Pujya Gurdev  Swami  Chinmayananda  has  aptly  quoted:  “Children  are  not  vessels to  be filled,  but lamps to be lit. The seed of spiritual values should be sown in young hearts, and the conditions made favourable for sprouting and steady growth through discipline over years. It must be cared for with the  warmth  of  love  and  affection,  and  such  a  tree  shall  blossom  forth  flowers  of  brotherhood, universal love, peace, bliss, beauty, and Perfection.”

‘Catch  them  young’,  was  Pujya  Gurudev  Swami  Chinmayananda’s  exhorting  advice  on  imparting values to the children. The ideal given to the children in their early childhood alone can inspire them, equip them with the courage to face the challenges in life, and pursue their purpose diligently, with faith in themselves, and with a strong sense of conviction.

Bala Vihar  is  a weekly  gathering for  children  between the  ages  of five to fifteen  years that takes place in Chinmaya Mission Centres. The aim is to help  children bloom, grow, and inculcate  values through  fun‐filled  activities.  Bala  Vihar  enhances the  overall  development  of the  personality  of  a child at all levels ‐ physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual.

The Mission Statement of Bala Vihar is ‐ “To help children learn values with fun, to delight like the moon and shine like the sun.”

For almost a decade now, Chinmaya Mission Durban has been fulfilling this mission and imparting the timeless knowledge of the ancient Masters to the children of South Africa. Under the inspiring guidance of our Acharya‐in‐ charge Swami Abhedananda, the Bala Vihar wing of Chinmaya Mission Durban has become very popular.

The Bala Vihar Curriculum

Classes

The Bala Vihar classes start and end with Sanskrit prayers. Each class has a carefully designed and prepared  syllabus.  The  syllabus  includes  chanting,  bhajans,  and  stories  of  devotional  and  moral values, interactive  discussions,  creative  games,  and  arts  &  crafts  sessions.  The  classes  run  for  a period of 90 minutes once a week.

The Bala Vihar  classes were first started by Chinmaya Mission Durban  in the mid  1980’s  and have been successfully inspiring hundreds of young minds since then. Currently the BalaVihar classes are organized every Saturday morning in the ashram premises.

The Bala Vihar Camps

A special feature of Chinmaya Mission Bala Vihar  are the spiritual Residential  and Non‐residential camps  organised  for  children  during  weekends  and  school  holidays  with  entertaining,  thought‐provoking themes and subjects. Fostering teamwork, friendship and leadership, the camps are highly interactive  and specifically  fashioned  for specific  age  groups.  A  camp schedule  typically  includes chanting,  yoga,  group  discussions,  creative  workshops,  bhajans  (devotional  songs),  sports  and recreation (treks, movies, talent shows,skits).

In the past, very  unique  and  inspiring  Bala  Vihar  camps were organized  by  Chinmaya  Mission  Durban  twice  a month emphasizing the importance of the Lord, Guru and noble virtues in life to the children.  “Love God’s  Creation”,  “My  Gift  to  God”,  “Forgive  &  Love”,  “My  Guru  My  Lord”  are some  of  the interesting topics of the Bala Vihar Camps organized by Chinmaya Mission Durban in the past. Every time,  nearly  60  children  participate  in  these  wonderful  camps.  Besides  several  recreational activities, games, dramatics and musical programmes, the camp’s highlight is inspirational talks given to children by Swami Abhedananda and Brni. Kaushiki Chaitanya, which help to inculcate spiritual values and cultivate a sense of pride for our rich heritage and culture.

Enrol your kids to Bala Vihar, and discover the glorious heights that your beloved children can scale! Due to the pandemic, currently there are no planned Bala Vihar camps as of now.

For  more  information  about  our  Bala  Vihar  classes,  contact  our  office  @  031  401  7915  or  Brni. Kaushiki Chaitanya @ 083 332 6281.