Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Chapter 2 - Honouring The Practise  Day 7  The mind can never go where you are. A wave can never go to the depth of the ocean. By the time the waves go to the depth, it ceases to be a wave. So the mind can never come to you. The mind can never be you. That is why never mind! You are never the mind. It's superficial.  The moment that mind starts coming towards you, it is not a mind. That's why it's said, "Never Mind." You are accepted there, never the mind. Your mind can never go there. You know you have had this experience often.  The mind keeps on asking questions, "Why, why, why, why?" You feel that something is bothering you is your mind's stuff. At that moment there is alertness, and an awareness dawns. And then there is a relief in the mind. And the more you feel that your questions are just "mind's stuff", more and more you are aware and then, the questions just vanish. This is Abhyasa, this is practice. In the next su...

Chapter 1 - Discipline Of Yoga Day 6  That which you do to 'be' is called abhyasa or practice. Abiding in the seer is abhyasa. That which you do to be there, now, here or in this moment is abhyasa. An effort is needed for you to relieve yourself from five modulations and just be here - now, now, now, to bring the mind to the present and not dwell on past memories.  This effort is called abhyasa. You can start by being determined that you are not going to dwell on any logic. You are free from pramaana. You are not going to be interested in any proof. If the mind is asking for proof, just know it. Know it, observe it and relax.  You are not interested in any wrong knowledge or right knowledge. Often when the mind is on wrong knowledge, it thinks it is on the right one. So, it is not even interested in knowing anything. Retrieve the mind from knowing, and from knowledge.  There is no anxiety to see, smell, touch, feel or understand anything. Let things be th...

Chapter 1 - Discipline Of Yoga  Day 5 The third vritti is Vikalpa. Vikalpa is a sort of hallucination. There may be some thought. But, it is not true. However, something hovers in the mind. This is called Vikalpa. People become paranoid.  All such unfolded and baseless fears do not mean anything. Such thoughts and ideas are called Vikalpas - fantasies. The mind either gets stuck in proof or in wrong knowledge, misconception or fantasies. Fantasies are vikalpas.  You may be already 40, 50 or 60 years old, and you fantasize what it would be like if you were 16 again. Then, you go on and think that you would go somewhere and get a big haul of gold and that, then, you would become rich.  Then, you would have your own helicopter to fly in. It is not just the children who fantasize. Adults also get into their own fantasies. This fantasy is called Vikalpa,the third modulation of Chitta. Vikalpa, could be of two types.  One could be of a joyful and pleasurab...

We have studied plants from the Melaiceae family, over the past weeks. Now let's have a quick recap of the general characteristics of this family.  🌳-Commonly known as the Mahogany family, the Melaiceae is classified under the order Sapindales. 🌳- It includes plant6s that are generally trees or shrubs, rarely herbs. 🌳- Members usually have pinnate leaves without stipules. These are alternately arranged in whorls and have characteristic asymmetric leaflets. 🌳-Flowers are generally small and unisexual, and produced in panicles, spikes or cymes. Never solitary. Flowers are usually fragrant with 5 petals and a superior ovary. 🌳-Fruits vary over species from woody capsules in Swietenia to fleshy drupes in Azadirachta, Lansium and Sandoricum. Fruits split open on maturity as in Swietenia and Aphanamixis or the pulp is segmented as in Lansium and Sandoricum. 🌳- Most species are evergreen, but some ...

Kigelia africana Syn.: Crescentia pinnata, Kigelia pinnata (Common name: Sausage Tree, Common Sausage Tree, Balam khira in Hindi) - Bignoniaceae, the mature fruits are seen dangling from the long stalks like giant sausages.  They may be up to two feet long and weigh up to 6 7 kg. The fruit, while not palatable for humans, is popular with hippos, baboons, and giraffes. Mainly grown as a curiosity and ornamental, both for its beautiful deep red flowers and its strange fruit. There are also a range of traditional uses for the fruit, varying from topical treatments for skin afflictions, to treatment for intestinal worms. There are some steroid chemicals found in the sausage tree that are currently added to commercially available shampoos and facial creams. Reference  Surendra Parihar Ex.Professor and Head. Deptt. of Seed , Science and Technology. Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa,  New Delhi,  India 110012