Jai Hanuman

East Meets West

How is it that the ancient vedic and tantric philosophies, deities symbols and rituals have been understood and readily accepted by many westerners as true paths and vehicles of spiritual experience? It is as if these traditions, rituals and thoughts are not foreign to them. Rather they communicate with a part of them which reaches inside and connects with their ancient past, a part of their unconscious which they have long lost contact with and are unable to access or understand.

source: yogamag

Ganesh is Fresh

Censorship vs Discernment

Every yogi learns that our thoughts are ultimately meaningless, or rather, not as meaningful as we think they are. The act of censoring them is also kind of pointless and we force those deemed 'bad' into the shadows where they lurk and fester. We get attached to these judgements basing all sorts of stuff on them from personal ideology to personality.
Letting go of the mind chatter is tricky, yet when we do whole new worlds of experience open up. We are conditioned to believe the chatter is real yet when we unpack it a little we can see it is so restrictive. It blocks us from connecting with our guts, our hearts and all the senses.
Discernment requires us to process this corporeal information. We may be wrong and right. We have space to apply intelligence and are more equipped to try new approaches.

Kitchari - Thermos Flask Lunch

1 L thermos flask – open mouth variety (8 cms)
1 dessert spoon of Ghee or olive oil
A pinch of Asafoetida powder (hing)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fresh ginger
1/2-1tsp favourite curry powder
1-2 TB yellow mung dahl (washed 3 times)
1-2 TB cup basmati rice (washed 3 times)
1 cup fresh vegetables – finely to moderately chopped
2 cups water - approximately
Sea salt to taste

Method:
Heat ghee in a small non-stick sauceapan, add asafoetida and then spices and fry for 30 seconds. Then add all the other ingredients and make sure they are covered well with water and boil the mixture for 5 minutes only. Without wasting time, spoon hot mixture into thermos flask, screw lid on tightly and leave closed. The meal will be freshly cooked and ready to eat four hours later. Let sit before serving with a hot chippati drissled with a little ghee.
source: Satyananda Yoga