Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Chapter 4 - Glorify The Divine  Day 25 Nature has its own plans. In every heart, the Lord resides. Honour everyone, respect everyone, humility will bring that in you. Your good deeds, your Knowledge, skills, can all give you such pride, that you are somebody. The best Knowledge can bring you an awareness that you are nobody.  So many people say that only through Knowledge can you cultivate humility no, not cultivate, only through knowledge can you enliven that humility. But some other people say that they depend on each other love and humility.  Love and Knowledge go hand in hand. Others say it depends on each other. Knowledge and love, they go together. Only when you have love, do you take interest in. Knowledge, you like to know about it.  Suppose you have no love for astronomy, would you ever become an astronomer? Can you be a good astronomer? Not possible. If you love physics, then you can be a good physicist. So because of love, you gain knowledge, b...

Chapter 4 - Glorify The Divine  Day 24 One moment of such a love, such ecstacy in life, that taste of complete love, pinnacle of Love, is worth our entire life. That is good enough. If a few drops of tears have fallen from your eyes in love, that is worth your life. This is an end in itself.  Love is the end in itself. Faith is the end in itself-not a means. But our mind is so clever, it wants everything to have some illusion of comfort or pleasure. No doubt faith brings comfort, but if you are intelligent, you will not try to use it for comfort.  It is like selling diamonds to buy a bottle of Coca Cola. (Laughter) Offering finger chips, selling a bag full of diamonds to buy a packet of french fries. Divine love is itself an end is itself the fruit.Even to God pride is not palatable.  See, God loves these two instances. When a doctor tells a patient, “Don’t worry, I'm here. I will take care of you” or when someone says, “I own this piece of property’ - Go...

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) Did you know that Cashew, a nut from the tropical evergreen tree is India’s favourite dry fruit with 170,000-195,000 MT of annual production and ranking first in the world in production, originally native to Northeastern Brazil and Southeastern Venezuela, was brought to India by the Portuguese to Goa in mid 1550s? Cashew, known by the botanical name Anacardium occidentale in the Anacardiaceae family, also called Vrikkaphala in Sanskrit, a product of the tropical evergreen Cashew Tree, is a kidney-shaped seed or nut, one of the most delicious nuts around the world. The versatile cashew tree produces the cashew seed or nut and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The cashew seed is commonly considered a snack nut (cashew nut) eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. Like the tree, the nut is often simply called Cashew. In India, Cashew nuts are used mostly in desserts and traditional preparations to e...

Tavare or Kamala or Indian Lotus Did you know that Tavare or Kamala or Indian Lotus, sacred to ancient Indian religions, a perennial water plant, growing from a tuberous rootstock lying in mud at the bottom of lakes and ponds, is often cultivated for its sweet-scented, elegant flowers, and also for its edible rhizomes and seeds? The Tavare or Kamala or Indian Lotus with the botanical name Nelumbo nucifera or nuciferaGaertn in the family of Nelumbonaceae, is not only native to India but also to China and Japan, north to the Amur region of Russia, New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia. The family Nelumbonaceae has single genus, Nelumbo, with three species: N. Komorovii, N.lutea, and N.nucifera, and the last one is subdivided on the basis of anatomical charachters. For "Nelumbo", DNY analysis has indicated an age of 100 million years as likely for its lineage.  Nelumbo nucifera is a derivative from the Sinhalese word 'neḷum' or Tamil...

Plectranthus amboinicus or Doddapatre  Did you know that Plectranthus amboinicus, known popularly as Doddapatre in Kannada language, is a herb with a pungent combination of the aromas of oregano, thyme, and turpentine but with a sharp mint-like flavor? Plectranthus amboinicus, once identified in English as Coleus amboinicus, a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, a succulent perennial herb, with extensive culinary and medicinal uses, has a pungent combination of the aromas of oregano, thyme, and turpentine, and its leaves in particular giving a sharp mint-like flavor. Its leaves are Tikta (Bitter) and Katu (Pungent).  Plectranthus amboinicus, previously native to tropical South Africa from whence it was carried to India and Southeast Asia by Arabs and Portuguese, later to Europe and from there to the New World (majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere). In English, it is also called Indian borage, country borage, French thyme, Indian mint, Mexican mint,...

Rice as a sacred grain in India - Part 2. Did you know that Rice, a sacred grain which has spiritual heritage in India, represents Prajapati or Janardana, as it is one of the earliest cereals known to humanity? Rice, a sacred grain in India with the ancient scripture Vedas referring to it as simply 'annam', meaning food, represents vedic deity Prajapati (lord and protector of creation) or Janardana (monicker of Vishnu) as it is one of the earliest cereals known to humanity, and thus, is held in great reverence and is used in most religious activities of Hindus. According to Dr Richaria, a well known rice scientist, in India 400,000 varieties of rice existed during the Vedic period, and even at present the number is reported to be 200,000; the Indian state of Chhatisgarh alone is stated to have 20,000 types. Atharva Veda defines rice as the "sons of heaven who never die". According to Taittiriya Brhamana, the god of rice is called An...

Bangalore Blue Did you know that Bangalore Blue are purple colour 'foxy flavoured' table grapes, particuarly grown in the mild tropical region of rural and urban Bengaluru, and has been part of the city's horticultural heritage for more than 150 years, harvested twice a year? Bangalore Blue are table grapes, also known as Isabella and Aurangabad grape, with the scientific name 'Vitis labrusca'. They are a variety of foxty flavoured blue or purple coloured soft skinned grapes grown in the sub-tropical regions of rural and urban districts around Bengaluru (erstwhile Bangalore).There are two other prominent varities of grapes grown in Karnataka which are the Thomson seedless and the Anab-E-Shahi Dilkush). Bangalore Blue, characterized by its 'foxy flavour', is also grown in Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts. Its cultivation has been recorded for the past 150 years in about 5,000 hectares. It is said that vineyards were found around t...

Sambrani (Styrax Benzoin) or Devadhupa malacca  Did you know that Sambrani or Styrax Benzoin or gum Benjamin, a common ingredient in incense-making and perfumery used throughout many cultures, is known by two common types of benzoin - Benzoin Siam and Benzoin Sumatra of Indonesia? Sambrani, with scientific name Styrax Benzoin or Devadhupa malacca in Sanskrit, is Benzoin gum, also known as benzoin resin and gum Benjamin. The resin is obtained from the Benzoin tree, a species of tree native to Sumatra, Indonesia, member of the Styrax genus in the family Styracaceae, and is also native to rainforests of many countries of Southeast Asia. The naturally occurring resin is Sambarni or Paal Sambrani, a Tamil name, while it is called Loban in Hindi, and its lighted smoke is an ancient tradition that has been followed for several centuries in India due to it’s amazing benefits to dry hair by women and for babies, and also as mosquitoe repellant.   In...