Suggestions for Children

Namaskaram,

I am writing to thank you for the enlightening page on Satyanarayan Katha.

I was raised a Catholic but married into Hindu family and have been trying to learn to teach my children! sometimes I am overwhelmed. I have heard this Katha many times but it has never been presented as clearly. I cannot express my gratitute to you fully for your presentation. I recently had a Mundan pooja for my son and just started to understand Satyanarayan Katha.

If you have any suggestions of sites where I can read and learn of other Kathas please email me I will be very grateful, this life seems so short for the amount of love and praise we can give God! I am very interested in learning stories about God so I can tell my children rather than fairy tales!

Many thanks, Jai Shree Ram..

Here is the reply from Guruji:

Salutations to you and to your husband; Love to your children.

I am glad you enjoyed Sri Satyanarayana Katha.

I am unaware right now which Katha's are on internet. However, if you are looking for hard copies following info might help

How old are your children ? For those between 3 to 10 , suggest Amar Chitra Katha pictorials; these are like comics or classics in pictures. They say 78 million copies sold so far. First published some 25 years ago. Edited by Anantha Pai and published by India Book House. You may find them in US; You can also directly order from India Book House Limited, Fleet bldg, Mathuradas Vasanji Rd Marol Naka, Andheri East Mumbai - 400059

For children between 8 to 14 recommend Kamala Subramanium's three books - The Ramayana, Srimad Bhagavatham and Mahabharatham. The great authoress has a racy style; the stories are short, the sentences are simple. Average lenght of a story is one page or less. They make excellent bedtime stories. Back in India often these three books have been presented as wedding gift, for they give a healing touch to all marriages when in trouble - which is all the time anyway. Besides silently educating us grownups, gently reminding us of our final destination they make us go slow on our present warpaths and clash of egos. These books are published by Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan. These books do not have pictures.

The Ramakrishna Mission publishes a number of pictorial books for children; There are excellent books for children published by Swami Narayana Movement. All these books are fair priced. An Amara Chitra Katha pictorial titled 'Abhimanyu' has 34 color pages, a total of150 pictures is sold for Rs20 (60c)

I know of a family whose three children grew up on these; the son Achuth is in Stanford now and the daughter Sulochana is in final year Medicine. Both opine that these stories gave a good, broad base of culture All three children are vegetarians and do take tea or coffee; they do daily their prayers and chant sahasranamas and ashtotharas.

Please feel free to ask assistance, and give your comments.

SAB