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The Spirit Of Thanksgiving J. P. Vaswani Once a man asked me, “Have you ever had a sleepless night?” I said, I have indeed. There are days when the body is overworked, fatigued and so exhausted that sleep eludes us. I’m sure all of us have gone through this experience at one time or another and I am no exception. “I’ll tell you what you can do to overcome sleeplessness,” he said to me enthusiastically, “You must count sheep.” “I think, I have a better method, my friend,” I replied with a smile. “I count my blessings instead!” Indeed, I find I have so much to be grateful to God for! The great gift of this human birth; my wonderful parents who brought me into this beautiful world, and sowed seeds of character in my plastic mind; the members of my family, my brothers and sisters; my loving kind friends and above all my beloved Master and Mentor, Sadhu Vaswani, whose grace
has been the most inspiring influence on my life. When I count my blessings, I keep on thanking the Lord. This induces the marvellous and restful feeling that God is in His heaven and all is well with this world. The Zen Master, Ling Chi, said that the real miracle is not to walk on water, in the air, or on burning charcoal, but just to walk on earth... How wonderful for us to stop and breathe in the awareness that the world is a beautiful place; that being alive is a vital, joyous experience; and that life is the greatest miracle of all! It is a sad fact that many people spend most of their lives waiting for disasters to strike. We need to cultivate the belief that the universe is friendly, that life is benevolent, that good things will happen to us and that even if bad things happen, they can make us better and wiser! Have you ever come upon a field full of flowers? Have you
* Feb. 18-24 is celebrated as the Thanksgiving Week.
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got up to watch the glorious sunrise that happens morning after morning? Have you felt the gentle breeze brush your face and ruffle your hair? Have you inhaled the scented night air and looked at the moon and stars with awe and wonder? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself at such moments, what have I done to deserve these marvellous gifts? The answer is that none of us ever did anything to earn these gifts nor do they make demands upon us for return or repayment. They are just there; they are ours for the asking! In polite circles, it is expected that people say “Thank you� for every little thing others do for their benefit. People thank waiters who serve them in restaurants. The senior executive thanks his secretary who organises his appointments. We thank the telephone operator who gets us the connection we seek. Even the disembodied voices on the answering machines of banks and business enterprises thank us for calling them! Expressing one’s gratitude is considered a mark of politeness, courtesy and good breeding. Is it not fitting then, that we extend such politeness and courtesy to God who has given us so much to be grateful for? Let not your gratitude stop with words.
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Gratitude is appreciation; gratitude is goodwill; gratitude is a benevolent and warm feeling for someone who has helped us, been good to us in one way or another. But our gratitude must not stop with words alone. It must be expressed through actions or it will remain superficial. God supplies our every need and always keeps us under His Divine protection. This awareness will help us to feel grateful to God at every step and in every round of life. To express this spirit of gratitude in the best possible way, we must utilise our Godgiven gifts as best as we can. Our body, mind, senses and intellect are amazing gifts, and we need to put them to the best possible use. Consider a young man whose father has given him a sophisticated and advanced computer. He thanks his dad, of course. But he uses his computer to play mindless games and nothing more. Is this really the spirit of gratitude? Let us learn to translate our thanksgiving into action. Let us use our God-given gifts to promote unity, harmony, peace and joy in this world. Only then are we truly thanking our Creator for this marvellous gift of human birth.
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Sri Ramakrishna’s Message To The Modern World* sadhu Vaswani There is a temple built of flowers. And from this flowertemple — the temple of the heart — I bring a flower to offer it to the sacred memory of the blessed one, Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa. What right have I to speak of him and his message? I am a child of silence — the silence of nature and the deeper silence of the soul. I have watched the silent moon and the silent waves: I have felt the silent power of the sun’s rays. In silence have I felt the influence of the saints and meditated upon the great mystery, the mystery of the Ages, the mystery on which have meditated the world’s great sages — the mystery of Life. Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa was a lover of silence. He lived far away from the fever of life. Rightly has he been called “Parmahansa”. This word means, literally, “the highest swan”, “the swan supreme”, The hansa, the swan, separates milk from water and drinks in milk only. In the world around
us “milk” is mixed with “water”. Milk is the Purusha. Amritam is the word used with regard to the Purusha, the Supreme, in some of the ancient Books. Milk is the Divine Spirit: and water is maya. Sri Ramakrishna separated milk from water. He drank in God daily! We are often swayed by the outer. We are dominated by externalities. Often we are oppressed by our environment and so we feel, again and again, so unhappy. But Sri Ramakrishna recognised the difference between “Spirit” and “matter”. He not only
* February 28 is the birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa.
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recognised the difference: he lived the life which the Saints live. They drink in God every day. So did this great one. He lived and moved and had his breath in God! A long story this, of my quest of Sri Ramkrishna. I went in search of him, and at last I found him. I found the blessed one. I found in him the face of a child. And I often speak of Sri Ramakrishna as the Child-man of the 19th century. This Childman walked the simple way, the way of humility. Bruntiere, famous French author, proclaimed the “bankruptcy of men”. I went through a cycle of experiences. I came in touch with many: I came in contact with different types of men. And at the close of this cycle of experiences, I uttered to myself the words of this French writer: “bankruptcy of men”. Man has been the enemy of men: man has plundered men: man has trampled upon men, subjecting them to slavery, ravaging civilisation, preying as a vulture upon culture. What man has made of man! My drooping faith revived — faith in the universe and life — on my finding Sri Ramakrishna. I saw the Light in his face: in this devout worshipper of Kali, I saw the Light of a new Life; I saw in him the face of a child.
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This Kali-worshipper is become a Teacher of the nations. Far away from the mad crowds of men lived he — this great one, in a corner of a big temple in a village. In the Dakshineswar temple he lived day after day doing his templerites, day after day offering prayers unto Kali, the “Mother”. Presiding at a meeting held, in London, Sir Francis Younghusband referred to Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa, the beloved saint of India, as “a genius imbued with the real spirit of the great religions”. Sri Ramakrishna is so simple, so child-like in faith, in trust, in love, a bhakta. Sri Ramakrishna developed through the power of intuition and sympathy a wondrous vision of the soul. Sri Ramakrishna grew in understanding and sympathy until he saw, as theologians and thinkers have not seen, the essence of the great religions of the world. How he loved Sri Krishna! The saint was thrilled at the sight of blue flowers; they reminded him of Shyama Sundara, the Lord of the blue lotus-face. Sri Ramakrishna goes to Brindaban — Brindaban, the place where the Lord worked the wonders of his early life, Brindaban where the Master played upon the flute and
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ravished the hearts of many. Sri Ramakrishna goes to Brindaban and looks around and cries out: “Where art Thou, O Krishna?” And today, surveying the situation of India, many a bhakta of the Lord has cried: “Where art Thou, O Lord?” From Brindaban, Ramakrishna brings with him a handful of dust; but this dust is to him sacred. He returns from Brindaban to his temple. He comes to his room and sprinkles it with the dust of Brindaban and says: “Now this cottage is become sacred as Brindaban.” Wonderful was his love for Sri Krishna. But Ramakrishna’s love went out, also, to Sri Isa. He adored Jesus at Dakshineswar and burnt incense at the picture of Jesus kept before him. He spoke of Jesus as the “embodiment of Love” and again, as “the Master Yogi in union with the Eternal”. Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa had love for Muhammad, too. There were days when he recited the Namaz and verses from the Quran. Ramakrishna revered all religions and all prophets. His heart was wide as the sea — wider. It embraced in love and reverence the great ones of humanity. And in his heart was such tender love for the poor. One of his Bengali disciples, Mathura Babu, was rich, prosperous. One
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day, he says to Sri Ramakrishna: “Wont you come with me on a pilgrimage to Kashi?” And Sri Ramakrishna consents to go. Blessed was Mathura Babu; for he got the rare privilege of taking with him a saint. Sri Ramakrishna goes with Mathura Babu. On the way they halt at a village. India lies broken and bleeding, today; but still, the ancient tradition is alive in our villages. If the village-folk came to know that a saint is come, how men and women flock together to have a darshan of the saint. So many come to see Sri Ramakrishna. The village-folk feel happy. The blessed one is come, they say. They gaze at Sri Ramakrishna and in his face they see a beauty more radiant than the beauty of flowers and stars. Sri Ramakrishna sees them, too. Sri Ramakrishna sees the village-folk. How poor they are! They do not get enough food. And they haven’t clothes to wear. Sri Ramakrishna looks at the starved faces of the poor people and then turns to his disciple, Mathura Babu. The Master says: “Mathura Babu, here are the poor, so many. Won’t you feed them and give every one a piece of cloth?” Mathura Babu is taken aback. Saints think in terms of the soul. But we, ordinary
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mortals, think in terms of cash. Mathura Babu says to himself: “If I do as Sri Ramakrishna asks me to do, I shall have to spend much money. They are so many — the poor village-folk, if I am to feed them all, and if I must give a piece of cloth to every one, I must spend many hundreds of rupees.” Mathura Babu hesitates. What does the saint do? Quietly, for that is the method of the saints — they are not aggressive, as we noisy men so often are — the saints walk the quiet way, the gentle way, Sri Ramakrishna quietly gets up, then goes and sits in the midst of the poor village-folk. They are his children. He cannot bear to see his children being starved, ill-fed, ill-clothed. He sits there quietly. Mathura Babu says: “Master, it is time to resume our journey. We have to go to Kashi. Master, it is time to get up and start.” “My child! I shall not go. I shall stay here with the poor. I am not going to Kashi,” says the Saint, and weeps. Yes, to the true saint of God Kashi is at the feet of the poor, for the Beloved is where the broken ones are. And Mathura Babu feels ashamed of his conduct. Immediately he makes arrangements for the feeding of the poor village-folk and he
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sends an order to Calcutta for cloth to come for the poor. When the bales of cloth arrive from Calcutta, every one of the poor folk is given a piece of cloth, and then Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa feels free to go. He was as a child, moving in the midst of men with the tender grace and beauty of a child of God. As a child he cried to God as the “Mother” “Ma!” “Ma!” When two women of illfame came to tempt him, he saw them, then cried: “Mother”, and dropped down unconscious. When some beautiful girls came filled with the conceit of their beauty and their power which they thought the saint would not be able to resist, once more he went into samadhi crying “Ma!” “Mother”. And ever the “Mother”, the Divine Mother guarded him: when he came to normal consciousness, the girls realised what a sin they had committed in coming to a saint with an evil intent: they repented: they fell down at his feet and asked to be forgiven: they became his disciples. I have but given a partial picture of this great one. His “sayings” are so wonderful. They enshrine his message — for me, for you, his message for India, his message for the modern world.
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Lord Shiva: Most Gullible Of The Gods* J. P. Vaswani Mahashivratri, as the name indicates — “the great night of Shiva”— is celebrated in honour of Lord Shiva, the Destroyer in the Hindu Trinity. Who is Shiva? He is Rudra, the Mighty. He is blue-throated, because he drank the poison (churned from the milky ocean), which otherwise would have destroyed the human race. He is considered both the Creator and Destroyer of men: he destroys the ignorance that holds men in its thrall. He is so simple that it is said that he can easily be deceived. So they call him Bholanath — the Lord who is gullible and often misled. Yes — he permits himself to be misled that he may lead us on to Truth, to Beauty, to Goodness, to Holiness — to Himself. For victory always belongs, to him. Dear to his compassionate heart were the lowliest of the low, the disinherited and the dispossessed, the untouchables and the outcasts. Of all the creatures in the world he chose a shabby old bull — Nandi as *February 24 is the sacred Mahashivratri Day.
his constant companion. And because the whole world runs away from snakes, he garlanded them round his neck. The blind and the lame, the hideous and the hunch-backed, the lepers and the insane, he regards as his very own. And they that are friendless and forsaken of the world have only to cry out to him in their loneliness and anguish, and he will come running to them to offer them his wealth of love. He is the great Giver who gives and gives and ever gives out of his inexhaustible abundance. He gives alike to
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the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the good and the bad. He is like the sun that shines on all, denying to none its life-giving warmth and light. Come out of your closed rooms if you would receive the rays of the sun. Come out of your egocentric selves, if you would receive the bounties of Shiva. Shiva and Shakti go together: we cannot think of one without the other; Shiva is Light, Knowledge. Wisdom: Shakti is the Primal Force, which expresses itself in the beauty and grandeur, the power and majesty of the universe around us. So in pictures and parables, Shiva is accompanied by Parvati — also called Uma, Sati, Kali, Durga. She is Gauri, the Golden One, fair and pure as the snow that falls on the Kailash, which is their home. There they dwell in beauty and blessing — Shiva, the Great God and Parvati, his devoted disciple, ever gazing at the Beloved of her heart. There are pictures in which Lord Shiva is seen sitting in the “Lotus pose”— wrapt in the immensity of silence which pervades the snow-peaked Kailash mountains. And it is said that with each breath that he exhales, worlds are created: and with each breath that he draws in, worlds are destroyed.
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Yet he is the Eternal Fakir, possessing nothing, owning nothing, desiring nothing. Nothing in all the universe can tempt him to claim it. He has but one desire — to destroy the ignorance that holds men in its thrall. For he knows that men quarrel and commit crimes and slip into sinfulness because “they know not what they do”. The darkness of ignorance must be dispelled. This is the task of Lord Shiva. Whatever be our fault and failing, he comes to reveal to us its cause that we may not grope in darkness. He is the Master of Infinite Compassion, Infinite Mercy, Infinite Love. Sometimes — perhaps, very often — the cause of our ignorance is something, someone, very dear to us. And the great God will not hesitate in removing the barriers that stand in the way of our enlightenment. And when the time comes, he will rise with sword in hand to slay our best beloved before our very eyes. In worldly matters, may be, we can never mislead him. So is he called Rudra, the Terrible. And in the aarti which his bhaktas offer him they address him as “The Sweetest of the Sweet, the Most Terrible of the Terrible!”
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The Triple Gift* Sadhu Vaswani Sisters and brothers, children of the One Divine Mother! Only a word or two may I speak to you on this occasion. I speak in the presence of one whom his disciples in different parts regard as the “Ancient One”. Am I wrong in regarding every one of you an “Ancient”, as a manifestation of the Eternal? Do I err if I say that every man and every woman and every child, every flower and every star that shines and
every bird that sings, every wave, and every particle of dust, is a vesture of the Ancient One? So one truth which we teach in our Schools and our “Fellowship” Circles is reverence for every teacher, for every student, reverence for every human being, reverence for the bird, and beast, reverence for matter, for all that is around us, and reverence for the Divine within us.
* Being notes of his speech, greeting Shri Meher Babaji in the Sanctuary Hall of St. Mira’s High School, on March 23, 1957. ** February 25 is sacred as Shri Meher Baba’s Birth Anniversary.
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For thirty years and more he who is in our midst today has borne witness to the truth, that there is something better than speech. That is silence. It is, to my mind, the truth of truths. He has spoken to the world through silence. His witness to the “Kingdom of Silence” went into my heart, many years ago. In this age of noise, he has taught the truth: Be silent! This truth was taught by the rishis of India in the long ago. This truth was taught by that great rishi of Greece, Pythagoras; he built a “Brotherhood”; and the very first truth he taught them was: “Be silent!” In the Kingdom of Silence, indeed, we realise the unity of all men and we realise the fellowship of all in love! I have been impressed, too, with another truth in the life of beloved Baba. He is a lover of the simple life. He is simple: and, therefore, he rejoices in the company of the little ones. As he came here and saw the little ones of the Mira Schools, his heart was filled with joy. Joy, indeed, is the name for “children”. In the message which he passed on to us on coming here, he said that it did his heart good to come in contact with the little ones, the children of the Mira Schools.
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There is a third thing, too, which I have noticed in regard to Meher Baba, the smile on his lips. A beautiful smile plays on his lips always. He has suffered as, perhaps, not many have. He has experienced pain as not many have. But there is always a beautiful smile playing upon his lips. His silence, his simplicity, and his smile, these are his three gifts to us: I bow down to him with love and humility in my heart. A Sufi teacher was asked: “Why is there always a smile on your lips?” He said: “My mother blessed me!” Beloved Baba’s spiritual mother blessed him: and there is a beautiful smile on his face. He has blessed many hearts. He comes here to bless the brothers and sisters of our “Fellowship” this day. He comes to bless the little ones of the Mira Schools. May bless
the
you
Divine
more
and
Mother more,
revered Baba! And may the benedictions
of
my
Beloved
shine and shine and shine on you and your mandali of bhaktas and devotees, for ever and ever more!
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Simple Ways For A Happier You In 2017 In a world where life is going 100 mph, it’s often hard to be present. Most people don’t know what ‘being present’ even means. People are so bombarded with distractions from daily life that their minds are full, their hearts are sad, and their anxiety levels are soaring. People are striving to be happier, but they don’t know how to achieve it. “If I get this job, I will be happier.” “If I buy that new iPhone, that new dress, or go on that dream holiday, I will be happier.” “If I lose 6lbs, I will be happier.” “If my partner gives me more attention, I will be happier.” Often, the happiness that we get from attaining those things is only short lived. Little do we realize that the power to be happier is inside us; it starts with us, it ends with us, and no material item, person, or place can make us happier – it has to
come from within. Try some of these simple things for a happier you in 2017. 1. Embrace yourself. They say if we spoke to others how we talked to ourselves, we wouldn’t have any friends. Make 2017 the year that you are kind to yourself. Say nice things to yourself, love yourself for who you are. Take a moment to realize how amazing your body is and instead of focusing on how it looks, thank it for everything else. 2. Be kind to yourself. Some days we are on point; we can seem to glide through the day and be the best version of ourselves. Other days, everything seems to go wrong. Learn not to punish yourselves on those days; listen to your body and ask it what it needs. We strive too much to be perfect, but life isn’t
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like that. Be kind to yourself this year! 3. Don’t compare yourselves to others. In a world where social media can make other people’s lives look perfect, we need to remember that it’s often fake; just like the movies, it’s often not real life. Comparing yourself to others is the worst thing that you can do for your self-esteem. Take a moment to look at all your personal achievements, no matter how small they may seem. We all have something, every single one of us. Spend less time looking at other peoples’ lives, and start to realize how great you are! 4. Don’t always listen to the negative noise. We have an inbuilt “pain in the butt” noise called ‘selfdoubt.” That self-doubting voice can get really loud sometimes, but find the strength to push through it. You got this; you are braver and stronger than you believe! 5. Learn to love yourself. I say this in a non-narcissistic way of course. Loving yourself is not posting selfies onto social media looking absolutely fabulous and hashtagging the living daylights out of the picture. Self-love is about being kind to yourself and nurturing yourself; it’s about doing things that make you happy. Appreciate yourself for the wonderfully unique person that you are. 6. Go for walks in nature. If walking is new to you, just try a few minutes a couple of times a week; aim to do this without your phone or music
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device. Listen to the birds and the trees, and let your senses awaken. We are so connected to our phones these days that we aren’t giving ourselves any free time to “just be”. Whenever you can, kick off your shoes and walk barefoot. When we walk barefoot on the earth, we can be recharged by the planet. Watch the clouds, notice the birds, and stare at the stars; your inner child will thank you for it! 7. Try meditation this year. So many people avoid meditation, since they feel they can’t switch off. The very best thing that you can do for yourself is to give your mind a little holiday! 8. Don’t go to bed or wake up with your phone. Our ancestors would wake with the sun; now we wake with the blue light from our phones. Take a few moments to wake up naturally. Hug your partner or your dog, cuddle your kids, open the blinds and watch the world wake up. Try and leave your phone out of the bedroom; it’s difficult, but worth a try, and you might find that you fall asleep quicker and sleep better! 9. Look at yourself naked in the mirror and thank your body. Bodies keep us alive, and they allow most of us to walk and talk and connect with others. We have arms to hug the people that we love the most, we have legs to allow us to walk in nature, swim, and run. We have eyes to see and ears to hear, yet we get angry at ourselves because we don’t have the perfect beach body. Embrace your incredible
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body. Be real, be you, and be kind to yourself. 10. See yourself through the eyes of someone who loves you. Our “negative voice” can be so mean to us. Look at yourself from the eyes of someone who loves you: your parents, your grandparents, friends, partner, or children. See how much they love you for who you are. The things that you may dislike about yourself may be the very thing that makes you perfect to them. You could even ask them, “What is something that you love about me?” Their answers could surprise you! 11. Connect with your children more, instead of your iPhone. Sometimes happiness is found in the simplest of things. Trying to be more present with our children can make us happier. Children see the world from a different perspective than us; they notice things: clouds, nature, dead spiders with missing legs, and we all need a bit more of that in our lives. 12. Listen to your gut! Our guts are so intuitive, yet we’ve stopped listening to them as much as we should. Instead, we listen to that negative inner voice which only creates doubt and anxiety. 13. Do more of what makes you feel good. If coffee makes you feel great, then drink it and enjoy it, but if it makes you feel edgy and jittery, think about a different drink. This is your life, your journey, and your body and mind. Feed your soul with things that work for you.
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14. Take a moment to breathe. Next time you want to try and fit in twenty things while the kettle boils, just take some time to stop and breathe instead. Or, next time you are at the traffic lights and you reach for your phone, stop and use this time to practice slow breathing. Try and get slow breathing into your daily routine: shower, brush teeth, slow breathing. 15. Start to believe that you are enough. Billions of people share this planet, yet you are so unique that there is only one of you. You are on this planet for a reason; only you know that reason, so embrace it, and if you don’t know what it is yet, make 2017 the year that you find it! Be proud of who you are, be proud of your achievements in life, no matter how small. 2017 can be a year for great progression! In numerology, 2017 is considered as year 1 in the new 9-year life cycle, which means it’ll be a year for plenty of new elements and lots of hope! The best gift that you can give yourself is not to dwell on anything that happened last year. Try not to worry about what will be or what has been, just aim to be more present in the everyday moments. This year, embrace yourself and give yourself a pat on the back for all that is great about you. Be your biggest fan, because with a little self-love and self-care your happiness will reflect off of you like sunshine! — Through Internet
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LAUGH YOUR WAY TO HEALTH and told him he wanted to serve the dogs for the next 10 days… Officer (at Motor Driving School): If you are driving fast and suddenly see your husband and brother walking in your way... What will you hit first? Lady: I will hit my husband! Officer: Ma’am, this is 3rd time I am telling you, you will hit the brake first. *** Wife: Tell me who is STUPID? You or Me? Husband (Calmly): Dear, everyone knows that, you are so intelligent, you will never marry a STUPID person. *** A king had 10 wild dogs. He used them to torture and kill any minister that misguided him. A minister once gave an opinion which was wrong and which the king didn’t like at all… So he ordered that the minister be thrown to the dogs. The minister said, “I served you loyally for 10 years and you do this..? The king was unrelenting. Minister pleaded, “Please give me 10 days before you throw me to the dogs.” The king agreed. In those 10 days the minister went to the keeper of the dogs
The guard was baffled… But he agreed. So the minister started feeding the dogs, caring for them, washing them, providing all sorts of comfort for them. So when the 10 days were up… The king ordered that the minister be thrown to the dogs as sentenced . When he was thrown in, everyone was amazed at what they saw… The dogs were wagging their tails playing with the condemned minister… licking his feet. The king was baffled at what he saw. “What happened to the dogs?” He growled. The minister then said: “I served the dogs for only 10 days and they didn’t forget my service… Yet I served you for 10 years and you forgot all at the first mistake!” The king realised his mistake and replaced the dogs with crocodiles! Moral: When Management has decided... that’s final.
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Children’s Corner
TOOTHFIARY CROSSWROD
ACROSS l. What do you put on your toothbrush to help clean your teeth? 2. Who should you see every six months to help make sure that your teeth are clean and healthy? 3. What helps clean between your teeth? DOWN 4. What does your mouth do when you are happy? 5. What do you use to clean your teeth? 6. How many times should you brush, floss and rinse each day? 7. It is the hardest part of the body and it helps protect the inside parts of your teeth
DOT 2 DOT
Answer Key: Across: 1) toothpaste, 2) dentist, 3) floss Down: 4) smile, 5) toothbrush, 6) two, 7) enamel
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Recipes for the Month PALAK AND FRUIT SALAD
Ingredients For the salad Baby spinach leaves (palak), washed, chopped into medium-sized pieces ... 3 cups Cucumber, small, washed, peeled (optional), chopped into small squares........................ 1 Apple, small, washed, peeled (optional), chopped into small squares........................ 1 Cashews, chopped................................¼ cup Roasted groundnuts, chopped.............¼ cup 2-3 sprigs coriander leaves, fresh, chopped Orange, small, peeled, segments separated and seeds removed..................................... 1 Raisins.................................................¼ cup For the sweet salad dressing Orange........................................................ 1 Lemon ........................................................ 1 Honey .................................................2 tbsp Olive oil ..............................................½ cup Black pepper, coarsely ground Salt Method For the salad • Put all the ingredients mentioned
except the last two in a deep bowl. Prepare the sweet salad dressing. For the sweet salad dressing • In a small bowl whisk all ingredients except olive oil. Pour the oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly until the mixture appears slightly creamy and no whole droplets of oil can be seen. • Mix the dressing with the mixture in the bowl. Lastly, add the raisins and orange segments. Toss well and serve. BEANS AND CORN SALAD
Ingredients Red kidney beans (rajma), uncooked...... 1.5 cups Babycorn, washed, chopped into 1/2” rounds....................................................8-10 Cabbage, small, shredded.........................¼ Green capsicum, medium-sized, deseeded, diced into small pieces...............................½ Tomatoes, small, finely chopped................. 2 Cucumber, small, peeled, chopped into small pieces................................................ 1 1 carrot, small, peeled, chopped into small
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pieces Olives, halved............................................. 5 Lemon........................................................½ Olive oil............................................. 1½ tsp Roasted cumin, powdered.....................1 tsp 2 sprigs coriander leaves, fresh, finely chopped Salt to taste Black pepper powder to taste
For pickled peanuts Sugar..................................................... 30 g Soy sauce........................................... 120 ml White vinegar.................................... 120 ml Unsalted peanuts................................. 250 g
Method • Cook the kidney beans. Put the kidney beans, babycorn, cabbage, capsicum, tomato, cucumber, carrot, and olives in a deep bowl. Toss once or twice. In a separate bowl, mix the juice of the lemon with olive oil, salt, black pepper powder and roasted cumin powder. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. Serve garnished with coriander leaves.
For the salad assembly Kale....................................................... 25 g Swiss chard............................................ 25 g Pickled beets.......................................... 25 g Pickling liquid...................................... 15 ml Pickled peanuts..................................... 12 g Olive oil Hung curd or soft white cheese (Feta cheese, Ricotta or goat cheese).......................... 12 g
WARM BEET SALAD
Method • Wash the beets and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 160°C until beets are fully cooked, hot-rub the outside with a towel to remove the skin and marinate in the pickling liquid for 24 hours.
Thai chilli.............................................. 2.5 g Ginger.................................................... 12 g Lemon juice......................................... 15 ml
For pickled peanuts • Simmer ingredients until sticky and reserve and cool. Ingredients Beet, roasted........................................½ kg Olive oil............................................. ½ tbsp Pickling liquid Soy sauce........................................... 125 ml Water................................................. 750 ml Rice wine vinegar................................ 15 ml Sugar..................................................... 15 g Thyme...................................................... 5 g
For the salad assembly • In a medium hot pan, add olive oil and wilt the greens, deglaze with soy pickling liquid and cook until almost dry. Place greens in a large salad bowl and place beets on top. • Place flecks of curd or cheese and garnish with your favourite roasted nuts and serve.
february 2017
EAST AND WEST SERIES
41
Simple Rules Of Health Why Your Hands Shake And What You Can Do About It? Shaky hands are a very common problem affecting adults. Common causes of shaky hands include: Medical conditions, such as overactive thyroid, cerebellar disorders and Huntington’s disease. Medication side effects. In particular, some asthma medications, some antidepressants, lithium and some tranquillizers can cause shakiness if you stop taking them suddenly. Caffeine overdose, which can affect the nervous system. Low blood sugar, which causes shakiness because the nerves and muscles are deprived of fuel. Low blood sugar can also occur after excessive exercise. Withdrawal from alcohol or other substances on which your body has become dependent. Certain nutritional deficiencies. Stress, anxiety and nervousness that triggers an episode of shaky hands. Though not a life-threatening problem, shaky hands can make daily tasks difficult. Here are some of the ways to treat shaky hands. 1. Control Your Stress Level Stress is one of the main or contributing factors behind shaky hands. Deep breathing is another good technique to fight stress. Just 10 minutes of deep breathing through your diaphragm can greatly benefit
your nervous system and induce relaxation. 2. Drink Chamomile Tea or Use Chamomile Oil Chamomile is an herb that has soothing and calming properties. 3. Do Hand Exercises Hand exercises can strengthen your hands and prevent or reduce the severity of shaky hands. Put a stress ball in the palm of your hand. Squeeze it as tightly as you can. Keep this position for about 5 seconds, then slowly relax. Repeat 10 times. Do this exercise a few times each day. Along with hand exercises, incorporate yoga in your life. Yoga is effective in reducing stress and helping you sleep better. Stress and poor sleep are two factors that can trigger shaky hands. 4. Drink Lavender Tea or Use Lavender Oil Lavender is an effective natural remedy for managing shaky hands. This herb is very good for the nervous system, which plays a crucial role in treating this problem. 5. Consume Valerian Tea or Extract Valerian has been used for years to relax muscles and ease tension, which is important for treating hand tremors. 6. Take a Balanced B-Complex
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