Bala Vihar
Children are not pots to be filled, but lamps to be lit.
What is Bala Vihar?
Bala Vihar is Chinmaya Mission's program where children and youth are exposed to our rich Hindu Culture and it's teachings using the medium of stories, drama, activities, and discussion. Classes are held by grade from 4-18yr olds.The aim of this program is to generate dynamic individuals inspired to make the world a better place.
Bala Vihar classes have become models for teaching the fundamentals of Vedanta to the next generation.
Students 9th grade & up become part of the Junior CHYK (Chinmaya Yuva Kendra), the Chinmaya Youth program. The JCHYKs, under the guidance of the adult coordinators carry out activities like seva projects, workshops, fundraisers and many other initiatives that augment and strengthen their Bala vihar learning.
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Since March 2020 all classes are online due to COVID-19.
Timings:
10-11am Adult Study Classes & Language classes
11:15am - 12:25pm Bala Vihar classes 7 Shishu Vihar classes
NOTE: In person classes will resume when the situation allows it safely.
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Our Bala Vihar and adult classes, are normally held at two locations
Location 1 :
Every Sunday 11:00 am - 12:30 pm at South Forsyth Middle School
2865 Old Atlanta Rd.
Cumming, GA 30041
Map/Directions South Forsyth Middle School
Location 2 :
Every Sunday 4:00 - 5:30 pm at Powers Ferry Elementary School
403 Powers Ferry Rd SE,
Marietta, GA 30067
Map/Directions to Powers Ferry Elementary School
Chinmaya Bala vihar program highlights:
- Learn Hindu culture & spiritual philosophy in a fun manner through stories, discussions, games, arts & more
- Build the understanding of Vedanta in structured and systematic manner as guided by spiritual masters
- Provide an enriching environment for children to meet, share a common value system and feel a sense of identity with the Hindu Culture & their spiritual traditions.
- Enforce building of character, strength & confidence needed for a positive & happy future
- Give a solid foundation of the Vedantic values needed for success in a multi-racial community
SFMS Balavihar Teachers classlist
| Class | Teacher Name | Room Number |
|---|---|---|
| Sujatha Thota | Shishu - Balagopal | |
| Prek - all_Marietta | ||
| Smita Shinde Patil | PreK - Ganesha | |
| Ramyamayi Ratakonda | KG - Lakshmi | |
| KG - Saraswati | ||
| Iti Sodhani | 1st grd - Lakshmana | |
| Hemalata Chakrapani | 1st grd - Sita | |
| Aparna Raghupati | 2nd grd - Anjaneya | |
| Pooja Jaiswal | 2nd grd - Hanuman | |
| Neelima Sunder Sen | 2nd grd - Maruti | |
| Haritha Jayanthi | 3rd grd - Devaki | |
| Chandana Kolluru | 3rd grd - Yashoda | |
| Lakshmi Vedala | 4th grd - Parashurama | |
| Saraswati Yagnavajhala | 4th grd - Prahlad | |
| Madhav Panatula | 4th grd - Vamana | |
| Kavita Choudhury | 5th grd - Durga | |
| Sandhiya Krishnamoorthy | 5th grd - Shiva | |
| Nikhila Vijayan | 5th grd - Vishnu | |
| Usha Kamath | 6th grd - Kabir | |
| Anusha Mohan | 6th grd - Mirabai | |
| Vandna Pandya | 7th grd - Dhiraja | |
| Sankar Valluri | 7th grd - Satya | |
| Anandi Suri | 7th grd - Sauraja | |
| 8th grd - Sushruta | ||
| Mahalaxmi Kumar | 8th grd - Tulsidas | |
| Padma Kashyap | 8th grd - Valmiki | |
| Pranitha Kalvakuntla | 9th grd - Chinmaya | |
| Praveena Surasani | 9th grd - Tejomaya | |
| Aparna Pateria | 10th grd - Sivananda | |
| Suri Anantharama | 10th grd - Tapovan | |
| Gauri Mhaskar | 11th grd - Shankara | |
| Bhavana Subramanian | 11th grd - Vidyaranya | |
| Shekhar Kanetkar | 12th grd - Omkara | |
| Guru Kashyap | 12th grd - Pranava |
An innovative way to jump start a value based education program has been created for our children. It is a structured, age appropriate program which runs from PreK- 12th grade.
The multi-dimensional approach (Prayers, Chants, Stories, Philosophy) of looking at scriptures as they apply to our daily lives makes spirituality more relevant for children. We want our children to lead a truly happy, peaceful, and successful life. There is no better way but to introduce them to the science of living through this program.
Book Names by Grades :
The Alphabet Safari - Grade PreK
The Alphabet Safari - Grade KG
Bala Ramayana - Grade 1
Sri Hanuman The Super Superman - Grade 2
Bala Bhagavatam - Grade 3
Krsna Krsna Everywhere - Grade 4
My Twenty-Four Teachers - Grade 4
Symbolism In Hinduism - Grade 5
India, The Sacred Land - Grade 6, Grade 7
Key to Success - Grade 8
P.O. Box Mr. God - Grade 8
Self Unfoldment - Grade 9, 10
Gita for me - Grade 11 & 12
The multi-dimensional approach (Prayers, Chants, Stories, Philosophy) of looking at scriptures as they apply to our daily lives makes spirituality more relevant for children. We want our children to lead a truly happy, peaceful, and successful life. There is no better way but to introduce them to the science of living through this program.
Book Names by Grades :
The Alphabet Safari - Grade PreK
The Alphabet Safari - Grade KG
Bala Ramayana - Grade 1
Sri Hanuman The Super Superman - Grade 2
Bala Bhagavatam - Grade 3
Krsna Krsna Everywhere - Grade 4
My Twenty-Four Teachers - Grade 4
Symbolism In Hinduism - Grade 5
India, The Sacred Land - Grade 6, Grade 7
Key to Success - Grade 8
P.O. Box Mr. God - Grade 8
Self Unfoldment - Grade 9, 10
Gita for me - Grade 11 & 12
The enrichment classes are optional and fees for these classes are charged separately.
Enrichment Classes at the South Forsyth school location (SFMS)
Language Classes for Bala Vihar kids
CMA offers languages classes for Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and Sanskrit to registered bala vihar kids. Registration for language classes can be done along with the bala vihar registration. Class fees covers books etc.
Balavihar Competitions
CMA Bala Vihar conducts various competitions for all kids:
Republic Day Art, Writing and Speech Competitions: To be announced soon.
Gita Chanting Competition: We are happy to announce that our Annual Gita Chanting competition will take place in the last 2 weeks of March 2021. The competition will be on Chapter 2, "sāṅkhya yoga".
Classes for chanting have started and will be available every Sunday (except for the days when Bala Vihar is closed).
On 22nd March, we will have a 'team's competition.
The 'team' competition is only for 6th and up grades, and will be among teams of the same grade level.
Teams must comprise of 3 members, and each member of the team must be from the same grade level.
Each team collectively must memorize the 1st 18 verses of chapter 14, with the 1st member responsible for verses 1-6, 2nd for 7-12, and third for 13-18. i.e. each member is required to memorize 6 verses.
On 28th March, we will have individual competition.
The verses to be memorized for the competition are as follows:
PreK-KG: Verses 1-10
1st-2nd grade: Verses 1-15
3rd-4th grade: Verses 1-20
5th-6th grade: Verses 1-25
7th+ grades: Verses 1-30
Adults: Verses 1-30
Classes for Gita Chanting are available thru zoom. Please check the weekly email for details.
Note: CM worldwide is also offering a competition on Chapter 2 this year (which is why we chose Chapter 2 for our competition). The range of verses for the national competition will be a little different (more verses in general) than the ranges we have chosen for our local competition. For 7th and higher grade, the range for the national competition is verses 1-38, so we will teach up to verse 38 for that group. If there is sufficient interest, we will also offer a competition at our center for verses 1-38.
We will also have a challenge event for adults (date tbd, most likely Sunday Apr 11th 2021 afternoon). As we did last year, there will be 2 components to this event: The first part is recitation from memory (verses 1-30), and the 2nd part will also be a quiz related to the meaning of those 30 verses. Adults can choose to participate in one or both those components.
How to register for the Chanting Competition:
Please send an email with the following details.
- For the kids competition - Child's full name and grade level.
- For the Adults competition - Adult's full name, and which component(s) they wish to participate.
Bala Vihar service projects
CMA provides ample opportunity for bala vihar kids to do selfless service. Kids can serve every Sunday at the bala vihar location helping in tasks like parking, setup, cleanup, bookstore, ticket sales, food sales etc. based on their age. There are also opportunities to help at the ashram doing various tasks like cleanup, organizing, gardening etc. In addition to this, there are several service projects that are coordinated by CMA to help the outside community like MedShare, lunchbags for the homeless, Soup kitchens etc. as well as participating in toy & food drives that are conducted every year during Thanksgiving.
Balavihar classes at Marietta
Chinmaya Mission Alpharetta offers Balavihar and adult classes at Marietta. Classes are from Aug 2020 to May 2021. Currently Enrichment & language classes are not offered at this location. Location Powers Ferry Elementary school, 403 Powers ferry road, Marietta, GA - 30067 Timings Sundays 4-5:30 pm Schedule:- 4:00 - 4:30 pm - Assembly (prayers, pledge, Gita chanting, aarti & announcements)
- 4:30 - 5:30 pm - BV classes for kids; Vedanta class for adults
- $150 for family with no kids
- $300 for family with 1 kid
- $450 for family with 2 or more kid
- $75 for family with no kids
- $150 for family with 1 kid
- $225 for family with 2 or more kid
- There will be a one-time fee of $50 for new families joining to cover material cost
Upcoming events
Silent Art Auction
January 22 @ 8:00 am - March 11 @ 5:00 pm
Bid it to win it !! Current Silent auction is available for everyone to bid on. Click here. Going..going...
Read more
Narada Bhakti Sutra Jnana Yagna by Swami Prakashananda
February 1 @ 7:00 pm - February 6 @ 8:30 pm
Announcements
- Due to COVID-19 all classes are online.
- New at CMA - Shishu Vihar for kids
- COVID Assistance during BV Registration
Online classes :
CM News
Tapovan Prasad magazine online version: October September August July JuneCollection of letters from Pujya Gurudev to householders, youth and children -By Chinmaya Mission Archives
Spiritual guidance from the Swamins and Brahmacharins of CMW
