The first day of class for the Vedanta Society’s value-education program for children was offered on Sunday, September 26, 2010. The class was attended by 14 students. The first day of class began with the children standing in front of the shrine and reciting a couple of Upanishadic chants. Thereafter, each child offered a flower to Thakur, Maa, and Swamiji and received a tilak on their forehead from Mrs. Santi Dutta who is the mother of one of the teachers and a former principal of a school in India. At the conclusion of this ceremony, the children went to their respective classes and had 30 minutes each of instructions in Music, Yoga, and Knowledge.
While the children were in their classes, their parents assembled in the Library and watched a video entitled “Science and Consciousness – Swami Vivekananda” publised by the Mysore center. A brief discussion followed the video.
At the end of classes, the children recited “Brahmarpanam” and received a snack (Oreo cookies and juice) marking the end of their first day. Dr. Uppal came all the way from Goldsboro and met with some of the children, their parents and the teachers.