Are we really helping?

Posted by dinesh

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Are we really helping?

via kksblog.com by hina on 10/14/12

(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Durban, South Africa, 22nd September 2012) Lecture: SB 11. 31. 24-28

We may start to help people in a mundane way, but then, we really don't know. You think you're doing a good deed by saving the life of someone who was about to drown. You pull them out of water and get a medal for it. Then you feel,

'Well, I did a good deed!'

And later it turns out that the guy was a total rat who used to regularly beat his wife and the kids, and play football with the kids, but where the kids were the ball! A situation with an outrageous person and you have saved him! You should have let him drown, isn't it?

So it is so difficult to do good in the world – to try and do good is not so easy. Even when we think we are helping someone, are we really helping them? We cannot always see the intricacies of the network of activities and reactions that a person is involved in. We don't know what somebody thinks. They can smile at us, but what is behind that smile? How can we know for real?

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“I am made of mercy alone”

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“I am made of mercy alone”

via kksblog.com by Annie on 10/12/12

(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Cape Town, South Africa, 17th September 2012)

We have Vaishnavas who say, "I am made of mercy alone."

This is a fact, because gradually we change our life. Gradually we adjust our life little by little. Of course, the mind is a little reluctant, the senses are pushing, our material desires are holding us back. Our false ego also holds us back. There's some envy, there's this and that, so all that holds us back. But gradually, little by little, we become purified.

And then we become transparent. Then basically we just become the instrument of Krsna. We adjust our whole life to the will of Krsna. We only do the work of Krsna, and at that stage, there's nothing between us and Krsna. Then there's a direct connection and everything just flows directly – transcendental knowledge, mercy…

At that stage, one can say, "I am made of mercy alone."

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There are two sides – two visions simultaneously

Posted by dinesh

'Lord Brahma, why didn't He make millions of eyes? Why only two and they blink as well!'

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There are two sides – two visions simultaneously

via kksblog.com by hina on 10/12/12

(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Durban, South Africa, 21st September 2012) Lecture: SB 11. 31. 22-23

There are two sides – two visions simultaneously. When Gopakumar came to Tapo-loka, he came to the abode where all the residents are absorbed in meditation, and they always mediate on Krsna. Gopakumar was not satisfied – he wanted to see Krsna. So they said:

'Why do you want to see Krsna? Don't you understand that the eye is simply capturing a picture and a signal is sent to the mind, and therefore seeing is really happening in the mind! And if you simply meditate on the Lord in the mind all the time, then you'll always see the Lord! So there is absolutely no need to see the Lord with your eyes. You just see Him with the mind!'

But Gopakumar (although he couldn't really argue with that logic) felt something was missing. He felt it was not complete. Because Gopakumar wanted simultaneously to always see the Lord in his heart in meditation, and simultaneously drink the nectar of seeing the Lord with his eyes! Although the devotees deep in their hearts know that the Lord has not disappeared, and that He is always there, still they feel the greatest separation, the greatest suffering now that they cannot see Him with their eyes.

So both faculties are there simultaneously. It is not a complication. It's like you always see Him in the heart, and yet you completely feel the separation of not seeing Him. As the Gopis chant (in Srimad Bhagavatam):

'Lord Brahma, why didn't He make millions of eyes? Why only two and they blink as well!'

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Khichari - an ayurvedic food that heals the body and keeps healthy

Posted by dinesh

Khichari (Khichdi) is the very core of Ayurvedic nutritional healing.

Foreigners call it mishmash. To indians it is khichdi (Kitcheree), the food many of us turn to when illness calls and we need something warm, light and restorative. However, there's more to the khichdi than just mung and rice. Using a range of herbs and spices, Ayurveda devises khichdi recipes that can heal various diseases.This recipe is used in an Ayurvedic cleansing therapy because of its ease of digestion and assimilation. This khichari can be eaten by all doshas but is especially good for vata.

Moong Dal is one the most cherished foods in Ayurveda. It is tridoshic; balancing all three doshas and, especially when cooked with spices, is appropriate for each dosha. It is very nourishing and relatively easy to digest, generally not creating abdominal gas or bloating. Split hulled mung beans are nutritious and easier on the digestion than larger beans.

Examples of Spices for individual Dosha:

calming vata: cumin, ginger

cooling pitta: turmeric, coriander, peppercorns

stimulating kapha: turmeric, cumin, ginger

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup green split moong dal
1/2 tbsp ghee or sesame oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
1/4 tsp hing
1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped (pitta)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chili powder
4 cups water

DIRECTIONS
Place rice and dal together in large mixing bowl. Rinse several times under running water. Drain and reserve.
Set heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and add ghee or oil. When warmed, add cumin and mustard seeds (if using) and hing. Stir until seeds pop, about 30 seconds. Add chopped ginger, sauté 30 seconds.
Add reserved rice and dal, turmeric, salt and chili powder. Mix in gently.
Add water and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover saucepan, reduce heat to low and cook undisturbed until tender, about 30 minutes.
Switch off heat, let khichari rest 5 minutes. Fluff it up gently with a fork and serve.
Enjoy hot.
(Serves 2)
Note -- 4 cups water will yield a thicker kitcheree while six will yield the consistency of porridge.

SUGGESTED INGRADIENTS TO PACIFY DOSHAS:

KHICHARI FOR PACIFYING VATA: Basmati Rice, split Moong beans, Asafetida, Bishop's weed, Cloves, Cumin seed, Mustard seed, Turmeric powder, Coriander, Cinnamon, Rock salt, Ghee (clarified butter oil)

KHICHARI FOR PACIFYING PITTA : Basmati Rice, split Moong beans, Masoor dal, Cumin seed, small Cardamom, Fennel seed, Mustard seed, Turmeric powder, Coriander, Cinnamon, Rock salt, Ghee (clarified butter oil)

KHICHARI FOR PACIFYING KAPHA: Basmati Rice, Masoor Dal, Black pepper, Cloves, Asafetida, Cumin seed, Mustard seed, Turmeric powder, Coriander, Cinnamon, Rock salt, Ghee (clarified butter oil)

--
Yours
Dinesh
Blog:http://dinesh-krsna.blogspot.com

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