Go To Move #7: Balak Generated Sabha

The following Go To Move was from a fellow Sabhaologist. (If you have a Go To Move, let us know and we will post it).

Much like user generated content, I think of Balak Generated Sabhas as a way to capture the attention of balaks by having them express their thoughts/ideas/imagination through some medium about the topic being discussed (one of the reasons why I think why social sharing sites - YouTube/Facebook - are sticky).

Of course, this idea doesn't mean we tell a balak to explain to us why they think the 16 Hindu Samskaras are important or to tell us what happens when Bhaktimata was afraid of ghosts in the well at night time.

What this means is that we come up with ways in which topics stick to balaks because they get a sense of authorship while the topic is presented.

For example, during the Summer Challenge in bal 1 sabha, we went outdoors to an empty area of the parking lot.  As the balaks sat outside, we told them two stories. The first story was describing the atmosphere when Ghanshyam Maharaj was born, then all the balaks were given chalk to draw the story outside:

After they finished, the balaks were told the second story of the ghost well, Bhaktimata and Ghanshyam -- that too the balaks illustrated with chalk.  From both stories, the balaks learnt that Ghanshyam Maharaj is forever with us, and so we should never be scared of anything and always be brave.

Another example is what we did in bal 3 sabha this past weekend.  The balaks learned about the 16 Hindu Samskaras.  The analogy of a treasure hunt was used to describe the 16 Hindu rituals as described by the munis for purity and sanctity of the human life as spoken by Bhagwan.  There was a treasure map drawn on the white board with the signs and symbol representing the 16 Hindu Samskaras:

As a quick shakeup activity and to get the balaks thinking about the 16 Hindu Samskaras, balaks volunteered to come up with a story in groups and connected the various drawings representing the Samskaras.

Afterwards, we reviewed the Samskaras and what they represent in our lives and drew parallels with Ghanshyam Maharaj's prasangs.  In conclusion, we got to the 16th Samskara and realized that we're lucky to have found our treasure from the beginning in the form of Maharaj and Swami, and all that we need to do is please Pramukh Swami Maharaj to attain moksh.