Ayurveda - How to live the Nature's way!

I recently watched a documentary on Ayurveda and wanted to share my thoughts.

This is one of those rare documentaries which talks about the greatness of Ayurveda. Where many medical cases have been rejected by modern medicine as incurable, this ancient science has an answer. Not only this, it also highlights how civilized, modern the ancient Indians were in most of the fields including medicines, not to forget it was the Indians, who were the fathers of plastic surgery. The makers of this documentary have taken immense efforts to get in touch with the different practitioners of this ancient Indian science across India and Germany. What does this mean – This suggests that  ancient Indians were well advanced in medicine, and we have lot of ayurvedic texts, which is still preserved till date on palm leaves, which details the cure for different diseases. Truly fascinating, how could have they have known what medical challenges the future generation will come across. This science has been passed on from generations to generations following the Guru – Shishya philosophy, without the help of Guru, one cannot individually interpret the texts , as many of them are not numbered. This video talks about  Ayurveda, Marma kalai, oil baths for the newly born and the mothers, cure for cancer, bowed legs, mud scan therapy, diabetic retinitis, brain hemorrhage and others. All this has been proven and the patients themselves are testimony to the effect Ayurveda has had on them.

Ayurveda  in essence is Art of living ; how to live the nature’s way!!!

Name of the Documentary : Ayurveda : The Art of Being

This 105 minute long documentary  is truly a delight, steals away all your thoughts and reinvigorates  your passion for India !

Questions & Answers with Swami Vivekananda

Below you will find an interesting list of questions that any layman  would think of asking the great Hindu saint. The responses are even better, with the message to his countrymen loud and clear.

Disciple: How will India rise again?

Swami Vivekananda: Do you not see? The dawn has already appeared in the eastern sky, and there is little delay in the sun's rising. You all set your shoulders to the wheel! What is there in making the world all in all, and thinking of "My Samsara (family and property), my Samsara"? Your duty at present is to go from one part of the country to another, from village to village, and make the people understand that mere sitting idly won't do any more. Make them understand their real condition and say, "O ye brothers, arise! Awake! How much longer would you remain asleep!" Go and advise them how to improve their own condition, and make them comprehend the sublime truths of the Shastras (scriptures), by presenting them in a lucid and popular way. So long the Brahmins have monopolised religion; but since they cannot hold their ground against the strong tide of time, go and take steps so that one and all in the land may get that religion. Impress upon their minds that they have the same right to religion as the Brahmins. Initiate all, even down to the Chandalas (people of the lowest castes), in these fiery Mantras. Also instruct them, in simple words, about the necessities of life, and in trade, commerce, agriculture, etc. If you cannot do this then fie upon your education and culture, and fie upon your studying the Vedas and Vedanta!

Disciple: How is it, Swamiji, that you do not lecture in this country? You have stirred Europe and America with your lectures, but coming back here you have kept silence.

Swami Vivekananda: In this country, the ground should be prepared first; then if the seed is sown, the plant will come out best. The ground in the West, in Europe and America is very fertile and fit for sowing seeds. There they have reached the climax of Bhoga (enjoyment). Being satiated with Bhoga to the full, their minds are not getting peace now even in those enjoyments, and they feel as if they wanted something else. In this country you have neither Bhoga nor Yoga (renunciation). When one is satiated with Bhoga, then it is that one will listen to and understand the teachings on Yoga. What good will lectures do in a country like India which has become the birthplace of disease, sorrow, and affliction, and where men are emaciated through starvation, and weak in mind?

Source:
http://timesofindia.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/philosophy/an-interesting-conversation-with-vivekanandaji

Ancient Idol of Lord Vishnu in Russia - The Vedic Connection

 An ancient Vishnu idol has been found during excavation in an old village in Russia’s Volga region, raising questions about the prevalent view on the origin of ancient Russia.The report says that the area in which the idol was found is called Staraya Maina. In the Rig Veda, there is a passage that goes, Itham ascati pasyat syantham, ekam starayath mainaa-kaalam. This translates into Staraya Maina is the name of the land of the 45 rivers (on whose banks the noble Rishis conducted the famous Horse Sacrifices), where the sun god descends into one fifty two forty seven. While the first line identifies a location, the second line talks about the exact latitude and longitude at which the solar spectrum produces interference lines at one, fifty two, and forty seven.

The extreme precision of the calculations show the advanced science of the Vedic period, and also a thorough knowledge of SI units (it has been conclusively proven that French scientists stole the system from the Indians).

The discovery of the idol confirms the location in Russia, identified in the Rig Veda as rus soviath sapthamahanagaratham (the ancient and holy land of the 722 flying vehicles). The ancient connections between the Russians and the Indians has been unequivocally confirmed. In Russian orthodox Christianity, worship is conducted very much like in Vishnu temples. The Russians refer to the feast of Vizhnyir Ekoratsya Vikhunh, directly corresponding with Vaikhunda Ekhadasi.

Source:

http://www.globalhinduism.com/2012/12/20/ancient-idol-of-lord-vishnu-found-during-excavation-in-an-old-village-in-russias-volga-region/

Malaysia’s Putrajaya to get first Hindu temple

Putrajaya, the seat of Malaysia government, will have its first Hindu temple in the near future.

Reports suggest that the required approval has been granted and after
groundbreaking ceremonies in March, construction of the about 17,000 square feet two-storey structure of this about RM 12 million Sri Lalithambikai Alayam Temple on a one-acre plot will start in September.

Hoped to be completed in 2015, this unique one-of-a-kind first Lalithambikai temple in the country, inspired by the elements of South and North India temples, will serve about 10,000 area Hindus. Project leaders plan to include 10-20 special pillars in the complex which will ring when tapped, reports add.

Source:
http://bikyanews.com/84176/malaysias-putrajaya-to-get-first-hindu-temple/

Biopiracy at our doorstep : When will we wake up?

My fellow Indians, foreign conglomerates are queuing up in line for patents at an alarming rate which originally belong to Indians and have been used by us since thousands of years.One of the these giants argues "prior art about the product had never been published in a scientific journal”. A list of Indian treasures which are under serious threat are: Neem, Yoga, Turmeric, Ayurveda, Eggplant(Brinjal) – GM Brinjal, Wheat. These are only some that have been brought under public domain. Many countries are constantly pursuing several kinds of research. Monsanto is one of the biggest offenders for bio-piracy. It’s the company’s culture to unscrupulously exploit the fruits of others’ labor. By patenting wheat, the Indian food industry will be controlled by them and not by Indian food processors and producers. Other nations which have become victims of agricultural corruption by this foreign devil are Hungary and Peru.

Under normal circumstances, a patent application should always be rejected if there is prior existing knowledge about the product. But in the United States, "prior existing knowledge" is only recognized if it is published in a journal - not if it has been passed down through generations of oral and folk traditions. However, there have been both favorable and unfavorable results for the above and some trials are underway. “These cases not only create a global awareness but also raised issues on biopiracy, need for documentation of traditional knowledge, equitable sharing of gains from traditional knowledge and harmonization of patent rule.” But, all these incidents are a clarion call to one and all. If we are heading in the same direction – very soon the air we breathe will be patented and we will have to pay royalty to live.

Three Lessons Life Taught Me Recently

“Hello World”…err….if you thought I was learning some scripting language, you are mistaken. I actually meant to say "Hello Word". Now if you are wondering why, the reason is I took quite a big break in writing something and opened my MS Word after a long time ;-)

Alright, if you have survived my first paragraph, you can be proud of belonging to a rare breed (I always try to weed out the lucky in my first paragraph)! On a serious note, I felt I should write about certain things which have put me in a whirlpool for the last two months. These have put me in great pain; made me think; got me angry; made me halt from the race called life (we do this very rarely) and ponder on my life’s goals/priorities.

If you are asking me as to why on earth should you be reading this? Well, we always have something to learn from others experience, more so if it is not so pleasant. Most of these things you might be knowing, even I did! However, when it comes to putting them into practice we forget them or fail to execute. Theoretical knowledge alone does not help, now I am able to relate more with companies asking for experience and rejecting my resume!

Lesson 1: Never outsource your happiness or sadness
Lot of times (or all the time!) I tend to depend on external objects/events/people for my happiness. When things don’t happen the way we expect it to, I am dejected. That occupies most of my thoughts and I feel emotionally drained. More important things in life are put to the backburner. Moments of solitude are a pain and moments with friends/family are devoid of the usual fun. It was then that lesson 1 was reminded to me by a talk I heard. Well, how exactly do we do this? I myself am figuring this out but atleast reminding myself that my true nature is “Sat-Chit-Ananda” or eternal bliss helps. Also, reminding myself that I am the soul which cannot be wet by water, burned by fire, cut by sword, leave alone getting troubled by these events is a big help.

Lesson 2: The other side is always green!
Wondering what this strange lesson is? Let me tell you what happened. I went to the house of “A” and while casually discussing something, I said that a particular person was “not of any use” because they had a different set of thoughts/tastes. “A” very quickly asked me “So, that means the person is not required? Is he/she not one among us? Do we leave them and march ahead?”

When he said that I remembered the words of Guruji (or may be Swami Vivekananda, not sure). I don’t recall the exact words but it was like this “the signs of a highly evolved society depends on the role of the lowliest, weakest in the society. “ The emphasis was on the importance of everyone in the society, be he someone subscribing to our viewpoint or not, whether he is intelligent or not, whether he is strong or otherwise. Though I have read this before, it made a mark in me at this juncture. I realized that every person has something unique to contribute to the society, if we see someone as “not of any use”, it is because of our failure to see that uniqueness in the other person. Now do you get it, the other side is always green!

Lesson 3: Constantly search for the “I” hiding in “You”.
This is the most important thing I learned about myself. While speaking to “A” again, I told him how I had reacted to someone. That person had come to offer me help when I needed it. I on the other hand declined their help. In spite of that, the person “walked that extra mile” to help me out. What did I do? I got angry with them, and even decided not to speak again and ironically “walked that extra mile” to return their favor! Three words which “A” said struck me as a bolt from the blue “This is ego”. I never ever heard anyone in my life say that to me before. I was taken aback because I never realized that I was so.

In fact, I tried to explain my behavior to him and “A” said “Don’t cover your ego with flowery language”. If that was not enough, he then used the Brahma Astra by saying “You talk so much about Guruji and you are acting like this, what Sairamji?” A continued “Let me ask you one more thing, let’s say you meet a swamiji whose principles , ideas you don’t agree. Will you fall on his feet?” I was acting like a rabbit staring at a pair of blazing headlights on a highway. After some thinking I said “It is difficult” and thus proved! I never realized that I had this in me. Though lot of times, I read about how ego and how it can destroy one, I never stopped to introspect whether I was egoistic. Now, I learnt that I should constantly search for the “I” hiding in “me”.

The past few days have been very eventful with lot of learning about myself and life in general. I have been reading Guruji’s “Bunch of Thoughts” for quite sometime now but I realize that the same words appear more potent now than ever before. The tremendous potential for improvement in us makes life so exciting and worth living. At the end of this long read, if you feel you have gained something out of my little experience, I am happy. If you felt that you have wasted some valuable time reading crap and feel sad, read Lesson 1 again - Don’t outsource your happiness!

We Shy But Not Mongolia and Bolivia

Any country will prosper only if its citizen actively participate in the nation building process. Now, what actually triggers citizen to actively involve oneself in this? Our most common answer would be love for the nation. Love, for sure gets people to do great things but like everything, love has its limits. Correspondingly, our acts or work inspired by that love also has limits.

Is there something else which extends this limit (of love)and inspires us to do something great for our nation and its people? In our opinion, the only other thing is P.R.I.D.E. Yes, pride definitely helps us expand our horizon by a large extent (definitely, even this has limits). If Swami Vivekananda was able to take the West by storm and enlighten them on Hindu dharma, it is not just out of love for our nation but also his pride in the achievements of our ancestors.

This pride is possible if each nation is taught of the gigantic achievements of its ancestors. Bharat has no shortage of such greatness but there is definitely a huge shortage in educating the people on our glorious accomplishments. How many of us know about Baudhayana, Kanada, Sushruta, etc? The core reason for not teaching these is that it will be "non-secular". However, it has been forgotten that unless this pride factor is felt in each Indian, our achievements and drive will be limited. On the other hand, when we realize that our ancestors scaled such peaks, we their sons and daughters can achieve the same, if not greater.

Bolivia's population of 8.5 millions is entirely Christian. In December 2005, Joan Eva Morales was elected as its President with 54% votes. The past European proselytizing colonisers reduced all faiths and cultures of Bolivia into archaeological ruins. Morales’ tribe Aymra’s are only 25 per cent of Bolivians. Obviously he got more votes from other tribes. Not this, but what happened after Morales won is more important. He wore the traditional dress of the priests of his ancestral faith and commenced a pilgrimage. Where?

To the sacred site where the archaeological remains of the Tawanku civilisation that flourished around 500 BC to about the 13th century. That is where his ancestral temple, ‘Kalasasaya’, stands in ruins. He was ‘showered’ with flowers, ‘blessed by the priests’ all the way.

Morales addressed thousands in front of the temple, thanked ‘Mother Earth’ and ‘God’ for his victory and promised to do away with the vestiges of the colonial past. By showing reverence to the ruins of the 13th century temple, Morales was recalling the hidden, suppressed spirit of Bolivia. His pilgrimage to Kalasasaya temple is national programme to rebuild the confidence of Bolivians in themselves and their economy.

Now coming to what is happening in Mongolia. Buddha dharma, the practice, suppressed for decades by the Communist Party, is being reclaimed by Mongolians as an integral part of their national identity. In 1578, Genghis Khan's descendent Altan Khan made Buddha dharma the official religion, installing the Tibetan Sonam Gyatso as Dalai Lama and conscripting males to monasteries instead of into the army.

In 1937, the Soviet-allied Mongolian Communist Party banned Buddhism and persecuted its 100,000-strong priestly class. The government executed nearly 20,000 lamas, and at least 10,000 educated monks. Another 10,000 were sent to Siberian labor camps. Most of the country's 2,000 monasteries were destroyed. But now, the Mongolians are reviving their past glory and culture by reviving Buddha dharma. They are doing what India has been shy to do.

See in contrast the way secular India handled the revered symbols of Indian spirit after freedom. The Indian Cabinet presided by Jawaharlal Nehru decided, as proposed by Sardar Patel, to rebuild at Government’s cost and as a symbol of recalling the spirit of India, the Somnath temple, that was repeatedly devastated by religious intolerance. This was something similar to what Eva Morales is doing now. But Mahatma Gandhi advised Sardar Patel that the people, not the government, should fund the construction.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India, was invited for the consecration. But Nehru objected to the President of ‘secular’ India attending a temple consecration. It turned Somnath temple, a symbol of India’s struggle against religious fanaticism, into an objectionable icon. But Rajendra Prasad defied Nehru and attended the consecration. Not just Somnath. Identical is the Ayodhya issue. The Hindus wanted a temple to be constructed on the spot where they believed Rama was born. Rama was always and is still the greatest symbol of Indian values.

Gandhiji died uttering ‘Hey Ram’. A structure, a mosque, unused from 1936 stood on the spot. Suddenly that unused structure became the symbol of secularism. Secular polity set upon Hindus. The courts and laws were moved against them. Eva Morales goes to the ruins of an ancient civilisation in a cent percent Christian nation. Here Somnath temple becomes an objectionable symbol and Ayodhya temple becomes a target of ‘secular’ India. The contrast is obvious. We do need an Eva Morales to detoxify ‘secular’ India, make them understand that geo-politics is becoming geo-civilisational politics.

Source: LA Times
Gurumurthy.net