6.         KRISHNA

Preparation.  Display table; Picture books, maps, costume dolls of ancient India.  Read beforehand writings from the Bhagavad Gita.    For creative work:  Crayons. Paper for each child as in Diagram 6, which is in the form of a book. 

Prayers.

Song.  From the three wives of Abraham.

News Time and Birthdays.

Revision of the previous week, linking with today's lesson.

Introduction.  Krishna was a Messenger from God.  Krishna means 'The Blessed Lord'.  He was a Mirror (refer to the lesson on the Kingdom of God's Messengers).  Use maps, pictures, dolls etc to give the children an idea of life in India at the time of Krishna.

Story.  Krishna was born a long time ago, so long that people cannot remember very much about Him.  I cannot remember very much about me when I was a child, and Krishna was born a long, long, long time before that.  We have stories about Him which may, or may not, be true.  For instance the Indians believe that Krishna was blue, because that colour is meant to be a sign of a holy person.

He was born in India and it is said that His mother was a very pure, good lady and that angels welcomed Him at His Birth.  The King of India was called Kansas and he had been told by a wise man that a baby would be born who was going to be King.  King Kansas thought that this child would take away his throne, and he did not want that to happen.

He must have been quite a cruel king because he decided to have all the baby boys in his land killed.  Krishna's life was saved and He grew up to be a kind and gentle person.  Many people followed Him and tried to live as He did, they were called disciples and His favourite was a soldier called Arjuna.

People said that He could do  miracles, such as making people well, and He would tell them stories that would teach them how to live a better, happier life.  Here is a story Krishna told:

(at this point you may like to hand out the booklets and the children can read the story.)

There was once a Mighty and Powerful King who was the ruler of a big country.  The people of that country were mostly happy and friendly because the King was a wise and good King.  Sometimes, in a far off part of the country some of the people would forget the wise and good King and begin to quarrel and fight.  The King would soon hear about these troublesome people and would call one of his trusted servants.  He would send that servant with a message.  When the people heard the King's message, they would soon stop fighting and be thankful for having such a good King to look after them.

The meaning of the story is ; God is the Mighty and Powerful King who looks after all of us on earth.  If we forget Him and start to quarrel and fight, then God sends His Messenger to tell us what to do so that we can live happily again.

Reading:  "Flee unto Him for shelter with all they being .... by His grace thou shalt obtain peace, the ever-lasting dwelling place. "

Record:  "My Sweet Lord"  by John Lennon.

Creative work.  The pages that are blank are for the children to illustrate, as the headings suggest. Assemble the pages by cutting across and putting in numerical order.  Fold in half and staple, stick or sew the book together.  Page numbers on one side of A4 sheet are:

and on the other side:

With this other side uppermost, cut across and place pages 4,5 on top of 2,7.

Fold on the vertical line and fix together, the book will then be in numerical order.

Text or title for pages is as follows:

 Last modified: May 17, 2001

. .