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ear after year, the Diwali comes bringing the age-old message: “Be not dwellers of the dark but be ye children of Light.” Therefore, realise that you are not the body. You are the immortal soul within the body. Break the thraldom of the senses. Do not chase the shadows which come and go. The Light of lights shines in your spirit. Kindle the inner Light. — J. P. Vaswani
*October 30 is sacred Diwali Day
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One of the great days in India’s history is the “Deepavali”. It is the “Day of Illumination”. There is rejoicing in Hindu homes: there is the “Festival of Lights”, that day. Wonderful were the Aryan people: their great Leader and Inspirer was Sri Rama. And when he returned to Ayodhya from Lanka, having freed Sita and won Lanka’s emancipation, the Aryans greeted him in a way which was atonce impressive and spiritual. Every home in Aryavarta kindled lights of little lamps: from every home came the song in which men and women, youth and children joined: “Blessed be Sri Rama! Victory unto Light and Purity and Freedom!” *October 30 is the sacred Diwali Day
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Two of the greatest books in the world’s literature are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Both sound a note of simplicity which is blended with that of detachment: both have a philosophy of life which is radiant with humanity and intuitions of the spiritual. A Rishi wrote the “Ramayana” in Sanskrit; another great seer wrote the ‘’Ramayana” in Hindi. The first Rishi was at first a robber but was transformed and became a new man: the “Light” of the Holy Spirit began to shine in him and he became Valmiki, the Sage. The second Rishi was a man of the world but his life, too, was transformed, transfigured into something rich and radiant,
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and he became a great Seer and Poet, Tulsi. In his Hindi “Ramayana”, Tulsi writes: “My homely speech and my poor wit will not please everyone: some, indeed, will laugh at me. So those who understand not what bhakti (devotion) to the Lord doth mean, the story of Sri Rama will be insipid, indeed. But to them who worship the Lord as “Hari” (the “Destroyer” of suffering and sin), the story of Sri Rama (Raghuveera) will verily be divinely sweet, sweet as honey—yes, sweet as nectar.” Valmiki, the singer of the Adi Ramayana in Sanskrit, and Tulsi, the singer of the Ramayana in Hindi, both accepted the discipline of tapasya (penance) in the forest (tapoban): and both became new through the double power of penance and meditation. Tulsi painted in his Hindi Ramayana a most fascinating picture of Rama. “There is one God,” said Tulsi; “we call Him Rama: He is the Redeemer of mankind.’’ Rightly did Mahatma Gandhi say: ‘‘I regard the Ramayana of Tulsi as the greatest Book in all devotional literature.” In these two Great Books the story is told us (1) of the “wanderings” of Rama and his wonderful tapasya (penance), and (2) of Sita’s patient waiting for reunion
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with Rama. Year follows year, in separation: not once does Sita’s faith fail her: Sita waits patiently for the day when she feels her Beloved will be re-united with her. Not without reason are Rama and Sita revered as two of the best beloved characters in the whole range of Hindu literature. For three months at a stretch do the bards still recite the story of Rama and throngs of people gather together to listen to the story and the songs: spell-bound they sit every evening: they sit, they listen, they are moved to tears. The story is sung in the gatherings of bhaktas and sages: the story is sung in the gatherings of the villagefolk. No Picture house moves them as does the story in the Ramayana of the great singer and mystic, Tulsi. In Valmiki’s “Ramayana”, too, there are pictures of interest and appeal to the modern man. In one picture we see a learned Brahmin trying to bring round Sri Rama! The Brahmin is a sceptic: he fails to understand why Rama should renounce the throne and go into exile, with his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshmana. To Rama speaks this young Brahmin sophist: “Rama! Speak not, of the Hereafter After death, deluge! Listen Rama!
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Seek the pleasure of the present! Every thing else is illusion and dream! Live in the present! The past is dead: The future is a fancy of the mind, The present alone is. Accept its wisdom, Its meaning and its message.” A sophist is this Brahmin: and he knows not of the riches of wisdom whereof the Great Guardian is Sri Rama. To Sri Rama, this Brahmin speaks again: “Rama! O Rama! You are young and emotion-led! Behold the glory of Ayodhya! See how strong is the Aryan Nation! See how the Nation lives, Thinking not of philosophy and creeds; The Aryan Nation doth rejoice In the labour of her sons and the toil of her peasants. Behold thy People, Rama! Nor poverty nor famine hath a hold On Beloved Ayodhya! Leave her not, Rama! Strong art thou And mighty-armed! Lion-hearted art thou And lotus-eyed! Stay! Stay here To rule, to serve,
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To bless thy People! Go not forth to the Forest!” But to the forest goes forth Rama, the Beloved of his people. And with him goes forth, too, his beloved, Sita, to share his weal and woe. In joy and in sorrow, Rama’s own, his faithful wife, is ready to follow him in death or life. Sita, Beloved Sita, is happier with him in the woods than she would be, without him, in her father’s gilded palace. Rama and Sita and Lakshmana, go forth to the forest, clothed in bark and matted grass: they go forth to live on fruits and nuts. They go forth happy to live in a simple hut they build beside the river. Was not Rama one of the greatest of men on earth? Was not Sita one of the greatest of women? Without them, can India live? The Brahmin sophist, alas! had no better teaching for Rama than this:” Give thy People bread and give them little creeds!” Ah! but better than these is “Wisdom.’’ For they who have “wisdom” guard the Great mystery of Life: they commune with Love, as did Rama even in his years of loneliness and exile. And for lack of that true Love which riseth above the “ego”, the little “I”, there is but the “power” which is blind, not the true Freedom which heals.
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I salute Gandhi as a servant of the poor, as a brother of the poor, as a lover of the poor, as a devotee of the poor, ah! as a worshipper of the poor. The key-note to his wonderful life, a life of heroic deeds, of heroic achievements, of heroic aspiration, of heroic attainments, the secret of his life is his spirit of seva. The spirit of service and sacrifice. Brother Gandhi dedicated his life to the service of the poor in India, and he became a fakir: he became a poor man. “In the Kingdom of God there are no aliens’’, said Father Damien. May I not say that in the Kingdom of Free India there should be no aliens? Let us shake hands of fellowship and brotherhood, one with the other. Let us strive to understand the life and teaching of Brother Gandhi. He was a true brother: therefore is he become one of the shining lights of humanity. And the light of his life, the light
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of love, shall grow from more to more in the coming days. It seems to me that Gandhi is a Voice of God to the modern world. Say not Gandhi is dead! Gandhi is a Voice of God unto the nations of the world. And this morning, methinks, I heard the beloved of my heart, methinks, I heard Brother Gandhi say to me: “Brothers are ye all !” Hindus and Muslims, Parsis and Christians, Jains and Buddhists, brothers are you all! Hindustan and Pakistan, brothers are ye both! Brothers are ye! All the races of the earth are brothers. All the religions of the world are brothers. And these hands are given you to help, not to butcher: these hearts are given you to love, not to hate. Brain and science and machinery and civilisation and all your technical equipment are given you for the service of the poor and needy, the lowly and the lost; for the service of our broken, bewildered humanity.
*October 2 is the sacred Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
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hat is the mark of him who has received the richest treasure — the Life Eternal? Selfsurrender. Such an one has found his refuge in the Lord. The teaching of the Gita, as Sadhu Vaswani has often told us, is summed up in the one line: ‘‘Mamekam saranam vraja.” “Seek refuge in Me!” This “seeking” is not a search for some snug corner of “safety” against the storms and tempests of life. He who would seek refuge in Krishna, in the Lord, must be prepared to face storms and triumph over them in the strength of the Lord. To “seek refuge” is not to shirk life’s battle but to fight it and emerge victorious. So it is that the word of the Lord rings across the centuries: ‘‘Uttishta Paramtapa!” “Stand up, O Man of Valour!” To “seek refuge” is to face abuse,
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insult, dishonour, disgrace, misunderstanding, malice, with a smile on your face and a prayer in your heart. To seek “refuge” is to stand unarmed and unafraid in the face of evil, to let it do its worst to you, to accept the wounds it inflicts on you as marks of Krishna-Kripa, the Grace of Krishna. The way of “seeking refuge” is the way of victory. It is the way, not of the atom-bomb, but of sacrifice. The man of self-surrender is free from all attachment and fear. He has no attachment for any earthly creature or object, for he is rivetted to the Lotus Feet of the Lord. And he is fearless for he lives and moves under the protection of His loving gaze. He who trusts can have no fear. All fears and anxieties are crimes against the love of the All-Loving Mother. To trust is to live in the certainty that all that happened was for the best, all that is happening is for the best, all that happens will be for the best. Yes, God is the All-Loving Mother who loves each one of us, howsoever “fallen” we be, with a love more immense than the oceans. The Mother Divine loves us more than we may
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know: and She needs us, each one of us. Each one of us fulfills a need in God which none else can satisfy. And loving us as she does, the Mother will not permit any harm to come our way. So let our prayer, each day, be: ‘‘Thy Will be done, O Lord! And Thy Will is sweet, sweeter than honey, sweeter than nectar!” He who would grow into this realisation must learn to walk the way of “acceptance”. He accepts all that comes to him as coming from the merciful Hands of God, the Mother. He greets each unknown day as a “messenger” from the Beloved: he accepts all embarrassments and entanglements as “messages” from the Mother whose mercies ever endure. And in his heart he repeats unceasingly the Holy Name. Such an one keeps calm in all the situations of life. This is most essential to the enrichment of inner life. The inner balance is essential to spiritual progress. Harmonious living is more important than doing noble deeds. If in the midst of your daily work something happens to agitate your mind, even for a brief moment, stop immediately. Withdraw into silence and regain the inner calm. It is enough throughout the day you practise this one sadhana, that of calling yourself back to serenity the moment you are in danger of losing it. God dwells in a house where there is harmony. Every thought, every feeling, which does not vibrate love, clouds the Golden Face of Reality and takes us away, far away, from the Lotus Feet of the Lord.
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The man of self-surrender is the man of samata. He rejoices in the “little” as in the “big” things of life. He runs not after “greatness”: he shrinks not from “lime-light”. He only seeks to do the Will Divine. Like Kulasekhara, the King of Kerala, he is happy living in the comforts of a palace: for his heart is not in senseenjoyment but is entirely merged in the Beloved. Like Kabir, he rejoices in the midst of the privations of a poor weaver’s life, greeting suffering and starvation, trial and tribulation with a smile upon his lips and a song in his heart; for he dwells in the Kindgom where in every nook and corner, from every leaf and flower, may be heard the mystic chant: “Thy Will be done! Thy Will be done!” Such an one lives and moves in the presence of God: and God lives in him. He loves God: and God loves him. This makes his life in spite of, or shall I say, because of, danger and difficulty, illness and infirmity, a feast of tenderest friendship, of sweet companionship, of divine comradeship, truly a Feast of Love. Of one such man I read sometime ago. He was one of the early disciples of Sri Isa and was on that account arrested and condemned to death by being thrown to wild beasts in the Roman circus. He was taken in chains and on the way, as the steamer by which he sailed touched various ports, groups of his admirers, eager to have a last
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look at this holy man gathered together to pay him the homage of their devoted hearts. Some of them had influence with the Roman Emperor and they wished to intercede on behalf of this man of God for a mitigation of his sentence. He would have none of it. He had been called to a Feast of Love where he would sup with his Lord, and he would not permit anyone to throw obstacles in the way. “I implore you to spare me untimely kindness,” he said to his friends. “Let me be food for wild beasts, for thus shall I be able to reach God.... Please do not interfere: I know what is good for me. I am at last learning to be a real disciple .... Come fire or cross, struggles with fierce beasts, breaking of bones and mangling of limbs, shattering of my whole body, come all the Devil’s cruellest torments
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upon me, if only I may reach my Master and Lord.” This man knew what it meant to love God and to be loved by Him. To him life and death were one. Life was loss if it kept him away from God: death was gain if it united him with the Lord. He desired nothing but God and rejoiced in what the Lord willed for him. “My earthly desires have been crucified,” he said, “and the fire of love for earthly things is quenched in me. Only a ‘living water’ murmurs within, and it says: ‘Come unto me!’ He who hears this “murmur within” and follows it, in life and in death, for him, verily, every day is Deepavali, a Festival of Light, and every moment he has the joy and gladness of a little child sitting in the Lap of the Mother Divine. For him, verily, life is a Feast of Love.
You are your own friend, and own enemy! A little thing you do may prove to be your undoing! So proceed with care! Be ever vigilant and watchful! Walk wisely and well! The man whose thoughts are pure, whose speech is kindly and whose actions are noble and who is free from all feelings of hatred and revenges, makes himself happy and is a source of joy to many! Your happiness is in your own hands, not in those of some blind chance! Your happiness is at the Lotus Feet of the Lord! — J. P. Vaswani
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Woman And The New World SADHU VASWANI
A New World is in the making. The man-made world has proved to be a broken bleeding world. Man has blundered badly, for man has believed in force. Even marriage, at one time, was marriage by capture. Man has had his chance. Masculine mentality has blundered. Now woman gets her chance. She is called upon to build a New World. She is a symbol of shakti in the Hindu scriptures. And shakti is not force. Shakti is integration. This includes intelligence. Education, more education, is needed. But it must be education of the right character. Current education is a cult of separation. A new education of integration is needed. Today, disintegration is setting in. Woman is the centre of social integration. Therefore, new education should emphasise the value of simple life. In simplicity is strength. Love of fine dresses must go.
Our homes must move in a new atmosphere of the simple life: else they will break up: they cannot stand the strain of this heavy drain. I plead, also, for a new vision of purity. The growing love of cinemas and theatres must go. They move in an atmosphere not yet purified. There is an ancient Greek story of how a Unicorn invaded a city and none could cope with the monster. There came up a girl of pure, simple life. She had the courage to face the monster. Her shakti subdued the unicorn. There is a rakshasa in our cities. Who will face the monster? Man has bungled and will not prevail. The rakshas will be vanquished on this condition that knowledge is radiant with the light of simple life. The education of our girls must be no pale imitation of the West. Education must be inspired by Indian ideals of life. Dr. Lin is a Chinese poet and philosopher. In the course of a talk he said: ‘‘India has
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sunk deep owing to her neglect of, and indifference to, her own Culture.” The Culture of India emphasises these four values: simplicity, purity, prayer or meditation, and sacrifice. In an interview, the famous French savant, Romain Rolland said: ‘‘We need to recover the mysticism of India. We must give heed to the Divine fire within. It must be re-captured for modern civilisation.” Here on these ancient, patient hills of Nuwara Eliya [Ceylon], my thoughts go out again and again to Sita. This Heroine of Hindu History is still a model for Indian girls, Sita, I believe, is a woman unparalleled in all history. Helen of Ancient Greece had singular beauty. But in Sita beauty was blended with purity, prayer, simplicity and sacrifice. Helen was the woman natural; Sita was the woman divine; and Divinity shines in sacrifice. Sita, a child of the palace, was destined to be trained in a school of hardness and tapasya. Soon after she marries Rama, Dasaratha asks his son to go into exile for 14 years. Rama says: ‘‘I must not take you Sita! with me to the forest, for the forest is a world of fearful, of bears and tigers and wolves and lions and wild elephants and demons and serpents; and you will get no food in the forest except sour fruits and roots; and in the
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forest you must sleep on stony ground.” Then to Rama, Sita says with tears in her eyes: “Heaven to me would be hell in the absence of my loved Rama! “To be with thee anywhere is to be in a palace. “And long journey with thee would be a joy; the sour fruits and roots would be sweet as the food of the gods. “And if Rama would leave me, my heart would break!” How much she suffered in the forest and, later, in Lanka when removed by Ravan to the Asoka Vana on the outskirts of which I sat in meditation the other day. Sita’s was not a path of roses. Her path was coverd with flames. Sita was the very picture of tapasya. Therefore history salutes her as an immortal. Power and pleasure are passing; what lives and is cherished as sacred in the memory of humanity is sacrifice. It is the Eternal in time. It is the Imperishable in history. Sita stands through the ages a symbol of sacrifice. The woman-soul has the shakti to rebuild the shattered world in the strength of her intuitions; her purity, her simplicity, her spiritual aspirations, her sympathy and silent sacrifice. The womansoul will lead us upward, on!
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St. Francis!* Thou star of my heart! St. Francis! Thou star of my heart! Across this world so lone, so wild, O lead me in thy vision mild, To where thou with thy Master art! He came—the Christ, to give the Love Which like the Rose makes life so sweet; The same Love thou didst rise to greet In bird and beast, around, above! Thou didst the Love of Christ reveal To a world in sorrow, pain, and sin, And man and beast to thee were twin; In all thou didst the One Life feel, The One Eternal Life in all, In angels,saints,and sons of shame, In birds and beasts One Sacred Flame; And still thou dost to Mercy call To Nations sinking in the night: I kiss thy hallowed feet this day And lift my heart to God to pray: “Teach me to Love, O Lord of Light!
— Sadhu Vaswani
*October 4 is the Birth Anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi. It is also celebrated as World Animal Day.
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To seek refuge is to trust in the Lord, fully, completely, entirely. It is to know that He is the One Light that shines and shines and ever shines. Though the storms howl and the darkness deeper grows, His Light shines on! He is the Creator and the Nourisher of all that is: He is the Deliverer from whom all evils flee. He is nearer to us than our heart-beats and closer than our breathing. He is the AllPowerful One whose Hands are everywhere. He is sufficient as a Friend, sufficient as a Helper. There is not a corner too remote for His help to reach us. He is the All-Loving One whose ears are ever attentive to the prayers of His wayward children. He is the All-Knowing One who does what is the very best for us. With Him all things are possible: and if He chooses not to do certain things which we want Him to do, it is not because He cannot do them but because He will not do them for our own good. So it is that he who hath found his
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refuge in the Lord is ever ready and willing to do God’s Will. “Not my will but Thine be done, O Lord !” he prays, again and again. He who trusts in the Lord knows that he is being led safely: and though he move through fire and flood, the Lord is ever by him and that is all he needs. A girl prayed to God that she might be so blessed as to stand first in her school examination. She was a brilliant student and she had worked hard. All her class-mates felt sure she would secure the rank of honour. When the result was announced, she was told that she had secured not the first but the fourth rank. Imagine her deep disappointment! And yet when she returned home, she went to her prayer-room and prayed: “What a relief, Lord! that even in this hour of bitter disappointment Thou art still by me.” Such is the prayer of the man of true faith, of him who has taken refuge in the Lord: “Thou art still by me, and that is all I need!”
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The man of refuge is a man of true and deep prayer. He prays not only in time of need and distress but lifts up his heart to God at all times and seeks His help and guidance at every step. He has learnt to rely on God in all circumstances and so, when faced with danger or difficulty, does not lose heart. His constant cry is: ‘‘On none but God do I rely. In Him do I trust. And to Him do I turn!’’ So is such a man at rest in all the changing scenes of life’s passing show. God is the All-Powerful One who holds in the palm of His Hand the master-key to all problems. How often do we not get baffled in the face of difficult situations! And yet there is not a problem which has no solution. In fact, there is no problem at all to the one who has given himself over to God. Such an one sees nothing but God’s love. Wherever he turns he greets the love of God: he lives in the love of God: he moves in the love of God: he grows from more to more in the love of God. In every situation and circumstance of life he beholds the love of God. If the warm rays of the sun radiates His love, the cold rains of winter transmit it no less. If abundance of God’s wealth speak of His love, poverty and destitution convey it no less. If health and a robust body are witness to His love, sickness and disease speak of it not less. If the food I eat sings of His love, the pangs of hunger, when I starve describe it no less. It is God’s love that sings to me in the cool
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breeze and the flowing stream, in the singing bird and the leafy tree, in the radiant sun and the twinkling star: and it is the same love that speaks in the city’s tumult and the tempest’s roar, in the famine that stalk the land and the pestilence that cast the shadow of death on every door. If I aim only at the satisfaction of my desires, however noble they be, if I work with a view to win success or the crowd’s applause, if the purpose of my life is to accumulate things and desire pleasure out of them, I shall find not happiness but emptiness. For all these are shadow-shapes which come and go. The true joy of life is not in them but in the Will of the Lord who made me and who made all things that He might give me His love through them. The chief purpose of my life should not be to seek pleasure and possessions, power and authority, success and security health and wealth, or even knowledge and wisdom, or their opposites, poverty and pain, ignominy and defeat, disease and death. The purpose of my life should be to seek the Will of God and to adore it in the incidents and occurrences of life. In all the happenings of life let me learn to say to myself: “This is what God wills for me. And in this does He send His love. And in doing as He wills me do I receive His love and give it back to Him and with it give myself to Him. So may I grow into the likeness of Him who is the Purest of pure, the Fairest of the fair !
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He who seeks refuge in the Lord becomes a servant of the Will Divine. He welcomes not gain, he fears not loss. He desires not pleasure, he runs not away from pain. He seeks not success, nor does he avoid failure. He accepts all that comes to him as a gift from the Lord who loves him and whom he loves. And he finds that life is the great Guru. Life is the great teacher, the great initiator. Every experience enriches his interior life, leads him onward in the march to the True, the Good, the Beautiful and the Holy. Every pain makes him prefect, every suffering makes him strong. Wonderful are the words which Sadhu Vaswani gave, the other day, to a brother who with tears in his eyes spoke of the struggles he had to face. “The greater the struggle,” Sadhu Vaswani said, ‘‘the nobler the man!’’ Not long ago, a sister came to me. Her eyes were touched with tears. She sobbed as she spoke. Her husband, whom she loved and who loved her, had decided to travel to a distant land for purposes of business. He did not lack money: God had given him several lacs of rupees. “He does not need to go so far, leaving me here all alone,’’ she said. “Pray that he may abandon this idea altogether.” My answer might have appeared cruel to her at that time. “I do not pray for this or that to happen,” I said to her. “I shall pray that you may grow into an understanding of what
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God wills for you and that you may cooperate with His Will and let it work, uninterrupted, in and through you!” The day arrived when she bade her husband a tearful goodbye. “You did not do anything for me,” she said to me. ‘‘You could have helped me if only you had wished to do so!” I smiled and said to her: ‘‘Sister! do not despair! God fulfills Himself in many ways!’’ After a few months she met me again. Her face was wreathed in smiles. She was full of the joy of a child. “Now I know,” she said, “that there is the hand of Divine Love and Wisdom in all that happens. When my husband left, I wept and wept. Then, gradually, it dawned on me that if God had willed my dear one to travel to a far country, it must all be for my good. Indeed, it has proved to be so. My husband’s going away has given me many spare hours. I utilise them in a study of the Gita and the Guru Granth Sahib and Sadhu Vaswani’s beautiful books on the Sant bani and the lives of Saints. I pray and I meditate, I sit in Sadhu Vaswani’s holy company. I sing God’s Name and I serve the children of the poor and the lowly. They love me: I love them. And I feel happy and blest!’’ This is perfectly true. Our Journey through life has been perfectly planned by Infinite Love and Infinite Wisdom: there can be no mistake. Every experience that comes to us is just the right experience occurring at the right time to train us in the right way.
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So accept all that comes and do not attempt to circumvent anything. Again and again, we try to run away from what appear to us as unpleasant experiences; again and again we try to avoid what we regard as difficult situations. We may succeed in keeping them away for the time being but we can never avoid them all the time, for they are, indeed, essential to our growth. God means us to face them and so to develop our moral and spiritual muscles. If we avoid an unpleasant experience, It will return to us in due course with doubled force and we shall be compelled to take up its challenge until we have learnt the lesson it has come to teach us. The best way, therefore, to face difficult situations is to accept them and co-operate with their inner purpose, all the while fixing our mind and heart on Him who has planned for each one of us the glorious liberty that belongs to the children of the Spirit. He whose refuge is the Lord lives in the constant awareness of God’s presence. Such a man is never alone: Mother is always with him, by him, blessing him, leading him on! He hears His gentle foot falls: he feels the warm pressure of his Hand on his: he hearkens to the voice of his Unseen Friend: and he always feels safe and secure even in the face of danger and death. The man who seeks refuge in the Lord is untouched by the
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troubles and tribulations of the world, its wants and woes, its cares and anxieties. He feels light as the smoke of incense which rises higher and higher. He is not earthbound. His only quest is God. He yearns for God: he talks to God and to God he offers every thought, every word, every little deed of his daily life. He abides in God. And he feels like a child resting in the loving arms of its mother. Dropping all his burdens at the Lotus Feet of the Lord, he is freed from the fever and fret of the worry. And he moves through life, singing, he goes, singing the Deathless Song of the Beloved. Of such as the Gita says: He lives each day, Looking at the world with quiet eyes, Living in perfect harmony with all, Undisturbed, his mind ever at rest! He neither loveth nor hateth: He neither grieveth nor desireth: Renouncing both good and evil, He accepts all that comes As the Will of the Lord ! Alike is he in cold and hot, In pleasure, pain, In censure, praise, Devoid of all attachment, His mind is firm in faith, His heart is full of devotion. And in the shifting scenes Of this changing world, He clings to the Lord alone And in Him finds his shelter true!
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Children’s Corner WHO AM I? 1. I am found in the sea and on land but I do not Walk or Swim. I travel by foot but I am toeless. No matter where I go I’m never far from home. Who am I? 2. I don’t have lungs or a chest but I need air; I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have a mouth and I don’t like water. What am I? 3. My name is something that’s used in an instrument that determines how hot you are I’m also the name of a planet. Who am I?
RIDDLES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
What goes up, but never comes down? Where does Friday come before Thursday? What has a bark, but no bite? How many letters are there in the alphabet? What can you catch but not throw? What game do cows play at parties? What has a mouth but can’t chew If there were 9 cats on a bridge and one jumped over the edge, how many would be left? 9. There was green house. Inside the green house there was a white house. Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it? 10. I am a box that holds keys without locks, yet my keys can unlock your deepest senses. What am I? 11. I am black when you get me, red when you use me and white when you’re all done with me. What am I? 12. What game do cows play at parties?
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DID YOU KNOW? 1. A crocodile can’t stick out its tongue. 2. Rubber bands last longer when kept refrigerated. 3. Women blink twice as much as men. 4. Ostriches don’t bury their heads in sand. 5. Only female mosquitoes bite.
6. Scotland has more redheads than any other country. 7. Household dust is made of dead skin cells. 8. The past tense for the English word ‘dare’ is ‘durst’. 9. Humming birds can’t walk. 10. Wind doesn’t make a sound until it blows against an object.
CROSSWORD: OUROur SENSES Crossword: Senses 1
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Across Across 1. This is the sense that lets us 1. This is the sense that lets us if something is rough or soft tell iftell something is rough or soft. 5. With this body part, we can 5. With this body part, we can smell smell. 6. The sense that puts our ears 6. The to sense work that puts our ears to work. 7. This body part lets us see 7. This body part of lets us see. 9. The number senses we have. 9. The number of senses we have.
Down Down 1. This sense can be very 1. This sense can be very ‘‘yummy’’, it makes mouths happy "yummy", it makes mouths happy. 2. Without this sense, roses 2. Without this sense, roses wouldn’t be as popular wouldn't be as popular. 3. This body part lets us taste 3. This body part lets us taste. 4. This body part lets us hear 4. This body lets us hear. 6.This body partpart lets us touch 6. This body part lets touch 8. This sense keeps our eyesus busy 8. This sense keeps our eyes busy.
Answers: Who am I? 1) A Snail 2) Fire 3) Mercury Riddles: 1) Your Age 2) In Dictionary 3) A Tree 4) Eight A.L.P.H.A.B.E.T 5) Cold 6) Moooosical Chair 7) A River 8) None, they were copy cats 9) A watermelon 10) A Piano 11) Cold 12) Charcoal
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LAUGH YOUR WAY TO HEALTH A burglar enters a house in the middle of the night. He was interrupted when the owner awoke. Drawing his gun, the burglar said, “Don’t move or I’ll shoot. I’m hunting for your money.” “Let me turn on the light,” replied the victim, “and I’ll hunt with you!!” *** I haven’t spoken to my wife in 18 months – I don’t like to interrupt her! *** A toast in the right direction…. A woman at a party walked up to a man and told him, “If you were my husband I would poison your drink.” The man replied, “If you were my wife I would drink it!!” *** There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you… On his golden wedding anniversary, the old man told
his friends; There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my wife and there’s nothing my wife wouldn’t do for me. And that’s how it has been for the last year – we’ve done nothing for each other!! *** The new minister was talking to the oldest inhabitant. “I am 97 years old, sir, and I haven’t an enemy in the world,” said the aged one. “That is a beautiful thought,” said the clergyman approvingly. “Yes sir,” was the answer. “I’m thankful to say that I’ve outlived them all!! *** A Sunday school teacher asked the children just before she dismissed them to go to church, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” Annie replied, “Because people are sleeping.”
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Recipes for the Month CHHUREE DAAL
Ingredients: Water [for boiling) ................................750 ml Split yellow lentils (moong dal] – soaked....225 gms Turmeric powder [haldi]............................ 1 tsp Salt........................................................1 ½ tsp Green chillies – chopped.................................2 Butter or clarified butter [ghee].............. 2 tbsp Pomegranate seed powder (anardana].... 1 tsp Red chilli powder [for garnishing]............ 1 tsp Coriander seed powder [dhania]............... 1 tsp Method: 1. Boil the lentils with the turmeric powder, salt and green chillies over a medium flame in a saucepan. 2. When the lentils become soft, drain out the remaining water. Ensure that the grains of the split lentils are whole and dry, not mashed. 3. While the gram is still hot, add the butter and pomegranate seed powder. 4. Shake the pan and cook for a few more minutes on a slow flame, to dry up any remaining moisture. 5. Combine the red chilli powder and coriander seed powder. Sprinkle on the cooked lentils before serving. 6. Serve hot with puris (puffed bread].
THOOVAR DAAL Ingredients: Split yellow peas [thoovar dal]............125 gms Green chillies - slit in the centre......................4 Ginger...........................................................½” Turmeric powder.......................................½ tsp Water [for boiling]...................................1 litre Oil............................................................ 1 tbsp Fenugreek seeds [methi seeds]................ ½ tsp Cumin seeds [jeera]..................................½ tsp Curry leaves [curry patta]..............................16 Medium tomato - diced...................................1 Salt........................................................1 ½ tsp Tamarind water....................................... 2 tbsp Kokum.............................................................4 A Sprig of coriander leaves A pinch of asafetida powder [hing] Method: 1. Soak the dal in water for an hour. Then, boil it in water with the green chillies, ginger and turmeric powder, till the dal becomes soft. 2. Rub the dal through a sieve. Discard the solid residue left in the sieve. 3. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafetida. Fry till the fenugreek seeds turn brown. 4. Add the liquid dal, tomatoes and salt. 5. Cook over a low flame. Stir from time to time. If required, add more water to bring it to the desired consistency. 6. Gently boil for about 10 minutes. Then, add the coriander leaves, tamarind water and kokum. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. 7. Serve with plain rice.
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Simple Rules Of Health Health Benefits of Lemon Water We often hear health experts say that drinking a glass of warm water with lemon every day early in the morning is good for our health. Here’s why: Water is extremely good for your health as it is the best way to keep the body hydrated, and it helps flush out harmful toxins. Lemon is a good source of many nutrients like calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and vitamins A, C and B-complex as well as pectin fiber, proteins and carbohydrates. Lemon’s citric acid and strong antibacterial, antiviral and immune-boosting powers also help keep you healthy. 1. Improves Digestion Several components in lemon stimulate your liver to produce more bile needed for healthy digestion. Also, lemon assists the digestive system in flushing unwanted materials and toxins out of the body. A daily glass of warm lemon water helps relieve symptoms of indigestion, such as heartburn, belching and bloating. It also prevents constipation and diarrhea by promoting smooth bowel functioning. 2. Aids Weight Loss If you are trying to lose weight, drinking a glass of warm lemon water with honey will definitely help you reach your goal. Lemon is high in pectin fiber, which helps
fight hunger cravings and keeps you feeling full for a longer time. Also, the combination of warm water, honey and lemon creates a more alkaline atmosphere in your stomach helping you lose weight faster. 3. Clears Skin Daily consumption of warm lemon water can make a huge difference in the appearance of your skin. It helps purify your blood and encourages growth of new blood cells. Also, the high vitamin C content as well as other antioxidants in lemon helps keep the skin free from wrinkles and blemishes and helps combat freeradical damage. The water and honey add restorative, antibacterial and collagen-boosting properties to promote your skin health. 4. Supports Immune System Warm lemon water also boosts the immune system. Being rich in vitamin C, lemon helps boost the immune system and assists the body in fighting colds and flu. Plus, lemon enhances the body’s ability to absorb iron, an important nutrient for a healthy immune system. Lemon also contains saponins, which have antimicrobial properties that help keep infections at bay.
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5. Treats Bad Breath The acidic nature of lemon, combined with the medicinal properties of honey and water, can help eliminate bad breath. It cleanses the mouth and activates production of saliva that kills odour-causing bacteria. Lemon water also helps get rid of the white film on your tongue that usually develops while you sleep. This white film consists of decaying food and bacteria that cause bad breath. 6. Balances pH Levels Lemon is one of the best alkalizing foods for the body as it contains both citric and ascorbic acid that help maintain the pH levels. A good pH level is essential as too much acidity in the body can be inflammatory. Drinking lemon water regularly on an empty stomach in the morning helps remove overall acidity in the body, including uric acid in the joints that is one of the primary causes of pain and inflammation. 7. Increases Energy The nourishing elements like vitamins B and C, phosphorous, proteins and carbohydrates present in lemon make it a natural energizing agent. It hydrates and oxygenates the body to keep you feeling revitalised, energised and refreshed. Also, as lemon contains more negative-charged ions, it provides instant energy when it enters the digestive tract. Plus, the scent of lemon has mood-enhancing and energising properties.
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8. Cures Throat Infections The antibacterial properties of lemon aid in fighting problems related to throat infections, a sore throat and tonsillitis. In fact, people who drink a glass of warm lemon water each morning are at a lower risk of developing throat infections. This healthy drink even helps prevent respiratory problems like asthma. If you have a sore throat, drink this healthy drink and also use it to gargle frequently to speed up the healing process. 9. Controls High Blood Pressure Those suffering from high blood pressure can benefit immensely from this healthy drink. It helps cleanse the lymphatic system and keeps it hydrated. The high potassium content in lemon also helps you sleep better, reduces stress and improves your mental functioning, which in turn helps keep your blood pressure in the normal range. 10. Cleans the Urinary Tract Warm lemon water acts as a diuretic and hence helps cleanse the urinary tract and encourages the production of urine. Plus, this healthy drink can change the pH level of the urinary tract, in turn discouraging the proliferation of bad bacteria. The citric acid in lemon also aids in detoxification that is essential to keep the urinary tract free of infections. For women who suffer from frequent UTIs (urinary tract infections), this healthy drink will be a big help to keep recurrent infections at bay.
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