Graham Hancock, the author of “The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods.”

“ … the culture of ancient India is still vibrantly alive today in the subcontinent and offers as its gift to the present a vast library of archaic rituals, dances, games, ceremonies, festivals and customs as well as an immense oral literature that has not only been preserved and continuously passed on in the memory of sadhus and rishis (sages, wise men) for thousands of years but that is also celebrated, rehearsed, admired and relished in hundreds of thousands of Hindu villages from the Himalayas to the sea."

Global Hindu Heritage Foundation is very happy to inform you that the overwhelming majority of Bala Samskar Kendras celebrated Krishna Janmashtami with gusto, enthusiasm, and excitement.

Krishna Janmashtami is also known as "Krishnaashtami", "Gokulaashtami", and "Srikrishna Jayanti", and Hindus celebrate the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. The festival of Janmashtami is celebrated during the month of August or September depending on the Indian calendar. The celebration of this festival is followed according to the Indian calendar and hence the month in the English calendar varies every year. This day also falls on the day of Shravan Poornima when the monsoon season is at its high in most of the part of India.

Bala Samskar Kendras' teachers encouraged Kids to dress up to resemble little Krishnas and little Radhas. The pictures you see are examples of how they celebrated the festival. While Krishna is seen wearing many ornaments, his constant accessory is a peacock feather in his hair. Have you ever wondered why Lord Krishna wears a peacock feather? The story goes that Krishna played his flute and the peacocks gathered around him in ecstasy. Overjoyed, the king of peacocks dropped many divine feathers at Krishna’s feet. Krishna lovingly accepted the offering of the peacocks and picked up the feathers and to everybody’s joy, placed a few of them on his turban. Thus he came to wear the peacock feathers.

Another story is about the Govardhana Giri being lifted by Sri Krishna with one finger for days until the rain stopped. As per the legend, the farmers of Gokul used to Perform Pujas to please Lord Indra, the Rain God. But Krishna convinced the whole town to worship the mountain Govardhan which helped them care for their cattle and land. People were convinced and didn’t offer any pujas to appease Lord Indra. This made Indra very angry and poured torrential rains on the town of Gokul, the whole village was drenched and flooded. Then lord Krishna lifted Govardhan Mountain on the tip of his finger to protect his people and lovely animals.

There are so many stories about Lord Krishna – about stealing butter, his friendship with friends, Krishna Jhula, and many more. They inspire the children about Krishna’s franks and his behavior. As children, they enjoy the stories. Children dress up like Krishna and wear peacock feathers, flute, and other items to represent Lord Krishna.

Sponsor one or more Schools

We need all the support we can get to expand the number of Bala Samskar Kendras (Centers) from about 150 to 175. Sponsor each School for $1200 per year. You can suggest a teacher in your village or neighborhood in India to start Sunday school.

DONATIONS

PayPal Method: To donate visit our website: savetemples.org. Click on the Donate button, then press the Purpose category, and select the “Sunday School – Bal Samskar” category.

By Check: Or you can send a check payable to Global Hindu Foundation, . It is tax-deductible.

By zelle: ghhfusaorg@gmail.com

By Rupees, please contact us by either phone or email.

For more information, call Prakasarao V Velagapudi ; Email: ghhfusaorg@gmail.com