OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
3
Annual Subscription In India: Rs. 50/-
Editorial Be the reason for someone’s smiles today. Let us not forget to spread some of our happiness around. We are lucky to have a lot of great things going on in our life to feel thankful for and a lot of light within us that we can share with others. Let us be so happy, that when others look at us, they become happy, too. Let us sprinkle happiness and kindness around us like confetti and spread the sunshine of joy wherever we go. Let love blow freely from us. Love draws all – for everyone enjoys a joyful soul. As more and more love is released into the world, a wonderful healing takes place – like a balm on a wound. Let us be here to create peace, harmony, beauty and perfection, and all the best in life and be blessed. Rev. Dada J.P. Vaswani says “Make happiness a habit. He lives well who laughs often, loves much, and sacrifices his own happiness for the sake of others!”
EAST AND WEST SERIES
(A Monthly Journal for Self-improvement, Self-knowledge, Self-realisation) Subscription Rates: Annual Subscription In India: r 50/Outside India: Airmail: $20 or £15 Snail Mail: $10 or £7.50 TO SUBSCRIBE KINDLY VISIT: www.dadavaswanisbooks.org Subscriptions may also be sent either by Money Orders or Bank Drafts payable to East and West Series, Pune. Kindly note that the cheques At Par will only be accepted. The Manager, East and West Series, 10, Sadhu Vaswani Path, Pune - 411 001, (India) Email: eastandwestseries@sadhuvaswani.org
To learn more about Sadhu Vaswani Mission and Dada J. P. Vaswani’s movements, etc, log on to our internet site at www.sadhuvaswani.org sadhuvaswani dadajpvaswani svmission
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
4
Number 698 CONTENTS ARTICLES The Victory Song! What The Guru Taught Me St. Francis Of Assisi The Life Of Self–Abandon Golden Rules Gandhi: Burden-Bearer Of The Millions O Pilgrim! You Have — Time Enough Strength Enough Energy Enough Yoga For The Layman What Happens To Those Who Commit Suicide? From A Letter The Ideal Of Social Service Lasters And Finishers
5 6 10 13 14 15 17 18 20 23 26 28 30
FEATURES Thoughts And Aspirations Children’s Corner Laugh Your Way To Health Stories That Stir Simple Rules Of Health Recipes For The Month What’s Happening In East And West Current Affairs Book Reviews The Nuri Granth
27 31 33 35 39 41 43 47 48 50
Cover: Sage Valmiki Sanskar Channel Satsang Channel Bhakti Sagar Channel Soham Channel
REV. DADA J. P. VASWANI’S TALKS Monday to Friday at 6: 15 a.m. (Hindi), Saturday at 6: 15 a. m. (Sindhi) and on Sunday at 7: 45 a.m. (English), Monday to Saturday at 7: 30 pm, Monday to Saturday 6: 40 am, Monday to Saturday 11: 30 am.
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
THE VICTORY SONG! Jai Jai Sri Rama! And I have in these rough, hard days Communed with th’ Hero – Warrior bold Who still renouncing ease and gold, Did fight and win: not thought of praise Nor censure of the sons of men: He only thought of Duty done: And when his victory great was won, He praised and blessed his Foe – and then To a valiant son of Lanka’s Land He gave the Crown which he could own: So rich in God had his life grown! A Hero he – he made a stand ‘Gainst Forces dark with fearless eyes – The Powers of darkness took their flight: Beyond the night he saw the Light, And he did see the morning rise! He stormed the hosts of hell and won: For Lanka’s Land in pain did groan: He wins who holds not as his own, His life and glory, too, doth shun! So celebrate this Victory Day, Ye sons and daughters of the Land! So build this day a Freedom’s Band, And your debt to your Hero pay! Be glad that Rama, Pure and Strong Did bless your Ancient Motherland! Her Freedom hath Sri Rama Planned: Awake then! Sing the Victory Song: Jai Jai Sri Rama! Jai Jai Sri Rama! — SADHU VASWANI *October 22 is the sacred Dussehra day.
5
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
6
What The Guru Taught Me J. P. VASWANI
This is what the Gurdeva taught me, many years ago: Book-learning is a burden! What will you do with books? Alone the Book of the Heart sufficeth. And on the very first page of this Book are writ the following words in letters of light: “Be pure! And give the love of your heart to all — all men and birds and animals, all who have the breath of life!” * Go to the East or go to the West: without God, my child! you’ll have no rest! * Give thy mind and give thy heart to God! And wherever thou be, thou wilt feel the thrill of safety and protection! And in the midst of trial and tribulation thou wilt rejoice and know that all is well! * Blessed are they that seek refuge in the Lord ! Unto them He doth give the triple treasure of Joy and Peace and Love! * Who is the truly happy man? He who wants nothing,
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
expects nothing, and desires nothing ! * We may stray away from God: but God is never away from us. A moment’s separation from God would mean instant annihilation. For He is the Life of our life, the Breath of our breath, the Music of our thoughts and aspirations. * If you would reach the Goal, be prepared to lose thyself on the way! * All things pass away! But the love which you give to a brother in need will not pass away. * “What for am I here, in this wilderness which men call the world ?” I asked. And the answer came: “You are here that you may love God, and love Him intensely! And when you love Him, every stone will become a diamond, and every thorn will become a rose, and this wilderness will become a garden of flowers, fragrant and fair!” Yes, love God! But to love God, I must know God! And to know God, I must think of Him, think of Him again and again, think of Him, so that I think of nothing else! So let my daily life be full of little turnings towards Him, of little offerings unto Him, and of intimate and loving converse
7
with Him who is the Lover, the Friend and the Spouse of our souls! * “Which is the way to remove mountains of worries and anxieties and cares?” I asked. And the answer came: “’Tis the way of peace. When anxieties overwhelm you and cares cross your path, lift up your heart in gratitude to God and say: “I thank Thee, Lord! I thank Thee, Lord!” * The body is meant to be a bride of God! So keep it pure, undefiled! The mind is meant to be a servant of God! So keep it in His service strong! All you are and all you have surrender to Him without whom all is a shadow! * Empty-handed you came into the world: empty-handed you will depart! But there is a treasure you will carry with you in the heart within! It is the treasure of the Holy Name! So sing the Name, again and again! Sing it aloud! Repeat it in the silences of your soul, until you are in it absorbed, and you become an Image of the Name Divine! And as men look at you, they will exclaim: “Ecee Deus!” “Behold the Face of God!”
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
20
* I am asked to speak to you on yoga. But yoga is vast as the sea: and we are in a small skiff, a little boat: how far can we go ? What is the meaning of the word yoga? Has yoga a message? What is it? In recent years alike in East and in West, there has been much talk concerning yoga. Not a few in the West look upon yoga as a kind of magic and the yogi as a magician, a miracle-man, a wonder-worker, as a man who can rise in air, float on water, walk through fire, live without food for months together and turn metal into gold! But yoga is not magic: yoga is wisdom. This word yoga is a beautiful *Notes of a talk.
word. It comes from a Sanskrit term “yuj” which means “to unite”. Yoga then, literally means “union”. Union with what? Union with whom? Look around you, friends! And you find, don’t you, that we live in a world of separateness. And I often say to myself: Men are unhappy and women are unhappy and nations are unhappy, because they haven’t secured a unifying vision of life. We are come — this is one underlying assumption of the philosophy of yoga — from a Divine Source of life. You and I have come from a Divine Centre. We all are brothers: no
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
separateness! But we have built an artificial world, a world of conventions. And, because we live in this world of separateness, we divide: and we go on dividing, sub-dividing, until we find that we all are unhappy. Yoga is the doctrine of union, reunion, with the Divine. Every one of you is a spark from the Eternal Fire. Every one of you is a current come from the Eternal Stream of Righteousness. How to go back to the Divine Source of life, this is the problem of yoga. Yoga is a call to union with the Divine, in the midst of this world of tumult and strife. To do my duty and, in the midst of all difficulties, to have peace within me, there is the way of yoga. Storms may blow around me: I yet retain inner peace, the rest of the soul. Yoga is not “retreat”: yoga is conquest of circumstances and environment. Yoga is the way of union. Which is the way? It is the way of “depth.” The West has many learned men — great scholars, great thinkers, great writers, but they are busy: with what? Most of them are busy collecting news, views, information. Their emphasis is on widening the surface. Knowledge in the West is of extension. In the East the aspiration is to plumb the “depths” of life. We can reach the divine values on the plane of depth, not the plane of extension. The ancient teaching is: Go into the depths within you! Try to touch Reality on the depths of life, not the surface. How may this be done? How
21
may I touch Reality on the plane of depth? The answer is given us in a few, simple words: Learn to concentrate and develop meditation. The modern world suffers, oh how grievously, from distraction. “Concentrate”! is the one great word of the student of yoga. We must concentrate: we must learn to meditate: we must go into silence. And, in periods of silence, as we go deeper and deeper within, we shall one day know, we shall understand. I have known scholars in East and in West — brilliant professors, authors of books. They know so much: but they do not know how to meditate. I have known little girls in the East. They know little of the world: but they know the secret of meditation. They meditate and meditate, until they lose themselves in God! A boy asks his father: “Can I see God?” “No!” says the father: a rough answer! And the boy sheds tears. He feels sad in his heart. He goes to the woods and ponders. He watches the birds building their nests: he gazes at the trees: he looks up through the branches, longing to see God! He wanders! He cries! Days pass by. Summer arrives and in summer, he meets an old fisherman. The boy becomes his friend. The fisherman is so simple and, from time to time, he takes the little boy with him in his boat. One day, the father of the boy
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
asks him: “My boy! how are you spending your time now?” And the boy says: “Father! I have a good friend in an old fisherman.” “What kind of man is he?” asks the father; “what does he talk about?” And the boy says: “Father! he does not talk much. Last night, I was with him in the boat, drifting down the river. The sun was setting, how red, how beautiful! He gazed at the setting sun, father! and I saw his eyes were touched with tears!” And the next evening, this simple, old, kindly fisherman takes the boy again in the boat, and the fisherman gazes and gazes and gazes again at the setting sun: and there are tears again in the old man’s eyes. The boy comes near to the fisherman. The old man does not turn his head: he is silent, gazing at the setting sun! And the boy draws yet nearer and touches the arm of the fisherman and says to him: “I would not ask anybody else the question which I put you!”
22
The old fisherman says nothing: his eyes are still fixed, on the setting sun! And the boy now presses the question: “Can you see God?” No answer. The boy now pulls at the old man’s shirt and says: “Won’t you say? Can anyone see God?” Then the fisherman turns his lovely, tear-touched face to the boy. The face is radiant with a strange, mystic light. And the fisherman says gently, quietly, tenderly: “My child! It’s getting so: I see nothing but God!” The simple, old fisherman was a yogi! This is the experience, the thrill, the rapture of the true yogi: “I see nothing but God.” Men ask: “Where is God?” The yogi asks: “Show me where God is not!” This is the message of yoga: “Ecce Deus!” “Behold God, in all!” The question arises again: “What to do to see God?” “Meditate!” is the answer. “Go within you!”
EAST AND WEST SERIES SUBSCRIBERS KINDLY TO NOTE Due to a further rise of cost of paper, printing etc., we are constrained to increase our subscription rates from Rs. 50/- to Rs. 100/- per year. Actually each set of 12 issues costs us over Rs. 100/-. We request our subscribers kindly to continue to extend to us their co-operation. This will have effect from January 2016. — The Manager
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
Children’s Corner RIDDLES 1. A man who catches protein from true solution. 2. A man who sells vitamins and minerals. 3. A government servant who leads the life of a nomad. 4. A man who maintains cleanliness in the world. 5. A man whose livelihood depends on deforestation. 6. A man sleeps.
who keeps watch when everyone
7. A man who feeds the school children in the afternoon. 8. A man who makes one cry bitterly, and makes you feel better after crying bitterly!
PUZZLE Fill the boxes with the clues given and arrive at the answer! 1.
A domestic fowl (3)
2.
A tiny insect (3)
3.
An animal that eats wastes (3)
4.
Another name for black leopard (7)
5.
A polar buffalo (3)
6.
Lie lives in stables (5)
7.
It is a nocturnal bird (3)
8.
He is the king of the forest (4)
9.
Our country (5)
10. He guards our houses (3) 11. A for ___________? (5) 12. Teenagers? (5) 13. A big boat (4)
31
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
32
RAAVANA’S TEACHINGS When Raavan was attacked by Lord Rama and was nearing death, Rama asked his brother Lakshman to go to him and learn something about the world, which no other person except for such a learned Brahmin like Raavan could ever teach him. Lakshman obeyed his brother’s order and stood near dying Raavan’s head. But Raavan did not say anything and Lakshman returned to Rama. Rama then told Lakshman that whenever one wants to learn something from a person, you should never stand near his head, but his feet. Lakshman again went to Raavan and this time he stood near his feet. Raavan seeing Lakshman standing near his feet told him 3 secrets that would anyone’s life successful. 1 - The first thing Raavan told Lakshman was that one should complete any auspicious work as soon as possible and keep delaying the inauspicious work as much possible. He supported this teaching by saying, “Shubhasya Shighram”. He told Lakshman that he could not recognize Rama and therefore delayed arrival at the shelter. Hence this is his condition. 2 - The second thing he taught Lakshman was never to underestimate one’s enemy. He said that he did this mistake of understanding the monkeys and bears lesser or incompetent and he lost the battle against them. He said, when he asked Lord Brahma to make him immortal, he said no one else except for monkeys and human could kill him. This is because he believed that both these living beings were not capable to kill him. This was his mistake and he suffered life as a result. 3 - The third and final thing Raavan told Lakshman that one should not reveal one’s life secret to anyone in the world. Here also Raavan made a mistake as Vibhishan knew the secret of his death. Raavan knew this was his biggest mistake of life.
ANSWERS: Riddles: 1. Fisherman — because water is a true solution according to chemistry, 2. Fruit seller — because fruits contain vitamins and minerals, 3. Postman — because he roams the streets all the day delivering letters, 4. Sweeper, 5. Carpenter, 6. Watchman, 7. Lunchman, 8. Doctor
Puzzle:
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
33
Laugh Your Way to Health Bunty: I have three pairs of spectacles. Monty: Really? What do you do with three pairs? Bunty: One is for long sight, the other is for short sight and the third one is to look for the other two. *** Teacher: Haresh, if I say, ‘I committed a robbery’, what is the future tense of it? Haresh: You will go to jail. *** Man of the house: Today is the 25th anniversary of our maidservant. Guest at home: What a surprise! Has Nisha served you for 25 years? She looks so young. Master of the house: No, No. She is the 25th maidservant at our house. *** Only two persons whom a woman listens carefully and follows SINCERELY and does EXACTLY as he says is... a Tailor and Photographer. *** Police (to thief): Why did you go to steal three times in the same store? Thief: Sir, I stole one dress for my wife and went to change it twice! *** Wives are magicians... They can change anything into an argument. *** How to
save a dying woman? Tell her about a 90% sale going on somewhere... *** Doctor: How is your headache? Patient: She is out of town! *** Raj: I fell off a 50-foot ladder. Ravi: No, You don’t appear to be hurt. Raj: Oh, I fell off from the first step. *** Bank teller (to customer): Can you identify yourself? Customer (looking in mirror): Yes! That’s me alright. *** “Where is Ramu this afternoon?” “If he knows about boating, as he thinks he does, he must be boating on the lake. But if he knows about boating, as I think he does, he must be swimming to the shore.” *** Father: You usually talk on the phone for two hours. How come it’s only 45 minutes this time? Son: This time it was a wrong
OCTOBER 2015
number.
EAST AND WEST SERIES
*** Ramesh: Have you heard of ten people standing under one umbrella and not getting wet? Suresh: But that’s impossible. Ramesh: Sure it is. It was not raining. *** Manoj: I was sending a letter to my girlfriend almost everyday. Suresh: Then what happened? Manoj: She fell in love with the postman and got married. *** Raghu: Vivek, do you know swimming? Vivek: No. Raghu: With so much of water around you, why can’t you swim? Vivek: With so much of air around you, why can’t you fly? *** Doctor (to a patient): Don’t you know that my consulting time is 11 to 5. Why’ve you come at 5.30. Patient: I know doctor, but the dog that bit me did not know your timings. *** Teacher: How can you say that animals have powerful eyes? Student: I’ve never seen them wearing glasses. *** Father: Sunil, what would you like to be when you grow up? Sunil: A vetinary doctor. Father: Why a vetinary doctor? Sunil: Because an animal can’t complain of wrong treatment. *** Doctor: Don’t take your trouble to bed with you.
34
Mr. Varma: But doctor, my wife is scared to sleep alone! *** History Teacher: Rahim, would you have liked to live in Mugal times? Rahim: Oh yes, Sir! I’d have loved it. Teacher: Why? Rahim: Because there’d be five hundred years less history to learn. *** Woman (with anger): See, how you have washed my saree. The colour has faded. How shall I wear my blouse to match this saree? Washerman: Don’t worry. Give me the blouse. I will wash it and match it with this saree. *** Teacher: Madan, what is the difference between a lion and tiger? Madan: The spelling, sir. *** Chiky: Mom, can I have a glass of water? Mom: But, you had ten already. Chiky: I know, but my bedroom is on fire. *** Teacher: What’s wrong with the sentence: ‘The horse and cow is in the field’? Pupil: Ladies should be mentioned first. *** Ajay: Virendra, your umbrella has a hole in it. Virendra: Yes, I know. I made it myself. Ajay: Why? Virendra: How else will I know when it has stopped raining?
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
41
Recipes for the Month SNACK FOR DEEPAWALI POHA MIXTURE Ingredients: Sev.............................................................. 1 Cup Namak Para (optional).............................½ Cup Rice Flakes (Poha)...................................... 1 Cup Peanuts......................................................½ Cup Roasted Gram............................................½ Cup Halved Cashew nuts...................................¼ Cup Raisins........................................................2 tbsp Curry leaves.............................................. 2 sprig Red chili powder...........................................1 tsp Turmeric Powder......................................... ½ tsp Salt...........................................................to taste Oil........................................................................ for deep fry Method: • Deep fry rice flakes in batches, using a sieve helps a lot as rice flakes gets cooked very fast and while collecting from oil it wont get burn. Deep fry peanuts, roasted gram, cashews and curry leaves. Drain excess oil on kitchen tissue. • Take all the fried ingredients in a large bowl and immediately add red chili, turmeric powder and salt (don’t add too much of salt as we already having salt in sev). • Now add rest of ingredients sev, raisins, etc. Give a good stir to fix everything well. • Once cooled stored in air tight containers, it stay good for month if it lasts until then. CHAKALI / MURUKKU Ingredients: Rice Flour................................................... 4 cups Roasted Gram Flour....................................1 cup
Salt..........................................................To Taste Melted Butter............... 3 tbsp (or hot oil 2 ladle) Water...........................as needed (I used 3 cups) Oil......................................................for deep fry Method: • To make roasted gram flour, grind roasted gram to fine powder, sieve and measure. One cup roasted gram yields little more than one cup of flour. Use one cup of flour. • In a wide bowl add roasted gram flour, rice flour, salt and butter (or you can use 2 ladle hot oil) mix everything well, now start adding water in small quantity and make a smooth dough. • Meanwhile heat oil in kadai. • Take chakali / sev press and use star disc, fill the chakali maker and press to make in circular chakali directly over oil, or do it on back of the ladle or in a wet cloth / greased plastic sheet. • Carefully slide chakali in oil and deep fry in medium to high flame until light golden brown or bubbles ceases. • Drain in colander lined with kitchen tissue, repeat same for rest of dough. • Once murukku / chakali comes to room temperature store in air tight containers. CORNFLAKES CHIVDA Ingredients: Cornflakes.................................................. 2 cups Peanuts...................................................... ¼ cup Halved cashewnuts................................... 1/3 cup Raisins...................................................... 1/3 cup Curry leaves................................................10-12 Red chili powder......................................... ¼ tsp
OCTOBER 2015
EAST AND WEST SERIES
Salt or rock salt.........................................to taste Oil.......................................................To deep fry Method: • Heat oil in a kadai or wok and meanwhile gather all the ingredients. Fry peanuts until light brown, drain. Now add cashewnuts and fry until light brown, don’t try to fry it for longer it will get dark very soon and will give bitter taste, place on kitchen tissue. • Fry cornflakes in small batches unless you are using big kadai, cornflakes will expand so don’t overcrowd too much and while you start draining from oil other will get over fried so do in small batches. Once all cornflakes gets fried, add curry leaves and fry until it becomes crispy (make sure you pat dry curry leaves well and do not have any moisture in it). • Finally add raisins and off flame, close as they will get puffed up or you may end up burning them so always fry in the end with flame off. • Keep all the fried ingredients in kitchen tissue or newspaper so extra oil gets absorbed. In a large bowl add all fried ingredients, salt or rock salt (kala namak), red chili powder and mix well to combine. Allow to cool completely and store in air tight container. • It stays good for 3-4 weeks. RATLAMI-SEV Ingredients: Gram flour/Besan........................................1 cup Hot Oil........................................................3 tbsp Asafoetida/Hing.......................................a pinch Cooking soda............................................a pinch Red chili powder......................................... ½ tsp Fresh pepper powder.................................. ¼ tsp Roasted carom powder............................... ¼ tsp Roasted cumin powder.............................½ tsp Fennel powder..........................................¼ tsp Cinnamon powder...................................... ¼ tsp Clove powder.............................................. ¼ tsp Ginger powder............................................ ½ tsp
42
Black salt.................................................... ¼ tsp Salt............................................ ¼ tsp or to taste Lemon juice..................................................2 tsp Water (more if required)........................... ¼ cup Oil....................................................... to deep fry Method: • If you don’t have all the powders, add ½ tsp or 1 tsp of ingredients in a pan, roast until aromatic, cool and grind and use that spice powder. You can also grind ginger and use ginger paste, instead of powder. • In a bowl take all the ingredients except oil for frying, water and mix everything well for 2-3 mins rubbing between your hands to get sand like consistency. • Add 1 tbsp water at a time and start mixing the flour into dough, do add water slowly to avoid flour from becoming messy. Handling besan is always messy, once the dough gets form you will see it will hard when you press the dough, if we make any sev with this kind of dough then we get hard sev. So now add 1 tsp of water and knead dough until all the water gets absorbed, again add 1 tsp water do the same until you have firm yet soft dough, when you touch it will be soft, don’t add too much water to make the dough watery or very sticky. You might need little extra than ¼ cup water too. • Grease well sev or chakali press and use plate or disc with large holes, fill the press with dough (for 1 cup flour fill it only once), you can cover dough with 1 tsp oil and then fill it in sev press/machine. • Heat oil in a wok for frying and press directly over hot oil in single circle, don’t over lap too many layers. Cook on medium to slow flame, once sev comes on surface turn and cook both sides until golden brown. This ratlami sev gets cooked faster than chakali. • Remove from the oil and drain in kitchen tissue, repeat same for remaining dough. • After cooling completely, break into pieces and store in airtight container.