5th Grade teachers – Kavitha, Bhaskar and Deepthi
Have you ever wondered why we have so many Gods in different forms? (Hint: Symbolism) Read more as our 5th graders recap their learnings from the Symbolism in Hinduism class.
Lord Ganesha:
When I was taught Symbolism of Lord Ganesha what really stood out was the “Trunk” which symbolizes Discrimination which is basically how you make the best choice. – Siddhanth
Ganesha Pancharatnam:
This was a cool mantra we learnt in class. – Shriya
Lord Vishnu:
What stood out is when Lord Vishnu was lying down on his serpent with his eyes closed. He isn’t resting but thinking of all the people as his job is to balance. The serpent behind him cannot spit venom because it would damage itself, so you should not poison yourself. – Om
Lord Shiva:
What awed me was the “crooked crescent moon” of Lord Shiva. It means that nothing is perfect. I also liked his three eyes of Love, Wisdom and Anger. This anger is to make you listen when you are not doing good deeds. – Neel
Shivalinga Project:
During Mahashivaratri, we made Shivalinga which has three baga’s. Top portion – Rudrabaga, the middle portion – Vishnubaga and the bottom portion – Brahmabaga. We had a lot of fun making Shivalinga out of clay. – Siddhanth
Lord Nataraja:
Lord Shiva is often worshiped as Lord Nataraja, King of Dance!! “Dhamaru” in his hand represents creation of primal sounds, e.g. Maheshwari Stotram, Sanskrit alphabets. Lord Nataraja’s one hand is in the posture known as “Abhaya Hasta”, Lord blessing us with good qualities. – Saanvi
Sri Dakshinamurti (Guru):
The symbolism that stood for me for Sri Dakshinamurti . He is the youthful quiet god and he is a Guru. He is very quiet and never speaks. He symbolizes that the truth can be observed when you are in silence. – Spriha
Mother Durga:
Mother Durga symbolizes killing negative tendencies and the destruction of “tamo guna”. One form is Mother Kali who looks ferocious but her ferociousness represents the killing of bad qualities. The lion and tiger that Mother Durga and Mother Kali ride symbolizes the taming of bad habits. – Shubha
Mother Lakshmi:
In class the concept of Goddess Lakshmi stood out to me. She teaches us the importance of six qualities we need for life – sama, dama, uparati, titksha, shraddha and samadhana. – Shriya
Mother Saraswati:
Mother Sarawati helps us gain spiritual knowledge. Her sitting on a rock symbolizes that we have to be steady as a rock amidst all the chaos that happens in daily life. – Praytush
Shanti! Shanti! Shantih!!
Ever wonder why we say Shanti three times? First Shanti is for the World, the second Shanti is for friends and family and the last Shanti is for our own calmness. – Shriya
Each aspect of the Lord’s form symbolizes qualities that are valuable to our spiritual growth as we can see from this recap expressed by all the 5th graders in their own words.
