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Today, scientists are beginning to understand the value and power of thought energy. They are beginning to study what our ancient rishis knew thousands of years ago. I am indeed happy that this truth has been reaffirmed in our days by influential thinkers and scientists. One of the fundamental laws of life is that, ‘Energy follows thought’. Hence whatever we think, it somehow happens. If we fear a fall, we fall down. To put it simply, we are what we think. Hence we should be very careful with our thoughts. Thoughts have an inherent capacity to materialise. Life gives us a choice between Positivism and Negativism. If you want to be a winner in life, then choose to be positive. A positive person is happy under all circumstances. His life has a
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‘subtle’ energy which keeps him happy and contended. A positive man, a man of contentment, is known by his attitude to the things happening around him. In every situation, under all conditions he says, “Praised be the Lord! Whatever He does, whatever He gives me, is worthy of praise.” This attitude of acceptance with gratitude is the secret of true contentment. But it should be genuine. It should come from the depths of your heart; only then would you experience the freedom you seek. A man of contentment will praise the Lord and express his gratitude even when he is passing through stormy weather or facing the worst crisis of life. A man of contentment is always at peace with himself and the world. He does not lose his temper nor does he complain or blame others for his condition, because he knows that whatever
February 18-24 is observed as Thanksgiving Week at all Sadhu Vaswani Mission Centres, worldwide, year after year.
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God does has a meaning and purpose for him. And so he believes, “Tum Hi Sabh Kuch Jaanat Pritam, Teri Ichha Puran Ho, Dukh Mein, Sukh Mein Mere Pritam Teri Ichha Puran Ho. You know everything my Beloved, Let Thy Will always be done. In joy and sorrow my Beloved, Let Thy Will always be done.” Let me be the first to warn you, this is rather difficult to practise. There is always a conflict between ‘my’ will and God’s Will. I may want to go in one direction, but God may pull me and show me another direction. This not only causes conflict but it causes frustration. Hence, to avoid this state of frustration we should learn to cultivate the spirit of detachment, and accept the Will of God. By accepting God’s Will in a spirit of detachment, we will escape from the vicious cycle of desire, disappointment, frustration, pain and acquire the spirit of contentment. We will begin to experience the peace that passeth, surpasseth understanding. May I pass on to you a mantra which is sure to bring you peace, contentment and serenity? It is an expression of your utter and complete faith in the Almighty. It is a prayer which a saint, a holy man of God used to offer again and again. Inscribe it on the tablet of your heart. Repeat it again and again— remember it by day and night, for it is really simple: Yes Father, Yes,
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And always Yes! Yes Father, Yes, And always Yes! There are people who are upset with me because I advocate the philosophy of grateful acceptance. They say to me, that this will make people lazy and lethargic; they will give up all their drive and ambition and simply sink into passive resignation. Acceptance with due gratitude is also a subtle law, which puts you on the path of self-growth. “O God, whatever You do and whatever happens has a purpose and a meaning. Your scheme of things is perfect. I accept your Will.” This should be your attitude in life; and whether you succeed or fail, ever remain grateful to God. Whenever there are hurdles in life or problems beyond your control, seek God’s help. To cross the hurdles, to solve the problems and to meet the challenges of life, you need inner strength. You can get this strength by appealing to the Supreme Shakti, the AllPowerful, the Almighty. Seek His strength. Appeal to Him: O Supreme Shakti, give me strength. “Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world?” asks William Law. “It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, charity or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God; who wills everything God Wills,
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who receives everything as an instance of God’s Goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.” Make this the mantra of your life: “Yes Father, yes, and always yes!” Again and again, we try to run away from difficult situations; again and again we rebel, react with anger and bitterness. How can we ever be at peace? The answer is simple: Grow in the spirit of gratitude to God; develop the spirit of acceptance. “Not my will, but Thy Will be done, O Lord!” This must be the constant utterance on your lips. You should always remember, that God is with you. Tell yourself constantly: He is my Father and Mother. He is the One who protects all of us at all times. We have to have a direct hotline with God! We should talk to Him; have a dialogue with Him and
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sure enough He will show us the way. Build up faith in Him. Believe in Him. If all else fails you, remember the Lord’s promise to us in the Gita: Renouncing all rites and writ duties, come unto me for single refuge— seek refuge at His Holy Feet. He will never ever let you down! Positive thinking, like gratitude, is not instantaneous. To be positive, to cultivate the spirit of thanksgiving, you have to put in effort. I am often told by a few friends, that in spite of much effort, some of them are unable to get rid of grudges, complaints and negativism. Maybe in some rare cases, one life is not sufficient to take away the negativism of numerous previous births. But you must continue your efforts ceaselessly, and some day out of the blue, you will see the clouds disperse and the sun shines brightly!
WHERE IS GOD? SADHU VASWANI Where is God? Not in temples of stone or marble, nor in documents and parchments of the past is the Living Lord. Thy God is in thy sphere of work, thy field of duty. Not afar in a forest, nor high up on a hill-top may you go to meet your God. You may greet Him in your office, your shop, your kitchen, your school, your study room. Of a saint it is said, he found God in the shining of a tin vessel. The Lord will not be seen by those who leave their work to see Him. But He entered the humble, little house of a woman who sat there to serve her husband with a longing in her heart to see the Lord. Through the window of your daily duty may you daily see the Lord!
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OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM SADHU VASWANI
He that is humble shall reign. To enter the kingdom, thou must become as a little child. Pride: its secret is misappropriation, the vitality within thee— of mind, heart, and soul— is a flow from the Divine shakti. To claim the vitality as thine own apart from the Divine as its source and sustaining Spirit is to fall into pride. Is it not a common and conspicuous sin of modern life? Love, if thou wilt live in the Kingdom. And there is no love
without humility. No ascent without descent! Be humble to grow in the Spirit. Humility is the mother of wisdom. And these two— Wisdom and Love— are the laws of the Kingdom. Humility is born of consciousness of the living presence of the Lord of Love. Pride is due to loss of memory. Pride and forgetfulness go together. If thou wilt remember thine original home, if thou wilt apprehend thine inner divinity, thou wilt be humble. The one
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continual prayer of the humble man is: ‘‘Not to me, but to Thee, O Lord!” To Him belongs all glory, for He is the Living Original of the True, the Good, the Beautiful. Not without reason does the Gita teach: “Whatsoever thou eatest, whatsoever thou doest, do it unto Me!” Self-abnegation is necessary, for not until thou deny the lower, empirical, illusory, egoistic self mayst thou be reborn in the Divine Self. And the Kingdom of the Lord belongeth to the regenerated, the rejuvenated, the reborn, the twice-born. Pride is misappropriation. Pride is theft. When thou has ahankara, thou dost steal to thyself the glory which does not belong to thee. It belongs to the divinity within thee. Pride is the fertile source of man’s steady fall into matter— his materialism, his dissociation from the Divine, the spiritual, the atmic. And the more he falls
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into materialism, the more he moves in a world of maya— a world of false standards, false judgments, false values. Humility gives clearer vision, for humility takes the seeker into new atmosphere. And not until thou wilt sit as a child before the Spirit may Its secrets— the Divine mysteries— speak to thee. Here is a sure mark of him who has touched the Divine depths of life: he is lowly yet moves about with a strange dignity. He is poor yet asks for nothing. He has humility beautifully blended with energy. He has reduced himself to the level of the dust, but that dust reveals the divinity. Blessed are the humble, for they become instruments of the Ancient who is the One Worker as, indeed, He is the Immanent Spirit of cosmic evolution.
O Silent One! The more I meditate on Thee, O Silent One, the deeper do I descend into the silence within! And I realise the utter importance of speech. Words are weak: words are vain: how can they Thy glory sing, O Thou who art beyond all praise? — Dada J. P. Vaswani
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India stands on the threshold of freedom: and, more than ever before, must we endeavour today to study Indian thought and its relation to the life of humanity. The hope in my heart has struggled, again and again, with two of the tragic things in the Indian situation— poverty of the peasant, and young India’s ignorance of Indian culture. Western politics are dominated by the will-to-power: India’s culture is penetrated, through and through, with the thought of dharma. Hindu and Buddhist books interpret dharma to mean the Eternal Law above the State; and dharma restrains the will-to-power and the willto-pleasure. Faith in dharma gave many in the past the strength to suffer for Truth and Righteousness. Indian history, from the age of Arjuna down to that of the Sikh Gurus and the Liberators of the Maharashtra,
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is a record rich in examples of spiritual heroism. Faith in the dharma, also, made the Indian reverent of Humanity. Indian monks, with a longing to help other nations, passed over high mountains and great plains and storm-swept rivers to carry to Japan and China the message of the Buddha and the Sages. The Indian had room in his heart for Humanity. I have heard peasants and servants in Sind sing songs charged with this spiritual culture. Our national traditions never encouraged a cult of hate or power. The Hindus have loved to meditate on Krishna’s Flute and the Lives of Saints. The Flute is a symbol of love, the love that calls the heart of the seeker to the Beloved. The lives of Saints are filled with the lyric cry of love for the Lord. Many of India’s children accepted, in the day when Buddhism was
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wide-spread in this land, the Buddhist Tradition and loved to meditate on the “Bodhisatwa”, the “Compassionate One” who had “love for creatures as the mother has love for an only son! As a dove cherishes her young and stays to take them under her wing, even so is the Compassionate One with creatures which are his children”. One of these Bodhisattvas, “always present, quite near”, is named Manjusri, at once a ‘‘hero” and a “saint”: he has a “flaming sword”: with it he “cleaves the demons in twain and saves the prisoners of hell” On them, too, he is “bent lovingly”: he takes “joy in giving”: he “serves by giving”: to serve them is to develop the plan of the “all-perfect and unsurpassable Illumination!” The great thought of Indian Culture was expressed in a magnificent poem by Santideva. He was a mystic and a sage. He was the son of a king of Gujarat called in those days Saurashtra (“The Good Kingdom”). India’s most prominent king, then, was Sila, the son of Harsha, the great emperor of India who once every five years gave away his all, jewels and diamonds, silver and gold, robes and vessels— to the poor and needy. Sila was a worthy son of a worthy father. Sila’s son was Santideva. He inherited the kingdom and spiritual aspirations of his father and his grandfather. Santideva
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is a psychic, too. On the day he is about to receive the royal consecration, he sees, as in a dream, the Bodhisattva Manjusri: and the Bodhisattva’s voice speaks to him saying: “Santideva! renounce the glory of Kingship and be a servant of poor and lowly”. Santideva obeys the voice of the Unseen: Santideva refuses to be crowned, renounces the palace and puts on the humble garb of a bikshu (mendicant). Santideva opens out his heart in a hymn of wondrous beauty. Santideva speaks thus: May I be for all beings the healer of pain! May I be to all who ail the doctor and the nurse: May I give food and drink to all who suffer from pangs of hunger and thirst! May I be to the poor a treasure untold! May I be the defender of those that forsaken lie on the roadside! May I be to those who long for the Other Shore the Boat and the Bridge! May I be the Lamp that holds the light to those who lose the way! To this vision has India borne witness through the ages. This vision is India: this vision will build and bind India and will rebuild Europe as she lies bleeding in the wreckage of her “riches” and the “ruins” of her civilsation!
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hen a black mood of gloom and despair creeps over you, perhaps, the best and the simplest way to ward it off is to laugh. Laughter is contagious. If some one beside you laughs, you find it, difficult to suppress laughter. There is a man who has pinned to his wall pictures of men and women and children laughing heartily. Whenever he feels sad or depressed, he has but to take a look at the pictures on the wall: he cannot help but smile— and immediately feels better. I read of a man who rendered immense service to sufferers in a hospital. All he had with himself was an album which cost next to nothing: it was a collection of ‘‘laughing” pictures taken from discarded newspapers and magazines. With this album he went to patients many of whom were in the throes of physical agony. They had not known what it was to smile, for weeks together. At the sight of the “laughing pictures,” they burst into laughter: they forgot their physical ailments for a while: they felt so very much better. And this must have helped them in making a speedy recovery. Laughter is medicine. It helps in building up moral muscles, it is a spiritual tonic. It has a great cleansing power. When you feel sad or downcast, look at your face in a mirror. It looks so tense, so unlike the face you would wish others to see. The strain in the face is due to some negative emotion which is playing havoc in the mind. One way of breaking the force of the negative emotion is to relax. Relax the whole body. And as you do so, you will find that the last part of the body to relax is always the face: and of the face the
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mouth is the last part to relax. So smile, and laugh! And you will see how quickly the clouds vanish and you are happy again! The secret of relaxation is in the three words: “Let it go!” Life is full of incidents, both pleasant and unpleasant. When an unpleasant thing happens, we are apt to lose our balance: this creates a negative emotion which expresses itself in a feeling of sadness or depression. An effective way of dealing with such a situation is to go to the root of the matter and “let go” what is causing the negative emotion. Let it go! Let every thing go! Has my sister failed to understand me? Let it go! Has my brother spoken ill of me? Let it go! Has my best friend turned against me? Let it go! Have I suffered loss in business? Let it go! Have my plans been upset? Let it go! Have I been treated with disrespect? Let it go! Has a dear one passed on? Let it go! Has my health suffered a setback? Let it go! Have I been cheated, robbed, deceived by some one in whom I placed my trust? Let it go! In this world of transitoriness— a world in which things come and go, nothing abides— is there anything worth worrying over? Let it go! The more we let go, the more do we conserve our energies for the constructive and creative tasks of life. There is a beautiful little incident in the life of Aesop, the
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great storyteller. One day, Aesop is playing with little children, shouting and laughing with them. An Athenian passes by: he expresses surprise that such a grown-up person should waste his time thus. In answer, Aesop picks up a bow and, unstringing it, lays it on the ground. To the Athenian, he says: “O wise one! Tell me the meaning of this unstrung bow!” The man is perplexed: he finds no suitable answer. “I cannot solve your riddle,” he says; “tell me what it means.” And Aesop says to him: “If you keep a bow always bent, it will lose its elasticity. But if you let it go slack, it will be fitter for use when you want it.” Are we not— many of us— like the bent bow, always highly strung? We need to unstring ourselves, to relax, from time to time, that we may be “fitter for use” when we are called to action. And to relax we need to learn to “let go.” True relaxation is resting— resting in God— until God’s shakti flows into us, fills our entire being. So it is necessary to enter into silence from time to time. “The very first word in the Scripture of Life,” Sadhu Vaswani said, the other day, is “silence!” Sit quietly at the Lotus Feet of the Lord and gaze and gaze at His beauteous Face and, in that gaze, be lost to yourself. This it is to be still. In stillness will God’s strength flow into us, rejuvenating us, revitalising us: and we shall feel
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as new men and women, son and daughters of God. The true strength of life is the strength of stillness. The world worships the strength at action, and this is often cruel, aggressive, tainted with sordid selfishness. True strength belongs to him who has learnt to rest in God. Such an one becomes one very picture of peace. He radiates peace to a world wandering in noise and discord, hate and strife. Out of him flow healing vibrations of peace, as some calm river flowing through the desert of life. He blesses all who come to him and is himself blessed. Such a man abides in the Lord, and the Lord abides in him: they dwell together in a hidden place known only to them. That hidden place is true Home: to it he returns, again and again: and in all the changing vicissitudes of life he feels safe and secure. Outside, storms may howl and thunders growl and lightnings flash: he is not afraid. Nothing upsets him. The shocks of the world are by him easily absorbed. He is ever calm, assured, at rest. But he is not idle. He is a man of activity, dedicated activity, creative activity. He works— offering all his actions at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. He works as an instrument of the Will Divine. His work is worship. He achieves what the Gita calls, “inaction in action.” In his life, silence is blended with action: and he arrives at a stage at which, in the
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words of the great Chinese seer, Lao-Tse, he does “nothing and everything is done”! We work so strenuously, so hard, and yet achieve nothing. We work for the good of the community, society, nation, humanity. We sacrifice our health, our wealth, our rest and leisure. And yet our work seems to do no good: the world speeds on from confusion to chaos, from danger to destruction. Our work is not in tune with the Divine Will. Our work is tainted with the self— selfish motives, desire for prominence, thoughts of reward in the life beyond this life. We have not renounced the ego: we have not offered up our lives in the great sacrifice of the universe. The man who offers his life, his all, at the Lotus Feet of the Lord works with peace in the heart. He works as a servant of God and Man. He sees that men and women suffer in this world of tragedy and tears: he gives to all the service of love. His work does not take him away from God. His work is God-guided work. “Not I but the Father in me works,” he says. His work is ever the work of God. In his work there is no hustle, no bustle, no fuss, no noise, no aimless rushing about. In his work is— love for all! He loves and he laughs. In his work there is no unrest, but peace— the peace that passeth understanding. He is free from attachment and hatred— and from all fear. He fears no one,
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and he does not fear death. He smiles in the face of death. “I love and I laugh!” In these five simple words is summed up the secret of this remarkable man. How many of us can truthfully say that we love and we laugh? Do we love all— men and birds and animals? It is easy to love our friends: do we love them that bear ill will towards us? It is easy to love our kith and kin, our dear and near ones: do we love strangers? It is easy to love those that praise us: do we love those that condemn and speak ill of us? It is easy to love them that help us: do we love them that spitefully use us or exploit us to selfish ends? It is easy to love the rich, the wealthy, and those that are in authority dressed: do we love the poor and lonely, the forsaken and forlorn? It is easy to love the “good” and “virtuous”: do we love the sinner, the criminal, the thief and the robber? Do we love those that have gone astray and those whom our laws— just and unjust— have made prisoners? Do we love birds and animals who, alas! each day are driven to the slaughter house to satisfy our crapulence and edacity? Do we
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love trees and plants, leaves and flowers and blades of grass? Do we love rivers and seas, hills and mountains, stones and stars? Do we love each grain of sand, each ray light? Do we love God and do we love His creatures for the sake of God? And do we laugh— in all conditions and circumstances of life? It is easy to laugh when fortune favours us: do we laugh when misfortune dogs our footsteps? Do we laugh in the face of suffering and sorrow, of danger and difficulty, of trial and tribulation, of disease and death? Do we laugh when our dear ones desert us, when our friends forsake us and we are left alone in this wide, wonderful world? Do we laugh when all around us is darkness and not, a star doth shine? Until we have learnt to love and laugh, we are not ready to be led into the Kingdom of God. Our hearts are hard: they need to become soft and supple. Our soil is not fertile: it needs to be ploughed with love and laughter. If the ground is hard, the seed will not grow. Prepare the ground! Prepare it with love and laughter!
DO NOT FEAR! Infinite, infinitely open is the universe. What room is there for fear in an open universe? He looks at you! He speaks! Listen! Nor be afraid! In this universe of wonder and grandeur, death itself is but a face of life.
— Sadhu Vaswani
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My Master From out of th’ dark and cold and wind
In th’ bleakness of th’ wintry night,
My Master came to me with th’ Light
That showed the Oneness of Mankind! He came when th’ wind was howling wild,
And th’ starless night was full of gloom:
My Master came into my room
And smiling said: “Fear not, my child!” “A New Age soon will come again!
Again will shine a new bright morn,
And Wisdom of the Rishis dawn,
And free the world from strife and pain!”
— SADHU VASWANI
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SANT RAMDAS AND CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI DADA J. P. VASWANI
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There is a beautiful story narrated to us about the wonderful Guru-disciple relationship between the great Maratha ruler Shivaji and his spiritual mentor, Samarth Ramdas.
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ne day, Shivaji was walking on the terrace of his palace, when his eyes fell on an ascetic begging for alms on the street. With shock, he realised that the mendicant was none other than his Gurudev Ramdas. Shivaji was shocked and grieved; how could his Guru go about the streets begging, when he, as the Emperor, had placed all the resources of his empire at the feet of his Guru? However, saints follow their own code of conduct and discipline; and they are not obliged to explain their actions to everyone. Shivaji therefore decided upon an indirect
way of approaching the matter. He wrote a letter and asked his close friend, Balaji, to hand it over to the Guru when he came to the palace. When Swami Ramdas came to the palace at noon, Balaji bowed to him and presented the Emperor’s letter to him. The letter made Shivaji’s anguish clear: he, Shivaji, had dedicated his whole kingdom to Gurudev; all he wanted in return for this was his grace and blessings. Swami Ramdas smiled and told Balaji that he accepted the Emperor’s offer and would meet him soon. Next morning, Guru Ramdas called on the Emperor. Shivaji
*February 27 is sacred as Samarth Ramdas Jayanti.
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Maharaj bowed down to him. He asked Shivaji, “What do you propose to do now that you have disposed of your kingdom?” Shivaji replied in all humility, that he would consider himself privileged if he could be allowed to spend his life in his Gurudev’s service. Then Ramdas said, “In that case, take this begging bowl and let us go on our rounds, begging for alms from the people.” So it came to pass that the Raja Guru and the Emperor walked round the streets of Satara, begging for alms. The people were amazed by the sight; nevertheless, they knew better than to question this act of the saint and the Emperor. They reverently bowed before the pair and gave them alms. Guru and disciple returned to Ramdas’s ashram by the river. Ramdas set about cooking his simple meal and Shivaji partook of what was left after his Gurudev had eaten, looking upon the simple meal as sacred prasad. Then it was that Shivaji, with a smile, asked his Gurudev, “What would your Holiness do now with me, who is no better than a beggar?” Ramdas knew that the time had come to set up a lofty ideal for the king. “You have so generously handed the kingdom over to me,” he said to the Emperor. “I am afraid I have no use for such power or wealth. Therefore, I return your freely bestowed gift back to you. All I ask is that you rule this kingdom as a trust you hold in God’s Name, justly, wisely and well. Take my saffron shawl, and let it be your banner of trust. Defend its honour with your life.” And so it came to
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pass that the saffron flag became the symbol of Shivaji’s Hindu empire. Swami Samarth Ramdas also wrote several valuable treatises which are still relevant and meaningful for us even today. Works such as Dasbodh, Manache Shlok, Atmaram, Maanpanchak, Anandavanbhuvani, Shivakalyanaraja and many more of his books are like beacons of wisdom and a great guiding force in the strife-torn world of our times. During the last days of his earthly sojourn, Ramdas devoted his time to literary activity and building up of his maths in various corners of India. His disciples were instrumental in setting up a fair and just Maratha kingdom in the southern city of Thanjavur, which successfully withstood the onslaught of the Mughal invaders. It was as a tribute to Ramdas’s extraordinary effort and determination in rehabilitating the Hindu religion in India that people named him Samarth (all-powerful) Ramdas, a name that he richly deserved. The word samarth is variously translated as efficient, powerful and tremendous; all in all, it is an apt name for a great religious mystic who combined spirituality and pragmatism, scriptural knowledge and social insight, physical discipline and religious faith. This great saint of Maharashtra breathed his last on the Navami day in Maagh, 1681 at Sajjangad, near Satara, a fortress, which was given to him by Shivaji for his residence. His samadhi at Sajjangad continues to draw countless devotees, inspiring them towards spiritual liberation and salvation.
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LAUGH YOUR WAY TO HEALTH Today a man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation towards the local swimming pool, so I gave him a glass of water. *** I changed my password to “incorrect” so whenever I forget it the computer will say, “Your password is incorrect.” *** Did you hear about the crook who stole a calendar? He got twelve months jail. *** Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity. *** I’m great at multi-tasking-- I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at once. *** 250 lbs here on Earth is 94.5 lbs on Mercury. No, I’m not fat. I’m just not on the right planet. *** Take my advice— I’m not using it. *** He who laughs last thinks slowest. ***
Television may insult your intelligence, but nothing rubs it in like a computer. *** I bought a vacuum cleaner six months ago and so far all it’s been doing is gathering dust. *** Q. What’s between apathy?
the difference ignorance and
A. I don’t know and I don’t care. *** When I married Ms. Right, I had no idea her first name was Always. *** Hospitality is the art of making guests feel like they’re at home when you wish they were. *** I was going to give him a nasty look, but he already had one. *** The grass may be greener on the other side but at least you don’t have to mow it! ***
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RECIPES FOR THE MONTH AAM PANNA Ingredients: Raw mango...................................................1 large Cumin powder........................................1 teaspoon Crushed black pepper corns................................4-5 Black salt (kala namak)........................as per taste Asafoetida.....................................................a pinch Sugar..............................................................½ cup Method:
Wash and boil mangoes. Let them cool. Peel, mash and strain the pulp. Add cumin powder, crushed peppercorns, black salt, asafeotida and sugar. Mix well till sugar is dissolved. Divide the mixture into four tall glasses, fill it up with chilled water. Stir well and serve.
LASSI Ingredients: Fresh curd (dahi) chilled.................................2 cups Sugar..............................................................1 tbsp Cardamoms.................................................... ½ tsp Saffron (kesar) strands............................8 to 10 ml Vanilla essence............................................ 2 drops Crushed ice.....................................................½ cup Hot milk............................................................1 tsp Method:
Soak saffron in 1 tsp hot milk and rub till dissolved. Combine the sugar and curd and whisk till the sugar is dissolved. Just before serving, combine all ingredients and blend using a hand blender. Serve chilled.
ALMOND MILK Ingredients: Milk.................................................................4 cups Almonds (badam)...........................................¼ cup Cardamom (elaichi) powder.........................a pinch Nutmeg (jaayphal) powder..........................a pinch Honey......................................................3 to 4 tbsp
Method:
Blanch almonds in boiling water for two minutes. Peel and chop roughly. Heat milk in a thick-bottomed vessel and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add chopped almonds and simmer on low heat for fifteen to twenty minutes. Add cardamom powder and nutmeg powder and continue to boil for another two minutes. Remove from heat, add honey and stir. Serve warm in individual earthenware glasses.
MASALA CHAAS Ingredients: Slightly sour buttermilk............................. 4 glasses (subsitute buttermilk with 2 glasses yoghurt and 2 glasses chilled water) Vegetable/sunflower/canola oil......................1 tbsp Mustard seeds...................................................1 tsp Curry leaves....................................................10-15 Ginger grated fine...................................... 2” piece Asafoetida....................................................... ½ tsp Green chillies, chopped fine.................................. 2 Salt...............................................................to taste Finely chopped corainder leaves..............a handful Method:
Put the buttermilk/yoghurt, ginger, green chillies, 5 curry leaves chopped finely, coriander and salt to taste into a food processor and blend well. In a small pan heat the oil. When it is hot add the mustard seeds. They will splutter. When this happens add the remaining curry leaves and asafetida. Remove from the fire in another 30 seconds. Add this to the buttermilk mixture and mix well. Serve in glasses.
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Children’s Corner
RIDDLES
1. A teacher has thirty pencils in a box. There are thirty children in the class. The teacher wanted to give one pencil to each child and yet leave one pencil in the box. How did he do it? 2. Which is heavier — a kilogram of iron or a kilogram of thin paper? 3. Which is the Bank which does not have any money? 4. Where is "happiness" always found? 5. How can you make a road broad?
Solve the Maze Help the Tortoise to find its shell.
RIDDLES ANSWERS: 1. The teacher gave one pencil to each child but to the thirtieth child he gave the box with the pencil in it. Each child had a pencil and there was a pencil in the box; 2. Their weight is the same — one kilogram! 3. River bank; 4. In the dictionary; 5. By adding “B” to “Road”
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SIMPLE RULES OF HEALTH THE POWER IN OUR HANDS: 4 HEALING MUDRAS FOR HEALTH JULIE BERNIER I like to think of mudras, or energetic gestures, as medicine. Whenever I’m giving a client Ayurvedic recommendations for diet, lifestyle, and herbs, I also add in a “prescription” for a mudra. Mudras aren’t just for meditation, but have subtle effects on the body and mind that can be used for healing purposes. Mudras are specific gestures used to lock in energy. They can involve the hands, eyes, or the whole body— even shoulder stand is considered a mudra. These various physical expressions are used in yoga to aid in concentration and deepen awareness. The mechanics of mudras: Mudras of the hands work by influencing the five elements. Each finger represents a different element: • The thumbs relate to fire. • The index fingers relate to air. • The middle fingers relate to space. • The ring fingers relate to earth. • The pinky fingers relate to water. Touching the fingers together in particular gestures affects
the five elements within. Prana that would normally dissipate through the fingers is redirected inward, and this effect can be felt instantly. When I practice apana mudra, for example, I feel an immediate downward energetic surge— which is precisely what this mudra is known for. Mudras integrate the annamaya kosha (physical body) with the manomaya kosha (mental body) and the pranamaya kosha (pranic body). This is why we can feel their effects, as they develop our mental awareness of the flow of prana throughout the physical body. Here are four hand mudras that can be used like medicine. 1. Apana mudra Translation: “downward force gesture” How to: Touch the tips of your thumb, middle, and ring fingers on each respective hand together. Straighten the index and pinky fingers. Rest the backs of your hands in your lap. Effects: Apana is one of the five types of vayu (pranic energies). It directs the downward flow of energy needed for functions like elimination,
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urination, and menstruation. This makes apana mudra effective for anyone with imbalanced apana vata: those who are constipated, have slow digestion, or have irregular or absent periods. Because of its downward effect, apana mudra is not appropriate for pregnant women. 2. Yoni mudra Translation: “womb gesture” or “source gesture” How to: Bring the pads of your index fingers to touch. Then bring the pads of your thumbs to touch, so that these four fingers form a diamond shape. Point your thumbs toward you. Interlace the remaining fingers. You can do this in one of two ways: either interlacing the fingers inward, or resting them on the outsides of the hands. Rest your hands in your lap. Effects: With both hands interlaced, yoni mudra creates a cross connection between the left and right side of the body. This balances both the feminine and masculine energies of the body, as well as the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Because yoni mudra calms the nervous system, it’s helpful both for meditation and for relieving anxiety. 3. Jal mudra Translation: “water gesture” How to: Touch the tips of your thumb and pinky fingers on each respective hand together. Straighten your other fingers. Rest the backs of your hands in your lap.
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Effects: In jal mudra, the water and fire elements are combined by touching their respective fingers together. This helps to regulate fluid balance, and is particularly helpful in lubricating the body. It’s beneficial for those with dry skin, constipation, dehydration, loss of taste, and painful, dry joints. 4. Hridaya mudra Translation: “heart gesture” How to: Bring your index finger to the base of the thumb on each hand. Join the tips of your middle and ring fingers to the tips of the thumbs. Keep the pinky fingers straight. Rest the backs of your hands in your lap. Effects: The middle and ring fingers are directly related to the nadis, or subtle channels, that are connected to the heart. By touching them together with the thumbs in hridaya mudra, the flow of prana is directed toward the heart. This nourishes the heart, making this gesture beneficial for anyone with heart problems. But it also has emotional effects. Hridaya mudra helps to release blocked emotions and relieve heartache, perfect for anyone going through emotional difficulties. To benefit from any of these four healing mudras, practise for five to 30 minutes a day. You can also break this down as three minutes, twice daily if you are crunched for time.
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