BG - 4

Vaishnav Song

https://kksongs.org/songs/y/yasomatinandana.html

Last Sunday the third stanza was recited - you can continue with fourth one and all four together.

Bhagavad-gita Verse 15.13 continued

Recap last week's BG 15.13 nicely so that children recollect how GRAVITY makes life possible. 

"OK children - tell me one thing that we cannot do in life if GRAVITY were not there". Give a chance to everyone.

• Buildings have water tanks on tap - water flows down - even without electricity we get water in kitchen and bathrooms. Think about it. Gravity helps water come down.
• ?
• ?

Now in today's session we continue 15.13 by focusing on how KRISHNA through MOON nourishes vegetable and makes food available to all living entities.

BG 15.13

गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा ।
पुष्णामि चौषधी: सर्वा: सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मक: ॥ १३ ॥

gām āviśya ca bhūtāni
dhārayāmy aham ojasā
puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ
somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ

I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit. I become the moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables.

What happens if there is no FOOD?

IF there is a TV in the classs then please one or two of these videos to DRIVE home the importance of FOOD before we begin. If there is no TV then you can consider sending these links to Parents on WhatsApp one day before and ask Parents to show their children.

• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WuPRxyoCuJY
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0lAfCp7_LEo
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M5R43V0eTW0
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IPwonPfM8Ok
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RjR35BhrzD4

The MIRACLE journey of ONE grain RICE

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1. The Farmer Begins — But He Cannot Start Life

A farmer takes one dry grain of paddy.
It looks dead. It has no movement. No life.

But inside that tiny grain is an entire plant waiting to wake up.
Who packed life inside it?
(Not the farmer. Not the scientist. Life spark = Krishna’s gift.)

✨ “bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām” – I am the seed of all existences.

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2. Soil Must Accept the Seed — The Earth Responds

The farmer places the seed in soil.
But soil is not just mud—it has millions of nutrients, bacteria, and minerals.
They silently activate the seed.

If the soil had slightly wrong pH → seed dies.
If the soil lacks nitrogen/phosphorus → no sprout.
If soil organisms don’t wake up → seed rots.

Who maintains this perfect chemistry?
🌏 Krishna as Earth (bhūmi-r āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ).

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3. Rain Must Come on Time — Not Too Much, Not Too Little

Rice needs monsoon rain at the precise moment to soften the seed and start germination.

If rain comes:

• too early → seed floods

• too late → seed dries

• too much → crop rots

• too little → crop dies

Who controls clouds?
☁️ Indra works under Krishna’s order.
Rainwater = Krishna’s mercy.

✨ “I am the giver of rain.” (BG 9.19)

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4. Sunshine — The Energy Engine

To grow, the baby rice plant needs sunlight to convert water + CO₂ into food through photosynthesis.

Science says:
“Sunlight + chlorophyll = glucose.”
But who designed this chemical miracle?

☀️ Krishna says:
“I am the light of the sun.” (BG 7.8)

Without sunlight → plant is blind, weak, collapses.

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5. Moonshine — The Secret Ingredient

This is the verse you want to highlight.

Rice doesn’t grow by sunlight alone.
It needs the cooling, nourishing effect of moonlight.

🌕 Moonbeams influence:

• movement of sap in the plant

• sweetness and juiciness of grains

• timing of flowering

• night-time hydration

• internal cycles of plant growth

Modern botanists have rediscovered that moonlight increases nutrient absorption.

Krishna says exactly this:
✨ “somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ — becoming the moon, I nourish all plants.”

This is your punchline.

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6. Air (Vāyu) — The Constant Helper

Plants breathe too.

They take in:

• CO₂ for growth

• N₂ through bacteria for protein

• O₂ for night respiration

The wind carries pollen, spreads life, protects plant temperature.

Who controls the wind?
🌬️ Krishna: “I am the air.”

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7. Time — The Silent Manager

The plant must grow with precise timing:

• 10 days → sprout

• 1 month → tillering

• 3 months → panicles

• 4–5 months → grain formation

• 6 months → harvest

If the seasons shift → entire crop fails.

Who sets the clock of seasons?
🕰️ Krishna: “kālo ’smi” – I am time.

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8. The Farmer Harvests — But He Still Has No Control

Even at harvest:

• One cyclone → all finished

• One pest attack → field destroyed

• Slight humidity → fungi ruin the grain

• One hailstorm → grains lost

Who protects the plant till the last moment?
Krishna.

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9. Finally: ONE GRAIN

When you hold one single grain of rice in your hand, understand:

This tiny grain required:

• Earth

• Soil organisms

• Minerals

• Water cycle

• Rivers

• Clouds

• Sun

• Moon

• Seasons

• Air

• Time

• Life soul within seed

• Protection from disasters

Not a single one is in human control.
Every single component is Krishna’s energy in action.

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🌕 THE MAIN CRUX 

To produce ONE grain of rice, Krishna must coordinate more than 20 miracles — rain, sun, moon, soil, air, time, life-energy. No human can produce even one grain. That is “pushṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ – soma bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ.”

Krishna nourishes every bite of food we eat.

Three suggested activities below - pick one or two or all - your call.

Activity #1 : The Secret Rice Seed Lab

Theme: “How Krishna wakes up a dead-looking seed.”

✔️ What Happens

Kids see:
A dry, “dead” seed → becomes swollen → begins to wake up.
This creates instant wonder.

✔️ Materials Needed

From home (parents will send):

• A small handful of unpolished rice/paddy or any sprouting bean

• Small transparent cup or water bottle cut in half

• A piece of cotton or tissue

From teacher:

• Few drops of water

• A flashlight (for sunlight/moonlight demonstration)

✔️ Steps

1. Show the seed and ask:
   “Does it look alive or dead?”

2. Build the “mini-lab”: put cotton → seeds → sprinkle water.

3. Shine flashlight and say:
   “This is Krishna’s sunlight.”

4. Dim the light and say:
   “This is Krishna’s moonlight nourishing plants.”

5. Let kids observe the seed swelling and absorbing water.

6. Conclude:
   “Even scientists cannot create life in a seed.
   Krishna wakes it up.”

Message to Parents one day before class

Hare Krishna dear parents! 🌱  
For this Sunday’s BPSS activity “The Secret Rice Seed Lab”, please send:

• A small handful of unpolished rice/paddy (or any sprouting bean)  
• A transparent cup/bottle  
• A small piece of cotton or tissue

This will help your child see how Krishna brings a tiny seed to life.  
Thank you! 🌾🙏

Activity #2 : Krishna’s Ingredient Treasure Hunt

Theme: “Every grain of rice needs Krishna’s Sun, Moon, Rain, Earth.”

✔️ What Happens

Kids run around searching for cards (Sun, Moon, Rain, Earth).
Each card reveals how Krishna controls that element and helps rice grow.

✔️ Materials Needed

From home:
Nothing. All materials provided by teacher.

From teacher:

• 4 cards: SUN ☀️, MOON 🌙, RAIN ☔, EARTH 🌱

• 1 card: RICE GRAIN

• Scotch tape to hide cards around the room

✔️ Steps

1. Tell kids:
   “Krishna has hidden the ingredients to make 1 grain of rice.
   Go find them!”

2. Kids search for the 4 element cards.

3. Each time they bring a card, you give a 10-second Krishna explanation.

4. When all 4 are found, reveal the final RICE card.

5. Kids shout: “Krishna makes the rice grow!”

Activity #3 : Build-Your-Own Rice Plant Craft

Theme: “How Krishna combines soil + water + sun + moon to form a rice plant.”

This is a very cute craft children will love to take home.

✔️ What Happens

Kids build a rice plant using simple craft items and label each part as Krishna’s gift.

✔️ Materials Needed

From home (parents will send):

• 1 glue stick

• 1 pair of child-friendly scissors

• 1 pencil

• Some green paper (or even regular white paper that we can color)

From teacher:

• Pre-cut brown strip (soil)

• Pre-cut rice plant stems

• A “sun”, “moon”, and “raindrop” sticker or cutout

• A printed label: “Krishna grows my food!”

✔️ Steps

1. Children glue the brown soil strip at the bottom of the page.

2. They stick the rice stems growing out of the soil.

3. They add:

   • ☀️ sun cutout → “Krishna’s sunlight”

   • 🌙 moon cutout → “Krishna nourishes at night”

   • ☔ raindrop → “Krishna sends rain”

4. Finally they add a small rice grain drawing at the top.

5. Finished craft: a complete rice plant with every element credited to Krishna.

Hare Krishna dear parents! 🌾  
This Sunday we have a special BPSS craft:  
“Build-Your-Own Rice Plant.”

Please send these simple items with your child:
• Glue stick  
• Child-safe scissors  
• Pencil  
• Small green paper (or white paper is fine)

All other materials will be provided by us.  
Thank you! 🙏🌱

Two stories below - pick one or both. Both are connected to the class.

Story - Lord Chaitanya and his Mango tree

This is a beautiful pastime from Lord Chaitanya's life. The stress here can be how the Lord is able to grow a mango tree in minutes because controls the growth and nourishing process - he just pressed the acceletator, that's all :-)

Story - Akshaya Patra

• https://jayarama.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/pandavas-receive-the-gift-of-akshaya-patra/
• https://iskconeducation.org/media_library_old/Akshaya20Patra20Mahabharata20-20from20Wonderful20Krishna20activity20book20by20BACE.pdf

The emphasis here is that how can ready to eat food keep growing out of a bowl in large quantities? It is only because of KRISHNA who controls the production process and nourishing process. He own and controls the process, so he can expedite it as well as her his desire.

In the Akshaya Patra pastime we can also emphasize two nice points - a) When Krishna is satisfied then the whole Universe is satisfied (Yasmin tushta, Jagat Tushta) and b) Krishna protects his devotees in all circumstances. We can briefly tell these points - our FOCUS should be on the Akshya Patra bowl itself.

Conclude class with a recap of everything we discussed