East and West Series - February 2023 Issue

Practical ExErcisEs For

THANKSGIVING

FOR EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH

DADA J.P. VASWANI

Choose any of these suggestions at random, and put them into practise at least for a day. Feel the difference that it makes to you and to others whose lives you touch.

1. Who are the people to whom you owe an infinite debt of gratitude?

Our parents gave us the gift of this human birth. They

*Feb. 18–24 is observed as ‘Thanksgiving Week’.

*

took care of us when we were utterly helpless. They stood by us when we needed them.

Let us bow down to them with deep reverence of the heart and in some form or the other express our gratitude.

2. Several failures and disappointments have helped us to shape our life. Think of five of them and express gratitude to God!

3. All around you are the beauties of nature. Today, let us thank each and every aspect of Nature. In silence, offer your thanks to each and every little thing that makes this earth the beautiful planet that it is, for us to enjoy! Think of the green grass, the trees, the birds in the sky, the clouds, the stars and the moon, the breeze, the rain... Imagine what life on earth would be like without them! Give gratitude to God for having given you the gift of sight and pray for at least one blind man who is denied this great privilege.

4. Today we shall make an earnest effort to appreciate those that do not understand us and criticise us at every step, in every round of life. We shall count our blessings and feel grateful for every one of them! Where would we be without them?

5. Take time to live — because life has so much to give! Today, take time to appreciate all the things and people who make your life worth living.

6. Today, let us give gratitude to those whom the world regards as fellow shevakas — but without whose help and active service the world would not be a clean place to live in — for e.g., domestic servants, the

laundryman and the street sweepers. Let us thank them and offer them some little token of our appreciation.

7. Today, let us express our gratitude to those whom we take for granted but without whom life would become an unbearable burden — for e.g., family members and friends.

8. Today, let us give gratitude to God, who has provided us with the five senses — sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing without which we would be no better than stones.

9. Today, let us give gratitude to God for the gift of a healthy body without which life would become an unbearable burden for ourselves and others around us.

10. Today, let us offer our gratitude for all those people who are always negative in their attitude and outlook. Thank you, God, for having given us the wisdom and the strength to respond in a positive way to everything that happens to us.

11. Today, let us begin the day by offering the simple prayer, “Thank you God for everything”. Let this prayer be on our lips throughout the day. If we get a free minute let us utilise it in repeating this

prayer, “Thank you God for everything”.

12. Begin the day by sitting in a silent corner and take in deep breaths. With every incoming breath, breathe out an aspiration: I feel grateful for the many blessings that 1 have received. With every outgoing breath, say: these blessings are not for me alone. I must share them with those in need.

13. Think of all the great ones who have influenced your life one way or the other. Feel grateful that such great ones always keep on coming to the earth plane for our sake.

14. Today make a list of emotional strengths you have that help you cope with the challenges of life: Are you reliable? Are you trustworthy? Are you punctual? Are you friendly? Are you responsible?

Are you understanding? Thank God for these positive traits. Appreciate yourself as a person with these beautiful virtues.

15. Today dedicate your gratitude to the teachers who have helped to mould you, make you, shape you and bring out your special strengths. If you can, get in touch with at least one of them and express your love and respect to him / her.

16. Thank you God for forgiving all my faults and failings and giving me a chance to live the new life — a life of simplicity and service, of purity and prayer.

17. What would life be without comforts? Make a list of all the comforts that you enjoy. From a cozy home, music, a vehicle, our gadgets, even a clean toilet at the workplace. Count these blessings one by one and send out your gratitude to God for them.

18. Each one of us is blessed with talents. Make a list of the talents you possess and feel grateful for them. You may be a good singer, a painter, a dancer, or just a good conversationist. Feel blessed and thank God for these talents.

19. What would life be like without friends with whom we can share our joys and sorrows? Without being judgmental, love them and thank them for their friendship and support. Make a list today of the great friends who have made your life a happy journey! Call up at least one of them to express your appreciation and to tell them what a difference they have made to your life.

20. Think of all the different types of foods (vegetarian) that

have been provided on earth for man to eat and give thanks especially for those types which you like the most.

21. Do music and songs make you forget your worries and woes? Give thanks to the masters of music without whom our life would be dry as the desert sands.

22. Every person has some faults and failings, weaknesses and imperfections. Prepare a list of your faults and surrender it to the Lord with a prayer: “I can’t do it Lord. But, You in Your mercy can free me from these faults. Thank You God! Thank You God!”

23. Think of problems as steps of the ladder that lead to the Highest and pray, “In Thy mercy Thou hast sent me these problems. Grant me the wisdom and the strength to solve them and draw nearer and ever more near to Thee!”

24. Thank God for laughter and smiles, good humour and merriment! Laugh out loud as often as you can today. Share a joke or two with your colleagues. Spread the sunshine of laughter around you.

25. Make today a nocribbing day. Just for today, give up criticising, complaining, and finding fault with others. Take life as

it comes; take people as they are; do not sit in judgement upon anything or anyone, just for today.

26. Make today a gratitudeto-God day. Thank God for every incident — good or bad that happens to you today.

27. Make today an Appreciation Day. Appreciate every person you meet and try to express that appreciation in words. This includes your near and dear ones — your spouse and siblings — your children and friends, your fellow colleagues and your servants.

28. Today you must make every person, who meets you, feel that he is a very important person.

29. Today let the words, “May I help you “be on your lips all the time”.

30. Today let me visit a sick friend or carry fruits and distribute them to the poor patients in the government hospital.

31. Are you one of those blessed souls fortunate enough, to have the grace of a Gurus presence in your life? Today, thank your Guru profoundly and with all humility, for making a difference in your life. Offer a little act of loving kindness as an act of thanksgiving to your Guru. 

Blessed are the empty!

SADHU VASWANI

In an interview with Einstein, published by an “intellectual”, Einstein was asked: “Why is it that pure science, without which there would be no applied science, is flourishing so much in Europe and so little in America?”

Einstein said: “Because the Europeans have something the Americans have not yet learned, and this is appreciation of thought. There is one quality essential for science which some physicists lack.”

“What is that?” the interviewer asked. And Einstein said: “Humility.”

A Krishna-bhakta “deserves the highest reference”, for he is a man of humility. One test of such a man, Chaitanya taught, was that he would never parade his good works — his alms, charity, fast — before others. He would help secretly. His prayers, too, would be offered in secret to Him who heareth in secret. Such a man knows that the secret of spiritual life is to be empty. Blessed are the empty, for they will be filled.

HEALTH HAS TO BE EARNED

ROY DICKINSON, M. G. N. O.

These are wise and true words which, believe it or not, were uttered by the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health, Sir John Charles, in his 1952 annual report.

He did not mean, of course, that people should prescribe for themselves and pay for their fancies in wonder drugs, etc. Possibly a majority of people do far too much of that already — trying to repair in haste, by means of pills and potions, the consequences of old, unhealthy habits.

We eat things to our taste knowing that we shall probably “suffer for it later”.

We bolt belated meals and then hurry to catch trains.

We neglect our teeth until they ache, we smoke and drink too much, we refuse to take regular exercise and we neglect personal hygiene.

We are not strict enough concerning the handling of food in shops, canteens and restaurants, nor often, in regard to its storage and handling in our kitchens.

The only exercise taken by many people in sedentary vocations is in walking

“Much of the burden and cost of the nation’s medical treatment could be lightened if more attention were paid by individuals to the simple rules of health”.

between homes, offices, cinemas, clubs and bus stops. They have “no time” for real exercise.

During the war, authorities in some areas were disturbed at the anxiety of parents to exchange children’s “green cards” for adult ration cards at the earliest possible moment. The children’s cards entitled them to orange juice and cod-liver oil; but a depressing number of parents preferred another tea ration!

The general attitude of the public to health seems to be one of lazy, hazy fatalism: “Those fated to be ill will be ill” — it is the job of state and doctors to step in them and cure them!

Undoubtedly, the state medical service has weakened the individual’s sense of duty to help personally in preventing disease. He leans too much on the strength of the physician, and needs, to learn to rely more on his own strength.

What is the answer? It is the realisation that to achieve top-level health, and retain it without any ache or a pain, means a radical change in our way of life — the realisation that good health has to be earned by the daily disciplining of our bodies and minds to more simple ways of life.

Give up that short, bus ride to your place of work, and walk instead. Spend part of your free time walking out in the country districts, if possible, breathing deeply of the comparatively clean air. Make a rule of trying to be in bed by 11 p.m. each night. Make a real effort to cut out tobacco and white sugar confectionery.

Select your foods from those which are rich in mineral salts and vitamins and which are unrefined, i.e., fresh fruits, raw or lightly cooked vegetables, wholegrain bread and crispbreads, honey, dried fruits such as prunes, figs, dates and raisins, with nuts, cheese and milk for protein and fats.

Eschew all white-flour products, overcooked fruits and vegetables, conventional sweet and milky puddings, pies, white-sugar products such as jams and sweets, and condiments such as sauces and pickles. Try to find time to lie flat on your back and relax for five minutes during the day, and you will truly earn a tremendous improvement in your health.

Until we have achieved real, live health we cannot enter fully into the joy of living. 

You Can Conquer Tension

Dr. John A. Schindler

once wrote: “Despite recent advances in medical research, the most widespread diseases of all continues to rage unchecked. Its name: Emotionally Induced Illness, EII for short.

We can find many reasons for the tensions that beset us: world unrest and insecurity, the rising costs of living, the pressures of competition, and so forth.

Fundamental in practical Christianity is the simple realization that it is not what happens around or to us that makes life what it is, but what happens within us. If we stand steadfast in the realisation, “Though the earth do change,

I shall not be moved,” then we shall have the peace and poise to go through life’s many and varied experiences.

One of the big problems today concerns communication and man’s desire to be informed. We are the bestinformed people in the world, but this is a rather dubious distinction. The newspapers and newscasters often present their information in a sensational way. Radio, television, picture magazines, and motion pictures continually assail our minds with wars and rumours of war, with all the horrors and perils and afflictions of the human race, until our minds are filled with fear.

The answer to this problem of communication seems to be that we must insist on thinking for ourselves. Much of the news is hearsay and “they say” information. The key is in what you say to yourself. It is good to be informed, but better to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” One positive thought will disarm any negative effect of the day’s news upon your mind and heart. One moment of prayer will relax your tense reactions and enable you to be a stabilizing influence on those about you.

Another cause of tension is the unfocused mind, whose attention flits from one thing to another like a butterfly on the wing. When we eat, we think of all the things we have to do next, and unconsciously rush through the meal. We do not regularly pause before meals, as our forefathers did, to say grace. And when the mind is restless at mealtime, nervous indigestion may result.

We often try to do several things at once, such as reading while listening to radio or watching television. A professor of psychology, asked if this was bad, answered: “Of course it is. Divided attention never brings the best results. The simultaneous presence in

the mind of ideas that may be contradictory can lead to chronic indecision, uncertain physical habits, and even a serious form of mental disease.”

Concentration is equally important in work, in play, and in prayer. Paul said, “This one thing I do,” which was but another way of saying, “I keep my mind focused at all times.”

Scattered attention is the cause of much tension. Many a successful person, asked how he is able to accomplish so much, has replied in effect, “By doing one thing at a time.”

A common habit that contributes to tension is talking too much. When we have nothing to say that should be said, it is well to be silent.

Each of us should have quiet times in his day when he can engage in silence and solitude. We fritter away an enormous amount of time and energy in idle chatter and in giving expression to useless thoughts. This contributes to confusion and tension.

Perhaps the greatest offender in the creation of human tension is the strain of keeping up with the frantic pace of life. So many things to do, so far to travel, so little time! Even when we have a moment’s break, we anxiously rush through inconsequential

things out of sheer habit. We need to get off the “scurry-goround” and organize our lives so that we can attain a relaxed and easy pace.

What we need is this spiritual realization: “I relax and let go for I know that God is in charge of my life and all my affairs. I know that I have the time, the inspiration, and the strength to accomplish all the things that should be done by me.”

There is one sure way of correcting our tendencies to tension: We cannot pray, in the highest sense, unless we relax, and we cannot relax unless we believe that “underneath are the everlasting arms.”

Some persons say: “Oh, I can never relax. I’m just a nervous type; I’m always tense.” But that makes about as much sense as saying, “I can never play the piano; I was born without any skill in music.” The person who plays the piano well is the person who disciplined himself to practice and study diligently. So, it is with relaxation: practice makes perfect!

There is one excellent method of relaxation that is also a wonderful asset in prayer: take some time in the quiet of the evening at home to stretch out on the floor. Take a few

deep breaths and consciously think of breathing in the breath of life and breathing out all impurity, all worry, all strain. Speak to the body, saying, “Relax and let go.” Feel all taut muscles relax completely. Feel your eyes and forehead relax and free themselves of all tension, stress, and strain.

As you lie there relaxed and receptive, visualize a compass needle that has been influenced away from its northward position and mentally picture it floating gracefully back to its normal place. Then think of yourself being realigned with the spiritual source of creativity and power and life. Rest for a few moments in the joyous realization that in this realignment you are healed, blessed, renewed. You are free.

Then be up and going! This relaxation can be accomplished in as little as five minutes, with practice. If you do this at least once each day you will live in a consciousness that is impervious to the pressures and tensions of the world. You constantly will be conscious of something at the centre of your being that will keep you in perfect peace and poise, “though the world is upside down.”

THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS

One day a big dog saw a little dog chasing his tail round and round.

‘‘What are you trying to do?” he asked.

“I’m looking for happiness,” answered the little dog. “Someone told me that happiness is in my tail, and when I catch it, I will have it. So, I’m chasing my tail ’til I get it.”

“I’m looking for happiness too,” said the big dog. “I’ve been told the same thing. But I’ve discovered that everytime I chase my tail it runs away from me. So, I go about doing what I should do, and I find then that it comes after me.”

So many of us are tempted to run around in circles, seeking happiness. We mistake pleasure for happiness. While pleasure is self-indulgence and

self-satisfaction, we find happiness in fulfilling our responsibilities, in helping others. Briefly, happiness follows giving — not taking.

A GIVING TREE

There is an old tale about an unusual tree that grew outside the gates of a desert city. It was an ancient tree, a landmark, as a matter of fact. It seemed to have been touched by the finger of God, for it bore fruit perpetually. Despite its old age, its limbs were constantly laden with fruit. Hundreds of passers-by refreshed themselves from the tree, as it never failed to give freely of its fruit.

But then a greedy merchant purchased the property on which the tree grew. He saw hundreds of travellers picking the fruit from his tree, so he built a high fence around it. Travellers pleaded and pleaded with the new owner, “Share the fruit with us.”

The miserly merchant scoffed, “It’s my tree, my fruit, and bought with my money.”

And then an astonishing thing happened — suddenly, the ancient tree died! What could have happened? The law of giving, as predictable

as the law of gravity, expresses the immutable principle: when giving stops, bearing fruit ceases, and death follows inevitably.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

A Greek philosopher and teacher ended a lecture asking, “Are there any questions?” In the audience was Robert Fulghum who asked, “Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?”

Papaderos taking his wallet out of his hip pocket, fished into it and brought out a very small, round mirror, about the size of a quarter. Then he said, ‘When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One day, on the road, I found several broken pieces of a mirror from a wrecked German motorcycle. I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest piece. This one. And by scratching it on a stone I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine — in deep holes and crevices and

dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find. I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of light. But light — truth, understanding, knowledge — is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it.

‘I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have, I can reflect light into the dark places of this world — into the black places in the hearts of men — and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life.’

EVERY PART IS IMPORTANT

One day a young girl came home from school crying because she had been given only a small part in the school play, while her playmate got

the leading role. After drying the girl’s eyes, her mother took off her watch and put it in her daughter’s hand. “What do you see?” the mother asked.

“A gold band, a watch face and two hands,” the girl answered.

Opening the back of the watch, the mother again asked, “Now, what do you see?”

The daughter looked closely at the internal watch mechanism and saw many tiny little wheels, springs and other tiny pieces. “This watch would be useless,” the mother explained, “without every part — even the tiny ones you can hardly see.”

The young girl always remembered her mother’s lesson, and that helped her all through her growing up years to see the importance of even small duties we’re asked to perform.

RESCUED

A little girl whose parents had died lived with her grandmother and slept in an upstairs bedroom.

One night there was a fire in the house and the grandmother perished while trying to rescue the child. The

fire spread quickly, and the first floor of the house was soon engulfed in flames.

Neighbours called the fire department, then stood helplessly by, unable to enter the house because flames blocked all the entrances. The little girl appeared at an upstairs window, crying for help, just as word spread among the crowd that firefighters would be delayed a few minutes because they were all at another fire.

Suddenly, a man appeared with a ladder, put it up against the side of the house and disappeared inside. When he reappeared, he had the little girl in his arms. He delivered the child to the waiting arms below, then disappeared into the night.

An investigation revealed that the child had no living relatives, and weeks later a meeting was held in the town hall to determine who would take the child into their home and bring her up.

A teacher said she would like to raise the child. She pointed out that she could ensure a good education. A farmer offered her an upbringing on his farm. He pointed out that living on a farm was healthy and

satisfying. Others spoke, giving their reasons why it was to the child’s advantage to live with them.

Finally, the town’s richest resident arose and said, “I can give this child all the advantages that you have mentioned here, plus money and everything that money can buy.”

Throughout all this, the child remained silent, her eyes on the floor.

“Does anyone else want to speak?” asked the meeting chairman. A man came forward from the back of the hall. His gait was slow and he seemed in pain. When he got to the front of the room, he stood directly before the little girl and held out his arms. The crowd gasped. His hand and arms were terribly scarred.

The child cried out, “This is the man who rescued me!” With a leap, she threw her arms around the man’s neck, holding on for dear life, just as she had that fateful night. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed for a few moments. Then she looked up and smiled at him.

“This meeting is adjourned,” said the chairman. 

Two teen-age boys went into a farmer’s orchard to pick some apples. Suddenly, the farmer’s wife spotted them and called out from the window: “You boys, there! Stop picking those apples!” But the boys went right on.

“It’s all right,” one of them called. “I’m a minister’s son.” ***

A light passenger car driven by a farmer collided with a heavily loaded freight truck. All the occupants of the car were shaken up, and the farmer’s wife had her thumb cut off.

A few hours after she was discharged from the hospital, the claims adjuster for the trucking company called at her home.

She suggested a settlement figure and the adjuster turned purple with rage.

“Madam,” he exploded, “can’t you see that your claim for fifty thousand dollars for a single digit is ridiculous.”

“Maybe you think so,” she explained, “but that was no ordinary thumb. It was the one I kept my husband under!” ***

The man came home, bringing with him a new wife, some forty years his junior. He introduced her to his servants and afterward asked the oldest one of his employees what he thought of his new mistress. The man said, “She’s a beautiful young lady, boss, but I hate to see a man start out on a day’s work so late in the afternoon.” ***

“To tell you the truth, Doctor,” said a hard-working housewife, “I’ve always wanted to have a nervous breakdown. But every time I was about to get around to it, it was time to fix somebody a meal!” ***

A young lad was being taught the value of money, and to curb his spending,

his parents had him keep a detailed account of how he spent his allowance.

One day he said: “You know, since I have to write down everything I spend, I really stop to think before I buy some things.” The parents congratulated themselves on the lesson he had learned when the boy continued: “! just never buy anything that’s hard to spell.” ***

The worried mother waited until after her child’s violin lesson and approached the boy’s teacher.

“Professor, how is Willie making out in his lessons?”

“Fine, fine!” boomed the teacher. “His progress on the violin is very good. He’s playing some very nice tunes now.”

“Oh,” beamed the mother, “do you really think so? His father and I were afraid we were merely getting used to it!” ***

Remember there is a “MAN” in SalesMANship and that man is YOU. There is a “SHIP” in SalesmanSHIP and that ship will go where you command it to go. You are the captain. You chart your own course. You issue all orders—to yourself. ***

A farmer’s hired man, a bachelor of fifty-five, asked

whether he could borrow the car on October 22, a date then about a month away.

“Sure, I guess so,” the farmer agreed. “What’s going on?”

“I’m getting’ married on that day,” said Abel.

“Fine!” the farmer commented enthusiastically. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

“Well, I ain’t picked her out yet,” Abel confessed. “I wanted to be sure of getting the car first.” ***

In a remote section of the country, an elderly native died. Word of his passing reached the county seat. The coroner, a tall, strapping young fellow, got in his car and drove out to the deceased’s home.

“Did Sam Williams live here?” he asked the weeping young widow who opened the door.

“Yes,” replied the woman between sobs.

“Well,” said the coroner, “I’ve come for the remains.”

The woman’s crying died down as she slowly sized up the handsome young fellow standing in the doorway. “Well,” she explained, “I am the remains — but you’ll have to wait until I pack my clothes.”

Children’s Corner

RIDDLES

1. It belongs to you, but your friends use it more often. What is it?

2. What weighs more? A pound of candy bars or a pound of cake?

3. Sean’s mother has three children: Snap, Crackle, and _____?

4. What goes away as soon as you mention it?

5. What can you hear, but not see or touch, even though you control it?

6. What has many eyes, but can’t see?

7. How many sides does a circle have?

8. Imagine that you are in a room without any doors or windows. How would you get out?

9. What goes up but never comes down?

10. What gets wet while drying?

11. What kind of band never plays any music?

12. What has a thousand needles but doesn’t sew?

13. I’ve got a slender body but just one eye. No matter what happens, I never cry. What am I?

14. What runs but cannot walk, has a mouth but no teeth, and has a bed but cannot sleep?

15. What asks no questions but requires many answers?

16. What has hands but cannot hold a thing?

17. A rooster is sitting on top of an A-frame barn. Why aren’t eggs rolling off the roof?

18. What can you put in your pocket that would leave it empty?

19. I sometimes run, but cannot walk. You follow me around. What am I?

20. What can travel around the world without leaving its corner?

21. A girl fell off a 20-foot ladder. She wasn’t hurt. Why?

22. I am made of water, but I’m not wet. What am I?

23. I run around town all day and night, but never get tired. What am I?

24. What is as big as a hippo but weighs nothing at all?

25. You can hear me, but can’t see me, and I won’t answer unless spoken to. What am I?

26. You see me once in June, twice in November, but not at all in May. What am I?

27. What has 88 keys, but cannot open a single door?

28. Where can you find cities, towns, shops, and streets but no people?

29. I shave several times a day, but my beard stays exactly the same. How?

30. What keeps going up and down but never moves?

31. What month of the year has 28 days?

32. What can you keep after giving it to someone?

33. Three doctors said that Bill was their brother, but Bill has no brothers. How?

34. What can be caught, but not thrown?

35. What has lots of teeth, but doesn’t bite?

36. If there are three apples and you take away two, how many apples do you have? 

river; 15. A doorbell; 16. A cloc; 17. Roosters don’t lay eggs; 18. A hol; 19. Your nose; 20. A postage stamp; 21. She fell off the bottom ste; 22. A cloud; 23. A road; 24. A hippo’s shadow; 25. An echo; 26. The letter e; 27. A piano; 28. A map; 29. I’m a barber; 30. A staircase; 31. All of them; 32. Your word; 33. The doctors were Bill’s sisters; 34. A cold; 35. A comb; 36. Two.

Answers: 1. Your name; 2. They both weigh the same — 1 pound each; 3. Sean; 4. Silence; 5. Your voice; 6. A potato; 7. 2, inside and outsid; 8. Stop imagining; 9. Your age; 10. A towel; 11. A rubber band; 12. A porcupine; 13. A needle; 14. A

RECIPES FOR THE MONTH

LENTIL AND FRESH VEGGIE SALAD

Ingredients:

Moong dal split green gram

soaked in water for 2 hours and drained ......½ cup

Cucumber chopped fine ........................................ 1

Carrot grated 1

Fresh coconut grated ¼

Green chilly finely chopped .................................. 1

Finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt ..............................................................to taste

Lemon juice ................................................... 1 tbsp

For Tempering

Oil .................................................................. 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds .................................................. 1 tsp

Fresh curry leaves ....................................2-3 sprigs

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the salad — drained moong dal, chopped cucumber, grated carrot and coconut, chopped chilly and coriander leaves together. Add salt and lemon juice and mix well.

2. Now heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves and allow them to sputter.

3. Add to the salad and serve immediately.

4. Your delicious kosambari is ready to serve.

INDIAN KACHUMBER SALAD

Ingredients:

Cucumber diced small ..................................... 1 cup

Carrot diced small (optional) ¼ cup

Radish diced small (optional) ¼ cup

Tomato diced small ........................................¾ cup

Onion thinly sliced or chopped small .............½ cup

Coriander leaves finely chopped....................¼ cup

Mint leaves (optional) .................................... a few

Lemon or lime juice freshly squeezed 1 tablespoon

Chopped green chili (remove seeds if needed) 1-2

Roasted cumin powder .................................. ¼ tsp

Freshly crushed black pepper ........................ ¼ tsp

Salt or as per taste......................................... ¼ tsp

Black salt ................................¼ tsp or as per taste

Instructions:

1. Take cucumber, tomato, carrot, radish,

onion in a bowl.

2. Add chopped green chili, chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, lemon juice, black salt, salt, roasted cumin powder, crushed pepper. Combine well.

3. Check the seasoning. Add more salt or lemon juice if required.

4. Serve the kachumber salad immediately.

BLACK CHICKPEAS SALAD

Ingredients:

Boiled black chickpeas kala chana ................2 cups

Chopped tomato pulp & seeds removed ........½ cup

Onion chopped 1 large

Cucumber chopped ............................................... 1

Cabbage chopped ................................................. 1

Carrot chopped ..................................................... 1

Pomegranate pearls ½ cup

Green chillies chopped....................................... 1-2

Chopped fresh coriander leaves.................. handful

Chaat masala ................................................. 1 tbsp

Pink salt ¼ tsp

Roasted cumin powder .................................... 1 tsp

Red chili powder .............................................. 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Lemon juice ............................................... 1 lemon

Instructions:

1. Soak kala chana overnight. Next day drain and rinse it. Pressure cook kala chana along with salt upto 6 whistles or till they turn tender. Keep it aside to cool. Your boiled kala chana is ready.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add boiled kala chana. To this add chopped tomato, onion, cucumber, cabbage, tomatoes and pomegranate pearls. In addition to that add all the spices one by one.

3. In the last add chopped coriander, chillies. Toss well to combine everything together and then drizzle fresh lemon juice.

4. Enjoy this kala chana chaat for evening snack or serve this as salad or an appetizer. 

CURRENT AFFAIRS

DR. PRABHA SAMPATH

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEMONETISATION

Four judges on a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on January 2 found no flaw in the process adopted by the government to demonetise ₹500 and ₹1000 currency notes through a gazette notification on November 8, 2016. It was a 4:1 majority verdict. The sole woman judge, Justice B.V. Nagarathna, on the Bench disagreed with the majority, saying the demonetisation exercise, undertaken on the government’s initiative and based on a mere notification in the official gazette instead of a plenary legislation in the Parliament, was plainly unlawful and vitiated.

Justice B.R. Gavai, delivering the majority judgment of the Bench, supported by Justices S. Abdul Nazeer, A.S. Bopanna, and V. Ramasubramanian, said the court can exercise only a limited judicial review in matters of economic policy. It cannot supplant the views of the experts. The government had argued that demonetisation was a “transformational economic policy step” which led to a phenomenal growth in digital transactions while choking the evils of black money, terror funding and counterfeiting. It had claimed that demonetisation was a “critical” part of a policy push to “expand formal economy” and thin the ranks of the informal cashbased sector.

BJP has hailed the majority verdict, while opposition parties have supported the dissenting judge.

INDIAN-AMERICAN WOMAN SWORN IN AS JUDGE IN U.S. COURT OVER VIDEOCALL FROM KERALA

Juli A. Mathew, an Indian-American from Thiruvalla who has been elected as a judge of the Fort Bend County Court in the United States for the second consecutive time, was sworn in as the judge through video conference from her in-law’s house in Kasaragod, Kerala. A Democratic candidate, she is the first Indian-American to be elected to the bench.

Ms. Mathew told reporters that 2023 was turning out to be a great year for her. Earlier, there were no female judges on the bench before her entry four years ago. “My selection will instill confidence in people, especially Indians and other people from the Asian community, that it is very much possible,” she said. Ms. Mathew was the Associate Municipal Judge in Arcola, Texas, and a practising attorney for 15 years with experience in mass tort, civil litigation, probate, and criminal matters in Fort Bend and surrounding counties. She was voted as the Administrative Judge for the County Courts by her peers and also headed the first Juvenile Intervention and Mental Health Court.

DIGITAL ECONOMY POISED FOR STRONG 2023

India’s digital prowess will grow in 2023 and over the next five years, driven by technology, startups, semiconductors, electronics and computing, IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said, allaying any concerns over a ‘tech winter’, and

predicting spring for the country’s booming innovation ecosystem.

The comments by the minister are significant given the backdrop of slowdown headwinds in the West, recent spate of layoffs by US tech giants, global market turmoil, and talks of tech winter.

Mr. Chandrasekhar, who is the Minister of State for Electronics and IT, told PTI that global and domestic opportunities for digitisation continue to be “very strong”. He exuded confidence that India’s trillion dollar digital economy vision is “well within our grasp” and “an absolutely incontrovertible fact”.

The momentum of digital economy will continue in 2023, backed by enabling rules and laws that offer catalysing framework for technological growth and innovation, he promised. “We see no winter...if anything, it is summer and spring for the next five years,” Chandrasekhar asserted, citing India’s tech potential.

NO RESPITE FOR CHINA? BEIJING MAY SOON BE STRUCK BY XBB COVID STRAIN

The XBB strain of Covid-19 which is spreading like wildfire in several US states, including New York, is expected to enter China which has been battling with a spike in cases and trigger a new round of large-scale infections, a scientist has warned.

“It’s foreseeable that after the current wave peaks in China, XBB can enter the country to trigger a new round of largescale infections,” Peking University biochemist Cao Yunlong was quoted as saying by state-run China News Service. BQ.1.1 and XBB are the two Covid-19 variants that have been circulating in

the US and Europe over the past two months. They have shown greater ability to evade immunity from a previous infection or vaccine. “As XBB.1.5 is set to become the dominant one globally very soon, it deserves our close attention,” Beijing-based news magazine People quoted Cao as saying.

China continues to grapple mounting Covid-19 cases. Hospitals overwhelmed with patients, morgues piled with bodies and long queues at crematorium are giving worrying pictures of Beijing and amid this, scientists have sounded alarms saying China will confront multiple waves of coronavirus.

POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI DIES AT 95

Former Pope Benedict XVI has died, aged 95, almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health. He led the Catholic Church for fewer than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. Pope Benedict spent his final years at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within the walls of the Vatican where he passed away on December 31.

His successor Pope Francis led the funeral on January 5. The Vatican had placed the body of the Pope Emeritus in St Peter’s Basilica from 2 January for “the greeting of the faithful”. Bells rang out from Munich cathedral and a single bell was heard ringing from St Peter’s Square in Rome after the death was announced. Pope Francis, at the New Year’s Eve service at the Vatican paid tribute to his “dearest” predecessor, emphasising “his sacrifices offered for the good of the church”.