Deepavali/Diwali- The Fesival of Lamps

In India different festivals are celebrated throughout the year. Deepavali/Diwali or The Fesival of Lamps is the biggest festival of India. Since it is due next week, I will describe it in brief here.
Deepavali/Diwali is celebrated in the Ashwin month of indian traditional calender. Deepavali/Diwali is the fesival of Havest. There are many legends for celebration of Deepavali/Diwali. It is for the celebration of Victory of God Rama over Ravana. In Deepavali/Diwali, Shri Lakshmi, Godess of abundance is worshipped for her blessings.
In Sanskrit, Deep means Lamp and Avali means Row. Hence the name Deepavali. During Deepavali/Diwali in mornings and evenings earthen lamps and colourful paper lanterns adorn each household and shops.
Let the coming Deepavali/Diwali bring Happiness and Prosperity to the whole world.

Cherish The Beauty Of Flowers

Here is one Legend.

'There is a plenet out there in a galaxy. There are people but not a single Flower. People on that planet always say,"There are Flowers on Planet Earth; People on Planet Earth must be very HAPPY".' 

The Beauty of flowers is far reaching. Let us Cherish it to Bloom our Lives.

Sane Guruji's Lesson for Teachers

Late Prof. Pandurang Sane was affectionately called as Sane Guruji. Guruji means Teacher in Hindi and Marathi. He was a Famous Author, Popular Teacher, Great Social Activist and Respected Freedom Fighter from Maharashtra, India.

Everyday, Sane Guruji used to write fresh notes of the subject to teach in the class. Once his friend told him,"Guruji, you are teaching the same subject all these years.Then use your old notes to teach in the class. Why are you wasting time everyday to make fresh notes of the same subjects and topics?".

Sane Guruji answered,"My students are my GOD. I have to present them fresh offerings (Naiwedyam)".

Fast, Easy Yet Tasty 4

Tomato Salad

Salad is called Koshimbir in Marathi and Kachumbar in Hindi. The word denotes that the vegetables are cut in small pieces. In Marathi culture most of the food items are served in small portions in a big round plate (Thali) in the beginning at the time of lunch or dinner. Here Koshimbir is placed at the left side in the Thali. Different types of Salads are made. Now we will read how Tomato Salad is made.

Ingradients

2 Cups (Tomato Cut in small pieces)

1/2 Cup (Onion Cut in small pieces)

1Banana (Peeled & Cut in small pieces)

1Tablespoon Peanut Powder

1 Teaspoon Lemon juice

1Teaspoon Salt

 

Procedure

Mix all the ingradients and serve the Tomato Salad.

Tomato is supposed to have high nutritive value. It fulfills appetite, hence Tomato has place in Weight-Loss Diets. Onion is supposed to cool the body system. Banana is a good  source of minerals and supposed to relieve Stomach Acidity.

Fast, Easy Yet Tasty 3

Carrot Salad

Salad is called Koshimbir in Marathi and Kachumbar in Hindi. The word denotes that the vegetables are cut in small pieces. In Marathi culture most of the food items are served in small portions in a big round plate (Thali) in the beginning at the time of lunch or dinner. Here Koshimbir is placed at the left side in the Thali. Different types of Salads are made. Now we will read how Carrot Salad is made.

Ingradients

1 Cup Grated Carrot

1Tomato (Cut in small pieces)

1Tablespoon Peanut Powder

1Teaspoon Lemon juice

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Sugar

Procedure

Mix all the ingradients and the Carrot salad is ready to serve.

Carrot is supposed to have high nutririve value.. Carrot is called Gajar in Marathi and Hindi.

Always Be Happy

My Music teacher used to say, "Sing or play musical instrument everyday. Because God likes all people but he loves Cheerful people".

Marathi Saint Late Shree Nisargadatta Maharaj told his disciples,"Saints always stay in the state of happiness". 

Happiness is the natural human instinct. If you try to be happy in the face of adverse calamities, you are surely going to overcome them.

Let Happiness bring more happiness in  our  of life.

Vinoba Bhave's Lesson in Ecology

Late Mr.Vinoba Bhave was a practising Philosopher and a great Gandhian. His Movement of Bhoodaan (Donation of land from rich land owners to poor farmers) had tremendous success in India.

One day a small child asked him, "What is the benefit of wild animals like tiger and lion to us, humans".

Smiling at the curious child, Vinobaji answered, " The benefit of wild animals like tiger and lion to  humans, is for us to understand that this Earth is not created for the benegfit of just us, humans only,

Fast, Easy Yet Tasty 2

Raddish Salad

Salad is called Koshimbir in Marathi and Kachumbar in Hindi. The word denotes that the vegetables are cut in small pieces. In Marathi culture most of the food items are served in small portions in a big round plate (Thali) in the beginning at the time of lunch or dinner. Here Koshimbir is placed at the left side in the Thali. Different types of Salads are made. Now we will read how Raddish Salad is made.

Ingradients

1/2 Tablespoon Oil

1 Teaspoon Cumeneseeds

1 Cup Grated Raddish

1/4 Cup Yogurt

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumeneseeds When Cumeneseeds start sputtering, stop heating.Add this seasoning to the mixture of grated raddish, yogurt and salt. Mix and serve.

Note - Intead of oil, butter can be used to enhance taste. 1/2 Teasspoon of Sugar can be added. Instead of Yogurt, 1 Teaspoon of Lemon jiuce will give a tangy taste.

In our Marathi culture Raddish is supposed to have diuretic and digestive property. Raddish is called Mula in Marathi and Hindi.

Modesty is One of the Best Policies.

After doing my Masters in Chemistry, I started teaching in a degree college. Then I decided to go in research field. On my last day of teaching in college, one senior Professor told me, "Where ever you go Madame, do not leave your simplicity". The Profeesor was a man of few words. So I always remembered his words and tried to be simple in many of the aspects of my life.

Once I was reading and experimenting with the famous book "I Ching". In the end it was written,

 "Only Modesty Will Win".

Recently, We experienced the Dance of Hurricane Irene. In my Marathi culture there is a saying, "Mahapure (In high floods) Zade (trees) Jati (Go to dust), Tethe (At that time) Lavale (Moss) Wachati (Lives). It means proud and rude people have few friends at the time of calamity, but A Modest Person has whole world as his friend all the time.

Recitation Power of India

India, a developing nation, is on the path of spectacular progress. India's success is attributed to its large population of educated human resource. Behind this academic excellence lies the ancient Power of Recitation.

The dictionary meaning of recitation is "Presentation of Memorised material". The most ancient composition in India is Rigveda. From time immemorial, Vedas were memorised and recited. In modern times also, right from school, students are encouraged to succeed in  Recitation Competitions. Examinar evaluates their performances, primarily on two criteria: flawless recitation ability and the robust memory power to pick the verses at random on the discreetion of the examinar.

Recitation enhances memory. It helps in acquiring acedemic excellence.The ingrained Power of Recitation is a tool for brain exercise. It is one of the foundations of Brainy India.

Fast, Easy Yet Tasty 1

Banana Milk (Shikran)

I am starting my cookery posts with a recipe of white colour. In India,white coloured recipes are thought to be Auspicious. Banana tree is supposed to be the symbol of Abundance. Sweets are distributed at any Joyous occasion. In Marathi language this recipe is called "Shikran". This recipe brings back to me my childhood memories. Because Banana Milk is loved by children back in Maharashtra, India.

Ingradients

1 Mediumsized ripe Banana

1 Cup milk

1 Teaspoon Sugar

Procedure

Peel and cut Banana in small pieces. Add them to a cup of milk. Add sugar. Mix together. Shikran is ready.

Shikran is eaten with Chapati in Maharashtra. It can be eaten with bread or as breadspread. According to my culture Banana has digestive property and it alliviates stomach acidity.

Fast, Easy Yet Tasty.

As I have described in my Blogpost "The Flavour of the Meal of India", the indian meal tends to be spicy and tasty. Therefore there is a general feeling that Indian Cuisine is very elaborate and complicated. I am a Scientist and a working mother. I have devised many recipes which are fast and easy to make yet Savoury.

From tomorrow I will explain to you my own recipes. These recipes are easy to cook and fast to save your precious time. They are rooted in the vibrant culture of India. Therefore they will be tasty to savour.

My Ultimate Goal of Life

I am a common ordinary person. I have taken Doctorate level education. I toil daily to earn my bread. I have a family and a friend circle to fulfill my emotions. Then what else I want in my life?

I am from India. I am born and raised in Marathi community of the Indian state named Maharashtra. We have an ancient following of Marathi Saints. Saint Tukaram was a great Saint. In one of his Spiritual poem, he says my ultimate goal is "Shevatcha (Last) Dees (Day) Goda Vawa (Should be Sweet)".

The meaning is all our deeds should be on the right path. When we will leave this mortal world we should not have any repentions. That is the ultimate goal of my life. My last day should be happy.

One of the Benefits of Meditation

There are several Benefits of Meditation. Meditation is supposed to help in acquiring Health and Wealth.

In simple terms Meditation is defined as Focussed Mental Attention on any Word, Sentence, Mantra or Picture.

Many people say that attaining Meditation is difficult. But I will say all of us normal people do Meditation many times in our day today life. I will elaborate on this by my experience.

About ten years ago I shifted my house twice and in that process I lost one very precious document. I could not locate where I kept it. Many times I tried to recollect but invain. One week passed and I was travelling in a bus on a 40 minute route. In an unknown crowd, I found myself alone. Again the topic of that lost document appeared in my mind.and I started meditating on it. After about two minutes a  cupbord with a side table in our living room flashed in my mind. Was it the answer to my Meditation? I went home and found the precious document in that sidetable in our living room. 

Even you must have similar experiences with Meditation in your daily life. If you have any concern in your life just meditate on it and you will geta positve direction. Best of luck for the Journey of Meditation.

Heal Your Mind with Buddha's Enlightenment

From my primary school onwards, I was always reading about Buddha's Enlightenment. The Buddhism has its roots in Buddha's Awakening. I read many History and Philosophy books to find out what is Buddha's Enlightenment? I tried to understand the meaning of Buddha's Enlightenment. I have used his Phisophy in my own way to heal my mind in the time of sorrow and loss.

Buddha's Enlightenment preached me " Your Body and Mind should always travel together. When the wound on your body healed, you forgot the pain it gave you, Your body in the present does not feel the pain in the past. Then why are you dwelling in your mind on the unhappy events happened in the past? Try always to keep your mind in the present along with your body. If you brood on your losses, more losses will follow."

This meaning of Buddha's Enlightenment has helped me overcome unhappiness in my life. It has helped me  to remain optimistic about my future, I wish all my readers will experience the same.

Thank You Buddha.

The Divine Blessings of Reiki

Reiki is Life Force Energy. It has its origin in ancient culture of India. Reiki was revived by the great sage Mikao Usui of Japan.

Reiki is taught in three levels. First level is for self healing. Second level is for distant healing and third level is for becoming ReikiMaster.

Reiki helps in attaining health, wealth and spirituality. Practice of Reiki makes a person more Human.

To acquire the bliss of Reiki, try to  follow these five principles, everyday.

1]Just for today work hard

2]Just for today be kind to other

3]Just for today be grateful

4]Just for today do not worry

5]Just for today do not anger

Three Sides of Success Pyramid

We all want success in all our walks of life. Many paths lead to  success in achieving goals. The new age science of self- development is eager to help you with Affirmations, REIKI, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), Pranic Healing  and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) etc. These are very powerful methods. I will go into details of these techniques later on. Let us ponder on this thought that before these techniques became popular, people were still becoming successful in many ways. What was their Success Pyramid based on?

When I meditated deeply on this question, I remembered three great personalities of human history. Their Success Pyramid is based on three important sides.

1] Burning desire - One should have burning desire enough to give up comfort zone and push limits of capabilities to the maximum. Alexander became Alexander, The Great; because he had the burning desire in him to CONQUER the WORLD.

2] Meticulous Planning - All round planning helps in making every endevour a success. Sir Winston Churchill was a great historian. His knowledge of historical battles and wars made him plan such a strategy that he summoned victory in second world war.

3]Continuous Action -  Dreams will turn into reality when action based on burning desire and meticulous planning is implemented. Learn from  failure and take correct path for success. Salt movement of Mahatma Gandhi is an example of preplanned  action.

If we also incorporate all these three attributes in our life, every goal will be achievable.