Issue No. 18. Nov 2012 - Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA

P R E R A N A
A n
Issue : 18
I n s p i r a t i o n
T o
H i n d u
W o m e n
Vijaya Dashami 2012 / Vikram Samvat 2068
|| Ya devi sarva bhuteshu
shakti rupeNa sansthita ||
Prerana e-zine
Vijaya Dashami 2012
Vikram Samvat 2068
In This Issue
Featured
8
Our Prerana : Matrutwa
10
Swami Vivekananda: Personality Development
Lifestyle
3
Ayurveda: Dinacharya
6
Yoga : Anxiety & Depression
13
Food: Indian Food Science
I want to share
4
Music classes by Mrunalini ji
7
Art and craft project: Diya Holders
12
Art and craft project: Lippan Kala
Digests
10
Crossword
13
Story: Smell and Sound
15
Story: The Fisherman and the Minister
16
In Memory of : Pujaneeya K Sudarshan ji
On the Cover
Dusserah, also known as Vijayadashmi, is
celebrated on the tenth day of the lunar month of Aashwayuja, which follows
nine days of Durga Pooja. This is among
the most auspicious days in the Hindu
calendar and comes as the finale of the
nine-day festival, Navaraatri. This festival of victory is preceded by worship of
Saraswati the Goddess of Learning and of
Durgaa the Goddess of Strength. Grand
processions of all Gods and goddesses
are taken out in every town and village
on this day, signifying the victory of the
forces of righteousness over those of
wickedness.
Write to Prerana
Share your experiences with Prerana.
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in HSS, art and craft projects, book reviews and stories. Not sure if your article’s topic fits prerana? Have questions or
comments regarding this issue’s articles?
Send in your articles, questions and comments to:
[email protected]
Prerana Team
National Coordinators: Anjali Patel
Manisha Kand
Editor: Kadambini Dharap
Design : Anila Mula
Attribution
Thanks to Vikram Verma (Divik) [flickr.
com] for his image and Ananda k Maharjan [anandakm.com.np] for his fonts.
Visit www.hssus.org for more details.
Lifestyle
Dinacharya according to Ayurveda
By Akshata Prabhu
I
n Sanskrit, daily regimen is
called Dinacharaya. ‘Dina’
means day and ‘charya’ denotes routine. This daily regimen list
was written thousands of years ago
and obviously nowadays it would be
very challenging to live such an ancient routine.
Daily routine is essential to bring
radical change in body, mind and consciousness. Regimen helps to bring
equilibrium in one’s constitution and
also regularizes the biological clock
of a person.
The Ayurvedic rishis cited daily
routine to be stronger healing force
than any other curative medicine, and
so they devoted initial chapters in
ayurvedic texts to daily routine.
Doshas in the daily cycle:
Vata : 2am- 6am, 2pm-6pm
Pitta : 10am-2pm, 10pm-2am
Kapha: 6am-10am, 6pm-10pm
Several
important
morning routine steps are listed below.
Time to wake
up:
P e r s o n
should
wake
up in brahmi
muhurtha
i.e
between
4am
-6am. Remember the adage,
‘early to bed
early to rise
keeps the man
healthy, wealthy
and wise.’ Some exceptions to this
rule of rising are the very young,
the old, parents with small children,
and people with fever and diarrhea.
Cleansing teeth:
Brushing your teeth with the
twigs of arka (Calotropis Gigantea), nyagrodha (ficus benghalensis), kakubha (Terminalia Arjuna),
karanja (Pongamia pinnata) etc,. The
width of the twig being the thickness
of the tip of little finger and length
should be 9 inch. Tip of the twig
made soft like a brush by chewing,
the teeth should be cleaned without hurting the gums. Nowadays it
would be challenging to follow this,
but brush your teeth with astringent,
pungent, bitter toothpaste or powder. This helps to remove particles
of food collected in cervices of teeth.
Scrape tongue with a tongue
cleaner it helps to improve taste sensation and removes tongue coating.
Collyrium:
A kind of
eye – salve
was being prepared from the
ore of antimony sulphide
along
with
some
other
plant products
and used in ancient times both as a
medicine and a cosmetic. It is good for
the eyes, hence it should be used daily.
Massage:
Oil massage should be included
in the daily routine. Generally warm
sesame
oil
is
used for
m a s sage, but
benefits
are more
p r o nounced
if herbal
oil
is
used. Massage gives nourishment to
the body, skin and imparts good sleep.
Exercise:
This is usually yoga posture
& breathing exercise, but it can be
anything including a walk, a swim
etc. The early morning exercise
strengthens digestive fire, reduces
fat, gives you overall feeling of lightness in the body. Ayurveda recommends exercising at one half of
your capacity or until you see sweat
on underarms, forehead and nose.
Shower:
Step into the shower, it is to remove excess oil or dirt from the
body. If you have resorted to oil
massage, use herbal bath powders to remove dirt and excess oil
from the body. Pouring warm water over the body bestows strength,
but same over the head, makes for
loss of strength of the hair and eyes.
Gargling and care of nostrils:
Breakfast:
• Gargle with sesame oil which
strengthens the jaws and gums.
• Instill oil to both the nostrils, it
helps to improve sense of smell.
• Inhale the smoke of medicinal
herbs every morning to purify
the mind, face, head, neck, lungs.
Follow the Ayurvedic dietary restriction for your constitution. Only those with kapha dosha may choose to skip breakfast.
Betel- chewing / Pan –chewing:
Two Betel leaves, a small areca
nut, slaked lime along with fragrant
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Vijaya Dashami 2012
3
substances like
cardamom,
clove,
etc.
This combination definitely
has
medicinal properties
&
beneficial
for health. None of the Ayurveda
texts mention about tobacco usage along with betel leaves. This
will be harmful to one’s health.
Akshata Prabhu is an ayurvedic doctor and a yoga instuctor. She is from
Sunnyvale yuva shaka and she likes
to read, blog, hike, swim and play
volleyball. She is also interested in
photography and listening to music.
Image Attribution: lkmal, Irargerich and cottonseed oil (www.flick.com)
“Hindu religion
does not consist in
struggles and attempts to believe a
certain doctrine or
dogma, but in realizing not in believing, but in being and
becoming.”
“We are what our
thoughts have made
us, so take care
about what you
think. Words are
secondary.”
-Swami Vivekananda
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Prerana
I want to share
Music classes by Mrunalini ji
By Kavita Bakshi
S
ome things we enjoy and we share. Some, we share and we
enjoy. For me, they both hold true…
It had been years since I sang a song or geet with friends. After
marriage, everything was kind of paused…a ‘long’ pause taken in the
name of family, kitchen, utensils, grocery, shopping, school, homework,
and daily household jobs, etc. When I came to California, I didn’t have
even a bit of idea that I would be seeing shakha again and that too on
a large scale. I, along with my family, joined the Cupertino shakha and
started going every Sunday. I was totally taken by surprise when I saw
the Vijayadashami utsav gathering for the first time. I was happy and told
my father, who is in Bharat, everything about that. Being a karyakarta
himself in the past, he was immensely happy and said, “Your childhood
days are back!” He was a regular geet-gayak in Nagpur Mahal shakha
when he was young, and was influenced by it so much that even I spent
a big part of my childhood listening to his collection of sangha geets.
He used to recite the songs sung originally by Shri. Sudhir ji Phadke
and I used to observe him with no other thought than copying the style.
But interest of learning music was subsided by Calculus, Chemicals and
Coupling circuits! All my ‘what can and how can I do?’ doubts lasted
only until I got an exceptionally wonderful chance to learn inspirational
shakha and bhakti geets from Adarniya Dr. Mrunalini ji Khandekar.
It so happened that, during Ganesh Uttsav time our seniors at
shakha, Anjali ji and Manisha ji visited and gave us information about
the upcoming sangha-geet learning session. Their words encouraged me
to come out of my shell and I decided to join the session at any cost. Our
very first meeting with Dr. Mrunalini ji was at one of our friend Savita’s
place. We were waiting for her while discussing how excited we were
and she came in. “Namaskar.” She said and promptly turning towards
Manisha ji she asked, “Manisha, do we have a Harmonium here that I
had asked for? It will be an easy and accurate tool for teaching.” Later,
the harmonium was brought; she introduced herself and told her age too.
An elderly woman, nearing 70, showing such an enthusiasm and determination, I was stunned! ‘Now I don’t have any regrets about dryness in
my vocal cords’, I thought. It was time to get moulded…
Mrunalini ji has a Ph.D. in music from Bharat and has worked
for All India Radio for several years. She now resides in Pune and often
visits her daughter in California. With her background of shakha and a
vision in mind, Mrunalini ji started a program called ‘Swaranjali’ couple
of years ago, through which she teaches inspirational songs to disciples
in Bharat and USA. Songs, which make every Hindu, anywhere in the
world, feel love for their motherland. Geets like ‘Jab tak Suraj Chand
chamakate, Ganga Jamuna neer bahe| Sada saputi Bharat Maa ho, amar
praja ka raj rahe|’ or ‘Aao
hum sab milakar gaayein
jag jaani ke gaan|’,
‘Darshaniya,pujaniya’ or
even a beautiful Ganesh
bhajan like ‘Gayeeye Ganapati jag Vandan’ form
a part of Swaranjali collection. All the songs are
based on different raagas.
She was particular about
taking a complete ‘Vande
Mataram’ song in the
end, most words of which
were forgotten by me and
many!
In each class, Mrunalini ji, took great interest in teaching us the songs in a classical way with emphasis on words and
the emotion or ‘Bhava’ they express. I, along with some of my
friends, went for the beginner’s batch with many of us being in
our thirties. Her clear voice and line-by-line direction demanding perfect sur, tal and laya is unforgettable. What I forgot was
the fact that, I had given music a long pause for the past 15
years. At the end of each disciplinary session, we used to chat
with her freely in a family atmosphere.
When it was time for her to leave for Bharat, she arranged our last session at her daughter’s place that she had
come to visit. Not only her musical guidance but also her affection towards us, made me feel Aneka Janma Sampraapta
Karma Bandha Vidaahine
Atma Gnyaana Pradaaneyna
Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha.
Meaning: The one who can help us free from the chain of
karma accumulated over several lives, by teaching us the
knowledge of the self (Atma Gnyaana), I salute such a Guru.
A motherly touch was always felt by all of us and additionally for me; she gave me back my lost confidence. A whole
new chapter has started for me, so I take it as a true inspiration… my ‘Prerana’! Recently, each of us received an email
from her which was clearly showing her love and care. I wish
to see her soon again as I don’t want to stop here….my journey
has just begun! And for many like me out there, do not lose the
hope…there is light at the end of the tunnel!
Steadiness of Mind
A person who has achieved stability of mind possesses a positive
perspective by virtue of mental
strength and says “I will put in
my best and all my efforts. I will
go forward from where I reach.
I accept both the possibilities,
that of success and failure. Life
is a stream. It pauses by a turn,
only to surge ahead. I will do
what needs to be done with all
my strength and attention of mind.
I will lead my life happily, freely and enthusiastically.” A lot of
time has already been spent in doing unwanted things. Why should
one waste this moment cursing
oneself for it, and further fearing
about the future.
Even though the clouds occupy
the sky and then go away, the sky
remains unperturbed. Similar is
the mind of a stable person. Neither does it meander uncontrolled
with circumstances nor does it
vacillate (Dnyaneshwar Maharaj).
On the day of examination, when
Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) was
found singing divine songs, his
friends asked, “Narendra, aren’t
you worried about the exams?”
To which he replied, “Success
at the examination does not depend on studies done in these two
hours. One might forget what
he has studied by exerting undue
stress!”
This is the art of keeping the mind
free and stable.
--Swami Madhavanand
Kavita Bakshi is a sevika from Cupertino, California. She is an
avid music lover, She is also interested in writing and poetry.
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5
Lifestyle
Yoga for Anxiety & Depression
By Gulshan Shekhawat
W
e all experience anxiety and depression
sometime or the other in our lives. It is a
normal helpful reaction to stressfully demanding situations, and is one of the several emotions
that we experience in our lives in response to situations.
It adversely affects the work and mental health when it
occurs too often and lasts too long.
Anxiety can have two effects :
• Anticipatory Anxiety : This is a helpful response. It
is an ability to anticipate danger like situation and
adapt suitably to cope up with it in a healthy way.
This is called Signal Anxiety (fight response).
• Panic or Intense Anxiety : This is an inability to cope
or adapt to the demanding situation and is called
Traumatic Anxiety (flight response).
Depression is also another form of response to
emotionally demanding situations.
It can be of two types depending on its severity.
• In its mild form it takes you into your inner being
and opens up the inner wisdom and helps you to
move towards a mature personality.
• When the depression becomes more severe it leads
to unmanageable degree of chemical imbalances requiring correction through medication.
How does Yoga work in Anxiety and Depression ?
The technique is to start with loosening exercises
which are body movements
repeated with jerks and speed.
This helps initially to distract
the mind from the loop of
repeating anxiety producing
thoughts. Then slowly go
to slower body movements
such as Suryanamaskars &
Yogasanas. Similarly one
can start with fast breathing
practices (Pranayama). Af-
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Vijaya Dashami 2012
Prerana
ter alternating between a set of fast and slow body and
breathing practices for about 20-30 minutes the mind is
pulled out of its loop of worrying thoughts. Now it can
be further slowed down by Nadanusandhana and then to
actual meditation which is nothing but very slow effortless flow of a single thought in mind sinking down into
total inner silence for few seconds.
Yoga Module for Depression :
• Sithlikarana Vyayama (Jogging, Backward and forward bending, Surya Namaskar etc)
• Yo g a s a n a s ( A r d h k a t i
Chakrasana, Pada hastasana, Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana,
Sarvangasana
etc)
• Pranayam(Surya AnulomVilom pranayam 4 times a
day-27 rounds followed by
nadi shuddi 8 rounds)
• Meditation(Nadanusandhana- chanting of ‘A’ ‘U’
‘M’ & OM Dhyana)
Yoga Module for Anxiety:
• Pranayama (chandra Anuloma-Viloma Pranayama
- 4 times a day- 27 rounds followed by nadi shuddi
- 8 rounds)
• Sithlikarana Vyayama
• Meditation-Yogasanas
Disclaimer:
Each individual is different and no Yoga or exercise program is free from the side effects of over doing or doing
without an expert Yoga Therapist. Please consult your doctor before you start any Yoga program.
Gulshan Shekhawat is a Trained Yoga Therapist & a counselor from SVYASA Yoga University, India. She conducts
and counsels several yoga classes regularly.
I want to share
Diya Holder
By kanchan wagh
You can use this beautiful flower holder on Deepavali to decorate and save diyas from blowing off of the
wind. Or you can make this as a jewelry holder or take this project on mother’s day!!!
Wishing you a SHUBH DEEPAWALI!!!
(with petals cut into it) on top of cup.
Materials needed:
Apply pressure to glue them in place. Let dry.
Disposable cups & bowls, paints or yellow high
• You can color these diya holders in a variety of colors.
lighter to color it yellow and glue.
Additionally you can decorate them with glitter.
Procedure:
• Color a bowl with red and a cup with green for the Note:
These Diya holders are not flame resistant. Using
stem. You can buy colored cups and bowls to save
battery operated LED tea lights will be a good option, estime.
• Cut the top portion of bowl, into the shape of petals pecially with kids around.
(as shown in picture).
• To make it into a flower shaped holder, fill the green Kanchan Wagh is a sevika from Milpitas, California. She
colored cup with little rice or pebbles or sand. This is interested in painting, art and crafts and gardening.
makes it a little heavy and a stable base.
• Put glue on the edge of the cup and place the bowl
“Even the least work done for others awakens the power within; even
thinking the least good of others gradually instills into the heart the
strength of a lion”
“To be good and to do good, that is the whole of religion”
--Swami Vivekananda
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7
Our Prerana
Matrutwa
By Alka tai Inamdar
M
atrutwa- Motherhood - the word itself
gives a feeling of affection and security. In our sanskriti all that is beautiful,
auspicious and nourishes the mankind, is looked upon
as a mother. We have the concept of Mother Earth,
Mother Nature, Mother River and so on. We never
think of the Ganga as a river, but we say Gangamaiyya or Gangamata. This is true for all the rivers of
Bharat. People call the rivers as Lokamata- Mother of
people. Early morning we pray for Mother Earth and
request her to forgive us for stepping on her and hurting her the whole day.
Naturally in Bharat every woman is looked
upon as a mother out of respect. The word mother is
not used biologically. But it is used emotionally. It is
the way of giving respect. The Subhashit (a Sanskrit
verse) goes like this‘ Matruvat par Dareshu, Pardravyeshu Loshtavat ’
It which means ‘treat every woman as mother and
think of other’s wealth as soil’
Even Swami Vivekanand said that if the womanhood of every woman is transformed into motherhood
then the whole society would be uplifted. Thus is the
power of Matrutwa. Another Sanskrit verse says‘Kuputro jayate kinchit, Kumata kadapi na Jayate’
-which means ‘there may be a bad son but being a bad
mother is simply impossible’. This is the respect given to Matrutwa. And why not? Woman is the creator,
she is the mentor. She nourishes a child; she cares
for the health of the child. She inculcates the noble
qualities in the tender mind of a child. She imparts
good Sanskaras to the developing mind of a child. She
wants the child to become a good person. She sacrifices everything for the welfare of her children.
But to be a good mother, it is not enough to
nourish or adore the child; sometimes she should be
strict and even punish the child. It is her duty to see
that the child is developing in right way.
This reminds me of the story of a mother and her
son. The woman has lost her husband and her son was
whole and soul for her. She loved him too much. Their
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Vijaya Dashami 2012
Prerana
financial condition was also not
good. But somehow she managed
to send him to
school. One day
the boy brought a
pencil while coming back from school. She saw it and asked him from
where he got it. The boy replied that he got it under
the bench. Mother kept quiet. Few days later he got a
book, mother ignored it. Gradually the boy formed the
habit of stealing. He grew up as a thief and committed crimes. One day he was caught and was punished
for life imprisonment. The judge asked him whether
he wanted to say something. The thief said that he
wanted to meet his mother. She was informed and the
meeting was arranged. The thief slapped the mother
and said, “If you had slapped me the first day, when I
brought the pencil from the school, I would not have
formed the habit of stealing. You are the reason of my
bad habits.”
Here is one more story of a dutiful mother. It
is from Puranas. There was a warrior called ‘Sanjay’. His mother’s name was Vidula. He looked after
a fort. Once, the fort was attacked by enemy. Vidula
sent Sanjay to war, making the ‘Tilak’, according to
the tradition. After looking at the large numbers of
soldiers of enemy, Sanjay fled back towards the fort.
But Vidula had already ordered to close the doors of
the fort and sent the message that she would not allow the doors to be opened for a timid person. She
said that she had the confidence that her son would
not flee from the battlefield showing his back to the
enemy. He would prefer to die. She would open the
gates for her victorious son or for the dead body of the
great warrior. She said that it was worth to burn for
only few seconds than only creating smoke for long.
(Muhurtam Jwalitam Shreyam, Na Tu Dhumayitam
Chiram).
Thus motherhood is all about affection and dutifulness. She is the future maker of the society.
Some great women have extended their Matrutwa beyond their own children. They bestowed their
motherhood upon the whole society. We, in Samiti
(Rashtra Sevika Samiti) have such personalities, as
the ideals of motherhood. We believe that the divine
quality of Matrutwa must be not only for our own
children but for the society. We believe in imparting
qualities like patriotism, sincerity, dutifulness, faithfulness and social awareness. Who can be the best example for Ideal Motherhood other than Jijamata?
her son to build the Hindu empire where the people
can lead a secure and content life.
When Jijamata was married to Shahaji, a great
warrior and powerful knight in the court of Adilshaha,
the whole country was ruled by Muslim dynasty. The
Hindus were treated as
slaves in their own country. They had to pay the
heavy Ziziya Tax or get
converted to Muslim religion or had to be ready to
get killed. Jijabai was only
10 years old at the time of
her marriage. She wanted
to make her people free
from the cruel clutches
of Muslims.
She had to
go to Bengaluru with her
husband. She
thought that she
could
convince Shahaji to
fight against
Muslim
rulers
and return the
freedom of her
people. But
Shahaji told her that it was not possible for him as the
society was divided and there is no unity among the
knights. It was very difficult task. But Jijabai was determined and she decided that if Godess Durga could
bless her with a son then she would bring her dream in
to reality through her son. Through her devotion and
strong dedication, she was blessed with a son. When
she came to know about the pregnancy she decided to
go to Shivaneri which is located in the ranges of Sahyadri. It was their own territory and was not ruled by
Muslims. She wanted her child to take birth in a free
environment. Shahaji was also a patriot. He knew that
Jijabai’s thinking was right. He cooperated with her
and made all the arrangements for her and sent some
able and faithful people with her. Thus Jijabai gave
birth to Shivaji at Shivaneri.
Shivaji was just four years old. Jijabai wanted
that he should be aware of the agony of people. She
called a group of dance-drama to perform a play. The
play depicted the story of Rani Padmini. They narrated how thousands of ladies from Rajasthan sacrificed their lives in the fire to protect themselves from
getting molested at the hands of Muslim invaders. The
little boy could not bear the agony and tears started to
roll down from his eyes. He wanted to stop the play.
Jijabai told him that he was going to become an emperor, and an emperor should not weep but to try to
save his people. He should remember that he had to
free his country from the foreign invaders. It should
be his life mission.
She brought up her son with a mission. She
trained him in all aspects. She imparted good Sanskaras to make him an able King. She taught him to
love his subjects and care for them. She herself also
loved the subjects as her own children. She wanted
Considering the limitation of the article, I have
to conclude the discussion. But I could not resist
mentioning two incidents from the life of Jijabai and
Shivaji.
When Shivaji was very young, she used to take
him with her to the court. She made him to sit beside
her when she listened to people’s problems and tried
to solve them. She trained him rigorously in martial
arts as well as state -affairs. She wanted him to become a noble human being also. When there was a
famine in Pune Province for two years, she not only
gave a concession to farmers from the tax but distributed her personal wealth among the poor and needy.
This made a great impact on Shivaji and he came to
know how a ruler should respond to people’s distress.
Thus Jijabai was the inspiration of Shivaji.
People started calling her ‘Aaee Saheb’, which means
mother. She was a mother to all. History recognized
her as Jijamata. Is she not an appropriate example for
Matrutwa? Giving birth to a child is not enough but
bringing it up with a vision is ideal Matrutwa. And
broadening the quality of matrutwa to our neighborhood is ‘Vishal Matrutwa’.
Lovingly known as Alka Tai, Alka Inamdar is the Sah
Karyavahika (joint secretary) of Rashtra Sevika Sam
ti. She is from Bharat. She has done her B.SC with
Physics and Mathematics as her majors and was a Kho
Kho player in her University team. She is a multitalented person with amazing energy.
Image attribution:legends2k (www.flick.com)
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9
Digests
Crossword
Answers on page 15
Across
1. Another name of Kamadhenu
4. Bheeshma’s mother
8. Ganesha’s mother
9. Hanuman’s mother
11. Lord Krishna’s mother
12. Lord Rama;s mother
13. Abhimanyu’s mother
Down
2. Parashrama’s mother
3. Swami Vivekananda’s
mother
5. Gautam Buddha’s mother
6. Krishna’s foster mother
7.Bharata’s mother (Hint: not
from Ramayana)
10. Shivaji’s mother
Swami Vivekananda
Personality Development
By Dhanashree Paranjpe
Swami Vivekananda was an influential personality—he was not only one of the greatest spiritual leaders of
his times but also was a role model, common people like you and I could follow. Even though he had renounced
the material world to seek the spiritual path he was well aware of struggles of common people.
S
wami Vivekananda described his mission of life
as “to help everyone realize that there is divinity within every living being, and how to express
that divinity in their everyday life
and actions.” He worked relentlessly
to fulfill that mission. He believed
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Vijaya Dashami 2012
Prerana
that character building or personality development was essential for
everyone to realize divinity within
them and had practical advice for
everyone on how to develop one’s
personality.
What is personality?
Cambridge Dictionary defines
the word personality as “the type of
person you are, which is shown by
the way you behave, feel and think”
How a person feels, thinks
and behaves, how he/she reacts in
a
situation
broadly depends on the
state of mind.
Outward appearance,
language or
manners are
only
windows through
which we can
gauge one’s
personality. These outward indicators may not reflect complete personality. Swami Vivekanada referred
to development of inherent qualities,
not the outward features, of a person
when he talked about “personality or
character development”.
How did he envision an effective
personality?
In Swamiji’s words—
“ We need a human being who has
developed all aspects of the character. A person should have compassionate heart, great intellect, and
noble actions. We need a human being who feels the pain of others…
but without being overcome by emotions tries to realize the root cause
of misery. We need a human being
who does not stop at feeling the pain
and realizing the cause of grief, but
also acts on those thoughts to remedy the situation. Such harmony of
emotions, thoughts and actions make
a complete human being”
Why is personality development
important?
We see all around us everyone trying to make an impression on
others. With or without our realization our appearance, inherent qualities, thoughts, and actions make an
impression on people around us and
other people influence us in turn.
We know about many great influential leaders, heroes, artists, thinkers,
and writers who left their impression on the world. Swamiji once
asked “If we evaluate the literature,
thoughts left behind by these great
social reformers and personalities,
how many of them had really novel
and revolutionary ideas? Probably
very few—so few that we can count
them on finger tips. But no one disputes that they were very influential
people of their times. What made
them great? Not their thoughts, not
their literature, not their impressive
discourses, but something that we
cannot see now, something that passage of time took away…..and that
is their personality. The influence of
one’s mere words or intellect is only
one third while two thirds of the effect is due to one’s personality, character and actions.” He believed that
through character building everyone
will be able to achieve the upliftment
of oneself as well as masses.
How to develop character?
Swami Vivekanada thought
that a human being with strong character can potentially achieve anything and can influence others effectively. Hence, the main objective of
education should be to develop character. He was dismayed to see people
focusing on polishing their outward
appearance without building their
character and enhancing inherent
qualities. He advised thus on building one’s character—
•
We should always
watch our thoughts. What character
we have now is the direct or indirect
result of our thoughts. Every movement, thought and action leaves a
mark on our mind. Even if we are not
aware of these impressions, even if
they do not appear in our conscious
thought, they have a power to work
in our unconscious thoughts and influence our being. If a person often
hears bad words, thinks negatively,
acts impudently the mind will have
negative impressions and this will
lead to bad character. On the other
hand if a person hears good things,
thinks positively, acts virtuously that
leaves positive impressions and will
lead to good character eventually.
•
We have to put in
great efforts consistently to achieve
big goals. Similarly, we should make
conscious effort to direct our mind
to positive thoughts, actions and not
be deterred by occasional failures.
When positive, virtuous thoughts
become a “habit of mind” we will
move closer to divinity.
•
To direct our mind in
a particular direction is not an easy
task! The first step to control and direct mind is to do “Pranayaam”. The
controlled, regular breathing facilitates body relaxation and makes it
easier to access mind.
•
Most
importantly,
have confidence and faith in divinity within you. If you do not believe
in yourself how will you believe
in God? If you think yourself to be
weak, weak you shall be, if you believe yourself to be strong, pure, divine so shall you be!
Swami Vivekananda thought that
character building could be achieved
through selfless service too. Through
selfless service we could reach our
ultimate personal goal of realizing
Brahman as well as the upliftment
of masses.
Let’s try to
make
our
own
little
contribution to fulfill
S w a m i j i ’s
vision.
Dhanashree
Paranjape
is a sevika
from San Jose shakha, California.
Her interests include reading, hiking, poetry and music.
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11
I Want to share
A r t a n d c ra f t Pro j e c t : L i p p a n K a l a
By Purvi Makwana
This is a very ancient mural art form practiced by the women of the Kutch region(Gujarat). They used to decorate the walls and entrances of their houses with these Lippan arts. It is done using mud and pieces of mirrors.
The literal meaning of Lippan is ‘application’.
Materials required:
• Vinyl tile or Ceramic Tile (can also
be done on wood
pieces or directly
on the wall )
• Quick dry glue
• Mirrors (different
shapes and sizes)
• Air dry clay.
• Paint (will suggest oil paint )/ brush (optional)
Step 1:
Cut the tile to your required size ( Vinyl tile cuts
easily with utility
knife)
Step 2 :
Trace or draw a motif or design of your
choice.
when the clay dries hard.
Step 5 :
Allow the clay to dry completely. It takes 6 to 10 hrs
depending on the thickness of your rolled elongated
tubes. It dries to an off white color ( Cream)
Step 6 :
Paint the dry clay pieces first if you choose
to use the color on
the clay and let it dry
some more.
Step 7 :
Apply glue to the bottom part of the dried
clay (shaped according
to the design) and stick
it to the design. Stick
mirrors accordingly.
Step 3 :
Roll a little piece of
clay into elongated
tube shapes (like you
roll pretzel dough)
Step 4 :
Arrange the clay tube
on the design and
shape it as per your
design requirements
and press out the tubes
just a little so the bottom part is a little flat. This makes it easier to stick
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Purvi Makwana is a sevika from Cupertino, California.
She is interested in arts and crafts, baking, cooking and
hiking.
Digests
Story:Smell and Sound
O
ne evening a poor farm worker was on his way home. A very pleasant smell came from a sweet shop on the
road. His mouth watered. He went to the shop and stood there for some time. Then he turned to go because
he could not afford to buy the sweets. Just then he heard the shopkeeper’s commanding voice, “Stop. You
can’t go without making payment.”
“Payment? For what?” asked the man.
“For the sweets” said the shopkeeper.
“But I haven’t eaten any” said the man.
“But you did enjoy it’s smell, didn’t you?” asked the shopkeeper. “Smelling is as good as eating.”
The poor man looked very much worried. A wise man standing by saw
everything that happened. He took the man aside and whispered a word
of advice into his ears. The man’s face lit up. He went up to the shopkeeper and jingled a few coins in his pocket. The shopkeeper seemed
pleased. He said, “Come on, pay the money.”
The man said, “I have paid it.”
The shopkeeper said, “No, you haven’t.”
The man said, “Didn’t you hear the jingle of the coins? If smelling is as
good as eating, hearing is as good as receiving.” Saying thus he walked away.
Moral : Tit for tat.
Taken from the series of Vikas Stories (Navneet Publications India Ltd.)
Image attribution: Shooz (www.flick.com)
Lifestyle
I n d i a n Fo o d S c i e n c e
By Sevika Prakashan
H
ealthy body is the key to a
happy and prosperous life, it
is the biggest treasure. It is
said
“sharIra mAdhyam khalu dharma sAdhanam”
(Body is a vehicle for carrying out
the four purusharthas and staying on
the path of righteousness.)
Food plays a very important role in
attaining such a healthy body. We all
know how important nutritious food
is to keep our body fueled, fit and
free from diseases. While most of
us today follow nutritional science,
the field itself is relatively nascent in
comparison to our traditional knowl-
edge of food science.
Modern nutritionists talk of
the precise amounts of macro and
micro nutrients needed for the body.
Differences in the source of these
nutrients, whether they come from
an organic apple or a test tube, and
their long term effects on the body
have been studied little. Traditional
Indian food science on other hand
is well, traditional. And traditional
often translates to old and dated,
making most of us wonder if there
is anything useful we can get out of
following it. But Indian food science
is based on several scientific prin-
ciples. These principles though old,
still hold true to this day. There have
been several hundred generations
before us who have followed these
principles and have lived a healthy
and happy life. Recent increase in
several ailments such as cancer and
Alzheimer’s in India, can, to a certain extent be traced to severe disturbances in the balace of the doshas
caused by unhealthy food habits. In
days where we are all surrounded by
a gazillion fast food choices wrapped
in plastics all around, ready to be
snacked upon at any time , is when
we need our Traditional knowledge
of food and the science behind it.
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It is in this field that we need to do
most research, as it is beneficial not
only to us but to the entire world.
What is Indian Food Science?
Indian food science is based
on Ayurveda. It studies the tridoshas
(vaata, kapha and pitta) of the body
and also of the foods which alleviate
or aggravate them. It studies which
combinations of food are useful to
the body and also certain harmful
combinations which cause imbalances to the doshas in the body. These
imbalances lead to diseases later on.
Indian food science also talks about
where the food has to be cooked,
who has to cook it, how it has to be
cooked and when such food should
be consumed. Changes in the time of
the day or season also determine the
kind of cooking processes and the
foods consumed.
Rasoi ‘ghar’ or Bhojan ‘alay’
Kitchen (rasoi ghar or bhojanalay) should be clean and in a
pure environment. The intensions
of people making food play a very
big role. Person cooking food should
do so with pleasant thoughts, good
intensions and love. We might have
observed our grandmothers often
singing bhajans or stotras while
cooking. A mother who cooks food
for her child always does so with a
lot of love. She genuinely wants her
child to eat well and grow strong.
This was the reason that only those
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close to us were encouraged to cook.
We also have the habit of
chanting bhojan mantra for this reason. All the bhojan mantras have
profound meaning and purify food
with a lot of good intensions. Reciting bhojan mantra, especially when
eating outside, or at a restaurant is all
the more important, as the intensions
of competitive cooks are not those of
love. Love also improves taste of the
food. Have you ever wondered how
we can never get the taste of “mother’s” food although we use the exact
same recipe?
maids, etc., have had their bhojan
before having ours. It is also a habit
to feed little food to ants and birds
before having one’s own food.
Place of ‘Bhojan’
The place of bhojan should
be clean, neat, pleasant looking and
smelling good. We should always be
seated at a height on a ‘asan’( a stool
kind of seat, typically around 5-7
inches high). The bhojan thali (plate
where food is served) should be at
the same height too. It is advised to
sit cross legged while having food.
The movement at the abdomen while
bending forward to have food (while
sitting cross legged) helps in regulating digestion and proper bowel
movements later. It also promotes
in high blood circulation and circulation especially to the brain, thus
carrying all the important nutrients.
It is advised not to sit with legs facing down (as on a high chair), as the
blood flows downward towards the
legs.
It is also important to wash
hands, feet and mouth before having
Bhojan. Bhojan should be
thought of as a
yajna. It is general courtesy to
make sure that
mother, father,
gods,
guests,
small children,
Utensils Used for Cooking
• Utensils made of Gold- removes
doshas from food, good for sight
• Utensils made of silver- removes
doshas , good for sight
• Utensil made of Bronze- improves memory and taste. Does
not cause dosha imbalance
• Utensils made of Iron or Glassgood for cooking, improves
quality of food and preserves nutrients.
• Utensils made of wood – lend
taste and increase kapha dosha
• Utensils made of aluminium and
other such surfaces - removes
food nutrients and quality. Leads
to several symptoms of memory
related diseases.
• Utensils made of Plastic – leach
harmful chemicals into food and
water. Lead to several reproductive system related malfunctions.
Destroy quality of food.
In India, there was the habit of
cooking curries and dal in iron, copper, bronze and other such beneficial
metals. Spoons used for cooking
were also made of the same material. Black iron (Krishnaayas) containers were generally used for storing
ghee. It was also common to use leaves
of banana, vata and palash to serve
food. These leaves increase the taste
of food. They also are beneficial in increasing the digestive power and eliminating certain poisonous properties of
food. Water from a copper pot eliminates bacteria and germs. Hence water
is stored in a copper pot for around 8
hours and then consumed.
(To be continued)
This article is translated from a book
titled “ Bharateeya Ahar Shastra” by
Sevika Prakashan, Nagpur (omswasti_
[email protected])
Answers to the Crossword Puzzle
from Page 10
ACROSS
1. SURABHI
4. GANGA
8. PARVATI
9. ANJANA
11. DEVAKI
12. KAUSALYA
13. SUBHADRA
DOWN
2. RENUKA
3. BHUVANESWARI
5. MAYADEVI
6. YASHODA
7. SHAKUNTALA
10. JIJABAI
Image attribution : George Augustine, mynameisharsha, ralky (flickr.com),
Digests
S t or y: The Fi sh e rm a n an d th e Mi n i s te r
A
king was very fond of eating fresh fish. One day there was a storm in the sea. Fishermen could not go to
the sea to catch fish. So there was no fresh fish for the king. The king announced a big reward for the person who brought him a fresh fish on that day.
One poor fisherman ventured to bring a fish from the stormy sea. He took the fish and went to the palace. The palace guards stopped him at the gate. They took him to the king’s minister.
The minister said to the fisherman, “I shall allow you to go to the king, but you shall give me half of the reward
that you get from him.” The fisherman did not like this proposal, but still accepted it.
The guards took the fisherman to the king. The fisherman gave the fish to the king. The king was very much
pleased with the fisherman and said, “Tell me what reward you want and you shall have it.” The fisherman said,
“Your Majesty, I want fifty whip lashes on my back. This is the only reward I expect.” The strange demand of the
fisherman surprised everybody. However, the king ordered one of his servants to give fifty whip lashes on the fisherman’s back. When the servant had given twenty-five lashes, the fisherman said, “Stop. Please give the remaining
twenty-five whip lashes to my partner.”
The king asked the fisherman, “Who is your partner?”
The fisherman said,”Your Majesty, your minister is my partner.”
The fisherman’s reply made the king red with anger. He sent his men to bring the minister before him.
When the minister came, the king ordered, “Give him twenty-five whip lashes. Make
sure they fall hard on his back.”
Then the king sent the dishonest minister to jail, and gave the fisherman a handsome
reward.
Moral: You get what you deserve.
Taken from the series of Vikas Stories (Navneet Publications India Ltd.)
Image attribution: letsgoeverywhere (www.flick.com)
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Digests
In Memory of: Pujaneeya K Sudarshan ji
H
indu Swayamsevak Sangh USA Inc. (“HSS”) pays
homage to the memory of Pujaneeya Kuppalli Sitaramayya Sudarshan ji (K. S. Sudarshan ji), the
fifth Sar-Sanghachalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(“RSS”), who died on Saturday, September 15, 2012, in
Raipur, India, of heart attack. He was 81 years old.
Pujaneeya Sudarshan ji was born on June 18, 1931,
and became an RSS swayamsevak at the age of 9. After
completing his studies in engineering at Sagar University,
he became an RSS pracharak, or lifelong volunteer worker,
in 1955. He served in various regional and national capacities in RSS, including Sar-Karyavah, or national Executive
Director, from 1990 to 2000, and Sar-Sanghachalak, or national President, from 2000 to 2009.
Pujaneeya Sudarshan ji visited the United States
several times and provided guidance to HSS volunteers
about Hinduism, Sangh and Sangh activities in many places around the country, including Hindu Sangam events on
the West Coast and Southwest.
We offer our Shraddhanjali and pray for Sadgati to the departed soul.
Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Purnnam-Udacyate
Puurnnasya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
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