Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Chapter 4 - Glorify The Divine  Day 23 Effortlessness. Virtues are there in you, do not try to cultivate virtues-they are in you already. All that you need is to become a little quiet, a little calm. When you become effortless, calm and serene, virtues, talents and skills all manifest in your life, all come to the surface.  All our effort is only to get rid of the stress, get rid of all the dust that we have accumulated. And Karma-our action, Gyana-knowledge, and Yoga are all a way, a path to do this, to achieve this purity. Actually, ‘achieve’ is not the correct word.  Knowledge is like a detergent-to be put on and then washed off! Same way with action , “I did so much good,” “I did this charity,” “I did that charity.” If you keep thinking this way, taking pride in your charity or the good work you have done, then that becomes a deterrent to your blossoming.  There is a proverb in Hindi that says, “Do good and throw all the merit in the well, throw it in...

Chapter 4 - Glorify The Divine  Day 22 Surrender often denotes a sense of weakness, a sense of failure, a sense of slavery, isn’t it so? But there is another part of surrender. That aspect of the word “surrender” which denotes freedom.  The pinnacle of Love is also called “surrender’, where your whole being becomes one with the infinite, where the river meets the ocean, where the activity reposes in rest, in the self. The culmination of activity, the culmination of feeling, the culmination of action, of amoment, of an event is all called “ surrender”.  Surrender simply means from limited power energy to unlimited ocean of existence. Growing from limitation to limitless, merging into the divinity, the vast powerful omnipresent, omnipotent truth. An intense love is associated with surrender.  Normally the word surrender is used with intense fear, anguish, weakness. Actually a weak person cannot surrender. He will appear to have surrendered, but inside there...

Rice production in India - Part 1, History and production Did you know that Rice, an export of India in ancient times, had the Grecian name of Uryza which is idenetifed by the Tamil word ‘arisi’? Rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple food of the Indian subcontinent. and is grown in its Tropical and Sub tropical areas. Unmilled rice is known as "paddy". There is a huge varietal diversity of rice in relation to the aroma and morphological and grain charchteristics. From ancient days India placed great emphasis on growing aromatic rice and Hindu scriptures make mention of this fact in Charak Samhita, Vedas, and Rigveda and the oldest records.  Short grained rice of India are non-glutinous while Jasmine rice is gutinous. It is the dominant crop in India and one of its chief grains. and is grown in almost all its states.  Oryza sativa is the botancial name for rice as it is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asia...

Today is the 20th anniversary of this monument of love, light and deep meditation - Vishalakshi Mantap. It’s beauty forever amazes us all 

Devahuti and Kardama Did you know that Devahuti, daughter of Prajapati Manu, and Kardama, one of the nine mind born sons of Brahma, were married in Kushavati, present day Goa, considered as the first marriage in the world? Devahuti's and Kardama's story of the Vedic age (probably 6th or 5th century BC), is narrated in the Srimad Bhagavatam. They were parents of the sage Kapila who was considered the incarnation of Vishnu. Kapila founded the Sankhya school (basically theory of guṇas - qualities, innate tendencies) of Hindu philosophy and who instructed this philosophy to his mother Devahuti, the principles of pure devotional service and thus she was able to perfect her life and go back to Godhead. As the story goes, Devahuti was the beautiful third daughter of Swayambhuva Manu (the first man on earth). Kardama was one of the nine mind born sons of Brahma (interpreted as born from Chaya, the reflection of Brahma) who was ordered by his father to marry an...

Pratyaksha, Paroskha, and Aparoksha Did you you know that according to Vedanta philosophy there are three kinds of knowledge - Pratyaksha, Paroksha, and Aparoksha? The school of Indian philosophy known as Vedanta determined in ancient times that knowledge is of three kinds—Pratyaksha, Paroksha, and Aparoksha.  Pratyaksha is the knowledge acquired by the sensory organs. It is direct perception through which we can perceive the outer world. Various instruments that extend the powers of the senses are part of this. More elaborately, it is to mediate knowledge or indirect cognition, mediated by sensory-intellectual apparatus, in which thought systems psychological insights that have evolved in the context of two levels of realities, empirical and transcendental, are gained through both direct cognition and indirect cognition of things that exist in the universe. The Sanskrit word "Pratyakasha" literally means that which is perceptible to the eye or visibl...

Mantras Did you know that Mantra or Mantras are divine syllables representing universal power with transformative effect in a sacred approach to the whole of life and consciousness? The two syllables of the Sanskrit word 'Mantra' mean, “man” (mind) and “tra” (liberation). Mantra is a sound that can liberate the mind from fear, dependency and sorrow. Once the mind is freed, other problems are automatically resolved because the greatest problem is the mind itself. In Hinduism, the word Mantra is a sacred syllable or a combination of sacred syllables called Mantras. Mantras have significance in all religions but in Hinduism its universal power with transformative effect is used extensively in a sacred approach to the whole of life and consciousness. Within the bounds of the Hindu tradition the use of mantras in the Vedic age, in Saivism and Vaisnavism, in Tantra, and in Ayurvedic medicine is well recognised. Mantras abode, according to Upanishad, is basic e...

Goddess Shakti in Hindu Religion - Importance - Meaning - Worship of Word Shakti in Hinduism Shakti stands for the concept of Mother Goddess in Hinduism. The sound ‘sa’ stands for prosperity and ‘kti’ stands for prowess. So the word ‘Shakti’ in Hindu religion stands for the Goddess who is the embodiment of prosperity and prowess. Shakti in Common Parlance Goddess Shakti is the power incarnate. Shakti stands for the concept of Mother Goddess in Hindu Religion. Shakti is categorized term for all Mother Goddesses, as the sole, active, compassionate deity. Worship of Word Shakti in Hinduism Shakti is also called Bhagavati, the one who combines in herself knowledge, affluence, power etc. Shakti is the female energy (consort) of Shiva. She has two characters, one benign like mother and the other all consuming fierce form. In Hindu scriptures, Shakti is also known as Parvati, Devi, Uma, Maheshwari, Durga, Annapurna, Ambika and so on. Early Origin Of Goddess Shakti in Hindu Religio...

How to Improve Your Spiritual Powers Our consciousness is a mesh of planetary energies. A deeper look into it can bring before you an amazing and mesmerizing sight of particles playing out their roles. These particles keep creating complex energies in us. Just like the God’s particles (the Higgs boson) play their roles in forming this complex Universe. improve-your-spiritual-power When you plunge deep inside yourself to understand the complex mesh of energies hidden within you, you begin to gain spiritual powers. Such abilities can be acquired through consistent practice. Let us understand that gaining spiritual powers is corollary to achieving higher consciousness or intelligence. Now, how can we condition ourselves to realize such powers or intelligence? Improve your consciousness: Supernatural, supra-normal and spiritual powers – all these terms indicate powers or energies which are beyond the material world of physics, logical deductions of scientific experiments and be...

Garuda Purana: Unraveling the secret of death! 1. The significance of Puranas The significance of Puranas While Vedas are the sacred scripts of Hindu Dharma; Puranas are the backbone of Hindu philosophy which contains essence of Hindu religion, civilization and culture. Sage Sri Vedavyaasa the Divine literary incarnation of Lord Vishnu has played a significant role in the field of Vedic and spiritual literature. He compiled 18 great puranas called Ashtadasa Maha Puranas; a great treasure gifted to the mankind. He compiled these puranas to draw the attention of the reader or its listener towards the ultimate goal of Dharma and the Supreme Lord. 2. What is Garuda Purana? What is Garuda Purana? Garuda Purana is one of those Ashtaadasa Maha-Puranas. It is called Garuda Purana because it is in the form of a dialogue between Garuda the Divine King of Birds and Lord Vishnu. Later, Garuda recited the same to Sage Kashyapa that percolated down the line. It contains about 19000 sloka...