With the blessings and inspiration from His Holiness Dr. Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji, Baton Rouge Datta Temple conducts Bala Datta classes.
The program “Bala Datta” is started with a vision “To help children grow spiritually and inspire them to be good human beings.” In this process, they get to learn the glory of our Indian Culture, Hinduism and its symbolism, in a fun filled way through stories, Yoga, Shlokas, Bhajans, Arts and Crafts.
Classes are also designed to help build leadership and other personality development skills.
Bala Datta classes are run with the help of volunteer teachers.
The program starts at age 3 and it is open to all who are interested in learning about Hinduism.
The kids are split into four groups based on their age:
Group 1: Ages 3-5 years
Group 2: Ages 6-8 years
Group 3: Ages 9-12 years
Group 4: Ages 13+ years
Program:
Meditation: We start the fun-filled class by first calming our mind and body with meditation. This is a good way to calm down and connect with God before we start our prayers and class.
Yoga: Triyoga, which is a complete and revolutionary system based in ancient Yoga is taught to the kids.
Slokas: The kids of each group learn slokas on appropriate levels of difficulty. These shlokas are on various Gods and Goddesses like Ganapathi, Vishnu, Shiva, Guru, Hanuman, Rama, Devi, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, morning and evening prayers, etc.
Stories: Stories from Panchatantra, Amarachitra kathas and other moral stories identifying various Gods are recited to the kids.
The kids participate in quizzes and assignments on the ancient culture of Hinduism and learn to become good human beings.
Arts and Crafts: We have art classes once or twice a month (depending on the schedule).
During festival seasons, the students are encouraged to perform art and craft work like Rangoli, Clay-work, drawing to develop their creativity and learn the Indian traditions and art.
Bhajans: Bhajans composed by Parama Poojya Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji on various Gods and Goddesses are taught to the kids.
Aarti and Prasad: After the Class, all the children go into the temple with their teachers for Aarti, darshan and prasad.
Here, Children are encouraged to use the temple manners they’ve learned in class, for example, dandavat pranam, how to take prasad, etc.
Class Schedule:
Bala Datta is scheduled every Sunday at 10:30am – 12:00pm during the school year.
No classes will be held during National Holidays.
For Registration Click Here
Location: Jaya Lakshmi Mata Bhavan, 6221 Equity Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70809