreviations for common words, such as "aIm" for "almost" (t~ :J ~~ ), "ei" for "either" (

Information from National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

Lesson Two

1. Recite the session verse. Encourage students to lead the verse. Praise themand reward them for their efforts.

2. Begin reading aloud the text in Lesson Two. Provide pencils for thestudents to complete the question at the top of page 16. Continue reading thetext, pausing often to reinforce understanding.

3. Discuss and complete the question on page 23. Have the students completethe word game on page 24 by filling in the missing letters. The sentenceshould read: Sridhara's greatest treasure was his love for the Lord.

4. Beginning on page 25, the material is designed for discussion about thepoor and homeless. Just as in Lesson One, the Krishna conscious philosophyshould be applied to the subject matter. A suggestion is made on this pagethat the class might want to fonn a club called, "Krishna's Kids Who Care."Perhaps they can distribute prasadam at a homeless shelter. If your templehas a Food for Life project, how can the children get involved? Othersuggestions are listed on this page. Discuss any other ideas the students mayhave. Make definite plans for the club's first project to increase theirenthusiasm!

5. Complete the Check for Understanding page. Allow time for the artwork tobe done at the bottom of the page. Provide colored pencils, markers, crayons,etc.

6. Have the students complete the maze on the next page.

4

Lesson Three1. Recite the session verse. By now, some of the students may be able torecite it without looking at the board. Encourage those who are able to dothis.

2. Read aloud the text in Lesson Three. Allow time for the students tocompose a short paragraph on page 30. This exercise is meant to be fun, butrequires some imagination!

3. Follow the directions at the top of page 31.

4. Page 32 can become an art project if time allows. Have the studentscarefully remove this page. Provide markers, glue, sequins, glitter, etc. Allowtime for the students to decorate a "frame~~ around this page. This can betaken home and displayed for all to see.

5. The text on page 33 is meant to open a discussion about the treatment ofanimals. Do any of the students have pets at home? What is the real meaningof kindness to animals? What can we do to help them get a better birth intheir next life?

6. Complete the Check for Understanding page.

7. The picture of Gaura-Nitai can be colored either in the classroom or athome during the week.

8. A skit about Lord Chaitanya and Sivananda's dog is provided in thestudent workbook. This can be kept simple and performed in the classroomwhile holding the scripts or a more elaborate play can be practiced andperformed for guests. Depending on your sC.hedule and circumstances, thisplay can be perfonned in the temple room at the Sunday feast or parents andfriends can be invited into the classroom to watch the play. Advertisementscan be displayed at your temple and invitations sent. This play does notrequire many props and perhaps parents can assist with simple costumes.

5

Lesson Four

1. Recite the session verse.

2. Read aloud the text in Lesson Four. Allow time to read the "Something toThink About and Discuss" section on page 43. These questions are meant tohelp the students develop a deeper understanding of the story that was justread.

3. Begin reading aloud the story of ''The Pilgrim Brahmana." Ask forvolunteers to take turns reading the text.

4. Complete the Check for Understanding page. Discuss the question at thebottom of the page.

5. Page 51 discusses some ways to help the elderly. Again, the "Krishna'sKids Who Care" club can get involved. Before class, research nursing homesin your area and call the administrators to see if your class can visit. Page 51gives some suggestions about what kinds of things you can do at thesehomes. While therep it is important that the nllrses are asked before anypatient is given fJrasadam. (It may interfere with a special diet, such as adiabetic diet. Also, some elderly patients are unable to chew and swallowsolid food because they may choke. It is always better to ask first.)

6. On the next page, a badge displaying the name of the club can be coloredand decorated with glitter and glue. Have the children cut out their badges.On the day of their nursing home visit (or another visit you may haveplanned) have them attach their badges to their shirts with a safety pin.

7. Allow time for the students to color the lotus feet on the next page. Followthe directions at the top of the page.

8. The students can complete the maze on the following page.

6

Lesson Five

1. Recite the session verse. By now, most of the students, if not all, should beable to recite the verse by memory.

2. Read aloud the text in Lesson Five. This lesson continues to provideexamples of Lord Chaitanya's causeless mercy. It also covers the subject ofdiscrimination against those of different beliefs. (Certainly the devotees inthis movement have been persecuted at one time or another, but we shouldnever treat others in that way.) The point should be emphasized while readingthe story of Jagai and Madhai that the Lord may tolerate an offense toHimself: but never to His loving devotee. That is how much the Lord lovesHis devotees!

3. A play depicting this pastime of Lord Chaitanya is included in the studentworkbook. This can be performed at this time using the scripts or at the endof the lesson.

4. Continue the lesson by reading the story of the Chand Kazi.

5. Complete the Check for Understanding page.

6. An art project is on page 71. Follow directions at the top of the page.

7. Have the students fill in the missing letters on page 72. The sentenceshould read: Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the golden incarnation ofKrishna.

7

Lesson Six

1. Recite the session verse.

2. This lesson is meant to sum up the entire session about Lord Chaitanya.The Panca-tattva mantra is taught and each personality of the Panca-tattva isbriefly discussed. Begin by reading aloud the text. Allow time for thestudents to write the Panca-tattva mantra on page 74.

3. Ifpossible, have a larger picture of the Panca-tattva mounted in front ofthe classroom. Otherwise, the small picture on page 73 can be used.Encollrage each student to individually recite the mantra, emphasizing correctpronunciation. If you are using a larger picture that is mounted on the wall,ask each student to chant the mantra while he or she is pointing to the correctpersonality in the picture. (If you are using the small picture on page 73, havehe or she point to that picture in their workbook.)

4. Continue reading the text or ask for volunteers to read aloud one pageeach. Ask if anyone knows other pastimes they can tell the class. Refer toother stories contained in the Caitanya-caritamrta. Allow time for studentsto answer the questions on the bottom of page 79.

5. Complete the Check for Understanding page.

6. At the end of this lesson are many small skits contained within twelvescenes. It would be very lengthy to perform all of the scenes in one day, soyou may want to divide this exercise into two or three weeks, if yourschedule allows. Each scene can actually stand on its own as a separate play.Many of them refer to stories we covered within this session. Have thechildren read the scripts as they are informally acting out the scenes. It willnot only be fun, but will reinforce what they have learned.

7. Remind the children that they will have a session quiz next week.Encourage them to review their workbooks during the week.

8

Name:-------

Session Quiz

Fill in the blanks below:

1. Lord Chaitanya was the incarnation.

2. He appeared years ago in _

3. The poor brahmana Sridhara was given the greatesttreasure. It was love of

4. The leper brahmana was embraced by _

5. While traveling through the forest, the animals chantedand with Lord Chaitanya.

Mark TRUE or FALSE:

1. The pilgrim brahmana's offering to Krishna was eatenby Jagannatha Misra.

2. Sri Advaita is the incarnation ofMaha-Vishnu, thefour-armed form of Lord Krishna.

9