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Awaken The Heart!* SADHU VASWANI June 4 is sacred to me as the day when, in the beauty of the dawn and the melody of songs chanted from the scriptures of the world, was opened the Mira School 8 and 20 years ago. On the School is inscribed the name of a Holy One— a Singer and a Teacher, a queen who renounced her palace and wandered from village in quest of Krishna the Beloved. In her songs, rich in radiance and inspiration, she sings of four “Fountains of Knowledge.” (1) Nature, (2) Heroes and Saints of Humanity, (3) The village-folk of Bharata, and (4) The little ones everywhere! The Mira School is a servant of St. Mira and the Rishis and Saints of Humanity. “Education of Character” is what the Mira School aims at. Mira created nothing but Herself, and by this transformed the thought and life of India. She was both a genius and a saint; and she was a musician whose supreme moments were spent in communion with Krishna the Master of the Flute, the Singer of the wisdom of the Gita. Three notes of life are blended in this wisdom:
(1) be active, (2) be humble, and (3) serve in reverence the poor and lowly! Mira and her wonderful songs have filled my heart from the days of my youth. Communion with the Great Ones is essential to characterbuilding and is the secret of dedicated life. Dedicated life— is the Ideal which St. Mira’s School holds before her students. Lives dedicated to Service and offered as a yagna— a “Sacrifice” to the Lord, will be the architects of a new India, an India of emancipated
*Being the message for June 4, 1961— the 28th Foundation Day of the Mira Movement in Education.
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masses and of happy prosperous village-folk. They and such as they will be the builders of a new Brotherhood of the Nations. The last world-war saw, I believe, the end of an Epoch. In India the national spirit has been enriched with a new vision of the international: the days of national isolation— of narrow nationalism— are over. But we will not, I believe, for some time to come see a world brotherhood of man. The nations lie exhausted, today. Eastern Europe is in ruins: Germany is bankrupt: India is poverty-ridden: internationalism is awake: I am happy to see technics making strides; and science is reaching the planets and the stars. But there is spiritual bankruptcy!
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Communism is spreading: and organised religions have failed to solve the problems of mankind. Will atheistic secularism and communism help humanity? The heart of the world will, I believe, be saved by a spiritual affirmation. St. Mira’s message is: “O brother, O sister! Awaken the Heart, and use thy powers to the service of All! For thou art an atman: thou art of the Spirit!” The motto of the Mira School is, in a few words, this: “O wanderer! Thy Homeland calleth thee!” Our Homeland is the Atman, the Spirit. This, indeed, has been the voice of India and her sages through the ages. It is the Voice of St. Mira!
I LAUNCH THE BOAT IN FAITH! Lord! I launch the boat in faith! I see the mist and dew and threatening clouds. I launch the boat in faith! I know not how to ply the oar: I know not how to swim. But this I know, that Thou art with me in the boat. And so I launch it in the strength of faith! Unseaworthy is the boat. It has seldom roughed the waves. It has not buffeted a storm before. I launch the boat in faith! Starless is the night. The waves are mounting high. But Thou, I know, art mighty to still the stormy seas. I launch the boat in faith! Look not to my lapses, Lord! They are more than forest-leaves, more than sands on the seashore. But more than these are the vibrations of Thy Love. I launch the boat in faith! Be Thou my Light in darkness of the night. Be Thou my Captain in the stormy waves. Be Thou my Help in helplessness. Thy Name is my salvation and my strength. I launch the boat in faith!
— Sadhu Vaswani
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DESTINY IS IN YOUR HANDS DADA J. P. VASWANI
A man is as he thinks— taught the great Rishis of ancient India. Therefore, take care of your thoughts. “The mind,” Bishop Fulton J. Sheen said, “is like a clock that is constantly running down and must be wound up daily with good thoughts.” Fill the mind with noble thoughts. The minds of many, I am afraid, are full of unwholesome thoughts and wrong ideas. It is such thoughts that do not let us live a healthy, happy and successful life. Often times, we pay scant attention to our thoughts. We say, after all, it was but a thought. We must never forget that thoughts are things, thoughts are forces, thoughts are the building blocks of life. With thoughts, we are building the edifice of our own life— building our own future. People blame their kismat, their stars, their destiny. “Men heap together the mistakes of their lives,” said John Oliver Hobbes,
“and create a monster they call Destiny.” Destiny is not a matter of chance: it is a matter of choice. We are building our own destiny, everyday, with the thoughts that we think. A thought, if it is constantly held in the mind, will drive us to action. An action, which is repeated, creates a habit. It is our habits that form our character. It is character that determines our destiny. If we wish to change our destiny, we must begin with the thought. We must change our pattern of thinking. We must cleanse the mind of all the dirt which we have accumulated through the years. Our minds need to be cleansed of thoughts of lust, hatred and greed, passion and pride, selfishness and miserliness, avarice and arrogance, envy and jealousy, resentment and ill-will. William Phelps said: “That man is the happiest who thinks the happiest thoughts.” I would add: “That man is the healthiest
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and most successful who thinks the healthiest and most successful thoughts.” Throw the dirt from your minds and fill them with thoughts of love and peace and joy, purity and prayer, sympathy and service and sacrifice, prosperity and success. There is a doctor who tells her patients that her medicine will work only if they give their minds a good shampoo every day. Get down into your consciousness and cleanse your minds of all those old, rotten, miserable thoughts that keep you unhealthy, unhappy, unsuccessful. There is another doctor who says to his patients with a twinkle in his eyes: “Keep your upstairs clean and your downstairs will be healthy.” There are those who nurture thoughts of hatred, of envy and jealousy in their hearts. How can they ever hope to be happy? Hatred and happiness can never dwell together, even as darkness and light can never live together. There was a man who met me a long time ago. He said: “There is a fire burning within my heart: it will not be quenched until I have shot down the man who was indirectly responsible for the death of my father.” How true! Hatred is a fire which keeps on burning within the heart: it burns away all your happiness. I recall a moving, little incident in the life of my beloved Master and mentor, Sadhu Vaswani. There was a man who was given to evil ways. His wife, if only to derive some comfort and solace, came to
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Sadhu Vaswani’s evening satsang, every day. The husband did not approve of it. One day, he came and said to Sadhu Vaswani: “If only you knew how much I hate you!” Sadhu Vaswani, who was one of the gentlest and humblest of men that trod the earth, looked lovingly into the eyes of this man and said: “If only you knew how much I love you!” The words enacted a miracle. The man fell down at the feet of Sadhu Vaswani and, with tearfilled eyes, sobbed: “Forgive me, O holy man of God, I have greatly sinned!” The man’s life was transformed. Every evening, he accompanied his wife and children to the evening satsang. Significant are the words of Gautama Buddha: “Hatred ceaseth not by hatred; hatred ceaseth by love.” St. Francis of Assisi prayed: “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.” Every thought survives and has a form and colour. The thought may have the form of an angel or a demon, depending upon its contents. If I think a thought of peace, purity, prayer, love, joy, sympathy or service, it will stick to me wearing the form of an angel. If I think a thought of envy, jealousy, hatred, ill-will, resentment, greed,
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dishonesty, it will stick to me wearing the form of a demon. Each one of us has around him these forms— angelic or demoniac— depending upon the type of thoughts he thinks. Take care of your thoughts and desires, your impulses and ambitions, your feelings and fancies. The forces that are around you have magnetic power. They draw to themselves forms of a like nature. If we are surrounded by angelic forms, they draw to themselves many more angels. If we are surrounded by demoniac forms, they attract to themselves many more demons. We have heard of physically weak people performing heroic deeds of valour far beyond their physical strength. I read concerning a mother who weighed only 41 kgs. In a moment of crisis, she lifted the wheel of an automobile beneath which her child had been caught. From where did she get all that strength? The seemingly impossible is accomplished when determination is accompanied by high purpose. Referring to Sir Galahad, Tennyson says: “His strength was as the strength of ten, because his heart was pure!” Conversely, low thoughts have an evil and disturbing effect. Sometimes, in a fit of temper, we do things of which we are not otherwise capable. Later, as we repent for evil deeds, we exclaim: “Some devil must have tempted me!” We are not attacked by these entities: we attract them to
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ourselves. Thoughts have power. So let us be careful of our thoughts and utilise all the power available to us in the service of suffering humanity. The brain has been called a “fabulous mechanism”. It is about the size of a half of grape-fruit but is truly a most wonderful thing. It is capable of recording eight hundred memories per second for seventy five years without exhausting itself. It is the storehouse for between ten billion and one hundred billion pieces of information. Even the most powerful computers in the world have memories that hold only a few million items of accessible information. The human brain retains everything that it takes in and never forgets anything. Even though we don’t recall all the information received, everything is on the permanent file in our brain. If a computer were to be built to match the brain’s potential, it would occupy space comparable to the size of the tallest building in the world— the Empire State Building— and will need one billion watts of electrical power to run. The cost would work out to an astronomical figure. The mind is one of God’s most amazing gifts to man. Scientists tell us we use only one-fiftieth of the brain power available to us. Let us train our minds and ourselves to use this fabulous power in the right way. Therefore, let us take care of our thoughts.
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THE FLOWER AND THE FRUIT SADHU VASWANI
Kabir* is a mystic but he does not spurn action. His mysticism is not quietism. He recognises the place of work in spiritual life. Every day, this weaver of Kashi sat in his little room, working at his loom to earn his bread, and he served the sadhus (holy men) and many others in need with faith in the truth that their service was worship.. More important than his work for daily bread and his seva (service) to the sadhus and the poor was his profound faith that inner, spiritual activity was the most essential work, the work, of purifying the heart and its vision. This work, this inner activity, this unfolding of the interior life, he *June 17 is the sacred Kabir Jayanti.
regarded as the work of God. And Kabir gave his love to all— to men of all creeds and castes. To Kabir, as to every saint of God, this truth was clear that to abide in God was to radiate love into the world. Kabir’s life was one of love. Therefore, it manifested itself in works of love, in giving comfort to the sorrowful, to the sad and weary and heavy laden, in giving food and clothes to the hungry and needy. There was a beautiful blend of the active and the contemplative in the life of Kabir. The active life is one of action: the contemplative is one of communion in the immense silence of God.
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On these three things, then, doth Kabir put emphasis in his vision of life: (1) The active life— the life of virtues and self-control and service. This life prepares us for contemplation. (2) The contemplative life. This is concerned with the love of man for God. Than this love, I know of no act more noble, more perfect. (3) The life unitive. The active blended with the contemplative is the life unitive, which in silence and love learns, more and more, of the secret hidden in the heart— the Spirit— and overflows with the love that singeth of the secret and serveth God in His creation. This unitive life is a marriage of the soul with the Spirit. This unitive life it is which gives the saints tremendous energy to serve God and all creatures, blessing thousands and, may be, changing the course of communities. I believe that schools and asylums and orphanages and seva-centres cannot truly fulfill their vocation until there flows into them an inspiration of the interior life– the life of contemplation, the life of communion with God in silence and in love. Kabir sings:
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The moon doth shine within my body: Alas! mine eyes are blind and see not the light! Within me sounds the drum of eternity— The unstruck music of the Spirit. Alas! my ears are deaf and cannot hear! So long as a man doth clamour: “This is mine ! This is mine!” His actions are all reduced to nought: His actions are but ashes and dust, But when “mine” and mamta are dead, Then the work of the Lord proceedeth straight! For work— action— hath no other aim Than the gaining of gnana, wisdom, self-realisation. And when gnana, selfrealisation, comes, Then all work sinks into the secondary. Work is flower: realisation is fruit. The flower blooms in beauty for the fruit. When fruit comes, the flower within is of little importance. Through work we reach realisation: And realisation is within!
He is truly strong who dares to be alone with God. — Sadhu Vaswani
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BUILDING A NEW INDIA DADA J. P. VASWANI
New India will be built not in the Assembly Hall but in the School. A few days before Sadhu Vaswani dropped his physical body, he saw a number of school children playing games. He loved little children as tenderly as a mother loves her offspring. He asked us to bring grapes and sweets and with his own hands he distributed them among the children. And when Sadhu Vaswani was getting ready to leave the playground, a small girl came to him and said: “Dada! Now you go, and we know not when you will come to us again. Give us a message before you leave!” Sadhu Vaswani looked lovingly into the pure, innocent face of the little girl and said to her: “Never forget that you and such as you are the builders of tomorrow. The future is in your hands!” As I have looked, again and again, into the angelic faces of the children of St. Mira’s Schools, chanting slokas from the Bhagavad Gita, reciting from the great scriptures of the religions of the world, I have said to myself: “In them is the hope of the future. They— and such as they, in different parts of the country—
can become the builders of a new India, the architects of a new humanity!” Is this not the reason why Sadhu Vaswani, after taking active part, for some years, in the struggle for India’s freedom, quietly slipped from the “vanguard” and devoted his time and energies to “constructive” work? He opened ashramas; he started Yuvak
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Sanghas (Youth Centres): he founded St. Mira’s Schools and Colleges inspired by ideals of new education. “New India,” he said, “will be built not in the Assembly Hall but in the School. Indian ideals should be impressed on students in the formative years of their lives... Physical training, open-air institutions, social service, and the training of emotions should be regarded as important elements in our educational programme in addition to mind teaching and Brahmavidya or Science of the Spirit.” And again: “If our souls are meagre, today, it is because our education has lost touch with the great soul of nature and with great teachers. There is organisation, there is an elaborate machinery of education, today: but where is the soul? Our students are taught science and civics: but how many of them have courage that would stand by truth, though ‘the heavens fell’? “If India stands true to her ancient ideals in education, she
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will enrich once more the world’s life. The universities of Europe may, then, do homage to India’s sages, and India once again may go upon her mission as a Guru of the great nations!” Will India stand true to the ideals that made her great in the long ago? At a time when darkness brooded over Western civilisation, India was strong and vital. And she was acclaimed as a leader of the nations, a builder of civilisation. Much has she suffered through the centuries. Great has been her agony. And, today, she lies prostrate and weak. But India is not defeated. And India will never defeated be, as long as her people cling to the vision of the sages who saw that the Root of life is God. Turning away from Him, we but wander from distraction to distraction. Turn back to God! Love God and love your fellowmen! In love is the solution to all the problems which afflict modern Civilisation. In love is the secret of the peace which men and nations alike are seeking.
Those who come victoriously through time of trial and adversity with equanimity, are they who in times of peace and prosperity have not neglected their daily communion with God. It is because they have stayed their mind upon God, when things went well with them, that they are able to find an available God in the day of adversity. — H. T. Hamblin
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THE SONG OF THE DEDICATION DAY* (June 4) The Sky is red: the Earth is ill: The wind is weary and the Light Doth fade: the nations are in plight! But the birds of Hope are singing still! I hear them in St. Mira’s School! I hear them in your radiant hearts O little ones! my fear departs: I say: Believe! Be not a fool! I look into your trusting eyes: I listen to your speech and song: To you fair fortune doth belong: And in you Hope o’a new world lies! O ye who still in Life believe And in the Lord of Love and Life! Ye yet will heal the world of strife! Ye little ones will yet achieve! A new Spring still on Earth will shine: The shadows and the dark will go! The nations with new Light will glow And ye will lead to Peace Divine!
—Sadhu Vaswani *June 4, 2019 is the 86th Foundation Day of the Mira Movement in Education. *This poem was written on the 64th Foundation Day.
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IN THE ABIDING PRESENCE DADA J. P. VASWANI
M
ore precious than all the wealth of the world is the peace of the mind and the heart. Let me do nothing to disturb it. Let my daily life be so regulated as to strengthen the inner calm, not take away from it. So let us avoid over-work. And let me not be in a hurry to do anything. Let me go about doing my work quietly, gently and lovingly— my mind and heart devoted to the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Then will my soul become strong and all round me the world will smile.
Abu Said was a writer of profane poetry: his poems were very popular among the lowbrows, in the Arabia of those days. One day, an awakening comes to him: and giving up the path of popularity he sets out in quest of a Teacher who may show him the Way to Allah. This is what his Teacher says to him. “Abu Said! all the hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets were sent to preach one word. They bade the people say, “Allah” and devote themselves to Him. Those who heard this Word by the ear alone let it go by the other ear; but those who heard it with their souls imprinted It on their souls and repeated It until It penetrated their hearts and souls, and their whole beings became this Word. They were made independent of the pronunciation of the Word; they were released from the sound of the letters. Having understood the spiritual meaning of this Word,
they became so absorbed in it that they were no more conscious of their own non-existence.” I sometimes think of the Name Divine as a locked door. If only we can open it, we, too, may live in the abiding Presence of the Beloved. The way to open it is the Way of Love. The life of meditation does not enjoin on us to give up our worldly
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duties and obligations. No; it only asks that we withdraw ourselves from the world for a while and give ourselves wholly to God. Then must we return to our daily work, pouring into it the energy of the Spirit. Such work will bless the world. Through such work will God Himself descend upon the earth. Work of the true type is a bridge between God and man. So with one hand let us cling to His Lotus Feet and with the other attend to our daily duties. Or, as Sri Ramakrishna often said: With thy right eye Behold the beauteous face of God: And with thy left eye View the changing panorama Of earthly existence. More precious than all the wealth of the world is the peace of the mind and the heart. Let me do nothing to disturb it. Let my daily life be so regulated as to strengthen the inner calm, not take away from it. So let me avoid overwork. And let me not be in a hurry to do anything. Let me go about doing my work quietly, gently and lovingly— my mind and heart devoted to the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Then will my soul become strong and all round me the world will smile. In the midst of my work— aye, even in the midst of my kirtan and worship— let me, again and again, withdraw for a brief while into the inner chamber of my heart and there speak to God, gaze upon His beauteous Face, touch the hem of His garment,
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cling to His Lotus Feet, as it were by stealth. Let me do this from time to time throughout the day and throughout the night. Truly blessed are these brief moments of intimate contact with God, when I penetrate into the very depths of my soul and offer all I have and all I am to Him and feel grateful to Him for His everlasting mercy and loving tenderness. Nothing is impossible to him who, in faith and devotion, treads the way of abhyasa— the Path of Practice. Does not the Lord declare in the Gita: Howsoever difficult impossible it may seem,
or
You, O Arjuna! may still achieve it, By steadfast and whole-hearted devotion. So walk the way of practice! And as the Chinese say: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. We may be far, very far from our goal: but even if we have taken a single step in the right direction we have advanced on the path. And for every single step that we take to reach Him, He takes a hundred steps to draw nearer to us. For, while we think we are seeking Him, in reality it is He who is in search of us. The way of faith is not paved with roses. In the initial stages, it is not without its difficulties and dangers. He who would walk the way of faith must be prepared to accept suffering and starvation, poverty and pain, and in the midst of it all give gratitude to God.
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Purification is the very first step on the mystical path. And if a man is to be purged of dross and become like thrice-burnished gold, he must not shirk the fire. Illness will come to him: and death will stare him in the face, His own dear ones will let him down in the hour of his urgent need. He will have to face storms of misunderstanding. Disappointments will crowd round him. His friends will scoff at him and call him “mad”. “Where is your God?” they will say to him in the day of his misery and anguish. And something within him will cry the cry of pain, again and again: “I can bear it no longer. I feel like one broken in body and mind. In the whole wide world there is none whom I may call my own. I feel forsaken as a beaten, battered boat on a stormy sea. I belong neither
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to this world nor to the Kingdom of God. Let me go back to my old ways of living. Not this the path for me!” If he survives this period of frustration— and he can do so through constant prayer and repetition of the Name of God— he arrives at a stage of blessedness. His struggles are now over. He has come in direct contact with the Reality out of which is all that is. He has touched the Source: and he lacks nothing. All his needs are supplied at the right time. He makes no preparations or plans. Everything is prepared for him in advance. He no longer hopes or believes or trusts: he knows! He knows that everyone of his needs will be fulfilled— at the right time.
LOOK WITHIN Look neither to the right nor to the left! Look neither in front nor behind! Look neither above nor below! Look within: For there abides the Beloved! And to see Him, pray for His supernal light: For not with the charma chakshu, the eye of flesh, But with the Eye Divine, mayst thou behold Him, Clothed in His undying glory!
– J. P. Vaswani
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GURU ARJAN DEV SADHU VASWANI What a colossal figure! He lived in the 16th century. We of the 20th boast of our “Science” and “civilisation.” We feel as Pygmies in his presence. He organised the Sikhs into a community. He planned the Hari Mandir. He founded Tarn Taran. And this organiser was a poetseer. To him came a perception of the truth that there is one Religion in religions as in the various forces of nature there is really but one Force. Guru Arjun saw the higher harmony of Hindu bhakti and Muslim mysticism. And he had the courage, rare in these days to bring together in the Granth Sahib the sayings of Hindu saints and Muslim fakirs. He suffered for it. He was persecuted, cruelly tortured by the government of his day. But he would not, for a moment, falter in his vision. He would not, be said to his king, change even an iota in the Granth Sahib. It could not be, if he would change it, a scripture of synthesis, of human brotherhood. He preferred death to disloyalty to the faith of his soul, and he had the courage to say to the sovereign: “If in following the truth, this perishable body departs, I shall rejoice, deeming it great good fortune”. In this saint dwelt a poet’s soul. His hymns are a poet’s offering to the Spirit of Nature, the Spirit of Humanity. Out of his heart— the heart of a saint— came that wonderful scripture, the Sukhmani *June 16 is Guru Arjan Dev Shaheedi Divas.
Sahib. It is a song of the Pilgrimage of Life. Superior to rites and ceremonies is the utterance of the Name. The Sukhmani is a song of the Eternal World. He whose lips uttered the song died a martyr. He lives in million hearts. His message, the message of the Sukhmani is for the nations. It is a message which has given consolation to many a wounded heart. At this very hour thousands find in the Sukhmani scripture, the solace of their broken lives, the strength of their broken hearts. And at this hour I fain would say to the young: So work and so suffer for India that a sceptic world may know that India is not dead, but that the Mother, still bears witness to the wisdom of the Rishis and the Song of the Gurus.
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Laugh Your Way To Health
Viveka: Mummy, may I go to the fancy dress party as a milkmaid? Mother: No, dear, you are too small. Viveka: Oh. Then may I go as a condensed milkmaid?
Patient: I am worrying about my future. Doctor: I will give you a year’s treatment. It will be Rs. 1,000 a month. Patient: That takes care of your future. What about mine?
***
***
Mr. Kapadia: I am a proud father. My son is in medical college. Mr. Desai: What is he studying? Mr. Kapadia: He is not studying. They are studying him.
Policeman: Why didn’t you stop when you saw the dog crossing the road? Scooterist: Sir, I have only heard of zebra crossings, not dog crossings.
*** Ravi: This year my grandfather will celebrate his 21st birthday. Rohan: What? Ravi: Yes, it’s true! He was born on February 29.
*** Patient: Doctor, I often feel like killing myself. What shall I do? Doctor: Leave it to me.
*** Patient: How can I ever repay you for your kindness to me? Doctor: By cheque, postal order or cash.
***
*** Raj: Why don’t you travel by aeroplane? Amit: I’m afraid of accidents. Raj: Don’t worry! My dad says you won’t die before your time. Amit: I know that. But when I’m flying, even if it’s not my time, what will happen if the pilot’s time has come?
*** Late one night, a drunken man wearing a facemask jumped into the path of a well-dressed gentleman and stuck a gun in his
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ribs. “Give me all your money!” he demanded. The terrified man spoke, “You cannot do this to me. I am a politician.” The drunken man then replied, “Aha! If that is the case, you will have to give me my money!”
*** When all the children came out of the bus, the conductor asked, “Has any of you left anything in the bus?” “Yes,” replied a student. “We have left our seats.”
*** A politician asks his secretary to write out a speech for him. Politician: Make it short, punchy and powerful. After the programme, he calls up his secretary angrily. Politician: I asked you to write a short speech, but you made it so long that I could see the people getting bored and leaving the hall while I was reading the speech. Secretary: I did write a short speech, Sir. But I also gave you two copies of the speech.
*** Barber (to a long-haired boy): Okay, it’s your turn now. Boy: Oh. I’m not waiting for a haircut. I’m hiding from my father and this is the last place he’d look for me.
*** Boy (in a restaurant): A scientist says that what we eat, that we become. Girl: Let’s order something rich then.
***
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Tax collector: Why don’t you pay your taxes with a smile? Taxpayer: I’d love to, but you insist on money.
*** Franklin: Which bus crossed the Atlantic Ocean? Rosemary: I don’t know. Franklin: Columbus.
*** Raju: Daddy, Harshavardhan?
who
was
Father: Geography is not my strong point, son. A few minutes later --Raju: Daddy, what’s a basin? Father: Well, son, my English is not as good as it used to be. After an hour --Raju: Sorry to interrupt you, dad. But… Father: It’s all right, son. You’ll never learn anything if you don’t ask questions.
*** Teacher: Royston, give me an example of a double negative? Royston: I don’t know nothing, Miss. Teacher: Correct.
*** Policeman: Why are you driving without a headlight? Scooterist: But there is light everywhere and I can see clearly. Policeman: Then I shall remove the air from your tyres. Scooterist: Because there is air everywhere.
***
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RECIPES FOR THE MONTH MEDU VADA Ingredients: Split husked black gram (dhuli urad), soaked for 4-6 hours.......................................1 cup Salt...................................................................1 tsp Asafoetida....................................................... ¼ tsp Powdered black pepper.................................. ½ tsp Chopped coriander leaves..............................1 tbsp Finely chopped ginger......................................1 tsp Finely chopped green chilies.......................... ½ tsp Oil............................................................. for frying
5. Shape the daal mixture into flat rounds, make a hole in the center and fry, first over high heat, then over lowered heat till brown and cooked through. 6. Lift the vadas out of oil and drain on absorbent paper and serve.
Method: 1. Drain the daal and grind to a smooth paste. 2. Add salt, asafoetida and the black pepper, and beat well to make it light and fluffy. 3. Mix in coriander leaves, ginger and the green chillies. 4. Heat oil till a drop of batter dropped in comes up at once.
RAWA UPMA Ingredients: Semolina....................................................250 gms Water............................................................ 650 ml Ghee.............................................................75 gms Mustard seeds.................................................5 gms Black gram daal.............................................2 gms Bengal gram daal...........................................2 gms Onions........................................................100 gms Green chillies..................................................5 gms Cashew nuts..................................................25 gms Curry leaves, salt............................................2 gms Garnishing: Coriander leaves Coconut, grated Method: 1. Boil water. 2. Slice onions and cut the chillies lengthwise. 3. Heat a deep pan with ghee. Add mustard,
when crackling add the daals and sauté until golden. 4. Add onions, curry leaves, cashew nuts and green chillies. When the onions are translucent add semolina and sauté. 5. Add the boiling water and stir rapidly with the salt. When the moisture is absorbed, the upma is cooked. 6. Mix well and garnish with grated coconut and coriander leaves.
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UTTAPAM Ingredients: Rice (parboiled)..........................................360 gms Bengal Gram (dhuli urad) (split and husked).........................................90 gms Fenugreek seeds............................................. ½ tsp Salt...................................................................2 tsp Iron griddle or tawa Oil................................................. to smear the pan
Method: 1. Soak rice, daal and methi in water for 5-6 hours. 2. Grind fine, add salt and enough water to make a dropping consistency and leave to ferment 5-6 hours. 3. Heat tawa, and brush oil over it. When really hot, splash a little water over it, and pour about 1 cup of batter on to it. 4. It will spread a little. When the edges start browning a bit, pour a trail of oil around it. 5. Turn it over and let it brown on the other side too. Prepare onion uttapam: 1. Before you turn the uttapam over, sprinkle a mixture of finely chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and green chillies. 2. Serve hot.
OATS IDLI Ingredients: Oats.............................................................. 2 cups Curd (slightly sour)....................................... ½ litre Mustard seeds.................................................1 tbsp Urad daal.......................................................1 tbsp Channa daal................................................. ½ tbsp Oil................................................................. ½ tbsp Green chillies, finely chopped...........................2 tsp Carrots, grated.................................................1 cup Coriander, finely chopped...............................2 tbsp Turmeric powder............................................. ¼ tsp Salt...................................................................2 tsp Fruit salt.......................................................a pinch Method: 1. On a tawa, dry roast the oats until it turns slightly brown and then powder the oats in a mixer. 2. In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds, urad daal, channa daal and allow the mustard to splutter and the daals to turn golden. 3. To this, add the chopped chillies, coriander and grated carrots. Add the turmeric powder
and fry for a minute. 4. Add this seasoning to the powdered oats mixture and add the curd to it to make a batter like that of idli batter’s consistency. 5. You can add as much curd to the mixture to achieve the consistency, but do not add water to the batter. 6. Grease the idli steamer plates with oil and pour the batter into each area of the steamer. Steam the idlis for 15 minutes. Note: To know if the idli is cooked, poke an idli with knife and check if the batter does not stick to the knife. 7. Once done remove the idlis and serve with onion chutney.
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SIMPLE RULES OF HEALTH BENEFITS OF COCONUT VINEGAR Apple cider vinegar is widely associated with a plethora of health benefits, but coconut vinegar is on the rise as an alternative to apple cider vinegar. A product staple to the tropical countries of Asia for years, coconut vinegar is the new entrant in the US pantry. Coconut vinegar is sourced from the sap of the coconut flowers or diluted water of the matured fruits of the tree. Proponents claim that coconut vinegar is endowed with a higher nutritional quotient than its apple-based equivalent. It is a source of probiotics, vitamin, and minerals. Aside from its composition, coconut vinegar outshines apple cider vinegar in taste and acidity as well. It is a milder and much sweeter alternative, vying for the place of apple cider vinegar in our day to day lives. Nutrient Content of Coconut Vinegar Natural coconut vinegar has a fairly impressive nutritional profile. It contains vitamins and minerals including potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and sodium. It is also a source of antioxidants that may help lower the risk for certain cancers.
Health Benefits of Coconut Vinegar 1. Positive Effect on Weight A calorie-free and sugar-free option, coconut vinegar contains acetic acid that may help give you a feeling of fullness, stave off your appetite, and keep your blood sugar levels steady. 2. Fights Infections Coconut vinegar may help avert infections through its antifungal and antibacterial properties. Being a fermentation product, coconut vinegar is a source of probiotics, which are beneficial microbes in the gut. This makes it a potential immune booster worth including in your diet. Aside from its probiotic content, coconut vinegar contains potassium, zinc, calcium, and vitamin C. Similar to other vinegar varieties, coconut vinegar also has natural antimicrobial properties.
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This is accredited to its organic acid content, particularly acetic acid. Acetic acid can help stave off infections such as flu or colds by entering the membranes of microbes, thereby suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Although further research is required to validate these claims, the infection-defying ability of coconut vinegar is similar to that of apple cider vinegar. Below is an example of how to enjoy coconut vinegar in your diet as a beverage. Stir up a mix of 1 part coconut vinegar and 3 parts raw virgin honey. Dilute the mixture with 1 cup of water and drink it. 3. Provides Essential Amino Acids Coconut vinegar provides an array of amino acids, including nine of the essential and eight of the nonessential amino acids. Amino acids are the units that make up the structure of protein. [5][9] Amino acids contribute towards tissue repair as proteins, immune response as antibodies, metabolic functions as hormones, and transmission of messages within the brain as neurotransmitters. Drinking coconut vinegar can help you get a healthy supply of 17 amino acids in one shot. 4. Provides Digestive Comfort Coconut vinegar provides enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics that can help maintain the health of your stomach.
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Probiotics are known to fight off lactose intolerance, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Those with heartburn or acid reflux issues should consult their doctor before adding vinegar to their diet. A common advice for digestive health is to take 15–30 mL of coconut vinegar with water before meals, but there is no concrete research supporting this claim. 5. Has a Low Glycemic Index Glycemic index is a parameter that evaluates foods on a score of 0 to 100 based on how slowly or quickly the blood sugar rises right after eating them. Coconut vinegar is one such option as it has a very low score of 35 on the glycemic index. 6. Regulates Blood Pressure Coconut vinegar is a source of the mineral potassium. Potassium plays a crucial role in maintaining a balance of electrolytes and thus prevents a spike in blood pressure levels. It also encourages heart health by reducing the triglyceride levels in the blood. How to Use Coconut Vinegar Coconut vinegar can be used along the same lines as apple cider vinegar. Use it as a dressing for your salads. Use it as a health tonic. Add 1 teaspoon of coconut vinegar to smoothies, tea, hot water, or fruit juices. This may help to balance your gut microbiome, as it is a source of probiotics.
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Children’s Corner PUZZLE Where is the only place in the U.S. where mail is still delivered by mule?
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Answer: HAVASUPAI, LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GRAND CANYON!
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