A Free Bhagavad Gita teaching module for imparting Cultural,
Psychological and Integral Education values for Children.
Midam Charitable Trust has introduced a unique Bhagavad Gita teaching module for school children called the ‘Krishna’s butter Project’. It introduces kids to the practical principles of the Gita & also imparts conscious changes in children using the universal values embedded in the Gita.
Krishna’s butter-free Gita teaching module was released recently in Vikas Soudha by Dr. Ashwathnarayan C N, Hon’ble Minister of Higher Education, IT, BT, Science & Technology, Dr.Beloor Raghavendra Shetty, Chairman, Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation, KV Mahesh, CSR Advisor, Govt. Of Karnataka and Sushrut Badhe, Secretary, Midam Charitable Trust were also present on the occasion.
Out of 700 shlokas of Gita, 99 have been selected based on their relevance and potential in imparting positive behavioral change and leadership traits and the kids have shown great improvement as observed and reported directly by parents, choosing to become health conscious, having universal values and working selflessly for the betterment of the world.
The “Krishna’s Butter English Module” was developed by Dr. Bhawana Badhe, Senior Prof of Pathology, and Sri Madhusudan R. Damle Founder President and Trustee- Midam Charitable Trust. It has been also translated and published in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam & Marathi languages as well, and contains 19 Practical Lessons for school children, 19 Cartoon Illustrations, and 99 Select Bhagavad Gita verses, and 99 English rhyming translations. The rhymes have been adopted from Sushrut Badhe’s book – Bhagavad Gita-Rhythm of Krishna which is already listed in the Limca & India Book of Records. Miss Avanti Badhe, Trustee has conducted the Krishna’s Butter module in 4 languages- Hindi, Marathi, Tamil & English.
The module which was taught in schools since 2015 became viral during the lockdown and over 3000 children from across the world enrolled in the FREE 19-day digital workshops on the Gita for kids. The Gita’s concept was well received by children. Inspired by the workshop results, many parents joined the project and underwent training to teach this module freely so all kids can benefit from them.
Speaking on the occasion Sushrut Badhe, Secretary, Midam Charitable Trust said “In the last 7 years, our model has been standardized. We have a set of FAQs that we impart to our teachers after training them and we have a strict selection criterion to ensure only those with ‘Krishnarpanam bhava’ are selected as teachers. Selected teachers are trained to allow students to freely interact and ask questions & from our experience, we have developed Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which are normally repeated by kids in every batch”.
The Kannada Translation is done by teacher Chitra Torvi who is also Karanataka State Co-ordinate for Krishna’s butter project. The workshops are conducted in both virtual and physical classrooms and no fee is charged for any of the workshops. The first Kannada Krishna’s butter online workshop for 75 students started on 27th May, between 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm on all working days. A group of 10 Gita teachers from the Malleshwaram constituency, led by Taradevi BV who has already been teaching Gita chanting for over a decade, has come forward to get trained to conduct multiple practical Gita workshops in Kannada.
Teaching Module: 19 Lessons on the Gita packed with everyday situations and examples, cartoon illustrations, 99 Sanskrit Shlokas, and 99 English rhyming translations based on Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga principles of education. The rhymes have been adopted from Sushrut Badhe’s book – Bhagavad Gita-Rhythm of Krishna which is already listed in the Limca & India Book of Records. Gita concepts like “working without expectation of rewards”, “equality of all castes, genders, races” and “Developing a global perspective” are taught in innovative ways and practical homework like “Karma yoga for home”, “Controlling desire while shopping”, “Not throwing temper tantrums ” etc are given to children. Inspired by the workshop results, many parents joined the project and underwent training to teach this module freely so all kids can benefit from them.
Interactive Sessions with Practical homework:
“Karma yoga during home chores”, “Controlling desire while shopping”, “Not throwing temper tantrums” etc are some of the homework given to children. Homework is designed in such a manner that the dialogue on culture takes place between parents and children in their homes.
World Record:
On 2nd April 2022, Midam was awarded a world record for teaching the Practical Gita principles to over 3000 children in 19-day digital workshops in the post lockdown period. A Free teaching module for imparting Cultural, Psychological & Integral Education values from the Bhagavad Gita to children in India and Overseas.